“WHERE I AM THERE YOU BE ALSO “
John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that WHERE I AM THERE YOU BE ALSO.
When God spoke through Moses to the children of Israel during the course of His redemptive work, He said,
“ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on EAGLE’S WINGS and BROUGHT (receive) YOU TO MYSELF” Exodus 19:4, KJV.
Now, we know that God was not physically dwelling in the desert (Mt Sinai) where the children of Israel entered into. He only revealed Himself to the ones
He has called out of Egypt on the third Month, yet He said:
“He brought the Children of Israel to Himself”.
Please, note that in this context, God is a person and not a geographical location beyond the sky. Being brought to God therefore, is the initiation of a relationship that can only be perfected by God alone.
The “Bringing out” was from Egypt-,the realm of slavery and sin, it was to enable the Children of Israel serve God.
WHERE IS HE?
“And if I go and prepare for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also” John. 14:3.
So where was Jesus when he made this promise to the disciples? Remember he made this promise to them when he was still alive and in the upper roomn at the Passover, but stated that he was somewhere.
Also note that; He “…came forth from the father and am come into the world; again, I leave the world, and go to the father;” (John 16:28; also see 13:3).
So where was He at the moment of His promise?
Obviously, He was in relationship with the Father. And this relationship was not one of a physical proximity (location-based) as He was also on earth at that moment when He made the promise.
The answer to Phillip’s question to Jesus will give us the answer to the above question (John 14:8-11):
“Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
10 Believest thou not that I AM IN THE FATHER, and the FATHER IN ME? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the FATHERTHAT DWELLETH IN ME, he doeth the works”.
So Jesus told us where He was , ‘IN THE FATHER’., who is spirit (John 4:24).
Note that “FATHER” is a title and not a name. It means the source or originator of certain actions or behavior as we can see in John 8:44,
When Jesus spoke to the Pharisees:
“…ye are of your Father the devil…” but we know that the devil is not a physical human being but a spirit which worketh in man’s heart of men.(Eph 2:2).
So, Father speaks to us of a Universal Spirit from which all things originate and have their existence (Romans 11:36, Acts 17:27-28).
Therefore, from the statement of Jesus, Christ was only declaring His oneness with the Father.
Consequently, Christ in the Father and the Father in Him (Christ) speaks of their ONENESS in purpose, thoughts and actions as clearly seen in John. 1:1
“In the beginning was the Word (Christ) and the Word was with God and the word was God Himself” AMP. (See Rev. 19:13, 16, Isaiah 9:6).
The Greek word for “WORD” here is “LOGOS” and it means:
(1) A thought or concept.
(2) The expression or utterance of that thought.
(3) In Him are embodied all the treasures of the divine wisdom, the collective “thought” of God (See 1 Cor.1:24; Eph. 3:11; Col.2:2) existing from eternity.
From the above, we can see that the word “LOGOS” is an appropriate title for Christ. Number 3 follows from numbers 1 and 2.
Christ therefore, is the thought and wisdom, the very person of God and He is in the flesh, a man called Jesus.
“He is the sole expression of the glory of God -the light – being, the out-raying of the divine – and He is the perfect imprint and very image of (God) nature…” Heb. 1: 3. Amp.
His Image here means “the invisible” God manifested in the flesh. He was the only one that revealed the Father to be seen physically. (John.1:18, 1 Tim 3:16).Christ.
Being in the “Father’s bosom means that Christ is nearest to the Father’s heart”.
So, we see that Christ is not just IN the Father but in a position where He could reveal the Father.
SO WHERE ARE WE NOW?
“Father I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me WHERE I AM.
That they may behold my GLORY, which thou hast given me…”John 17:24.
For us to behold His glory, we must be where He is, so where are we?
“And we know what CHRIST, God’s Son. Has come to help us understand and find the true God. And NOW WE ARE IN GOD because WE ARE IN JESUS CHRIST HIS SON, who is the only true God; and He is eternal life.” 1 John 5:20 TLB. (See 1 Thes. 1:1).
Did you see that? Now we are IN GOD (because we are IN JESUS CHRIST HIS SON who is also IN the Father)
“Whereunto He called you by our Gospel to the obtaining of the Glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thes. 2:14) for “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His son Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor. 1:9) “…unto eternal glory…” (1 Peter 5:10).
Therefore:”…walk worthy of God who hath called you unto His kingdom and Glory (1 Thes. 2:12) because “…you have everything when you have Christ and you are filled with God through your union with Christ. He is the highest Ruler, with authority over every other power” (Col. 2:10 TLB) and we are now seated together with Christ in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6).
My friend, that is where you are today. Look at this;
“17 Therefore if any man be IN CHRIST, he is a new creature….18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that GOD WAS IN CHRIST, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (2Cor.5:17-19)..
Did you see anything there?
You are IN CHRIST, GOD WAS IN CHRIST, and YOU IN GOD (1 John5:20).CHRIST was IN THE FATHER.(John.14:)
Therefore His Promise to the disciples and Prayer to the Father have been answered. See it.
“Neither pray I for these alone, (His disciples) but for them (you and I) also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That THEY ALL MAY BE ONE; as thou, FATHER, ART IN ME, and I IN THEE, that THEY also may be ONE IN US: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John.17: 20-21)
Did you see it?
We are where He is, IN THE FATHER, in fact we are all one in the same place. Hence we read;
“For in him (The Father) we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring” (Acts.17:28).
And all these took place right from the Day of Pentecost.
Your belief on this fact will deliver you from all fears and you will obtain your inheritance in Christ Jesus as we behold the Father’s Glory, where He is.
Friends, Jesus never promised to come, take you anywhere but to unite Himself with you that you might become a revealer of the Father here on earth as He was in His Earthly Ministry. It was not rapture.
Acts 1: 11 “…which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven”.
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To be continued.