Taking Jesus Seriously: He Is Present
March 18th, 2013 by Matt Elton
In my last post, entitled Taking Jesus Seriously: Right Here and Right Now I made the point that Jesus is not merely a historical or future figure, but someone who is alive today and presently working to accomplish his purposes. I wrote that I want to know Christ and have a relationship with him. This led to the question of whether it is possible to know Jesus personally since he is no longer physically present in the world.
In this post, I want to demonstrate from the scriptures that Jesus is present. In fact, he is more present today than ever before! Because he is present with us, I believe it is possible to know him, to hear his voice, and to have a personal relationship with him. In this post, I want to lay down a biblical framework demonstrating from the scriptures that knowing Christ is not only possible, but biblical, and something that should be experienced by every believer.
During his earthly ministry, Jesus walked the earth as a human being and could only be in one place at a time. He had only one pair of hands and one pair of feet. Although God enabled him to work great miracles, his reach was limited.
But now that Jesus has risen from the dead and ascended into heaven, all that has changed! Today, Jesus is present not just in one place at a time, but in all places where believers are present (Matthew 28:20). Today, WE are his hands and feet, sent out to accomplish his purposes in the world (1 Corinthians 12). Working in every believer through the Holy Spirit, Jesus is even more present in the world today than he was when he walked the earth!
Jesus is literally present, right here and right now. He is always with us, for he tells us “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). Whenever believers gather together in fellowship, Jesus joins with them through the Spirit. He said in Matthew 18:20, “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Colossians 1:27 tells us that “Christ lives in you.” Just because he is not physically present in a human body does not mean he’s not present. Jesus is no longer a physical being, but a spiritual one. He walked the earth as a man, but 1 Corinthians 15:45 says “the last Adam – that is, Christ – is a life-giving Spirit.”
If Jesus were not present in the world after his ascension, how could he say to the churches in Asia “I know you by your works” (Revelation 1-2)? Revelation 2:1 says that Jesus “walks among the churches.†In Revelation 2:23, Jesus says, “I am He who searches the minds and hearts.”
Jesus is the Head, and the Body is his church. Just as the head is always aware of everything happening in the body, so Jesus is aware of everything happening in his church. He is able to speak to us through the Holy Spirit. After all, how can a body function without receiving signals from the head?
Jesus is not merely a historical figure, but someone who is present in our lives right now. He already knows us personally, and he desires for us to know him personally as well. He says in John 10:14, “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me.” And in John 10:27, he says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.â€
There are some great examples in the New Testament of believers personally communicating with the risen Lord after his ascension into heaven. In Acts 9, Jesus appeared to Saul (Paul), and Saul responded and spoke to Jesus:
Acts 9:1-9: And he [Saul] said, “Who are You, Lord?†And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.â€Â The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Stephen also spoke to Jesus when he was stoned to death in Acts 7:55-60, and cried out to Jesus, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!â€
In 1 Timothy 1:12 Paul says, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me…” And Revelation concludes with a petition directed toward Christ: “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”
But my favorite example of personal communication with the risen Lord in the New Testament is in 2 Corinthians 12:6-9, when Paul wrestled with the thorn in the flesh:
2 Corinthians 12:6-9: “I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.â€
Paul pleaded with the Lord Jesus Christ! Jesus then responded and spoke to him, saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” We know that it was Jesus because Paul writes, “I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
This two-way communication between the Lord and his disciples makes perfect sense given the head/body analogy that Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 12. Paul writes that Christ is the Head, and we are the Body. When a body part is hurting, it sends a signal to the head, and the head responds. This is exactly what Paul did when he encountered the thorn in the flesh, and Jesus responded and comforted him.
Generally, our prayers should be directed to the Father, just as Jesus taught in Luke 11:2. Nevertheless, there is still a place for a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives. I think we sometimes get confused because we worry that having a relationship with Jesus will somehow take away from our relationship with God. But in fact, the opposite is true. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).
