Dearly Beloved,
God’s indwelling presence is one of the most marvellous demonstrations of His awesome power. In Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). The Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us (John 1:14). The mystery of godliness was God manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels and preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world and received up in glory (1 Timothy 3:16). Christ revealed that all the works that He did was the Father dwelling in Him (John 14:9-11). This union that Christ had with the Father is the same union which He wants to establish in us, with Him being in us and doing the works that He did (John 14:12). Since the secret behind all that Jesus said and did was the Father in Him, the secret to all of the fullness of God in our lives is learning to let Christ be manifested in fullness in our lives within us and through us.
Of all the lessons learned in Christianity, the lesson of learning to let God and Christ dwell within us in fullness is the most important lesson of all. Knowing that this is the most important lesson and principle taught to His disciples, Jesus repeated it to them on the last night when He was betrayed (John chapters 14 to 16). Within these chapters, He outlined principles and basic things which would bring about this mystery of godliness in our flesh. In order to understand this, we outline these three chapters together highlighting this point:
John 14:
Vs2 In the Father’s House (Greek ‘oikos’ translated ‘house’) are many places of abiding (Greek ‘mone’).
Vs7 Knowing and seeing the Father is through knowing and seeing Jesus.
Vs9-11 Everything that Jesus said and did was the Father saying and doing through Him.
Vs12 Everything that we day and do, will be what Jesus says and do because He is in us like the Father in Him.
Vs15-18 It is through the Holy Spirit abiding in us that Christ abides in us.
Vs19-21 Only those who love Jesus and keep His commandments will experience this manifestation of Jesus to them.
When asked HOW Jesus is going to manifest to those who love Him and keep His commandments, Jesus speaks about Him and the Father ‘abiding’ (Greek word ‘mone’) or making their home with the individual.
Vs23-24 To the person who keeps the Word of Jesus, the Father and Jesus will love him and come to him and make their home (abiding) in him.
Vs 25-27 The Holy Spirit will teach all things and bring to remembrance all things Jesus said and Jesus left His peace with us so that our hearts are never troubled nor afraid.
John 15:
Vs1-5 Abiding in Jesus as a branch is the key to bearing fruit and even when fruit is borne, there is a process of pruning so that more fruit can be borne. The branch CANNOT bear fruit unless it ABIDES (Greek word ‘mone’) in the Vine, which is Jesus.
Vs5-6 A branch that does not abide in Jesus is taken away into the fire and burnt.
Vs7-8 Abiding in Jesus and letting His Words abide in us, is the key to bearing much fruit and receiving answered prayers.
Vs9-10 The Father’s love for Jesus has been channelled through Jesus to us, and it is a requirement for us to abide in both His commandments and in His love.
Vs11-17 Jesus imparted His Joy into us that our joy will be full and commands us to love on another. He considers us His friends and not just His servants for He reveals to us what He is doing.
Vs18-25 We are to be prepared that the world will hate us and persecute us as they persecuted Jesus. Those who hate Jesus also hates the Father.
Vs26-27 The Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father will bear witness of Jesus as we, too, will bear witness of Jesus.
John 16:
Vs1-4 All that is done against Christ and us will be because they do not know the Father.
Vs 6-11 The Holy Spirit can come only because Jesus has left this world and sent Him to us; and He will convict the world of sin because they do not believe in Jesus, give us the conviction of righteousness because Jesus (and us in Him) is now with the Father, and judged Satan because he has been judged and cast out (John 12:31).
Vs23-24 The Father Himself will give to us and we are encouraged to ask that our Father may give that our joy will be full.
The two principles that stand out in the last recorded sermon of Jesus before He was crucified are Abiding in His Word and Abiding in His Love, both which relates to Abiding in Him and Abiding in the Father. His discourse speaks of abiding in His love with the requirement to obey His commandment to love one another. Abiding in His Word would imply abiding in both His Spoken Word and in His Written Word (Living Word). These are the great principles to abiding in Jesus and in the Father.
