DO WE HAVE THE MANIFEST PRESENCE OF GOD?

John 14:21

Morning Meditation 11/23/14

"He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."

The word "manifest" translates "emphanizo" and means, "to manifest, to make known." This has to mean that those of whom He is speaking here will have a special relationship with the Lord. Verse 23 says, "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." The manifestation in this verse is described in the words, ". . . we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." Also the word "emphanizo" is the word from which we get our word emphasis. He will emphasize Himself to us. This will make His manifest presence felt. It is the felt presence of Christ.

The difference between experience and no experience would be that acute sense of someone there. Tozer asks, "Is it not true that for most of us who call ourselves Christians there is no real experience? We have substituted theological ideas for an arresting encounter; we are full of religious notions, but our great weakness is that for our hearts there is no one there."

"Whatever else it embraces, true Christian experience must always include a genuine encounter with God. Without this, religion is but a shadow, a reflection of reality, a cheap copy of an original once enjoyed by someone else of whom we have heard. It cannot but be a major tragedy in the life of any man to live in a church from childhood to old age and know nothing more real than some synthetic god compounded of theology and logic, but having no eyes to see, no ears to hear, and no heart to love."

"The spiritual giants of old were men who at sometime in their lives became acutely conscious of the real Presence of God and maintained that consciousness for the rest of their lives." --Tozer in THE DIVINE CONQUEST

The Lord Jesus does promise His presence to abide with those described in John 14:23, "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." Does this mean a visible abode? No it does not. God does not have to be visible to be here. Those who keep His Words learn that He is there according to promise without the seeing of the eye. Is God less God because He cannot be seen? Is He less God because He does not preform special works in answer to our requests to prove He is with us. This kind of thinking feeds the ego.

Will Christ work a special work in us and through us if He abides with us. Yes, He will, and more than that, it is going on right now. Philippians 2:12-13, "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." This truth alone is a manifestation of the Divine presence.

He thinks His thoughts through us as we yield ourselves unconditionally to Him. Our yieldedness gives Him the freedom to operate through us to manifest the life of His Son in us.

There should be nothing greater to the believer than to live in the felt presence of Our Lord all the days of our lives.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White

P.S. The shorter versions are deliberate. I have some other writing I need to do and the long versions of the mms keep me at the computer most of the day. Thanks for understanding. - Bro. White