11/1992 - The Power Of The Presence Of Christ

"That He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:16-19).

So what does the presence of Christ within mean to us? Paul outlines it thoroughly in the above text. The key word is "power." The grand hymn in revelation 19 says that He is omnipotent—"all-powerful." The Greek word is pantokrator. The word kratoó—appears in verse 16 in the phrase "strengthen with might" (as in AV), which should be translated "held in the grip of His power." The power which created and sustains the universe is ours in the presence of Christ within.

Christ settles down in our hearts or spirits. The word for "dwell" in Greek is oikeo to this word is added a preposition—kata—which gives the word a note of stability—"He settles down in our hearts." This of course is through faith, which is the gift of God in the first place and is the process of His energy flowing through our own spirits. This then causes us to be rooted in the love of Christ (tapped into the source of energy) and founded in love, or to have a foundation put under us.

That you may be utterly able to apprehend with all the saints . . . The word for "able" is ischuo, which means "to be strong" to which is added the preposition—ek—which gives the word added force—"utterly able."

The word "apprehend" is translated in the King James version by "comprehend." That is not strong enough. The Greek word is katalambano and goes beyond mere understanding to the point of "taking it in."

Through the action of the Holy Spirit we are given the capacity to know that which is unknowable. The love of Christ does not involve human feelings, but rather a force of the Spirit that goes beyond human emotion to the point of ultimate caring. Through the presence of Christ, we possess this love, which does not mean that we exercise human emotions and affections toward God and others but rather that we become participants in the nature of God (II Peter 1:4) and reach out to others with the love of God which goes beyond feeling. Because of the love of Christ in us, we care for others for whom we may not have any affection, as in the case of our enemies. Such love is the fruit of the Spirit, as Paul indicates to the Galatians. It is always constant insofar as it is not governed by our human emotions. It is not that there cannot be feelings of affection in addition to the caring, but the caring is not governed by such feelings. But this we have through the presence of Christ in our spirits.

That you may be filled with all the fullness of God. The overriding reality of the presence of Christ within our spirits is that we are tied into the everlasting fullness of God. Though we are but tiny rivulets, we are tapped into the eternal river of God’s fullness. And thus we have a never ending source of energy and strength. We receive of His power as we need it. We are not reservoirs of that power to use as we choose. We are channels to be used as God chooses.

The attributes of the indwelling presence of Christ make us eternal and stable, as He is eternal and stable. While our flesh, which includes the soul or psyche as well as the physical, is subject to change and is undependable, the spirit within is stabilized by the presence of Christ. His attributes are thus resident within us and expressed through us in the measure that He has chosen for us (Romans 12:3). But it is most important to realize that while He may supply us with all the needed energy and power to fulfill His purpose in our lives, He does not provide power for that which is not chosen by Him for us. Many are confused and disappointed because they want to make use of the power of God, but on their own terms. They want to govern their own lives and devise their own programs and then expect to have Christ supply the energy for it.

When we have committed our way to Christ, we can rest in the reality of His presence and His power to exercise His own will and purpose in all of the circumstances of our lives. "Now the God of peace . . . make you perfect [restore you] to do His will, working in you [energizing you] that which is well-pleasing in His sight" (Hebrews 13:20,21).