The Joy of Truth; the Joy of Easter; His Very Essence Lives in You.

Easter brings us face to face with Jesus, with His resurrection. Being face to face with Him, brings us understanding of an amazing truth. Because of the actions of Jesus Christ and the finished work of the cross, we have received “the Spirit who is from God” (1 Corinthians 2:11); God has given us the Spirit of His Son Jesus Christ (Galatians 4:6)! Soak your mind in this reality, marinade in it until you are fully permeated with its meaning.

Knowing that you possess the Holy Spirit should fill you with hope. You are united with God Almighty through Jesus Christ! You are not abandoned, or forsaken but loved so much that God would share His very essence with you. You are His highly favored one; His special treasure. The Father gave His Son Jesus in order for you to be united with Him, to be in relationship with Him. Having been provided with the enormous gift of His love, should produce great confidence. If He gave you Jesus, will He not with Him give you everything else that you need (Romans 8:32)? God held nothing back, but gave you everything! Now you are His child; now you belong to Him! He gave you His most precious gift so that you could experience the depth of His love. This truth should securely ground you.

You possess the Spirit Who is from God that “you might know the things that have been freely given to you by God” (1 Corinthians 2:12). But like every relationship, it is a journey. Little by little you get to know the person as you become more intimately acquainted. It is the same thing with the Lord. You know the Father more clearly because you know Jesus; “Jesus is the exact likeness of the unseen God” (Colossians 1:14; Hebrews 1:3). Jesus showed you the Father. He said, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Jesus explains that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him (John 14:10). However, knowledge of God and Jesus Christ is a process. So, while you journey on this earth and grow in intimacy, seeing spiritual things unclearly and incompletely, knowing that you possess the Spirit of God should help you to be hopeful as His Spirit was given to you that you might know the things of God; know all things that He has prepared for you.

Having the Spirit Who is from God gives you confidence in the midst of challenges and trials, confidence that you possess the Greater One Who loves you. You know this, and therefore, what you don’t fully understand does not cause you to be unbalanced or unstable in the Lord. This distraction of incomplete knowledge in the midst of trial should not shake you, because of what you do know regarding the goodness of the Lord and His love toward you. His love actually grounds you, forming a foundation that establishes you. You should evaluate all things according to His love, remembering that He loved you so much that He gave His Son Jesus, so that you might possess His Holy Spirit. God shows you His desire for you by His action. This should cause great trust and reliance upon Him even in the midst of what you don’t understand.

This is what it means to come face to face with Jesus, as you witness His finished work of the cross, which is the work of love for each of us. The finished work of the cross is His gift of grace for you, His abundance: “we have all received (all had a share and we were all supplied with) one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift heaped upon gift (John 1:16 Amplified). It was Jesus Who came to give you life, in abundance, until it overflows (John 10:10)! This is love!