Jesus is the great mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). As the perfectly obedient man who made atonement for our sins, ascended into heaven, and was given all authority over his church, Jesus bridges the gap between God and man! When we receive revelation, we don’t need to worry about whether we are hearing from Jesus or from God, as if they were in competition with each other. We need to remember that they’re on the same team! In fact, Jesus is in perfect union with the Father (John 10:30). When we hear from Jesus, it is the same as hearing from God, because everything Jesus speaks comes from the Father (John 12:49). So Jesus says “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
The difference with having a relationship with Jesus versus a relationship with God is that Jesus puts a face on God. God’s ways are far beyond our understanding, but Jesus walked the earth as a human being and was tempted in every way we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). We can relate to his humanity. Even more importantly, Jesus can relate to our humanity. No matter what we face in life, he knows firsthand what it’s like! When we are tempted, Jesus has already been there and therefore he knows how to give us strength in each particular situation. Hebrews 2:18 says, “because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
He is able to help those who are being tempted. This clearly implies that we can hear from him and receive his help in our everyday life, just as Paul received comfort from Christ when he faced the thorn in the flesh.
Personally, I want more of the Lord Jesus Christ in my life. God has elevated Jesus as the Head over the church, and given him all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). He is the Head, and we are the Body. To accomplish his will in the world, we need to seek him and receive his personal guidance in our lives.
As an old song goes:
I serve a risen Savior, he’s in the world today.
I know that he is living, whatever men may say.
I see his hand of mercy. I hear his voice of cheer.
And just the time I need him, he’s always near.
He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today.
He walks with me, and talks with me, along life’s narrow way.
He lives! He lives! Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know he lives?
He lives within my heart.
Matt,
you case some of your argument on the following points about relationship between “head and body”
Are you of the opinion that eyes, ears are parts of Christ, whereas hand, foot, etc. are parts of the church? Cp. what 1Co 12 says about “body” in relation to the church:
It seems clear to me that in this section “eyes, ears, hand, foot” are all references to believers and their functions in the church (and NOT partly — eyes and ears, which are parts of the head — functions of the ascended Christ). Is it not obvious that one cannot make such a comparison as you do above claiming that the head is Christ and the rest of the body are the church, believers?
While it perhaps looks at first like a nice idea to support a teaching that believers have a direct relationship, are “on talking terms”, with Christ, a simple but careful reading of the passage in 1Co 12:13ff makes clear that such an idea is not what Scripture has in mind when it compares the church to a body and Christ to the head.
A further observation: The Scripture examples of the risen Christ communicating with believers which you mention are all actually part of specific vision(s) which SOME believers in SPECIAL circumstances were granted … they are not indicative of “everyday conversations” between believers and Christ based on a “personal relationship” which believers worked at to get it “close enough” to “talk with” Jesus.
It seems to me that the whole idea of “personal relationship with Jesus” somehow goes back to the trinity doctrine … where Jesus is viewed as God, and therefore talking to him, praying to him is “normal” since it is the same as “talking to God, praying to God”.
You talk about Christ joins believers when they meet by the Spirit … what does that mean? Is Christ an invisible Spirit who joins the meeting?
Scripture does speak of “Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (Eph 3,17) … and clarifies how that is (in Col 3:16) by us “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly …” Christ dwells among the believers here on earth by means of believers letting the Word of Christ dwell in and among them richly.
Matt,
as for the “Christ the head” & “the church his body”, I would say that the truth conveyed with that expression is not about picture and details of a “a physical body”, rather the picture of “a leader” & “group of people”
Cheers,
Wolfgang
Hi Wolfgang,
In Ephesians 5:23 Paul says that Christ is the head of the body in the same way that the husband is head of the wife. Elsewhere, Jesus is called the bridegroom, and the church the bride. This implies a relationship. Can a husband be the head of his wife without a relationship/communication with her?
The “head” can also be understood as the “mind” – from which signals go out to direct rest of the body. This is figuratively speaking, of course, because it’s an analogy. I did not mean Jesus is literally the head including eyes, ears, etc. I agree that “head” indicates that Christ is the leader. Just as the mind leads the rest of the body, Christ leads the church. But again, how can a leader lead without communicating with the followers?
Maybe the “word of Christ” means more than just the “red letter” sections of our Bibles. It could be understood as the revelation of Christ or the voice of Christ. After all, throughout most of history the average person could not read, and even if they could, they didn’t have access to the scriptures. Christ didn’t wait for Saul to read the Bible. He appeared to Saul and spoke to him. Whether it was a vision or not, I do not know, but Saul received the word of Christ.
I agree that Christ’s appearance to Saul, as well as the revelation he gave to John, etc., are special circumstances. However, we can hear the voice of Christ in more “everyday” ways. Through the Holy Spirit dwelling in each believer, he can give us a word of knowledge or wisdom to help direct our steps.
Jesus said “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). If he is not spiritually present with believers, then what did he mean by this?
