My twin brother Ed (Edward) is retiring this month after 20 years of Missionary work, and 35+ years of Ministry. I'm very proud in a human way of having him to be not only my brother but a friend. We fought and played with each other as kids growing up; and after I came to Christ he went into the military for a number of years. Yet at some point we talked about the Gospel and he came to know Christ as his Savior. That began almost 40 years ago. Now after 35 years of serving Christ in ministry he is going to retire, but knowing Ed that just means he'll stop receiving a salary for what he does.
He often writes papers on important subjects related to theology and Bible. He just completed his most recent one and I decided to reproduce it here...not because I don't want to write this week, but because I want to honor him. I hope you enjoy it:
by Edward Pollasch
He often writes papers on important subjects related to theology and Bible. He just completed his most recent one and I decided to reproduce it here...not because I don't want to write this week, but because I want to honor him. I hope you enjoy it:
Christ in You, the Hope of Glory!
I went through “confirmation” in
the Lutheran Church as a young teenager.
After the confirmation service, I can remember clearly thinking – “If I
die now, would I go to heaven?” I
thought I needed to have communion just
before my death so I could know for certain I would go to heaven. Oh, the
unstable thoughts of a teenager. Yet, I
find many professing Christians unsure of their eternal state.
I have a friend who wrestles
with the question of where she will end up after death. She has heard the gospel and understands well
what Jesus has done for her. She is not
antagonistic toward the gospel message.
Yet, she lacks assurance.
The Word of God tells us we can
know for certain we are a child of God and have inherited eternal life. It’s not a formula, but a person – the living
Jesus Christ in us! Look at what
Scripture tells us.
“You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the
Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in
you. And if anyone does not have the
Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
But if Christ is in you, your
body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.” Romans 8:9-10
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ, for He chose us in him before the creation of the
world… in love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus
Christ… In him we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins…and you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation.
Having believed, you were marked in
him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing
our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the
praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:3, 4, 7, 11, 13-14
“…Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27
There is probably no greater,
precious truth found in Scripture for believers in Jesus Christ than what is
revealed to us by this small, seemingly insignificant word “in”.
If one talks about ‘being saved’, it must mean we have the assurance
of Christ in us through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
As the Romans 8 passage above
tells us, the presence of Christ in the believer is referred to as the Spirit
of God, the Spirit of Christ, and Christ.
All of these terms refer to the promised Holy Spirit that Jesus said
would be sent to those who believe in Him.
It is His presence in us that enables us to say ‘no’ to Sin, Satan, and
Self, and ‘yes’ to Jesus.
Let’s take a look at some of the
metaphors Scripture uses to describe Jesus and how they play out in our lives
because of His presence in us.
Psalm 23:1-3; John 10:11, 14; 6:35
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He
leads me besides still waters; He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness
for His name sake.”
“I am the good shepherd. The
good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep… I am the good shepherd; I know
my sheep and my sheep know me…”
“Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and
he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”
Jesus is the Shepherd who watches over us and
protects us. David’s psalm pictures for
us green pastures or lush fields to eat from and still waters or places of
secure rest. Jesus tells us this is true
of his children. He cares deeply for His
children, not at a distance, but near in our hearts. He protects us and provides for us as we go
through life. The child of God is not
dealing with an absentee Father but the reality of Jesus’ unseen presence in
us.
Proverbs 3:5-6; John 8:12; Revelation 21:23
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own
understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.
“When Jesus spoke again to the
people, he said, I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light
of life.”
“And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory
of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.”
Jesus is the one who guides us
through life as we live by faith in Him.
True faith demands unconditional and unwavering obedience. He promises to guide us along life’s journey
with His unseen presence walking along the way with us. He does not abandon us during difficult times
or dark days of life but rather His presence gives us light to see and know His
will. The Hebrew word translated ‘acknowledge’
in Proverbs 3:6 implies recognizing the presence of the One standing next to
me. Jesus promised to send us the Holy
Spirit who He referred to as the Paraclete,
that is, defense attorney who stands next to us as a defender of the
faithful ones.
John 14:1-6; Hebrews 2:10
“Jesus answered, I am the way, the truth, and the life—no one comes to
the Father except through me.”
“In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and
through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation
perfect through suffering.”
Jesus is the way back to the Father in heaven. Sometimes we get lost and wish we had someone
with us who knows the way to where we need to go. Jesus not only knows the way, He is the
way. The word ‘author’ in the passage
refers to a pathfinder or one who
makes the way. Jesus is not only
journeying with us, but He is bringing us home to where His Father is by making
the path for us to follow.
