"Whatever you ask in My name," Jesus said, "I will do it" (John 14:13). Some people seem to think that Jesus is giving us a blank check—we can ask for anything at all, and He will sign His name to it and pass it along to the Father, and it will be done—guaranteed.
We all know that this doesn’t work—and it’s a good thing it doesn’t! Some people pray for rain at the same time as their neighbors pray for sunshine. The home seller prays for a high price, the home buyer prays for a low one.
If God had to answer every request He was given in the name of Jesus, the world would be chaotic, driven by the whims of well-meaning but foolish people. Even if humans could all agree, we simply don’t have the wisdom to be telling God how to run the universe.
So what did Jesus mean - “Whatever we ask”?
"I tell you the truth," Jesus said, "My Father will give you whatever you ask in My name…. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete" (John 16:23-24). Does this mean that we fill out the request form, and Jesus signs it and sends it to His dad? "Hey, Dad, I’ve got a buddy here who wants a million dollars. How about doing it as a favor for Me?"
No, that is not the way it works. Jesus is not a middleman who stamps His signature on our request, pretending that our request is really His. He says: "I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you" (verses 26-27). We have permission to go to the Father directly, because God loves us just as much as He loves His own Son. (Does that thought astonish you as much as it does me?) Hebrews tells us that Jesus gives us permission to go to God directly. We do not need a middleman.
So what does it mean to ask in the name of Jesus?
Let’s imagine that we are in an ancient palace. The king is sitting on his throne, his prince at his right hand, dozens of guards at attention, hundreds of loyal servants waiting for orders so that every decree will be carried out immediately.
And now imagine that we go into the palace, and the guards immediately make way for us, knowing that we have permission to approach the king. They swing aside, snap to attention and give us the royal treatment. We walk into the throne room, bow before the king, bow before the prince, and then tell the king: "In the name of the prince, I ask you for a better job and a nicer home."
Maybe my palace protocol is a little rusty, but it seems a little odd for me to speak "in the name of the prince" when the prince is sitting right there. Maybe this is not what it means to ask "in the name of Jesus."
Some people think that Jesus was talking about pronouncing His name in a certain way. They believe we have to get His name right—like a secret password—before the request will get through the heavenly filters. But when ancient peoples talked about someone’s "name," they were not worried about the right pronunciation—they were referring to a person’s status or importance.
We can see that in the book of Hebrews. It begins by telling us that Jesus has inherited a better name than the angels have. The name in that context seems to be "Son," but the precise word isn’t really important—the point being made is that Jesus is superior to the angels. He has a higher status, a greater glory.
When we talk about the superior name of Jesus, we are really talking about His superior importance. When we pray in the name of Jesus, we are not dealing with a special word—we are dealing with a special person. When we pray in His name, we are praying according to the way that He is—according to His nature. Our praise and requests should be something that fits His character.
Let’s use another analogy. Suppose that a police officer says, "Stop in the name of the law"—it means that the officer has the force of law behind the command. But suppose that same officer asks for a bribe: "Give me $20,000 cash in the name of the law." Using the words "in the name of the law" does not automatically give the officer legal support, does it? When the officer says "in the name of the law," he is supposed to be acting within the rules of the law.
In the same way, when we use Jesus’ name, we are not obligating Him to support our own whims and desires. Rather, we are saying that we are already in accord with what He wants. We are saying something that He has authorized us to say.
Rather than forcing Him to conform to our wishes, "in His name" means exactly the opposite: We are conforming to His wishes, we are acting within His will. When we speak on His behalf, we need to make sure that we are saying something that He would agree with.
When we say "in Jesus’ name," we are conforming to the words of the Lord’s prayer: Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Let it be done in my life. If my request is not according to your will, then feel free to change it to what it needs to be. "In Jesus’ name" is our affirmation that, as best we know, our request is within His will.
However, if we have to pray according to God’s will, what’s the point of praying? Isn’t He going to do His will whether we ask for it or not? Doesn’t it go without saying that if we ask God to do what He already wants to, that He will do it?
