Lord Jesus, gladly do our lips express

Amen

JOHN’S EMPHASIS ON LIFE

“We know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding that we might know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20).

This verse is the conclusion to 1 John. It is a strong declaration that Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God and who has come, is the true God and eternal life. At the beginning of this Epistle we are told that the One who was with the Father in eternity and was manifested in time, and who was seen and handled by the apostles, is the Word of life who has been reported to us as eternal life. Then, at the end of the Epistle, we have this verse quoted above, which tells us that the very One who has come to us and in whom we are is the true God and eternal life.

What a bold word is this! Though Paul wrote fourteen letters in all, and though he told us that Christ is our life, he was not as emphatic as John here in declaring that this very person is life to us.

There is a strong emphasis in the New Testament that God’s intention is to give Christ, His Son, to us as life. When we believed in Him, we received Him not only as our Redeemer and Savior but even the more as our life. I keep repeating this because, even though the New Testament stresses it, it is almost unheard of in Christian circles.

What Christianity emphasizes to those who are saved is the improvement of their behavior. They are told that since they are saved and are children of God, they need to behave in a way that will glorify God. The apostle John, however, in his mending ministry stresses life. “We report to you... life. ” This is the thought with which he opens 1 John.

The same emphasis is found in the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word,... and the Word was God... In Him was life” (1:1 , 4). In 10:10 the Lord Jesus declared, “I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly. ” In 14:6 He said, “I am... the life. ” In 11:25 He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. ” John writes boldly, telling us that Jesus Christ the Son of God is life to us.

THE INDWELLING CHRIST

Some may think that we make Christ too low when we say that He is in us. Christ, they say, has been highly exalted by the Father. He is seated on the throne far above all. How could we demean Him by saying that He dwells in us pathetic, low human beings? They may want to keep Christ in His exaltation, but Christ would respond, “Yes, I am far above all, but I am omnipresent. I am indeed in the heavens, exalted to the throne. But don’t keep Me up here. I want to leave the mountaintop and go down to the valley to be with My people. I like being in them. I am in them. Whatever they are doing, wherever they go, I like being in them. ”

To teach that Christ does not indwell His people indicates that some Bible verses are being ignored. At the end of Matthew, before the ascension, the Lord Jesus told His disciples to go and disciple all the nations, adding, “Behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age” (28:19-20). He did not say that He would be with them or that He had been with them. No. He said, “I am with you. ” Go with Me, because I am with you! The Lord is still on earth today. He is within us.

Those who reject the indwelling Christ claim that Christ is too great to be contained in small, puny man. Such logic must be condemned. The Bible clearly gives us the Lord’s words, “Abide in Me and I in you” (John 15:4). It also says, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). Yes, He is great. No one is greater. Yet He is small enough for us to contain Him. Hallelujah! We can contain the great Christ. He is unlimited, yet He is within us. He is our life.

GOD’S DESIRE THAT WE LIVE CHRIST

Dear saints, be deeply impressed that Jesus Christ is your life. God does not want you to improve your behavior; He wants you to live Christ. He does not want you to begin loving your wife and no longer hate her; He wants you to live Christ. As you live Him, you will love others. Whatever you are doing, God wants you to live Christ. Paul says, “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20) and, “To me, to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). To me, to live is not love. It is not humility. It is not frankness or kindness. To me to live is Christ. Christ is our life; He must become our living.

We need to pray in a definite way. “Lord, I want to live You. Keep me in Your Spirit so that I never forget that You are my life. When I am about to lose my temper, remind me that You are my life. When I am about to love someone, remind me that You are my life. When I am about to act in a humble way, remind me that You are my life. When I smile, remind me that You are my life. ”

This must be our prayer not just once but over and over again. Before we begin our day, we should tell the Lord, “Remind me during the whole day that You are my life. In dealing with my children or in dealing with my parents, I want to take You as my life. I know You do not want me to try to improve my behavior. Your desire is to have Yourself lived out of me. Keep this before me all day long whatever I am doing. O Lord, remind me that You are my life. ”

The Mending Ministry of John
Chapter 7 The Fellowship of Life
CWWL, 1980, vol. 2 (LSM)

In the past, in our corrupted union with the enemy of God, “Snake venom dripped from our lips” (Rom. 3:13, NLT). Now in union and fellowship with the Beloved Christ, He can declare, “Your lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb” (S. of S. 4:11). “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer” (Psa. 19:14). “Lord Jesus, gladly do our lips express

our heart’s deep sense of all Thy worthiness”!