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Growing Up Into Christ
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He had paid for those He had redeemed. The disciples knew that
Jesus had gone to heaven to prepare places for them. They knew He
would come again and take them to Himself.
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The disciples met together after Jesus had gone back to heaven.
They were eager to pray to the Father in the name of Jesus. In faith
and wonder they bowed in prayer and repeated the promise of Jesus:
“The Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name.
Until now you have not asked for anything in my name; ask and you
will receive, so that your happiness may be complete.”
John 16:23,
24
.
Their faith grew stronger and stronger as they prayed. They
reasoned that “Christ... was raised to life and is at the right side of
God, pleading with him for us.”
Romans 8:34
.
On the day of Pentecost the Comforter came to them. Christ had
promised that the Holy Spirit would be with them. He said, “It is
better for you that I go away, because if I do not go, the Helper will
not come to you. But if I do go away, then I will send him to you.”
John 16:7
.
Through the Spirit, Christ would always live in the hearts of His
children. He would be closer to them than when He was on earth
and they could see Him. Christ living in them would shine out of
them in light, love, and power. People who saw the disciples “were
amazed... . They realized then that they had been companions of
Jesus.”
Acts 4:13
.
All that Christ did for His disciples He wants to do for His
children today. In His last prayer with His disciples gathered around
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Him, He said, “I pray not only for them, but also for those who
believe in me because of their message.”
John 17:20
.
Jesus prayed for us and asked that we might be united with Him,
even as He is united with His Father. How wonderful this is! The
Saviour said of Himself, “The Son can do nothing on his own.”
John
5:19
. “The Father, who remains in me, does his own work.”
John
14:10
.
If Christ is living in our hearts, He will work in us to help us be
“willing and able to obey his own purpose.”
Philippians 2:13
. We
shall work as He worked and show His spirit. As we love Him and
live in Him, we shall “grow up in every way to Christ, who is the
head.”
Ephesians 4:15
.
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