Galatians 1:15-16 But when it pleased God, who separated me [Paul] from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood
In my previous post, I examined that Jesus Christ is the Fabric of Creation, and that nothing exists outside of Him. In this article, we examine one of the three “Omni” characteristics of God. God is said to be Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent; that is that God knows all things, is all powerful and is everywhere. While most believers will profess all three of these attributes, they sometimes do not grasp the meaning of what they are saying.
One of the clear pieces of evidence of this, is when we use the expression that we invited Jesus Christ into our hearts. Do we mean to imply that Jesus Christ was not in our heart, and by an act of our will we opened the doors to allow Him to come in? Similarly, we comment on the state of unbelievers, suggesting that God is not in them. In other words, God is really not Omnipresent, rather He is only present in the believers.
John 1:8-9 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light [Jesus Christ], which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
The opening account of the book of John, shows the dilemma of the western thinking that God is not present in the unbeliever. Jesus Christ is the Light that lighteth every person that is born into this world. He is already there in the lives of all people. This explains Paul’s conversion experience in Galatians 1:16 quoted above, that the Son was revealed IN him already. His conversion was not that he invited God into his heart, rather he was made aware of Jesus Christ’s presence in him already.
Paul explained his ministry to King Agrippa in Acts 26:18, describing his Damascus road experience. Jesus Christ charged Paul with the following;
Acts 26:18 TO OPEN THEIR EYES, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
The verse does not say to move them from one place to another, rather only to turn them from darkness to light.What is the power of Satan? It is the lies that the enemy has used to blind people from the realities of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Paul later expounded on his preaching when he described it in Romans 10:6-8, where Paul describes the Word, Jesus Christ as the following.
Romans 10:6-8 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and IN THY HEART: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
Paul is saying that the word of faith that he preaches, was that Jesus Christ, was close to people, even in their mouths, and IN their hearts already! This was the Word of Faith that they preached before conversion; that Christ was already present in the lives of unbelievers, they were just blind to it. He goes on after to share about the conversion experience, (Romans 10:9), that if any man confesses or agrees with the Word of Faith, that Jesus is already in them, that person shall be saved.
Even the Apostle Peter spoke about the prophets of old, who searched into the grace that was to come, and their words came from the Spirit of Christ that was in them;
1 Peter 1:10-11 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
Now someone somewhere is going to scream out that this is a teaching on Universalism, because in the mind of the religious western dualism, salvation is all about getting Christ into people. And as I’ve already pointed out, Christ is already present in all people, but they are blind to this reality. Our job as ministes, is the same as the Apostle Paul, to open the unbeliever’s eyes to this reality so that they can participate in the life of Christ in them, unto salvation.
Romans 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
A person can most definitely reject this fact, and suffer the consequences of that choice, but it does not change the objective reality of Jesus Christ becoming one with all humanity (Ephesians 1:23). And the purpose of preaching is not just to get people to heaven, but that people will know and enjoy the Life of Christ in them, and His relationship with the Father, now on Earth, not just after they die.
John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Dr. Bruce Wauchope discussing our Union with God.