What does it mean to be a Christian? For many, the expectation of what it means to be a Christian is rather shallow and does not align with what the Lord Jesus intended for those who would believe in Him. Christ’s intent for those who would belong to Him was that they would be united with Him just as He is with the Father. Jesus expresses this in His earnest prayer to the Father in John 17:22-23: “...I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity...” 

“I in them…” This is the essence of Christianity. The Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Resurrected One who sits at the right hand of the throne of God—prays to be in us, just as the Father is in Him! He desires for us to be unified with Himself and with the Father. Being united with Christ—that is Christianity. It was the mystery Paul spoke of in Colossians 1:27, “...Christ in you, the hope of glory,” and it is the key to how we experience more in our walk with Christ! For those looking to experience true and abundant Christian life, it comes only through being united with Christ.

How do we begin this journey to know Christ and to be united with Him? We start by removing any obstacles in our way. Oftentimes, we prove to be our own biggest obstacle. James 4:2-3 says, “...You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” One of the biggest obstacles that keeps us from being united with Christ is not being honest about our true motives—we say we want to be a Christian, but our actions reveal something different. When we pray to God, we must test our motives. We can ask ourselves— is this for me or is this for God? How many times have I approached God with the wrong motives in my heart? 

“Our God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him…”

Other obstacles that hinder us are wrong judgments and worldly understanding. When we have our own expectations about God that do not align with who He is according to His word, we project wrongful judgments on Him. Believing we’re entitled to things, expecting God to give us the answer when and how we want it—these things only drive us further away from Him. It is impossible to try to figure out who God is or how He should act based on our own worldly understanding; His thoughts and ways are high above ours (Isaiah 55:9). We must truly come to know Him for who He is. We must have an encounter with God.

Perhaps we seek for a hand-out from God rather than seeking His face. We seek healing, but do we know the Healer? We ask for His provision, but do we know the Provider? The Scriptures are clear. Those who invest in truly knowing and pleasing God will reap the abundant life that comes with oneness with God (Galatians 6:7-8). Our God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Let us ask forgiveness for approaching God with selfish motives, wrong judgments, and worldly understanding, and let us sincerely ask God to reveal Himself to us this day so that we may come to know Him intimately.

How do we come to know God intimately? In Matthew 11:27, Jesus teaches that, “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” Here, Jesus is telling us that no one can know God until He chooses to reveal Himself. The Bible is clear that God is Spirit and we cannot perceive Him with our own physical (carnal) senses and understanding (John 4:24). We need God to open the spiritual eyes of our hearts and reveal Himself to us! 

“Has Christ been revealed to you?”

Jesus tested His own disciples when He asked them: “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven” (Matthew 16:15-17). Peter knew and understood who Jesus was. How? It was revealed to him by God. We know that God continued to reveal Himself to each of the disciples; the way in which they lived for God and died as martyrs, and the legacy they left behind, testifies to their revelation of Jesus Christ.

The same is true for us today. We must earnestly ask God to open the spiritual eyes of our hearts and to illuminate the Lord Jesus Christ through His word. When the Lord Jesus Christ is truly revealed to us, we are never the same. Our lives testify of this revelation. We cannot keep silent about this incredible relationship with the Almighty God! We cannot help but to want more and more of Him, and it begins to influence everything we say and do. 

Has Christ been revealed to you? Have you encountered His presence? Is this revelation drawing you closer to the Lord? When the Holy Spirit reveals to us the reality of God, this opens the door to truly know Him and experience the intimacy of Him uniting with us—dwelling in us. Do not settle for what you can see with your physical eyes or understand with your own reason! It is God alone who unveils our spiritual eyes. 

In his letter to the church of Ephesus, the apostle Paul prayed this prayer: “...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe...” (Ephesians 1:16-19)

Let us pray this prayer, believing God’s word to us, asking the Lord to give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, that we may know Him. As we seek Him with pure motives, He will make Himself known to us. Ask the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of revelation, to grant you knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and to allow the eyes of your heart to be enlightened. Like Paul, pursue the revelation of Christ that comes spiritually, through faith.

When Jesus reveals Himself, it is the start of a relationship in which we have an opportunity to be unified with Him. How do we pursue this unity with Christ? Paul boldly and confidently proclaims his unity with Christ in this way:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

“Jesus is our lifeline to the Father!”

In thankfulness for this wonderful revelation of Christ that we have received, we pursue a life of wholehearted devotion to God by faith, believing that our old sinful life has died and we now live in the Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave His life for us. In Christ, we believe God is able to sanctify, or set apart, our whole spirit, soul, and body in order to be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23). 

The one who pursues unity with Christ learns to daily listen and surrender to the leading of the Holy Spirit in accordance with God’s word. As the Spirit of Christ convicts us of the sin that separates us from Him, we must willingly and honestly look at the sin, confess it, and turn from it (1 John 1:9-10). This inward conviction causes us to deeply understand our great need for Jesus at every moment of every day. Jesus is our lifeline to the Father! It also allows us to experience His saving grace, His faithfulness, and His love… compelling us to live lives of love and obedience unto the Father.

Jesus said, “I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance” (John 10:10b).

Life abundant! What a reward! When your life intertwines with Christ’s, joining together as one with Him in Spirit, the promises and power showered on the Lord Jesus by His Father become ours as well:

Promises of wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and redemption are ours in Christ Jesus!
“It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30).

Promises of protection, peace, and safety are ours in Christ Jesus! 
““Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name” (Psalm 91:14). 

Promises of hope, love, and inexpressible joy are all ours in Christ Jesus! 
“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy…” (1 Peter 1:8).

For those who sincerely seek to experience the abundant Christian life, the key is to be united with Jesus. Jesus is life. He is the greatest reward! Brothers and sisters, do not stop short of being united with Christ! He desires to be in you—one with you—making the Father known to you and sanctifying you to be holy and set apart for Him. You will be a carrier of His glory, demonstrating to the heavens and the earth that Jesus Christ lives in you! 

Jesus prayed to the Father: “I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” (John 17:26). Praise God that we can truly unite with Christ in this way! May we join Jesus in this prayer in John 17—earnestly asking God, the Father, to unite us to Himself through Christ Jesus. Let us remove the obstacles that separate us from Jesus, pray that our spiritual eyes would be opened to see Him and to know Him, and pursue this unity with Christ.