Has God revealed His Son in us as He did with Paul? If not, how will we ever be a witness of who He is to the world? Forgive me while I quote from our brother, T. A. Sparks once again, “The church has no existence in the thought of God apart from the revelation of Jesus Christ, and it is judged according to the measure in which Christ the Son of God’s love is in evidence by its existence. ” I am bone tired of all that is being sold as “the church,” even house churches that do not manifest Christ’s life and love. “In Him was life and the LIFE was the light of men.”
“It pleased God… to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him.” (Gal.1:15,16)
1. Everything Tested by Inwardness
Since Paul’s day so very much of Christian activity has been the furthering of a movement, the propagating of a teaching, and the furthering of the interests of an institution. It is not a movement, nor to establish a movement in the Earth and to get followers, adherents, members, support. It is not an institution, even though we might call that institution the church. The church has no existence in the thought of God apart from the revelation of Jesus Christ, and it is judged according to the measure in which Christ the Son of God’s love is in evidence by its existence. It is not a testimony, if by that you mean a specific form of teaching, a systematized doctrine. No, it is not a testimony. Let us be careful what we mean when we speak about “the testimony”. We may have in our minds some arrangement of truth, and that truth couched in certain phraseology, form of words, and thus speak about “the testimony”; it is not the testimony in that sense. It is not a denomination, and it is not a “non-denomination”, and it is not an “inter-denomination”. It is not Christianity. It is not “the work” – oh, we are always talking about “the work”: “How is the work getting on?” – we are giving ourselves to the work, we are interested in the work, we are out in the work. It is not a mission. It is Christ! “…That I might preach Him.” If that had remained central and pre-eminent all these horrible disintegrating jealousies would never have had a chance. All the wretched mess that exists in the organization of Christianity today would never have come about. It is because something specific in itself, a movement, a mission, a teaching, a testimony, a fellowship, has taken the place of Christ. People have gone out to further that, to project that, to establish that. It would not be confessed; nevertheless it is true, that today it is not so much Christ that is our work.
Now beloved, an inward revelation is the cure of all that. Am I saying too hard a thing, too sweeping a thing? The existence of all that represents the absence of an adequate inward revelation of Christ. If Christ the Son of God’s love is central and supreme in the heart of the believer so much else goes down, it must go down. Controversies with God will divide, but those artificial things, those things resultant from man’s activity and his projecting of himself, insinuating of himself into the interests of God, those things cannot abide where there is an adequate inward revelation of the Lord Jesus; they cannot be. These two things are before us: one, because of the revelation of Jesus Christ in our hearts we have a passion for Him; on the other hand, because of the absence of a sufficient revelation of Christ in our hearts we are out for other things which we would say are in His interests, and for Him, but which can never, never satisfy God’s heart. It is the satisfaction of the heart of the Father, which is in view.
Beloved I am speaking about the individual. I am not justified, and you are not justified, in claiming to be Christians except in the measure in which Christ is manifested in me, in you; and all the force and weight and ingenuity of hell is out against that. Believers have far more to provoke them to un-Christ-likeness than anyone else in the world. Believers have far more assaults to churn them up and to make them betray Christ than anyone else. Hell is dead set against the revelation of Jesus Christ. Everything begins with this, the revelation of Jesus Christ within.
A Wilderness Voice 
You’re absolutely right, Michael!
quote:
Has God revealed His Son in us as He did with Paul? If not, how will we ever be a witness of who He is to the world?
Everyone of us needs to have the true Jesus (not the one we learned about, read about) being revealed to us personally!
Without having Him we won’t make it, as single person and as body. It doesn’t matter how we name us. It doesn’t matter we’re even against this present “harlot-system”… we have to have Him!
There’s a inumerable variety of “spirits” presented to us today… but there’s just one true Jesus who will bring forth His life in you and me.
Blessings
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Yes, Markus, it is one thing to “make a decision for Christ,” a phrase that was popularized in America, but a whole other thing to have Jesus reveal Himself in the one who believes. This is why Paul said, “Christ IN you, the hope of glory.” True saving faith is the exchange of our old adamic life for Jesus’ life in the Father. Jesus prayed:
Oh, the depths and wonders of so great a salvation we have been given!
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This is a must hear for me elder micheal , thanks for the share.
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James, good to hear from you again, my brother.
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Dear Michael
Yes, dear friend, Christ in me is my only, but only, hope of glory! It is also not a revelation that can be expressed in words; it far above and beyond that.
It is a relationship that can only be lived; a tender cultivating of love between two kindred spirits: the sweet Holy Spirit of Jesus and ours that has been reborn.
It is so personal and so intimate that no one can begin to describe it to another, except pointing them straight away to our Lord Jesus Himself.
Glad to see you are doing better, dear friend!
Blessings XX
Mia
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“And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” (Eph 3:19-21 KJ2000)
The love and the fullness of God in Christ. HE is able to do so much more than we think He can. All too often we look at our own circumstances or human limitations and limit God in our minds by thinking on these things. BUT the promise is sure, He is willing to do exceeding and abundantly beyond what we can do or what we think by HIS power that works in us in Christ. Glory!!!
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Michael, you owe no man apology for quoting our dear brother, Austin T. Sparks. I say so because you are speaking hear as an oracle of God. It is disheartening to see slot of Christians holding unto a “headless body” that Paul’s admonition to believers to hold into the Head. “Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshy mind, and NOT HOLDING THE HEAD, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increases with the increase of God” Col. 2:18-19. But what and irony today? People are too “church focus” than Christ focus. No wonder your prophetic warning below is timely…. ” I am bone
tired of all that is being sold
as “the church,” even house
churches that do not
manifest Christ’s life and
love. “In Him was life and
the LIFE was the light of
men.”….agape
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