Some examples of the abiding of God (Father, Jesus or Holy Spirit) within us are when Peter confessed that Jesus was Christ the Son of the Living God. As he answered and confessed Christ boldly, Jesus saw that incident as the Father in Heaven revealing this to Peter (Matthew 16:17). This process of internalized revelation was the Rock in which Jesus was going to build His church. And those who yield to this process receive a blessing in their lives as Peter did when he yielded to this revelation within him. Paul received revelations within himself through the working of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:1-7). He specifically mentions that the revelation was IN him (Galatians 1:16). No matter how many visions we see or even if we have Jesus physically in front of us like Peter, it is still the internal thought processes that must take place to bring us to the conclusion and acceptance of all revelations from God. Peter walking on water still easily doubted when his thought processes caught up with his instinct of obeying the command of Jesus to walk on water (Matthew 14:31). Despite seeing a glorious angel in front of him, Zacharias still doubted all that was going on and was struck dumb (Luke 1:19-20). The internalising thought processes after or during an encounter or manifestation, whether spectacular or non-spectacular, internal or external, is what determines the ultimate outcome of all revelations given through the Holy Spirit by our Lord Jesus Christ.
If the internalisation of a revelation is done through careful search and comparison with the written word of God (the Bible) and with the spirit and nature of the revelation (whether it is in line with the Spirit of Love and of edification) and whether it glorifies Jesus, then that revelation will pass the test of time, the test of trials and the test of persecution. When are revelation has not been properly internalised or wrongly internalised then the individual will experienced doubts, insecurity, destabilizing emotions, then the revelation, which could be genuine, will die or be eaten up by the devourer. As such, Jesus speaks in the parable of the sower and the word, that the seed of the word must be received and allowed to grow roots, before it can bring forth fruit (Mark 4:3-20).
The internalisation of a revelation is through the working of the Holy Spirit upon our minds and hearts. Comparing Scripture with Scripture, line upon line, principles with God’s nature and attributes. This process is a process of quiet meditation and contemplation. The Bible contains the records of God’s manifestation and appearances to OT and NT biblical figures, thus the ability to check with the written word of God is a blessing of God and a gift of His grace. Those who are strong in the Word of God have more ability than those with less knowledge of the Word of God in processing revelation. People like Apollos rose to prominence because they were mighty in Scripture (Acts 18:24-25). In a short space of time, he had a strong following amongst the Gentile church (1 Corinthians 3:4-6).
Internalising the revelations of God, brings the word of God into its full fruition, producing a hundredfold result. Our Lord Jesus wants all His branches to produce abundant fruit. What are the processes of internalising a revelation from God? They involved:
- Accepting them as divine revelations from God (whether it be from God the Father, Jesus or the Holy Spirit and whether it be via angels, visions, voices, internal thoughts or other means). We DO NOT recommend accepting everything lock, stock, barrel without examination. As all prophecies have to be judged (1 Corinthians 14:29) and no prophecy is of any private interpretation (2 Peter 1:20). Before they are accepted as divine, the must be
- In line with the written word of God
- In line with the Spirit of the Love of Christ and the fruit of the Spirit.
- In line with previous revelations received by the individual (the new adds more details and more clarity to the old and never replaces them); though God may change His instructions in accordance to circumstantial response, as He did to delaying the entrance to Canaan)
- In line with flow of spiritual authority and protocol. Even David had to live through Saul’s rebellious reign without usurping his kingship. The apostle Paul took the Gentile question to the established church spiritual authorities in Jerusalem, resulting in the Jerusalem Conference (Acts 15). Paul did not make the final decision but the church in Jerusalem made the final decision in consultation with the delegation from Antioch.
- In line with the objectives and visions of our Lord Jesus Himself
- Result in the glory of Jesus and of the Father
- After accepting the revelations as from God, it is important to prepare for a challenge to that particular revelation. Satan will always want to steal the seed sown or persecute to prevent it from taking root (Mark 4:15-17). God’s grace disallows the enemy from stealing or persecuting until it has been accepted in the heart. If the two direct frontal attack against the revelation does not work, Satan will try the distraction method, placing thorns growing with the seed of the word (Mark 4:18). When Jesus revealed that He was to die on the cross, Satan used Peter to directly confront Him (Matthew 16:22-23). After receiving abundance of revelations, pride will be tested via rejection or persecution or direct attacks (2 Corinthians 12:7). Outwardly this attack permitted by God seems dauting but it is also a necessary part of strengthening of the revelation – a stronger internalising of the revelation. This internal strengthening is through
- the requirement to defend the revelation received through the word of God. It causes a constant re-examination of the revelation received and this in itself, strengthens it. and causes it to grow more deeper roots into the heart and mind.
