{"id":24411,"date":"2015-07-01T02:06:21","date_gmt":"2015-07-01T02:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/wp3\/?p=24411"},"modified":"2024-04-21T00:53:51","modified_gmt":"2024-04-21T00:53:51","slug":"who-really-are-we-in-christ-unveiling-the-marvelous-mystery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/wp3\/believe\/who-really-are-we-in-christ-unveiling-the-marvelous-mystery","title":{"rendered":"Who Really Am I In Christ? (Unveiling the Marvelous Mystery)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Such a marvelous mystery… You are my everything, and I will adore You!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

by Steven Gledhill<\/span> for FREEdom from MEdom Project<\/span><\/h5>\n

Under heavy criticism from religious leaders who found him to be a threat to their way of life, Jesus quoted the prophet Asaph when he said, “Isn’t it written that I said you are gods?” What could he possibly mean by that?<\/p>\n

C.S. Lewis is quoted saying,<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship.”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

What could he possibly mean by that?<\/p>\n

Please understand that anything written by me is not to exalt any of us. That is not the point of C.S. Lewis, either. The point is to come into a deeper<\/em> understanding what it fully<\/em> means to be in relationship with God through is Son, Jesus Christ. This is about God’s intention for his creation from the very beginning. It is about who we truly are in relationship with Jesus, as well as his plan for us in eternity with him. This is truly profound!<\/p>\n

When it is written that we have all been made (created) in the image of God, it sounds good, but what really does that mean?<\/p>\n

When the exiled apostle, John, saw Jesus in all his glory on the island of Patmos, he saw him holding stars in his hand, the countenance of his face shining like the sun at full strength, he fell to the ground as dead. Not to worship him… he went down as dead in the presence of such glory, unable to stand in the face of it.<\/p>\n

Apostle Paul wrote, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same<\/em> image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”<\/p>\n

What image is Paul talking about? What does that mean, “the same<\/em> image from glory to glory?” What does glory look like?<\/p>\n

When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, they fell from glory and felt ashamed by their appearance. Made in the image of God, what did they look like just prior to their fall? What did that<\/em> glory look like?<\/p>\n

When the saints ride in with Jesus as the train of his robe full of glory, to reign with him, what does that look like?<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it not written in your law, \u2018I said, \u201cYou are gods\u201d\u2019?<\/em><\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Wait a minute. What did he say?<\/p>\n

That was Jesus quoting something from the Scriptures he had access to more than two thousand years ago. What was he talking about? Was Jesus being sarcastic? Was he simply messing with his critics? Was it a throw-away line that had little or no real<\/em> substance or significance while confronted about some declaration of divinity? What do you think? Who<\/em> was Jesus talking about? What does that even mean?<\/p>\n

Does it have anything to do with you or me?<\/p>\n

No? Are you sure about that?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The psalmist in this case, Asaph, is venting a bit. He lived at a time when the poor and destitute were suffering in poverty, while very clever people were invested in their own gluttony at the expense of the impoverished. It was not unlike what occurs in most civilized cultures today. Asaph questioned God’s sense of justice seeing the wealthy get rich on the backs of the poor.<\/p>\n

Today, drug dealers and white collar criminals get filthy rich, while their customers struggle with the pain and misery of addiction; craving what they do not, and likely will never, have or experience.<\/p>\n

The following are the thoughts of Asaph from the Psalms:<\/p>\n

\n

1\u00a0<\/sup>God presides over heaven\u2019s court;<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>he pronounces judgment on the heavenly beings:<\/span><\/span>
\n 2\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cHow long will you hand down unjust decisions<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>by favoring the wicked?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

3\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cGive justice to the poor and the orphan;<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.<\/span><\/span>
\n 4\u00a0<\/sup>Rescue the poor and helpless;<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>deliver them from the grasp of evil people.<\/span><\/span>
\n 5\u00a0<\/sup>But these oppressors know nothing;<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>they are so ignorant!<\/span><\/span>
\n They wander about in darkness,<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>while the whole world is shaken to the core.<\/span><\/span>
\n 6\u00a0<\/sup>I say, \u2018You are gods;<\/em><\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>you are all children of the Most High.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span>
\n 7\u00a0<\/sup>But you will die like mere mortals<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>and fall like every other ruler.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

8\u00a0<\/sup>Rise up, O God, and judge the earth,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>for all the nations belong to you.<\/span> <\/span>Psalm 82:6 (NLT)<\/span><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Okay. So there is the context of what Jesus quoted from Scripture while being harshly criticized for his claim that he himself is the son of God. Jesus referenced something penned by Asaph.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Like David, Asaph was a musician and a “seer”; a prophet. Asaph was speaking for God. Asaph was angry that people were being oppressed by folks basking in the glory of their fortune at the expense of others’ misfortune. Asaph was crying out for justice for the oppressed, asking God, “How long will you hand down unjust favor for the wicked?”<\/p>\n

Wow! That’s quite a lot to say. It took nerve, wouldn’t you say, to challenge your maker like that? What was Asaph thinking? Was he speaking on our behalf?<\/p>\n

Here is what I believe the Lord said through this prophet. I think he was saying that every single one of us was created in the image of God, with the intention of function and behavior in that image, with those same love-oriented characteristics in the glory of the kind of life God envisions for us.<\/p>\n

However, like Adam eating of the forbidden fruit and falling from glory, the sin of exalting oneself at the expense of God’s glorious intentions for all of creation has led to the most serious and severe consequence: mortality unto death. Like Adam, we have all fallen from glory due to selfish ambition and pride. We all deserve to die for our own sin.<\/p>\n

\n

But once back into favor with God through relationship with Jesus…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

“He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness.”\u00a0<\/em><\/span>—C.S. Lewis<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

God allowed his son to die on a cross as the sinless sacrifice for selfish sin. Jesus, the Son of God, left his position of glory as God to live as a man. Then, die as a man. Once Jesus was exalted to the throne as King, he was restored into glory. In doing so, you and I, when resurrected from our death on earth, we too will be restored into the glory God intended for each on of us.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

All were made to be children one creator. All of God’s children will be held accountable by him who is sovereign, impartial, and fair. There will be no excuse. Those who basked in the glory of the flesh will find it pales miserably compared to the coming glory in relationship with the Father of all life.<\/p>\n

The oppressor will be humbled and brought to justice. The oppressed will be set free and exalted. In the righteousness of almighty God, we who live in the favor of God will be exalted into the glory of our origin makeup prior to the fall.<\/p>\n

Jesus paid the ransom for sin. Anyone embracing relationship with the sacrificed son of God will be made to reign over the oppressive rulers of the earth still clinging to their earthly kingdoms, steeped in their sin and lust for the flesh.<\/p>\n

9\u00a0<\/sup>And they sang a new song with these words:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cYou are worthy to take the scroll<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>and break its seals and open it.<\/span><\/span>
\n For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>from every tribe and language and people and nation.<\/span><\/span>
\n 10\u00a0<\/sup>And you have caused them to become<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>a Kingdom of priests for our God.<\/span><\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>And they will reign on the earth.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

11\u00a0<\/sup>Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders.<\/span> 12\u00a0<\/sup>And they sang in a mighty chorus:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWorthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered\u2014<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>to receive power and riches<\/span><\/span>
\n and wisdom and strength<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>and honor and glory and blessing.\u201d<\/span> <\/span>Revelation 5:9-12 (NLT)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n