By: Tripp Campbell
(repost)
Since the Church was birthed on Pentecost, many have only embraced a Historical Jesus versus The Indwelling presence of the "Anointed One." In-"Christ" (Christos-Anointed One)
Interestingly enough, The Disciples were first called "Christians" in Antioch............................Why?
It is well known that Saul, who was later to be called Paul, spent (14) fourteen years in Tarsus developing his trade as a (tentmaker). Moreover, as Saul was growing in a practical sense, he also was being given/ministered to, by the Holy Spirit a far deeper Revelation, which would ultimately change the World.
You may ask, well, what was this great "Revelation"? Listen to Paul's own words inspired by God in His Epistle to the Church of Ephesus.
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles-- if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. (Eph. 3:1-12) nasb
Again, what is this mystery?
I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in me/you, the hope of glory. (Col.1:25-27)nasb
Now, Saul/Paul, after (14) fourteen years, was hunted by Barnabas and brought from Tarsus to Antioch. And it was here, that a large number of people assembled over the course of a year, and Paul ministered this New found Mystery, which had now been revealed which is Christ In Me,the hope of Glory..............................and in Antioch the Disciples were first called "Christians" (Christ- In- Ones).
(It is my prayer, that "all" will begin to embrace,the Reality of Christ-In me, versus the Historical Jesus of the past, and the word "Christians" will be known,as it was known in Antioch... Amen)
Thursday, February 09, 2006
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I'll second that prayer Tripp.
ReplyDeleteSteve
Tripp, that is awesome. I often pray that when people see me they see Jesus, that when they hear me they hear Jesus, and whatever I do shows Jesus in my actions. I first read a prayer similar to this in a series by Stephen R. Lawhead called the Pendragon Cycle. It was prayed over Arthur and others while they were being coronated.
ReplyDeleteI think that WWJD is a simple, yet appropriate, question of any decision we face. I think if more christians realized "Jesus is in me!" we'd have a lot more focused work and energy towards spreading the gospel and less bickering and personal attacks on blogs, in churches, and in life.
Thanks for the insight.