If Jesus is not spiritually present, it seems he didn’t keep his word here, because he left the disciples and ascended into heaven.
I think that when 1 Corinthians 15:45 calls Jesus a “life-giving Spirit” it means that Jesus is spiritual. He walked the earth as a man, 100% human like we are. Yet, he rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and has now taken on a new form. He is described in Revelation 1:14-16, “His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.” This is not the description of a mere man. Jesus is spiritual!
Jesus is present because, through the Holy Spirit, “Christ lives in you” (Colossians 1:27). The Spirit connects us with Jesus and with the Father in the spiritual realm. It’s God in Christ in you, through the Holy Spirit.
Matt,
Yes, there is a relationship … but WHEN is it the type of “personal relationship” with direct communication back and forth as you mean ? A husband and wife are husband and wife … even if the husband is stationed several thousand miles away from his wife or the other way around, yes? Does the relationship cease to exist just because the two don’t have the same face to face communication available to them as they have when they are in the same place? No! It’s just that the relationship is different due to the fact that the communication available at the time is different.
Does the relationship turn into a “personal relationship” just because either one or both “fantasize” (picture in their mind) that the spouse is right with them? No! Such “fantasizing” can actually be damaging …. it is much better for husband and wife to acknowledge the reality of being separated for the time being and relying on the communication that is available … such as written words (in the case of the church and Christ) (or in more modern days email, phone)
Yes, he can …. and not only can he, but he IS! Or are you telling us that when a husband and a wife are for the time being due to circumstances in separate places, the husband is no longer the head of the wife?
Matt,
I’ve been quite familiar with this idea … and accepted it without giving it a further thought. When someone once asked me where I had read in Scripture what I was saying there, I wanted to give the person his answer, but was confronted with quite a dilemma … there is no scripture which states what I claimed (same as what you claim above)!
“Christ in you” … Col 1:27, yes! But, where does it say that this is “through the Holy Spirit” ??? Col 3:16 does in fact explain some more about this, and tells plainly that we are to let “the word of Christ live in us richly”! Nothing said anywhere along the lines of “the Holy Spirit” is “the risen Christ” and “lives in you”.
It certainly sounds impressive to head “It’s God in Christ in you, through the Holy Spirit” … unfortunately, it is NOT what the Scriptures say.
Matt,
Jesus did leave his disciples and ascended into heaven … so then the question is to what Jesus was referring with his “I am with you always”. Obviously, he did not mean that he would be with them always in person, seeing that he ascended a short time afterwards. It seems clear to me then that he was not referring to being with them in a direct personal manner, but rather in an indirect way.
How are teachers with their disciples? By means of their teaching which continues to have its effect and influence in the life of the disciple even after they have graduated or moved on or their teacher is no longer alive and with them. What my violin professor taught me about playing the violin and about performing music in general is still with me even today … several decades later, for example when I listen to a concert, or when I teach children about playing music.
Hi Wolfgang,
“Head” is not just a status but an active role. A husband will always be the husband of his wife as long as they both shall live. However, for a husband to really be the head of his wife, he needs to actively fulfill the responsibilities of that role through his actions. In some marriages, the wife is the head of the husband! In others, the husband is missing in action and is completely neglecting his responsibility to be the head. It cannot be said that the husband is really the “head” in that situation. A man who abandons his wife, for example, is not the head of his wife. He is leaving his wife to fend for herself and be her own head.
I understand what you mean about the teachings of influential teachers staying with us even when the teachers are no longer physically present. However, explaining Matthew 28:20 in this way seems like a stretch to me. If that’s what Jesus meant, he could have said “My teachings are with you always.” But he said “I am with you always.” No teacher would make that kind of claim if they were merely talking about their teachings.
Jesus says “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” Consider Christ’s words in John 14:15-21:
“If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
This passage of scripture clearly lays out the “God in Christ in you through the Holy Spirit” principle:
1. Jesus says that the Father will send the Spirit to dwell in us.
2. In the very next sentence, Jesus says that he himself will come to us!
3. Then Jesus says that he is in the Father, and he is in us. Colossians 2:9 also says that the fullness of God dwells in Christ.
4. Jesus says he will manifest himself to us.
Conclusion: God in Christ in you, through the Spirit.
Matt
indeed … and some actions are possible under certain circumstances but not under other circumstances … when both are present in the same place and see each other face to face, there are different actions available than at those times when they are not physically in the same place.
