Identification

It’s fascinating how the Spirit as soon as we cross the threshold to the Promised Land begins what I would call an identification process; an opening up of the mind which empowers us to identify with Jesus Christ on a level that is blasphemy to the religious minded and which would be impossible for us to handle when we were under the law. Jesus was the first and foremost of many sons. He was the last Adam, the lamb who was slain before the foundation of the earth. Only He could atone for the sins of the world through His death, and provide life and hope through His resurrection and ascension. That was His exclusive ministry. Hence He is the first and foremost.


As a Son of God Jesus could utter unprecedented things such as: “I do only what my Father does”, a statement that outraged the Jews since it implied an oneness with God that was unheard of at that time. It is imperative that we understand that Jesus didn’t merely come to share in our humanity in order to save us. He also came as an example of us, so that we after He had accomplished His mission could share the same boldness as He displayed regarding our union with God.


So when the Spirit nudges you and challenges you to say as Jesus: “I do only what my Father does” you are in the midst of your own personal identification process. Of course, that leap of faith isn’t an easy one, but it is an essential one if we are to enter this peace of God, which transcends all understanding, and which will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. Our greatest fear is perhaps that when we get such an idea in our lap we are in danger of being led astray.


If Jesus harbored any such fears we don’t know. What we know, however, is that He was tempted in the same manner as we are. It is quite clear that if He had such doubts He conquered them by the Spirit and became fixed in this truth. It is also evident that He could make such statements because He was born of the Spirit! The Spirit of truth! The Spirit of error had nothing in Jesus, thus He could completely trust those inner promptings swelling up in Him knowing who the source was. Born by the Spirit we are also sons of God, governed by the same Spirit of truth who leads us perfectly towards maturity.


When we have taken our leap of faith and dare to make the same confession as Jesus did, there comes a day when this truth becomes an inner reality. Oneness with God is no longer theory, it becomes experimental, an integral part of our lives. As our consciousnesses expand to contain this tremendous reality we unfold our wings of liberty and like the eagle unstrained surge upwards on the warm winds of love trusting this sensation as the ultimate reality; a return to our original design as illuminated persons who know the difference between captivity and liberty.