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Messages of Jose
Anathanam and the Covenant Ministries from |
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Messages of Jose
Anathanam and the Covenant Ministries from |
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In Christ Jesus
Part I
| Even before the world was created, God chose us in Christ Jesus. It is so exciting to know that almighty God, in His Wisdom saw you and me even before He created the world. Just as a human father who loves his son very much, has great dreams about him, his future and so on and hence plans his place of education, his future residence etc. God planned everything for us as He saw us in Christ Jesus, even before the world was created. And then, the Loving Father began to create the heavens and the earth and everything in it for us. The final act of His creation was Man when He said "Now, let us create man in our image and likeness and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth" Genesis1/26. The Loving Father God gave all Authority and Power (which was His own Authority and Power to create) to Man to subdue the earth and to rule over it. " You are gods, sons of the Most high all of you " says Psalm 82/6. Jesus confirmed this when He spoke to the Jews in John 10/34-35 - "Is it not written in your law, 'I said you are gods? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came (and Scripture cannot be broken)". Hence our Loving Father God created us to be his sons i.e.. sons and daughters of God who are called gods with a small "g", and gave us His own authority and power to create, to rule, to subdue, and thus dominate the earth - all in Christ Jesus alone, because that is where He saw us, that is where we can be what we are supposed to be. "He destined us in love to be His Sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of His will" -(Eph. 1/5) "And God saw everything he had made and behold, it was Very Good! " Gen1/31 It is very important to know where He saw us. The word of God tells us in Ephesians 1/4, that He saw us in CHRIST JESUS. He did not see us outside of CHRIST JESUS. Our identity is in Jesus Christ only. God recognises us in CHRIST JESUS only, because that is where He sees us, even before the world was created. The great architect, saw us as He drew His Divine Plan before Construction. His PLAN is PERFECT. "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29/11) And in that wonderful, perfect plan, God not only saw us in CHRIST JESUS, but He also saw how we must be in him. Ephesians 1/4-5 tells us, He saw us - as a Holy and blameless people before him. What is it to be Holy before Him? Both in the Old testament and the New, we come across His Word which Commands us to be Holy as He is Holy. "You shall be Holy as I am Holy" 1 Peter 1/16 What is the Holiness of God?? The Holiness of God is seen in His greatest attribute which is LOVE. 1 John 4/8 tells us that God is Love. What is the speciality of God's Love? We believe that there is only one God. (James 2/19) And Jesus revealed this one God to be three persons. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Although Three persons, they are united in Love and hence only ONE. So, the speciality of God's Love is UNITY. And when God Commands us to be Holy as He is Holy, He expects us to be ONE and United, although different persons in the family, in society, in the Church etc. etc. Unity is Holiness. "Even before the world was created, He chose us to be Holy" ...... (UNITED in LOVE)......... And this unity as planned by God is in CHRIST JESUS only; because that is where He saw us.......... that is where "he chose us before the foundation of the world, that we should be Holy and blameless before him". Such are the children of God. Sons and daughters of God cannot call Him Father and yet be disunited. "He destined us in love to be HIS SONS through JESUS CHRIST according to the purpose of His Will." (Ehp. 1/5) IN CHRIST JESUS ONLY, we are His children - "To all those, who received Him, who believed in His Name, He gave power to become the children of God" (Jn. 1/12) IN CHRIST JESUS ONLY, we have UNITY - "Even as HE CHOSE US IN CHRIST before the foundation of the world .............." (Eph 1/4) "By this, it may be seem who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil; whoever does not do right in not of God, nor he who does not LOVE his brother." Fore this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should LOVE ONE ANOTHER." (1 Jn 3/10-11) The Prayer of Jesus before His Passion was nothing else, but this one request - "I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word that they may all be ONE; even as thou, Father art in me, and I in thee that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The Glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be ONE even as we are ONE, I in them and thou in me that they may become perfectly ONE, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me. (Jn 17/21-23) His desire is again expressed in Jn 10/16, where it is written - "I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be ONE FLOCK and ONE SHEPHERD". A particular aspect of God's Love which brings Unity is His Unconditional Love. Loving us as we are. It is this unconditional love that is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit according to Rom 5/5 If this Holy Spirit of Love is given to us, then it should become in us, a spring of water welling up to eternal life as seen in Jn 4/14 or as Jn 7/38 tells us - out of our hearts rivers of Love should flow out - The Spirit of Unconditional Love and forgiveness. This alone brings UNITY - This alone brings Holiness - This alone is the Sign that we are IN CHRIST JESUS. This alone fulfils the plan of God seen in Eph 1/10 - "to unite all thing in CHRIST JESUS, things in heaven and things on Earth". This alone is the sign that we have eternal life - "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death" (1 Jn 3/14) And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son (IN CHRIST JESUS). He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son of God has not life" (1Jn 5/11-12) If we are IN CHRIST JESUS, we can be sure we have eternal life. What is the sign for us that we are IN CHRIST JESUS? Perfect UNITY. Unity in our families and Unity in the CHURCH. Notice: (1) There can be people who believe in Jesus, without being IN CHRIST JESUS. Even the devil believes in Jesus (James 2/19). (2) There can be those who confess Jesus as the Son of God without being IN CHRIST JESUS. Even the devil confess Him as the Son of the Most High God - Mk 5/7 (3) There can be those who may do good works without being in Christ - there may be those who can heal and do miracles without being in Christ Jesus. If this was not possible Jesus would not have said to such people " I never knew you; depart from me, you evil doers" (Mt 7/23). If these were IN CHRIST JESUS, He would not tell them such words. If we are in CHRIST JESUS, we would have the Mind of Christ "Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in CHRIST JESUS" Phil 2/5 And if we have the Mind of Christ, then all of us will agree and there will be no dissensions among us , but we will be united in the same mind and the same judgement. See 1Cor 1/10-13 "I appeal to you brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgement. For it has been reported to me by Chlo'e's people that there is quarrelling among you, my brethren. What I mean is that each one of you says, I belong to Paul or I belong to Apollos or I belong to Cephas or I belong to Christ. Is Christ divided?" How to be in CHRIST JESUS?? By obeying His Word. "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld His Glory, Glory as of the only Son from the Father. (Jn 1/1-2, 14) JESUS is the Word of God. The name of Jesus is "The Word of God" (Rev 19/13) "All things were made through him (Jesus), and without Him (Jesus) was not anything made that was made. In Him (Jesus) was life and the life was the light of men" Jn 1/3-4 Hence as we obey the word and apply it in our lives, Jesus lives in us and we in Him, and We begin to have a personal relationship with Him which leads us to KNOW Him. "And by This we may be sure that we know Him, if we keep his commandments. He who says 'I know Him' but disobeys His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His Word, in him truly love for God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in Him (IN CHRIST JESUS ):- he who says He abides in Him (IN CHRIST JESUS ), ought to walk in the same way in which he walked." (1Jn 2/3-6) go to Part II |
The Covenant People
, P.O. Box: 20, Kanjirapally
Kottayam District, Kerala - India
