The Cross and the Eternal Glory # 33

The Urgency and the Way of Spiritual Reality (continued)

The Holy Spirit is Here to Make Real the Fullness of Christ

And I close with this, the Holy Spirit is here to make real the fullness of Christ, because that is the vision the Apostle Paul had in Ephesians, "filled unto all the fullness of God" (3:19). He had seen that we, the members of Christ, ought to be just flooded, as it were, with Christ Himself; flooded so that there is just not any room for anybody else. That when we meet each other we are meeting so much of Christ that it is fullness. Now is that not it? It is the fullness of Christ.

And you know whenever we come to this matter of fullness, there is a peril of our seeing it as a beautiful idea, and then leaving it up there. Dear friends, I believe God's challenge to us to to bow our knees. I really do! I believe He wants us to seek Him earnestly, individually and together, that by the working of His Spirit we shall be saints who know the indwelling of Christ in away that we have never known it before. That we shall know the Love of Christ in our relationship with one another as we have never known it before, that whatever is not of love shall be found out and shall be put away. It is worth praying about, is it not? It is worth our bowing our knees about, because everything hangs on what is in the Word of God being made an actual real thing in us.

And I close with a little word of comfort. Praise God for all the measure in which we do know the reality. Yes, we do not say that just to, as it were, pump each other up, but we do encourage one another with this: that by His grace, we are tasting something of the Love of Christ, are we not? Tasting something of the fellowship in the Spirit! Tasting something of the Lord Who is dwelling in us as our very life!

Well, surely having tasted that the Lord is gracious we want much more, we want the blessed Spirit of God Who is here to mightily strengthen everyone of us, and to strengthen us all together. That Christ may dwell, that we may know the Love of Christ that passes knowledge. That we may be filled unto all the fullness of God, and that is the passage that finishes, "Now unto Him that is able to do it." So that in the Church there shall be Glory, the very Glory of God shall be realized in us.

Well, you may not be able to follow all of that, but I believe the secret is this: That the Holy Spirit is here to make all this absolutely real difference. And I feel that we can together trust Him to do it. And He surely will, to His Own Praise and Glory!

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 34 - (What We Have Come To)