John 5:18 For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
The Jews understood exactly what Jesus was saying. His Father is God, and He is equal with God. But they didn’t believe it. It angered them and fueled their murderous hearts. It was bad enough that He broke the Sabbath, but it was blasphemous to make Himself equal with God. Jesus knew who He is. He is God. Jesus is the only human being of which this is true in the history of the world. He is like no other. The writer of Hebrews described Jesus as “the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature.”
However, we are not to think that Jesus is the Father. He is God’s only-begotten, or unique, son, as John recorded in John 3:16. Jesus said in Matthew 11:27, “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” This shows clearly that the Father and Son are both God, and yet they are separate beings, working together.
For our encouragement today, let’s connect some dots, so to speak. Jesus is God, and God is love. Because we have all of God dwelling in us, we have the fullness of God from which His love flows. Living to love with Jesus is how I describe those who have the God of love dwelling inside them. Through the new birth by the Holy Spirit, the presence of Jesus Christ comes to abide in those who love Jesus. Because they love Jesus, the Father also abides in them. Jesus promised this in His last words to His disciples before going to His Father by way of the cross. John 14:23. “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.”
Why do the Father, Son, and Spirit live within us? To glorify God by revealing His presence and power as we live to love with Him. We reveal that Jesus lives and that He is both Lord and Christ. What a privilege it is to be His ambassadors of love, His representatives on the earth. May God fill us with His grace today as we walk with Him, abiding in Him, and He in us.
I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of "giving it forward," so others may receive encouragement to turn their hearts to God and to live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.
