Is it Really True?
\n\u201cAs he is, so are we in this world\u201d (1 John 4:17).
\nWe all know that believers in this world bear a likeness to our Lord in
\nhis humiliation. As he was in this world, so are we in this world. As he
\nwas a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, so are we. As he was the
\nobject of the world\u2019s hatred, so are we. As he was tempted by Satan, so
\nare we. As he was despised and forsaken of men, so are we. As he went
\nthrough many sufferings and death to glory, so must we. It is a great
\nblessing of grace and a wondrous condescension of mercy that we should
\nhave such a likeness to our Redeemer.<\/p>\n
But the Book of God does not say, \u201cAs he was.\u201d It says, \u201cAs he is, so
\nare we.\u201d Is that an inspired exaggeration, or is it really true? It is
\nreally true! It cannot be otherwise. We are in him; and he is in us! We
\nare joined to him, built upon him, and united to him, but more. We are
\none with him, as truly one with him as he is one with the Father (John
\n17:23). All the glory the Father has given to the Son as our Mediator,
\nthe Son has given to us (John 17:5, 22). And, now, in answer to our
\nSavior\u2019s prayer, God\u2019s love is made perfect in us in the blessed
\nexperience of grace, assuring us that we shall \u201chave boldness in the day
\nof judgment.\u201d And the cause, the ground, the basis of that assurance and
\nboldness is this: \u2014 \u201cAs he is, so are we in this world!\u201d<\/p>\n
As he is the Son of God, we are the sons of God. As he is loved by God
\nwith an everlasting and unchangeable love of complacency and delight, so
\nare we. Yes, God loves us just as he loves his well beloved Son (John
\n17:23-24). As Christ is chosen of God and precious, so are we (Isa.
\n42:1; 1 Pet. 1:2.) Is he well-pleasing to God, one in whom the triune
\nGod delights? So are we (Isa. 42:1, Matt. 17:5; Psa. 37:23; 1 Pet. 2:5).
\nOh blessed grace! \u2014 As he who was made sin for us is justified and
\nacquitted from sin, so are we. As our Lord Jesus is perfectly righteous,
\nso are we! I pray that God the Holy Spirit will give you grace to grasp
\nthis sweet revelation of the gospel! \u2014 Christ is all our righteousness,
\nand we are immaculately righteous in him.<\/p>\n
With His spotless garments on
\nI am as holy as God\u2019s Son!
\nIs he without sin? So are we! \u2014 \u201cIn him is no sin.\u201d And, if I am in him,
\nI am freed from, justified from, and cleansed from all sin in him (1
\nPet. 4:1-2).<\/p>\n
Behold the Christ of God in all the fulness of his glory, and rejoice! \u2014
\n\u201cBecause as he is, so are we in this world.\u201d Is he Heir of all things?
\nSo are we (Heb. 1:2; Rom. 8:17). Is the Lord Jesus dearly beloved of
\nGod? So are we (Rom. 1:7; 2 Cor. 12:19). O blessed wonder of grace! Yet,
\nhow could it be otherwise? Christ and his people are one (Eph. 1:23;
\nHeb. 2:11). \u201cWe are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones\u201d
\n(Eph. 5:30). We are so really and truly one that he calls himself by our
\nname and calls us by his (Isa. 41:8; 49:3; Jer. 23:6; 33:16). Yes, it is
\nreally true, more really true than we can yet imagine, \u2014 \u201cAs he is, so
\nare we in this world!\u201d
\nDon Fortner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Is it Really True? \u201cAs he is, so are we in this world\u201d (1 John 4:17). We all know that believers in this world bear a likeness to our Lord in his humiliation. As he was in this world, so are we in this world. As he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,72],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-author-don-fortner","category-christ-and-his-church"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4858"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4859,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4858\/revisions\/4859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}