An influential life in the Holy Spirit and in Love Ch 1.

The "Influential" series - Part One

From the first days of his earthly ministry, Jesus proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven. More precisely, he announced that his Kingdom had arrived.
It has many manifestations in the invisible and visible world. The dynamic of the Kingdom basically: the life, ability and power of the King: The God Almighty. The better we understand His character and abilities, the better we represent his Kingdom in the visible world.
The apostolic teaching says:

By faith we understand that the universe* was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Heb 11:3 {ESV}

*Lit. “we understand that the ages of the world (aions) were created by the word of God,
so that out of the invisible came the visible.” Here is an important connection between aion and the Word of God

The Holman translation is more specific:

By faith we understand that the universe was created by God’s command, so that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible.
{HCSB: Holman Christian Standard Bible}

Overview

This series seeks to confirm/re-establish these facts in the hearts and spirits of believers. Since we have the privilege of the representation {through our Royal Priesthood} it is a necessity to see and practice these apostolic teachings.
This chapter will focus on Jesus's teaching in John's gospel: chpt.13 and chpt 17....
John has two approaches that describe the apostle's vision and thinking about Kingdom dynamics. One describes the invisible part, the other the visible, relational or social part.
Let us go to the John 17:21 for the overview. We are talking about the Kingdom. It is essential for the kingdom to live with the king and to be part of his domain. Jesus askes..

That "they may live in You and You may live in them."
Jn 17:21

The invisible heritage (asset)

The dynamics of the Kingdom are inseparable from the personality/character of God and therefore from His names, revealed in the Scriptures. Therefore anything which builds the each-otherness vertically and horizontally, builds the unity in the Church because builds the place for God and for Gd's character in the visible. As we will see in Part 2, nothing builds unity and listening to one another like agape-love from God.

Jesus' glory

Our next step is to understand the source of Jesus's glory. The religious teachers of his day constantly questioned the authority of Jesus. But He said that His might already existed before he came down to the Earth. In this next phrase we can learn about this: that He was absolutely conscious of his eternal glory, before the temporary inglorious, cursed status during the Redemption on the Cross.

Father, glorify Me in Your presence with that glory I had with You before the world existed. .. Everything I have is Yours, and everything You have is Mine, and I have been glorified in them.
Jn 17:5.10

This means that Jesus literally had every­thing in common with the Father. When He lived in Heaven {before the earthly period}, Jesus was in complete unity with Gd. Then the service came, then the curse came, then the death came, then the resurrection came, then the Eternal Glory came in His life.

Unity for us

Our next step is to understand our status: that this full unity is already prepared for us through His sacrifice, through His prayer and His representative position, because this is God's will for those who accept the New Covenant. They are followers of Christ, they receive the same unity to follow Him, fulfilling the will of the Father.

May they all be one,
as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You.
May they also be one in US,
so the world may believe You sent Me.
I have given them the glory You have given Me.
May they be one as We are one.
I am in them and You are in Me. May they be made completely one, so the world may know You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me.
17:21-23

This is the first part of our lesson today. The invisible spiritual heritage we have in the Kingdom, establishes the visible. Jesus prays that we may grasp the invisible heritage but assumes that we practice the visible part in love.

Next: The visible heritage (asset)

Piraeus, Athens 2024 October

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