- The value of the revelation increases as the receiver is prepared to pay the ultimate price of self-sacrifice to defend, preserve or endure with the revelation intact. The apostle Paul sacrificed everything to preach the gospel of grace, that Gentiles can be saved without becoming Jews. He was misunderstood, persecuted, ostracized, mocked and rejected by the very Jewish people whom he loved and would have died for (Romans 9:1-3; 10:1-3)
- With every revelation, there will be a test of humility (2 Corinthians 1:7). This is all part of the internalising. Every revelation brings about its own fruit, and after the fruiting, there needs to be a pruning (John 15:2). We all always need a good pruning after a successful endeavour, a successful mission, a successful harvest. Pride is the centre of all rebellion against God, and humility is the centre of all true union with God. We need to grow in humility until we are one hundred percent humble like Jesus. Remember that Jesus conquered everything through His humility. His humility was what set Jesus apart, and make Him the direct opposite to Satan, the personification of pride. So the personification of pride versus the personification of humility, and Jesus the embodiment of humility won. If you want to keep winning all the time, grow in greater and greater humility.
- Finally, when one has discerned the Word and Revelation of God received and passed the test and trials and challenges of the enemy, the Revelation Word is not ready to grow into a bountiful tree in God, producing fruit. Whether it be thirty, sixty or a hundredfold depends on
- How accurate and detail we are to the Word of Revelation. Many people are not detail and specific in what God asked them to do. They might do five things out of ten, so are obedient but not hundred percent. During the time of the kings, some kings only obey God in some areas but did not remove the high places, Jehoash repaired the temple and did right in the sight of God but did not remove the high places (2 Kings 12:1-3). It was a command of God to destroy the high places (Deuteronomy 12:2-4). Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrifices and burned incense at the high places (1 Kings 3:3). Imperfect obedience produces less than perfect results.
- How enduring we are to hold on to a particular revelation without wavering. Abraham held onto the promise of God giving him an heir for over two decades. From the age of seventy-five when he came out from Ur to the age of ninety-nine, he did not waver according to the Bible (Romans 4:20). We saw some wavering when he went into Hagar and thought that Ishmael was the one, and also initial unbelief when he was to be a father at one hundred but those were discounted by God through his steadfast walk through many long and lonely years. God is compassionate to all varying emotional states as long as the heart is steadfast in Him. David’s permissive will alliance with the Philistines did not prevent God from working in his life because he loved God even when at his lowest point at Ziklag (1 Samuel 30:6).
Despite his obvious ability to see angels and call down fire from God, Elijah was not dependent on external factors in obeying God but rather on the still small voice of God that he hears in his heart (1 Kings 19:12-13). It is not the loudness of revelations that matter but rather the soft internalisation of them that counts. The epistles of Paul which form the major bulk of the Bible were all the musings and the flow of thoughts that go through Paul’s heart and mind as he was seeking to solve church problems through his writings and giving the best advice possible in all situations. The internal thought flow of Paul’s heart and mind have become part of the New Testament bible today. The book of Acts continues in our lives, watched and recorded by angels. Whatever is going on in your heart and mind is important, for it is there that the Holy Spirit works, bringing every thought subject to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). God speaks into your heart and mind, even when the most spectacular revelations are occurring. The internal thought flow of the Holy Spirit flowing through our thoughts establish all revelations. For we have the mind of Christ and the Holy Spirit searches the depths of God and works with the depths of our being through our human spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10-14, 16). Right now God is preparing things to be placed in our hearts, things for those who love Him, things beyond what eye can see, ears can hear and what normal human minds and hearts can conceive (1 Corinthians 2:9). We have the mind of Christ, let that same mind work in you as it did in Christ.