Matt Chandler spoke about Augustine’s concept of “with-ness” yesterday. The Christian landscape it littered with Christians who have Christ in them, but they are not with Christ. I have been pondering GRACE and all that it means, and somehow I keep coming back to grace as being God’s unmerited favor, Christ paying for God’s richness to be lavished upon us. And while salvation means eternal life, the only definition Jesus ever gave for eternal life is John 17:3.
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
Chandler preached from one of my favorite passages of 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, a foundational Scripture to memorize, meditate on, and incorporated into daily, even moment-by-moment practice.
If we can realize the reality and actualize the actuality that Christ is Immanuel, God with Us, and if we can truly understand that reconciliation is that God went to GREAT LENGTHS just to get us to be WITH HIM, we would revolutionize our view of Christianity.
God loves us and actually likes us. He wants to be with us. He promised us He would never leave us or forsake us, but sin separates us from His Holiness, so God even came up with a plan to bring us together. He created man to have fellowship with Himself.
“We are reconciled,” Chandler said, “not just so we can go and reconcile others with God.” No, God wants us to walk with Him and talk with Him and if we truly listen, He will tell us we are His own.
Someone said that the song “In the Garden” was fluffy song without theological soundness. It was a mile wide and an inch deep. They unfortunately or apparently did not understand how wonderful it is to be with God and talk with Him and more importantly for Him to talk with me. ME! A dirty rotten sinner who was declared right with God and bestowed undeservedly the righteousness of Christ.
I am not there, but God says that I am because He is not limited to time or space. While Satan tries to tell me who I was, God is saying I am right now who I am going to be ... by His grace. That’s why my life is hidden with Christ in God and I am seated in the heavenly places (Colossians 3:1-3).
I am with God with absolutely no reference to my sin.
Sin = separation.
Withness = reconciliation!
“We are a new creation so that we can be with Christ. We are ambassadors to the world because we are with Christ. We are witnesses because we have a with-ness in Christ.”
God’s Grace is not for a score card so we can prove ourselves worthy. Eternal life is not to know about God or Christ but to know Him.
Can I get a with-ness?
