Are You Feeling Close to God? You Should Be!

[Andyindauk]

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. John 17:20-23 NKJV


In this passage, Jesus affirms how close is the relationship between He and His father. Yes, well everybody knows that, it's obvious! But Jesus then goes on to tell God He loves His disciples, and by extension you and I, with the same intensity and depth as He loves His father - "as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us." In those last 7 words He asks God to love us likewise so that we're as close to God as He is.

So besotted is Jesus with you and I, that His intention is to marry us -

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. Revelation 21:9-10 NKJV

So you can see the logic behind Jesus's first commandment -

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35 NKJV

Jesus's desire is for a church that is united, it's an integral part of His prayer to His father, God. Quote - for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You. Now Satan's desire is for the Church to split into factions over doctrine, their interpretation of scripture and for each faction to view others as inferior; division and hate are his watchwords. That's not Jesus's way, His desire is that we are one and we love each other as He loves us. That's not to say that we are one homogeneous being all clones of each other all thinking alike, we can be different but we must respect each other, better still, love each other as He loves us.

I believe it saddens Jesus when He reads some of our posts on TJ. Words like vitriol, judgemental, demeaning, superiority jump out of the responses. Often I agree with what's said in a response but what I don't agree with is the manner in which it is written.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could make the Moderators redundant because all in TJ were posting and responding not necessarily in complete harmony, but with true deep love and affection for each other?

What do you get and take from this passage in John 17:20-26 that's relevant to a part of your life? Please share.

 

[complete]

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. John 17:20-23 NKJV


In this passage, Jesus affirms how close is the relationship between He and His father. Yes, well everybody knows that, it's obvious! But Jesus then goes on to tell God He loves His disciples, and by extension you and I, with the same intensity and depth as He loves His father - "as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us." In those last 7 words He asks God to love us likewise so that we're as close to God as He is.

So besotted is Jesus with you and I, that His intention is to marry us -

Hello @Andyindauk,

With respect, how can the members of the Body of Christ, be said to be married to Christ, Who is Himself the Head of the Body?

Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris

 

[Andyindauk]

Hi Chris,

In the Old Testament Israel is described as God's wife Jeremiah 2:2 and Ezekiel 16:8. It was by no means a happy marriage Isaiah 54:5-8. The book of Hosea is about a prophet who was instructed by God to fall in love with and marry a couple of unfaithful prostitutes so he could understand how God hurt when they committed adultery on him. In the end God's marriage ended in divorce Jeremiah 3:6-8. Even after that God still tried to woo His wife back Hosea 2:14.

In the Old Testament Hosea and Isaiah prophesied another wedding Hosea 2:19 and Isaiah 62:4-5. The Song of Solomon doesn't seem to have much meaning until you realise it's about Jesus and His love for His bride. The Shulamite girl is the Church and the Beloved is Jesus. Then Jesus came down from Heaven to Earth and described Himself as the bridegroom Mark 2:18-20. In the Epistles, Paul mentions Hosea's prophecy 2 Corinthians 11:2 and in Ephesians 5:22-32 he gives marriage guidance and relates it closely to the relationship between Jesus and the Church. The passage in Ephesians 5 hopefully answers your question.

The wedding has not yet happened, the bride and the groom are waiting in their respective rooms Joel 2:16. The wedding is yet to happen Revelation 21:9-10. This new Jerusalem is populated by those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life Revelation 21:27.

In the Old Testament the title wife was a euphemism describing God's love, desire and commitment to Israel. I don't get that impression about Jesus's bride. What do you think?

 

[complete]

Hi Chris,

In the Old Testament Israel is described as God's wife Jeremiah 2:2 and Ezekiel 16:8. It was by no means a happy marriage Isaiah 54:5-8. The book of Hosea is about a prophet who was instructed by God to fall in love with and marry a couple of unfaithful prostitutes so he could understand how God hurt when they committed adultery on him. In the end God's marriage ended in divorce Jeremiah 3:6-8. Even after that God still tried to woo His wife back Hosea 2:14.

