How can we have a relationship
with Jesus Christ if He is in heaven and we're on earth?:
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 states, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has
prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us
through His Spirit..." The Spirit of God (also called "the
Spirit of Christ" in Romans 8:9) is our connection to Jesus
Christ in heaven. Back to Luke ch. 24 -- in His last moments on
earth before returning to heaven, after speaking about "repentance
and remission of sins," Jesus told His disciples, "Behold,
I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city
of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high..."
(Luke 24:49). The "Promise of My Father" is the Spirit
of God; through Him we are not only connected to Jesus Christ, but
we are empowered to follow Him as our King.
Perhaps one of the greatest mysteries is the nature of God. We
can have a relationship with God because we are made in His image.
We have three parts (body, soul, and spirit) and God has three parts
(God the Son, God the Father, and the Spirit of God). This plurality
in the godhead is first seen in Genesis 1:26 where He says, "let
us [plural] make man in our image." We are designed to be connected
to God through His Spirit, but that connection cannot take place
until after our sin is taken out of the way. The death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ takes our sin out of the way if we trust in Him.
"But now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put
away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Hebrews 9:26). Jesus
often spoke in parables, using the physical to illustrate the spiritual;
He compared us to branches, Himself to a vine, and God the Father
to a vinedresser (John 15:1-2). Before we have a relationship with
Him we are like a branch broken off the vine. Just like nutrients
flow through the vine into the branches, so the Spirit of God flows
through Christ into those who are connected to Him; Jesus spoke
of this reality of the Spirit of God when He said, "If anyone
thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as
the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living
water" (John 7:37-38). |
