◄ ►

Inexhaustible Resources

I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the One who is the stairway between heaven and earth. (John 1:51 NLT)

We have seen Christ as the true spiritual fulfillment of Jacob's ladder, which was set up on the earth, and the top of which reached into heaven. Of this the Lord later said to Nathanael: "Hereafter thou shalt see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." Now if the Lord Jesus is the same, in effect, as the ladder of Jacob, then He is both in heaven and on earth. He is on earth, and He is at the same time in heaven. In Him heaven and earth are united, brought together, and whilst He is here on this earth for purposes of expression and action, He is also in heaven. The point is that His Life, and all His resources, were drawn from above. He was in touch with inexhaustible resources, and resources which could never die, because they were not of this earth, and could never be subject to the touch of corruption which is characteristic of everything on this earth....

So then, to gather that up in one word, it means that for our lives and for our service, our ministry, our heavenly vocation, there are, in union with Christ, resources at our disposal which are heavenly, inexhaustible, and incorruptible. This is the great secret of strength. We have seen something of what those resources are, and of how they operate; of their value for spirit, soul, and body; mind, heart, and will. Not on our own charges are we commissioned of the Lord, but He Who commissions places His own resources behind His commissioned and His commission.

Everything that can endure fire, you shall put through the fire, and it shall be clean.

The Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. § He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness. § Each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.

I will turn My hand against you, and thoroughly purge away your dross, and take away all your alloy. § I will refine them and try them.

You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined … We went through fire and through water; but You brought us out to rich fulfillment.

When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.

Num. 31:23;  Deut. 13:3;  Mal. 3:3;  1 Cor. 3:13;  Isa. 1:25;  Jer. 9:7;  Ps. 66:10,12;  Isa. 43:2

We, having died to sins, might live for righteousness.

Put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and … put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

You died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. § As Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life … Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  For he who has died has been freed from sin … Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts … But present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

1 Peter 2:24;  Eph. 4:22;  Eph. 4:23  Eph. 4:24;  Col. 3:3;  Rom. 6:4,  Rom. 6,7,  Rom. 11,13

Our One Object

The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given unto us" (Rom. 5:5).

Acknowledging our insufficiency and appropriating His all-sufficiency are the basic building blocks for our growth in the "not I but Christ" life.

"There is no child of God that has set his face to go through with Him, who has not grieved over the weakness of his love for the Lord Jesus. Our hearts have mourned, and we have suffered when we have realized our selfishness and mixed motives; the weak, unstable love we have for Him.

"Truly none of us can rejoice in our love for Him. But when we begin to apprehend His great, eternal love for us, our hearts are filled with joy. And we praise Him for His love, His longsuffering and patience; and we magnify His Name for that love which never fails."

"When we slip out of communion with God, how wretched we are, and how we contribute to the unhappiness of others! Whereas in communion with our Father there is power to enable us to resist the devil, to enjoy the Lord and to promote the true blessing of His own. May we have our Lord Jesus very simply and constantly before our hearts."

"Nothing but an intelligent and growing acquaintance with the Lord Jesus can satisfy the renewed heart. The very mercy that delivers a soul becomes a hindrance unless the Lord Himself be the one Object."

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God" (2 Cor. 3:5).

The Spiritual Eye of Faith - Once Upon Eternity (5)

By Faith Abel