Thinking that one can have a type of relationship which is not available due to the situation at hand leads to false ideas and self-deception. Making the most of the type of relationship which is available in the situation is not only all but also the only true action that is possible.
Matt,
a few more thoughts on the following from your above comment
Did Jesus even speak about us today or did he speak of those to whom he was speaking then? Who were the “ye know him; for he dwelleth with you”? I know, we very quickly and very happily read these sections as if Jesus was standing next to us and talking to us … because we sort of like what he said there and will gladly apply that all to us, when in reality and truth, we should first consider what the text actually does say and carefully observe who is talking to whom …
Now, it is is applicable to us today, when we must still observe carefully what Jesus stated, rather than making inferences and drawing conclusions which may not be in harmony with what is said.
See above …. to whom was Jesus speaking and to whom does what he said apply? “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” … who were the ones with whom Jesus had been and whom he would NOT LEAVE comfortless? has Jesus been with us and could say that he would not “leave us comfortless” but would “come [back] to us”?
Before we come to your next point, Jesus did say something rather important:
“Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. ” What LITTLE WHILE is Jesus talking about after which they would SEE him? Is it not connected to the “because I live, ye shall live also”?
When Jesus is speaking that he is IN the Father, is that the same as saying that the Father is in Jesus? What does it mean to be “in the Father”? I would say by context it describes that Jesus was in harmony with God because he walked according to God’s commandments … and the same holds true for us as we are “in him and he is in us” when we walk according to his commandments and thus are in fellowship with him. Also, the context speaks of loving him by obeying his commandments.
Jesus also rather plainly says that “AT THAT DAY (after the previously mentioned “little while”?) ye shall know” that he is in the Father, etc …. has “that day” already come when we shall see and know? How would you know if that day hasn’t come yet?
As for the “us”, I will refer to my comments above.
Wolfgang,
“Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
Who is the “you”? Those who receive the Spirit of truth. I have received the Spirit of truth as evidenced by speaking in tongues. Therefore I know with great certainty that this passage is talking about me, and all believers who walk by the Spirit.
“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”
In context, Jesus is talking about the outpouring to the Holy Spirit, the Comforter (Paraclete). That’s why he says “I will not leave you comfortless.” He promised to send the Comforter. The Holy Spirit was poured out on the Day of Pentecost. But in the very context of talking about the Holy Spirit being poured out, Jesus also says “I will come to you.” So Jesus is saying he would come to the disciples by means of the Comforter (the Holy Spirit). This means this passage is talking about me, and all believers who walk by the Spirit.
“Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.â€
In the context of the Last Supper, Jesus knew that his death, burial, and ascension were imminent. From that time until today, the world has no longer seen Christ, but his disciples still see him. Who is Jesus talking about when he says “I will love him, and will manifest myself to him”? He is talking about everyone who “hath my commandments, and keepeth them.” Today, the world does not see Christ, but believers do see Christ. If we keep his commandments, we love him, and he loves us, and will manifest himself to us through the Spirit.
Matt,
you mention above
and who were the ones who would receive the spirit of truth and to whom Jesus was speaking?
As you can well imagine by now, I certainly have been taught the same things as you mention here and would have claimed the exact the same thing for many years ….. until a young man asked me a few years back, “Sir, how do you know that what you are doing and what you are calling ‘speaking in tongues’ actually is that ‘speaking in tongues’ we read about in the Scriptures?”
Perhaps you have an answer to that? How do you know that what you do and believe to be speaking in tongues is indeed that speaking in tongues which we read about in the NT scriptures?
I admit, that I have as of yet no satisfying answer to that question ….
In particular, the question is troublesome because for many centuries, starting even from the time after the first apostles in the 1st century onward, the vast majority of believers in Christ did not speak in tongues (nor have any of the other manifestation/evidences of the gift of holy spirit in their lives), and basically only since the last century have there been movements/groups who do something (and for the most part they even vary in what they are doing!) which they call speaking in tongues or prophecy, etc.
Who is to show which one of those things (if any) is indeed that biblical speaking in tongues?
Who is to say that those many Christians are wrong who claim that what is done by these groups is “counterfeit” and more based on emotions rather than holy spirit?
Great article Matt !
It’s sure a comfort to know, as you point out from Heb 2:18, that Christ is able to help us in our temptations, since he has been there and experienced temptation himself.
There’s a lot more power in knowing Christ than knowing a theology. A theology can’t help me in my temptation like Christ can. A theology doesn’t know me like the Shepherd does!