For Anyone Who Is In Jesus Christ.
Jesus declared: “My Father has handed everything over to Me, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” Luke 10:22.
For anyone who is in Jesus Christ, there is a glorious expectation: the Father can and should be increasingly revealed in and through our lives. Jesus declared that knowledge of the Father comes through the Son. Therefore, those who have received the salvation purchased by His blood, and have embraced His Word, and experienced the new birth can grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and increasingly experience the will and purposes of the Father.
The fullness of who Jesus was could not be comprehended by those who encountered Him during His earthly ministry. There were glimpses of His glory and attributes, but His true identity was hidden from human understanding. Yet through the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and a yielded life, the believer can grow in the revelation of Christ and of the Father whom He came to make known. But this revelation demands a response.
Jesus made this declaration: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Luke 9:23. It is of vital importance to understand that Jesus does not present this as an optional way of discipleship. It is a command. Anyone who would follow Christ:
Must deny their self-life.
Take up his own personal cross.
And follow Jesus daily.
The salvation offered through Jesus Christ is for whosoever will believe. It is not restricted to one generation, one class of people, or one particular group. Herein is an important revelation that every believer must receive in our lives: receiving salvation is not the end in itself, in reality the receiving of the free gift of salvation is the beginning. The Gospel also reveals the conditions of discipleship. The believer is called to:
Surrender their own self-rule.
They are called to abandon their dependence upon their flesh
They are called to allow the life of Christ to govern the heart.
Jesus set this mark of discipleship:“If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” Mark 9:35. How very different the way of the Lord is compared to the way of the world. Jesus deliberately overturned the world’s idea of greatness. In the world there are ranks, positions, status, influence, and distinctions. But the Kingdom of God does not operate according to the world’s system.
Jesus said: “But it shall not be so among you. But whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.” “Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20: 26-28. This is the standard for anyone who belongs to Christ:
There is no place for pride.
Superiority, self-exaltation.
Or seeking recognition above others.