OUR AFFECTIONS DETERMINE THE AREA OF OUR SEARCH. If we are dead with Christ, then our pursuit will be for Spiritual life and living. For we are dead. Col. 3:3 That new life is constantly longing for and seeking after those things which pertain to, living for and with Christ. The longings, the desires, the deep rooted love, of that person will constantly be directed toward Him. He must be the love of our life. Those who live His life here on this earth are consumed with great aspiration to know Him in His fullness. Col. 3:1-2 The flesh does not die easily. Far too often we make excuses for our failures and short comings. Using such an attitude as a lame excuse to cover the works of the carnal man. When a true commitment is made to Christ, there is a promised resurrection, the coming forth of the life of Christ. A quickening, a life giving performance of the Spirit in us. Not only is the spiritual nature revived but the effect is also felt in the physical body. Please note that He HATH, present tense, quickened us together with Him. This is for the here and now. We know that in the future, after the resurrection, we shall be like Him. However, the blessed workings of the Spirit are for us at this very moment of time. Beyond that, in quickening us, He has made us to be one with Him and has privileged us to NOW, sit with Him in heavenly places. Eph. 2:5-6 We are such spiritual paupers. So comfortable with the knowledge that we have been saved. So satisfied with the ritual of church attendance once or twice a week. Smug in the fact that we have enough religion to make us different from all those poor sinners. There is nothing in life like those moments of time when we have made our way into the SECRET PRESENCE OF THE MOST HIGH. The ecstasy, the gladness, the blessing of His glorious presence exceeds all other joyous occasions which may occur in this life. The thrill of His glorious presence can only be experienced for oneself. There are not enough words in all the languages of the world to express fully the glory of His presence.
A KEY TO HAVING CHRIST WITHIN. Love is a prime factor to the whole of the Gospel of Christ. Without love, nothing works. The proof of love is made known in our love for the Lord. Our love for Him is sealed by our obedience to His Word. The person who has a true love for the Lord Jesus will be greatly loved of His Father. Thus the way is opened for the true and living Lord to come and inhabit the heart and life of that one who loves Jesus. Note the promise of Jesus, it is very emphatic WE (speaking of the Godhead) will come and take up OUR abode with him. We are looking at the longing of the heart of the Lord. From the beginning His desire has been to dwell, to abide in the most intimate way in His people. Not only with them, but taking up His abode within them. Could we but comprehend the yearning and the thrill of His heart toward a people who are absolutely dedicated to Him, we would rededicate and surrender our live anew and afresh to Him. The depths and fullness of that which the Lord will do in His church in the end of the age can only be made known by the revelation of the Spirit and the Word. We settle so quickly in our Christian walk for a meager and beggarly experience, when there are vast vistas of spiritual blessings prepared for us in the Lord. John 14:23