This weekend, many Christians will hear a portion of Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians read, where he tells us that there is one body and one spirit and that we all share “one and the same hope” (Ephesians 4:1-6).
hen we belong to Jesus Christ, we are made members of His body by God the Holy Spirit, so that, with Jesus, we are also beloved children of His Father, who is now become our Father (John 20:17).
It is remarkable and wondrous that Christ takes us and joins us to Himself in such a manner.
Paul writes elsewhere: “Whoever is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17).
It is the spirit of infinite love, who is the bond of communion between the Father and the Son, who also is poured into our hearts (Romans 5:5).
The Holy Spirit, we say in the Nicene Creed, “proceeds from the Father and the Son”.
That procession is towards our humanity, in our creation and also in our redemption, by the Lord.
God always draws near to us and would draw us to Himself. We are created to know, love and serve Him in this life and to be happy with Him forever in the next.
When our humanity sinned, God immediately planned to save us from the ruin we were courting and, in the heart of the most holy Trinity, our redemption was arranged in such a manner that the sheer love of it overwhelms us.
Jesus promised that He would not leave us orphans when He returned to the Father, but that He would come back to us and our hearts would be full of joy (John 14:18 and 16:22).
He has come to – and remains with us – by pouring out His spirit. The same spirit by whom He was conceived in Mary’s womb, who overshadowed His entire ministry, whom He breathed forth on the Cross – the spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead, lives also in us (Romans 6:10-11 and 8:11).
This is the entirety of our blessed hope – the appearing of the great glory of our Saviour (Titus 2:13).
By faith and the power of His spirit, it is as if we see that great glory already and walk in its light now.
My friend, Pastor James McConnell, preached Christ’s glory faithfully.
I dedicate this weekend’s “Thought” to him (Psalm 17:15).