Wednesday, June 1, 2005

I Have Come Down From Heaven

And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, “I have come down from heaven?”
(John 6:42)
There are a lot of things Jesus said that really bugged people — made them downright angry. This is one of them.

Jesus said, “I have come down from heaven.” What? How can this be? We know his father, his mother. He grew up around here. How can he say he came down from heaven?

They knew Jesus only in the natural realm and thought they knew all about Him. But they did not understand the spiritual realm, and so they missed His true identity.

You see, Jesus is fully human (still is, by the way, even though He has ascended to heaven) as well as fully divine. But even in His humanity, He has a spiritual dimension — He is spirit, soul and body, just as you and I.

Many people did not understand Jesus in His divinity or even in His full humanity.
He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
(John 1:11-13)
Though many considered Him only in His earthly dimension, and rejected Him, His coming has opened up wondrous possibilities. As many as receive Him, He gives them the right to become the children of God. It is not about physical birth but about spiritual.

In John 3, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (v. 3). The words “born again,” literally mean “born from above.” This is spiritual birth, and happens by an action of the Holy Spirit giving new life to our spirit.

All those who have this new birth from above now have the ability to see the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is the rule and reign of God in heaven and on earth. Those who are born again can see it because we are part of it—not only because we are in it on the earth but because we were born there in heaven.

All those who receive the Lord Jesus Christ has the right to be children of God. We are born from above. Not only that, but Paul tells us that we are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20).

Even more, we are seated in heaven together with Jesus (Ephesians 2:6). This is not a future event but a present reality. You may have thought you were simply here on the earth and of the earth. But the truth is much greater than that—you are of heaven and seated in heaven with Jesus on His throne

(Makes a great deal of sense, when you think about it. Jesus is the head of the Church, His Body. You don’t imagine that only Jesus’ head is seated on the throne of heaven, do you? No, His body is there as well.)

Now, brace yourself, because here is a real mind-blower for you: If you have received the Lord Jesus Christ, and are therefore born from above, and have your citizenship in heaven, and are currently seated in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, you can say, just as Jesus did: I have come down from heaven.

Selah on that for a while and let it change your thinking in a radical way. The word “radical” comes from radix, which means “root.” You may have thought that your roots were on the earth (and they are, but only after the flesh). Your real roots, however, are in heaven. You come from a heavenly family, with a name and an inheritance from heaven. You have a heavenly bloodline, a royal bloodline from God’s own throne room.

You are not limited to your viewpoint from earth, you can now view things from heaven, where you are seated. You can see what is going on in heaven and give the command, as Jesus taught us,
Kingdom of God, come!
Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven!
You are no longer simply on earth, looking toward heaven. You are of heaven, fully authorized to bring the reality of heaven down to earth.

If you have received the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, you are now born from above. You have the ability to see the kingdom of God at work on the earth because you have come down from heaven.

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