Focus 2020 – The Great Commission: Perspectives from LeadersSample

Swept Up in the Mighty Purposes of God 

Bible passage: For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ… Colossians 2:9-10a 

Devotional: 

Jesus’ very first words in the Gospel of Mark are powerful. “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel”  Mark 1:15. With this bold statement Jesus ushered in a whole new reality for our world.  

But what “time” did Jesus fulfill? I believe it was that long, dark age stretching from the fall of man to the moment God sent his Son. During that period of human history, the immediate presence of God was stripped away from all descendants of Adam and we were separated from the Father. Jesus said that “time” is finally over! 

When Jesus showed up, He changed everything.  For the first time in a very long time, there was direct fellowship between God and one man—and fellowship in a whole new way. Jesus said, “… the Father who dwells in me does his works” John 14:10. Amazing! The Father dwelt in the Son, and we see in the life of Jesus the perfect expression of the presence, will, and activity of the Father. Everywhere Jesus went, the kingdom (basileia, literally “reign”) of God was at hand. 

Jesus was the sample product, the original specimen, the first iteration, that revealed the quality of life God has in mind for his children. The life that Jesus displayed for us He also extends to us, and it is way beyond anything we have experienced or imagined. It is so unexpected that our first step is simply to repent (metanoia, literally “overhaul one’s thinking”). And it is so far beyond our grasp that our only way in is through believing the good news.

Just as the Father dwelt in the Son, so the Son indwells his people. Jesus returns us to the original fellowship that we were meant to have with God before the Fall—but now at a whole new level. This is what Paul wrote in Colossians 1:27 (MSG): “The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our message.” 

The life that Jesus modeled for us in his own fellowship with the Father is the very life that He now imparts to us today. Through His Spirit He replicates His life in us so that we become the human vehicle for His divine activity. And His indwelling presence shows us that we are not really living until we are swept up in His mighty purposes—purposes that lead us to the end of the age and to the ends of the earth for the advance of this gospel. 

Quote: “The Christian life is the life that Jesus lived then, lived now, by Him, in you.” – Major Ian Thomas 

Question: What does it look like when we fully allow Christ to live His life in us today? What implications does this have for our task in the Great Commission? 

Bryan Gibbs 

Director of World Missions, The Navigators