Enjoying the Oneness of Christ With God
John 10:25-30 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one."
The oneness that Christ has with the Father demonstrates to the believer what type of relationship they too can have with the Father, as they boast in the truth that the Son is one with the Father.
Jesus Christ bears witness to God in His person, will, and work. This means for the believer that what Christ accomplished on earth and is doing today in the heavens is the same will which God agrees with and has providentially willed throughout eternity. This is exactly what Christ said in John 14:10-11, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.†Christ claims to have done the work and will of His Father perfectly, and that nothing He had done was done without full acceptance and in full agreement with the Father. Passages, such as Hebrews 1:3, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power†and Colossians 1:15, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,†are filled with the truth that Jesus Christ is not only the radiance and imprint of His Father, but the same image that His Father is - the fullness of deity.
Although Christ came in human form, He was still one with God’s will, plan and work in redeeming those He came to save. Christ, before all times and while on earth, was in tune always with His Father, knowing what He willed and planned for His destiny upon the cross. Even in fully human form Christ was yet fully divine and was one with God. This is best described in Hebrews, where it reads, “He is the radiance of the glory of God.†Jesus Christ is the exact radiance of what God the Father is like. How is this teaching of any importance for the believer? The believer serves a Christ that is one with the Father. Jesus Christ - the God-man - paid death upon a cross for sinners. This is something to boast in – that the believer can serve Jesus Christ, who is one with the Father, and that there is no other religion that can claim this. Jesus Christ’s literal death upon that cross was God dying in the flesh for His creation so that it may be lifted high and exalted for the glory of God. This is accomplished when the believer sees that this oneness Christ had with God is something that they too can enjoy when serving Christ. In Christ, whom the believer boasts in and finds their pleasure in, is the truth that they become one with Christ, one with God - and there it lies. The believer here needs to see this oneness that Christ has - and had here on earth - and find bliss in that Christ has always been one, and will always be one, with His father God, for eternity. The believer doesn’t boast in a Father and Son who may disagree at times or argue like mere humans. This oneness that Christ has is not like anything the believer can ever imagine, even when compared to the likes of marriage or of an earthly father, mother or child. For this is one thing that the believer can only dream about having until the day of consummation; and can boast that they serve a Christ who is accordingly one with His Father, God, in all things and at all times.
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