God Loves Us As Much As God Loves Jesus

September 22, 2016

God Loves Us As Much As God Loves Jesus

“I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”

John  17:23

The seven concluding verses of Jesus’ prayer (John   17: 20-26) reveal the heart of Jesus for you:  “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message” (John 17:20).  You and I, the disciples of Jesus in 2016, are included in Jesus’ prayer to God two thousand years ago!

Jesus asked God to include us in the unity of the Trinity. Just as there is complete harmony and unity in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, Jesus prayed that his disciples will have this very same unity. Through our sacred relationship with the Trinity and with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we offer a compelling witness to the world: “And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me” (John 17:21b).

Jesus then tells us how this is possible: “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one” (John 17:22). By the gift of God’s prevenient, justifying and sanctifying grace, Jesus is in the heart of the disciples. Since God is in Jesus, we experience such perfect unity that the world will know that God sent Jesus, and that God loves us as much as God loves Jesus. (John 17:23)

Whatever is next on your agenda for today can wait. Take as much time as you need and let the truth of this passage completely envelop you. God, the Father Almighty, loves you with the very same love He has for His son, Christ Jesus.

Jesus has given you the same glory God gave to him! The glory of God is the revelation of God’s essence and is revealed through the presence of God. The ultimate expression of God’s glory is the presence of God in the life, death and resurrection of our Lord, Christ Jesus. Jesus has given the presence of God within him to you!

When we open our lives to receive this love from God, and this glory from Jesus, we experience such perfect unity with the Trinity and with our brothers and sisters in Christ that the world will know “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.