John 11:25-26; 1 John 5:11-12
“Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though
he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“And this is the testimony: God
has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not
have the Son of God does not have life.”
These are two of the most
pointed, definitive passages in Scripture as to the significance of Jesus’
presence in us and the assurance of the believer’s salvation in Him.
Genuine Christians are in Christ
and Christ is in the Believer. The
eternal life we possess is not
inherent in us, but it is in Jesus.
According to Jesus’ words, we have life because of Him. We do not possess eternal life apart from Him
for only Jesus, the Son of God possesses eternal life. We have life because we are in him and he in
us. Thus, the assurance of eternal life
and the inheritance awaiting us is grounded in Jesus and His presence in us, not
in us apart from Him. If we have eternal
life, it is because Jesus has us.
Titus 2:11-13; 3:4-7; Ephesians 2:8-9
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all
men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to
ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and
godly lives in this present age…”
“For by grace you have been saved through faith—and this not of
yourselves, it is a gift of God—not of works, so that no one can boast.”
The thought many have is “surely
I must do something to secure my salvation?” This “grace” spoken of is not a ‘thing’ but the person of Jesus
Christ. We are saved through grace by faith because our faith or trust is in
Jesus as our Savior and he is the one who embodies grace and brings it to us
when He comes to live in us. If we have
Jesus in us, then we are in Him, and nothing more can be done to secure this
salvation. The reason why grace has the power to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and
worldly passions is because of the Spirit’s presence in us who is more powerful
than the sin nature in us, thus enabling us to live a life as overcomers.
Isaiah 26:3, 4; Ephesians 2:14; Philippians
4:6, 7; Colossians 3:15; 2 Thessalonians 3:16
“You keep him in perfect peace who mind is stayed on You, because he
trusts in You. Trust in the Lord
forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”
“For He Himself is our peace…”
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…”
“Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in
every way.”
We long for peace in so many
different ways, and it is available to believers because of Christ’ presence
for He is our peace. Jesus told his
disciples while in the Upper Room just before his death, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”[1]
It is his peace we have as believers in Christ. When we are anxious or troubled, we simply
need to ask Jesus to help us appropriate the peace He already has in us because
of His presence in us. Isaiah reminds us
we find peace when we trust His abiding presence in us for there simply is no
one else who can give us this peace—certainly no one in this world no matter
what someone would promise us.
Colossians 2:16, 17; Hebrews 4:9, 8:5,
9:14; Romans 3:25; Revelation 21:22
“Therefore, do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or
with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath
day. These are a shadow of the things
that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
“There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God…”
“They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in
heaven…”
“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts
that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God?
“God presented him (Jesus) as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith
in his blood…”
“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the
Almighty and the Lamb.”
There are two realms of
reality—one we live in, the physical realm, and one we see dimly, the spiritual
realm. Scripture tells us the spiritual
realm is more real than the physical for the seen world is often a copy or
shadow of what is truly real. Jesus is
the greatest reality in the universe and he has both feet in each realm—physical
and spiritual. He is our Sabbath rest,
not Saturday or Sunday, but Jesus. He is
our propitiation or atoning
sacrifice, not our so-called goodness or good deeds in trying to earn
forgiveness. He is our sanctuary, not a
Jewish synagogue or Christian church building.
He is our sacrifice – there is nothing we can do to appease God for
Jesus has done all that is necessary. We
find this greater reality in Christ and no other place or person.
The results to believers who are
in Christ is we are watched over and protected, guided through this life
journey, and ultimately delivered home to our Heavenly Father. In this present life, His presence in us
enables us to fight sin’s presence in us and the world’s influences against
us. As seen in Colossians 3:2-4, due to
His presence, the Old Nature in us is being destroyed while the New Nature is
coming alive.
Is it really important that we
have the confidence and assurance that we are indeed in Christ? The Apostle John felt it was for his first
epistle (1 John) was written to help the confessing church know they can have the assurance of eternal life. And, so did the writer of Hebrews!
Jesus is the One alone who saves. Many people base their salvation on ‘things’ yet
have no assurance He lives in them. It
doesn’t need to be this way.
Are you in Christ and Christ in you? God’s Word tells us, “For everyone who calls upon
the Lord will be saved.” If you are uncertain, simply ‘call’ out to Him (He has
no problem hearing you). Ask Him to come
and save you. Only His presence in us
provides assurance of salvation we long for.
‘Sola Christus’ –
Christ Alone – our Lord, Savior, and King!
See Acts 2:36-39; Romans
10:13; 2 Corinthians 5:20 – 6:2
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