What is Jesus doing right now? Does the Bible provide an answer to that question? I believe it does. According to Scripture, here is what Jesus is doing right now.
Jesus is building his church.
He said so. “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Jesus is sending me and you into the world to proclaim the gospel so that people repent, believe in him, and become disciples who in turn share the truth with those who are perishing. The end result is that the body of Christ continues to grow, both spiritually and numerically, by the empowering work of the Holy Spirit, for the glory of God the Father.
Jesus is praying for his church.
He said so. “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours” (John 17:9). And so did Paul. “Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Romans 8:34).
This is a most amazing fact: every day, the Creator of the universe prays for me and for you. Doesn’t that take your breath away?
When Jesus prays for us, do you have any idea what he prays about, specifically? Again, Scripture gives us the answer.
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus prayed this prayer to the Father: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).
To “sanctify” means to make holy, or, to make us more like Jesus. And we are sanctified “in” or “by” the truth of God’s Word. No one becomes like Jesus without the teaching and life-changing power of the Word of God. Without the Word, we cannot be transformed into the likeness of Christ. With it, God can and does change us from the inside out to be a “little Christ” (the meaning of the word “Christian”).
Therefore, for the genuine Christian, reading, studying and understanding the Bible is not optional. It is essential to our sanctification.
I hope you see the awesomeness of these two truths: Jesus is building his church, and Jesus is praying for your sanctification. And we get to be a part of this supernatural work of God, the greatest building project the world has ever known.
It’s amazing to me, just amazing. Thinking about it overwhelms me. I get caught up in the wonder of God’s greatness and I get so excited, I hardly know what to do with myself.
So I sit down at the computer and tell you about it. That, too, is a blessing beyond my comprehension. I am so glad to be here to watch it happen. To see Jesus building his church and sanctifying his people is just incredible to me. How about you?
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