Unity in Spirit

 

 

 

 

 

"Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come.   This is how we know it is the last hour.  They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us.  For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.  But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.  I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.  Who is the liar?  It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ.  Such a man is the antichrist- he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.  See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you.  If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father."  I John 2:18-24

God the Father and God the son are so unified in heart,  purpose and character that they are inseparable.  This is true also of the function of God, the Holy Spirit.  People have struggled with the mystery of how the Trinity works.  This verse explains the inseparability of Jesus and the Father.  You cannot deny Jesus and have the Father.  If you receive the Son, you have the Father as well.  And of course, the Holy Spirit convicts of sin and is actively engaged in carrying out the purpose of the Father and Son.  All three are distinct, yet unified to the purpose of being One.  This is one of the divine mysteries, that we will only fully understand in heaven one day when all is revealed to us.

Why am I belaboring the point about the united purpose of Father, Son and Holy Spirit? Because in our ego-centric world, we fail to understand the unity that is contained within the Godhead.  And consequently, we do not perceive the type of unity which should be  demonstrated in the body of Christ (the Church) as well.  Jesus said that his meat was to do the will of the Father.  He never had a competing vision from God.  He received his purpose and satisfaction from carrying out what God desired.

I wish that I could say that this is  always true of me, but sadly I  fail in this area.  There are times that doing the right thing in God's eyes is in contrast to my desires.  I war with crucifying my flesh.  I struggle to lose sight of fighting for my rights, my hopes, my dreams.  My character fails to reach the high level of excellence that the Father demonstrates.  But thank God, when the Father looks at me, he sees my heart above my performance.  He sees my salvation rather than my sin.

We must hold on to the truth that we know.  If  we lift Jesus up, we will please the Father and remain in him.

Dear Lord, remove the mixture from me.  Please remove the competing desires and visions that I have and replace them with your purpose and desires.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Sherri