"And God placed all things under [Jesus'] feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." (Ephesians 1:22-23, NIV)
Look around you on any given Sunday during worship. The people you see, those who are believers, are Christ's body. Together those whose faith is in Jesus express the fullness of God - to each other and to the world.Isn't that amazing? Think about it for a second. The church expresses the fullness of God! When people look at a community of believers, they see the Father. When you are around other Christians, you experience the fullness of Jesus. Because of the work of the Holy Spirit in each follower of Christ, I experience the fullness of the Father when I am with my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Through his Son's incarnation, God revealed his great love. He continues to reveal that love through the church.
To his disciples, Jesus said this: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35, NIV)
His words of command are for us now. Don't miss this. Jesus has loved us. He laid his life down for us. He paid the penalty for our sin. Then, after he died and was buried, he rose from the dead. A few days later, after appearing numerous times to his followers, he rose back into heaven. He said it was for their good - and ours - that he return to heaven. Only if he ascended into heaven could the Father send the Holy Spirit to help all of us. All this has been accomplished!
The Holy Spirit is in each and every believer. By his power we love each other. By his power we are patient. We are kind. We do not envy. We do not boast. We are not proud. We are not rude. We are not self-seeking. We are not easily angered. We keep no record of wrongs. We do not delight in evil but rejoice with the truth. We protect and trust by his power. We hope and persevere, too.
And by our love, His love flowing out of our hearts really, all men know that we are his followers. And they will know Him. They will see all "the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." That ought to amaze us all. God uses little old me and little old you to show himself and his love to the world. Wow!
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