Ephesians 5:25b-26a – The Holy Within

… and gave himself up for her to make her holy,

Summary: Understanding spiritual matters is a challenge for all of us. We are all born of the flesh first, and born spiritually second. Learning to “see” spiritually is a skill, like learning to walk physically.

In the last post, “The Unholy Question,” we ended with this question:

“If Jesus’ bride was to be holy in his eyes and his Father’s eyes, he would have to find a way to make someone unholy, holy. How in the world does that work?“

Indeed!

The answer to that question is one that human minds will probably never fully comprehend. It’s like telling a small child their father isn’t coming home because he died fighting in a war.

What the small child understands is the loss of a father. They know the fear of being without a protector, the emptiness of a world without their parent. What the child can’t understand is the reason for the war or the politics behind the conflict. The child cannot know the father’s relationship with his superior officers, why he was in harm’s way, or what the father’s last moments of life were like.

In a similar way, we understand Jesus was killed on the cross. We know that he rose from the dead. We also know that he went away again and that his disciples, people very much like children, were devastated. They felt the loss of their teacher and friend.

Before he left, Jesus told them:

“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7)

Who and what is this “Advocate,” and how does this help ease the pain of losing Jesus?

The answer to this question requires a little thinking. In John 15:26, Jesus tells us that the Advocate he mentions is “from the Father” and “goes out from the Father.” He also calls the Advocate a “spirit,” specifically the “Spirit of truth.”

We know that God is spirit (John 4:24), and Paul tells us that God’s Spirit dwells in us (1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV). Then we remember that Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).

If Jesus and the Father are one, and the Father, who is spirit allows his Spirit to live in us, then Jesus himself has come to live in us.

How can God reject himself? If he has put himself in us, we have become a part of him. Jesus himself is bound up with us spiritually.

None of this makes any sense from a worldly point of view.

To understand any of this, we must acknowledge that we are spiritual beings. We have to accept that God is real and that Jesus lived in the flesh and now lives as a spirit. We must be able to look inside ourselves and recognize our need for God. We need to be able to see God’s gift to us; himself. To put it more plainly, we must be able to see the Holy within us.

Application: Know that if you believe in Jesus and have accepted him as Lord, he is in you. (John 17:20-21)

Food for Thought: How is the resurrected Christ different from the pre-crucified Jesus?

8 Replies to “Ephesians 5:25b-26a – The Holy Within”

  1. How is the resurrected Christ different from the pre-crucified Jesus?

    I’m not sure if I can adequately express this, but it all makes sense in my head lol. Pre-crucified Jesus was confined to walk the earth. Resurrected Jesus had freedom of the air (time/space, however you want to understand it)(Luke 24; John 20). I’m not just talking physically, although I am also talking physically. Pre-crucified Jesus dealt with temptation, anguish, sadness, conflict. Resurrected Jesus transcended all of those things, He was “whole.” Seems like (to me) pre-crucified Jesus was more confined in the shell of humanity while resurrected Jesus had freedom in the Spirit. We can speculate all day about this, but what does it mean for our lives?

    Jesus came to earth, gave up His life, died for us, so that we could accept His gift, and be with Him and God for all eternity. There is also something else there. Jesus literally modeled how it “works” with God and submitting to His will. That when we recognize our need for God, submit our will, struggle in our walk, “die” to self (and dying to self will involve sacrificing for another), there will be a new creation, a transformation. With that transformation comes a more fortified relationship with God. The new self, the resurrected self, transcends this world. To me, it is consistent with everything about the Bible. From the smallest measure to the largest. Like once you know the truth you can’t turn away from it, the truth has “transformed” you. Jesus sacrifice saved us from death, but His sacrifice also brought Him closer to God. Looking at it from that perspective reveals that we too can have a closer relationship with God. I’m not suggesting anyone would be appearing and disappearing as Jesus did. I’m saying that the sequence of events correlates to what I have experienced in my walk, and what I have seen in others.

    Your question today really opened a door of things I had never fully thought about. The pre-crucified Jesus and the resurrected Jesus., there was a difference.

    1. Chris,

      Well said! Thank you!

      I especially liked “Seems like (to me) pre-crucified Jesus was more confined in the shell of humanity while resurrected Jesus had freedom in the Spirit.

  2. Jesus’ character and nature are the same in both circumstances. This is also true if we look at the pre-Incarnate Jesus. He is sinless. He is God. He is in nature the same but had self imposed limitations to become man in the Incarnation (Philippians 2: 6 – 11).

    From a human perspective, the Risen Christ has proven that His sacrifice for us was effective and He has demonstrated that He has power over death. So from my point of view, He is not so much different (He is the same Person) but we might see Him differently. We might see Him more fully for who He really is.

  3. 09-12-2023, How is the resurrected Christ different from the pre-crucified Jesus?

    The pre-crucified Jesus showed great restraint, as He primarily, selectively displayed His powers as a provider of life an example of righteousness, as He taught, healed, physically fed, raised the dead, and empowered others to powerfully minister as His witnesses to others.

    With the resurrected Christ we receive a glimpse of our all powerful, all knowing, ever-present God as He is today present with His people in all circumstances, often when we do not know it.

    He is not restrained by physical walls, able to appear and disappear at will, gravity, the powers of this world do not restrain Him, He ascended into heaven, there were a number of times when His discipled did not realize He was among them, just as today.

    John 20:19, Luke 24:15-16, 24:30-31, Acts 1:9-11, John 20:14-18, 21:4, 21:12

    1. Thanks Ron!

      I like the insight that we perceive his power differently before and after the crucifixion. This ties in with Rich’s point and illustrates it well.

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