How do we enter? That is the real question. How do we live inside of Jesus?
You CANNOT enter into union with the Lord Jesus Christ. You are incapable of doing such a thing. Try for ten billion years, and you will never know Jesus as He is.
Salvation is one thing and one thing alone. The PERSON of Jesus Christ living, dwelling, abiding within you NOW! He is the LIVING WORD. He has entered into union with you. You will never know Jesus in His power until you first accept Him as having already come unto union with all of your human weakness and inability. Jesus Himself lives as you.
For you to be filled with all the fullness of God means that God has already given ALL of Himself to you. God placed you into Himself inside of all that is Christ. BUT - you knew none of that. Thus, for you, the experience of discovering what is already true is like "entering in" for the first time. Yet the moment you enter into the knowledge of what is true by faith in Jesus, you discover that what seems "brand-new" has always been the only thing true.
Before you can abide in Christ you need know that He now abides in you. The word abide means to stay put. In other words you just need stay in the reality of Christ's Life within you. You can never abide in Him without knowing that He already abides in you and you have His LIFE inside you.
Before we can really "lay hold of Christ" or abide we must know that Christ Himself has already "laid hold of us"! So we are not attempting as person who is not already united with Christ to become united with Him. The reality is - Christ Himself is alive within you this very second. So we need to see that reality before we can believe and trust the person of Christ who is now within. As along as we look at a Christ in heaven, over there, next to us or even within us in a separate compartment we are doomed to failure and defeat.
To "lay hold of Christ" is to realize that His LIFE is really your life - NOW - right this very second. You have HIM now!! You are NOW united with Him. Believe that fact and treat Him as He is - because He is!
Here, is the secret: It is not by asking how I can I abide in the Vine, but believing and knowing that you NOW have the person of Christ abiding, living and dwelling within you. He abides in you and you are in Him by His doing. Jesus is the Vine - the root, stem, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruit, all indeed. Yes, and far more too! He is the soil and sunshine, air and rain -- more than we can ask, think, or desire.
Let us not then want to get anything out of Him, but rejoice in the fact of just being ourselves in Him -- one with Him, and, consequently, with all His fullness. Not seeking for faith to bring holiness, but rejoicing in the fact of your perfect holiness in Christ, let us realize that -- inseparably one with Him -- this holiness is ours, and accepting the fact, find it so indeed.
Just believe right now that you are connected to Christ who is your Life and never ending unlimited supply of Love, Holiness, Faith, Righteousness, Peace and Joy. Now you have the person of Christ living, dwelling and abiding within you and HE is now giving everything you need to experience His complete and full salvation. You are in UNION with Him. You no longer have to "do things" to get Him to work, to bless, to give you a sense of His presence. It is His life of ceaseless and infinite power, love, and holiness being imparted within you every second of every day. You are just a vessel, branch or container of God's Life within you.
_________________ Vern
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