In the Old Testament Hosea and Isaiah prophesied another wedding Hosea 2:19 and Isaiah 62:4-5. The Song of Solomon doesn't seem to have much meaning until you realise it's about Jesus and His love for His bride. The Shulamite girl is the Church and the Beloved is Jesus. Then Jesus came down from Heaven to Earth and described Himself as the bridegroom Mark 2:18-20. In the Epistles, Paul mentions Hosea's prophecy 2 Corinthians 11:2 and in Ephesians 5:22-32 he gives marriage guidance and relates it closely to the relationship between Jesus and the Church. The passage in Ephesians 5 hopefully answers your question.

The wedding has not yet happened, the bride and the groom are waiting in their respective rooms Joel 2:16. The wedding is yet to happen Revelation 21:9-10. This new Jerusalem is populated by those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life Revelation 21:27.

In the Old Testament the title wife was a euphemism describing God's love, desire and commitment to Israel. I don't get that impression about Jesus's bride. What do you think?

Hello @Andyindauk,

I agree with the content of your response, except in regard to your reference to the Church as the Shulamite girl in the Song of Solomon, and the Bride in Revelation 21. The Church is referred to as the Body of Christ, for Whom Christ is it's Head: and I do not believe that God mixes His metaphors. The Bride is the New Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven to the New Earth, and is composed of those like Abraham, who looked for a city, whose builder and maker is God. The men and women of faith named and described in Hebrews 11, many of whom, like those who are beheaded during the tribulation period for the testimony of Christ, loved not their lives unto death: these comprise the Bride of the Lamb. It is an honour bestowed for services rendered in faith. They will reign with Christ for 1,000 years as a reward for their devotion. It is a calling within a calling, and theirs will be the first resurrection of Revelation 20:5-6. The Church which is the Body of Christ has quite a different expectation.

Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris

 

[Andyindauk]

Hello @Andyindauk,

I agree with the content of your response, except in regard to your reference to the Church as the Shulamite girl in the Song of Solomon, and the Bride in Revelation 21. The Church is referred to as the Body of Christ, for Whom Christ is it's Head: and I do not believe that God mixes His metaphors. The Bride is the New Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven to the New Earth, and is composed of those like Abraham, who looked for a city, whose builder and maker is God. The men and women of faith named and described in Hebrews 11, many of whom, like those who are beheaded during the tribulation period for the testimony of Christ, loved not their lives unto death: these comprise the Bride of the Lamb. It is an honour bestowed for services rendered in faith. They will reign with Christ for 1,000 years as a reward for their devotion. It is a calling within a calling, and theirs will be the first resurrection of Revelation 20:5-6. The Church which is the Body of Christ has quite a different expectation.

Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris

Hi Chris,

Now you've got me intrigued, if the Beloved isn't Jesus and if the Shulamite isn't His betrothed, what is the Song of Solomon about?

Anyway, I think Jesus tells us that Heaven isn't like the Premier League, or for the benefit of our American cousins, the NFL where the star players are right at the top and the less gifted are somewhat lower down the league. I think that Jesus turns that notion on its head in Matthew 18:1-5 and Luke 22:25-30. That said, I don't think that anything's random or even that we're all equal in Heaven, there does seem to be a hierarchy, Matthew 20:20-28 but how you achieve promotion is less clear. Suffering persecution and martyrdom is one, Matthew 5:11-12, Revelation 20:4. Attitudes and demeanour Matthew 5:3-9. Poverty in this life Luke 16:22. Longevity doesn't seem to count for much Matthew 20:1-16. There are of course rewards, Jesus calls it treasure in Heaven and Paul tells us about crowns 1 Corinthians 9:24-25, then there's the issue of Judgement. 2 Corinthians 5:10, Revelation 11:18.

But back to your point that the likes of you and I are not included in the bride of Christ; maybe I've got good news for you. If you read Revelation 21 it's about the bride aka New Jerusalem and look at that last verse: But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Revelation 21:27 NKJV. Note that the wedding is after the 1000 year reign and Satan and his minions have by this time been chucked into the lake of fire.

But let's not forget the OP, our elevated position of being one with Jesus and God, John 17:20-21. We're one but not equal to Jesus, rather as His betrothed, we're the weaker vessel. 1 Peter 3:7.

You've had my grey matter working and doing a bit of research with some help from the Google concordance, thank you Chris. Hope you have a lovely and blessed week ahead.