My purpose for this series of studies entitled “My Organic Spiritual Life” is to demonstrate that God has provided the opportunity for every believer in Christ to grow spiritually through the Holy Spirit. The Father has given us the ability to communicate with him on any subject at any time in any circumstance. As it is the aim of every parent for their child to grow strong and become mature, the Father desires the same for us. This series is designed to help believers grow strong and come to maturity in Christ.
In the last episode, we talked about the “Good News Announcement”, and how the Spirit of Christ influences and inspires believers to understand and see who the Father and Son are through the Gospel.
From the Good News that Jesus gave us from Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1-2), he brought sight to the blind, freedom to the captives and forgiveness to the crushed. The Good News from Peter is we were given the realization that God brings salvation to everyone, regardless of ethnicity. Paul’s Good News is that the church exists in the world as the body of Christ. And then John announced that God is light and there is no darkness in God at all.
The reason I’m bringing all these messages up is to show the variations and evaluations of the Gospel through time and culture. Humanity moves from darkness to light, and separation from God to fellowship with God through Jesus Christ. John said we either have “fellowship” with the light or the darkness. There is no fence-sitting. And Paul agreed with John’s view of fellowship with God (1 Corinthians 1:9).
We are called by God into fellowship, or to be at one with his Son, and our Lord, Jesus Christ. This is an invitation, not a warning. But if God is inviting us in, why would we refuse? If we’re not in the light, then we’re in the dark.
What is the meaning of friend today? What does partner mean? Everything today has grey areas. For instance, if you spoke with anyone who is a member of a religion or even a political party and asked if they agreed with everything their religion or party promotes, the answer would either be no, or they don’t know everything their religion or party promotes. How can they have fellowship with or be at one with something they don’t completely know or understand? (Amos 3:3)
Have you met God? Do you know him? Here’s an introduction to God; God is light, 1 John 1:5. This is just one aspect of God. An important aspect to be sure, but there is still a lot more to know about God. To have fellowship with God is to agree with God’s light.
In Exodus 33 God met with Moses face to face and spoke with him as someone speaks to a friend Exodus 33:11. Moses and God were having fellowship. But Moses wants to know God better (Exodus 33:13). Moses and God have met, but Moses is aware he doesn’t know who God is. How does Moses know this? He knows it because he doesn’t understand all the ways of God. He said “show me your way” so that I can know you. The Hebrew word for way means the essence of God’s motives and purpose. What moves God to do what he does?
A person has a certain way about them. Their way explains why they do what they do. To the Jews, the “Way” of God was his “Glory” which was seen in his “Presence” also known as the “Face” of God. Difficult concepts, I know, but let me try to explain this better.
What is the “Way” of a mother? What is her motivation to sacrifice anything and everything for the betterment of her child? It’s her “Glory” as a mother. It’s her “Presence” in the family, it’s who she is. When you look at her, you see the “Face” of a mother.
This is the exact understanding of Moses about God when in Exodus 33:18 he asked for God to show him his Glory. He wants to see the essence of who and what God is and why he does what he does. In response to Moses, God decided to give him what he asked for in Exodus 33:19-23.
The light of God, meaning the Presence of God’s motives and purpose, is so overwhelming that humanity cannot comprehend its fullness. Our flesh cannot contain even the smallest particle of God’s Presence or Wisdom. Which is what Paul told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 1:24-25. The greatness of God is so vast, his wisdom is so advanced, and his power is so overwhelming that at our most superior extremes of power, wisdom, and strength, we are still light years below the most basic levels of God’s simplest abilities.
For this reason, God sent his Son in the form of a human, so we could know his Way, his Presence, his Glory, and his face, as seen in Jesus (John 14:8-11). Jesus and the Father were in “fellowship”. Jesus was “One” with the “Presence” of the Father.
We can see in Deuteronomy 32:4 what being in “fellowship” or “One” with the “Presence” of the light actually requires from us. It requires that we trust that God is perfect, just, reliable, fair, and upright. But you say, “This world isn’t perfect. God made this world and it’s filled with injustice, cruelty, heartbreak, despair, and death.”
Solomon dealt with this view of the world in Ecclesiastes 9:11-12. The world may not be perfect from our perspective. Timing and unforeseen events overtake us in life. But that is where our free will comes in. God created this world for us, and his creation included mankind having the free will to create our own “Way”. Bad timing, and unfortunate circumstances, happen to everybody. When it does, we all have choices to make that determine our future, both in this life and in our next life. We have the opportunity to make this world better or worse through what we do.
If the world is unjust, then it is up to us to bring justice to the world. If the world is hateful, then we need to bring love to the world. If diseases are devasting, then we need to find a cure. If unfortunate events are heartbreaking, then we need to provide healing to broken hearts. We need to stop blaming God and take responsibility for the world we created.
We must trust to have fellowship or we are one with God. We also need to be aware that God has a higher outcome for us than life in this world. This life is our preparation for something greater, and God gives us the opportunity for perfection in the life to come which the writer of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews.
In Hebrews 11:32-35 those mentioned affected the world greatly with God in their life. But there were others who were also affected greatly by God in their life but they didn’t receive the same outcome (Hebrews 11:35-40). It comes down to faith in God and trusting that God’s Presence, and his light, will bring about a perfect life in eternity where our “good reports” precede us through our fellowship in Christ. This is what Jesus told his disciples and everyone who believes in him in Matthew 19:28-30.
God is light, and in him, there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). There is no darkness in God. God is just, holy, loving, merciful, faithful, all-powerful, and all-knowing. Do you know this about God? Do you trust this about God? Can two walk together without having met? Without faith, it is impossible to meet God, and if you don’t meet God, you can never know his “Way” (Hebrews 11:6).
The first step in any relationship is knowing the “Way” of the other person. How do you know if you can trust someone if you don’t know who and what they are? So it is with God and Christ. I hope that through this episode I’ve been able to shine some light on the following four takeaways;
- To be One in fellowship with Christ is to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and he is the image of the light of the Father.
- To be One in fellowship with Christ is to acknowledge the forgiveness of your sins through the sacrifice of Christ.
- To be One in fellowship with Christ is to have faith and trust that God will bring with him, in the light, all who overcame the darkness of this world as their testimony.
- To be One in the fellowship with Christ is to know everything in this life was forethought by God and a Way is prepared for all who believe to reside in the light of God’s Presence and Glory forever.
May God richly bless your spirit with these words.