But God is the one who is telling us to pray. In His wisdom, God has decided to do certain things only in answer to prayer. Sometimes this is so that we will learn, in the process of prayer, what His will is, and whether our request is for selfish purposes. We don’t always understand what God’s will is, and praying can sometimes help us come to a better understanding.
But I suspect that on many things, God’s will is not set in stone. God may not have decided, for example, which person we should marry—but He has already decided how we should treat the person we marry. He requires that we choose the person, and choose each day how we will interact with that person. Prayer can help us here, too.
Prayer changes us—but it also affects what God does. Since He has decided to do certain things only in answer to prayer, He decides what to do based in part on what we do, on what we need in the situations we have chosen, and on what we ask Him to do. He has the power to carry it out, the compassion to help us in our needs, and the wisdom to know what is really best for us.
"In everything," Paul says, "by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6). Whatever is on your heart, whatever it is that you want, ask God for it.
Jesus has given us the authority to ask—but it is a request, not a command. We can trust God to answer in the best possible way, at the best possible time. But whatever we do (prayer included), we are to do it for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). When we do that, we can be confident that we are praying in Jesus’ name.
When Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of The Christ” opened, I wrote an article entitled, “Let’s Accentuate Birth - Not Death!”. In it, I said that as moving as the story of Christ’s crucifixion is, I would like to see some producer make a movie about the importance of the Resurrection. A new book has just been published by one of my favorite Christian writers, Gene Edwards, entitled, “The Day I Was Crucified”. It is written as Jesus Christ speaking in the first person. I find that the section on the Resurrection is wonderfully tailored to what I had in mind to accentuate a new birth. I will henceforth quote from Gene’s new book, taking up where Jesus is about to die on the cross.
“I lived before you ever existed,” I said to Death as he squeezed me in his clutches. “Poor Death, there are things that took place before you existed of which you know nothing.” “It matters not,” Death vaunted. “It matters all,” I replied. In that final moment I commanded those who were present from the unseen realm: “Lucifer, principalities and powers, and all whom you head, come into me.” “Step forth, World System. Come into my very being. You, World, shall die with me!” “Law, you have been fulfilled, now come into my bosom.” “Adam’s race, all that was touched by the Fall, and creation itself, come into me and be one with me!” “Death, be my servant: Put to death all that is now one with me.” “Come religion! That which strives to be good but is ever failing, come.” “Death, take religion, the old man, and the self nature and make them your prey.” “Die upon my Cross. Come, all of you, die in me! You have now encountered the most destructive power in creation - my Cross!” “Put me to death, I command you. Death, look at me: I am become the Fall. All that is created is crucified with me.” “Oh, but there is one left - Death, as you take the last breath from me, I have a surprise for you. Death, YOU are now mine!” I cried out triumphantly. As Death wrapped himself about me, to snuff out the last ember of my life, I whispered to Death, “You are not death, Is there not one greater than you?” “None,” frothed Death. “Is there not one who can put Death to death?” “There is no such a one!” screamed Death. “Not true,” I replied. “You have for so long called yourself Death, but I was here long before you. I tell you now what you did not know then. I am disguised. You, Death, are but a shadow. You are not death at all. You are but a picture of me. No, Death, you are not death at all. I am life, it is true, but I also am the one who is true death. And at this last moment, I am death to you.” “Oh, Death, be now surprised. One is greater than all your vaunted claims. The one who can kill Death is death indeed. Today I kill you, Death. You thought you came for me, but it is I who came for you! Then when Death be dead, then shall Sin also be dead, along with the principalities, the world, Adam’s race, and the law. As Death dies, the law will be forever dead. When Death is dead, then who shall hold the graves? There will be life for all who were once your prey.” “Death, hear me, there will be only one who inhabits the domain of the dead! That shall be YOU.” Death began to feel his power draining away. His eyes blazed in horror. “I have crucified the world, I have crucified Sin, I have crucified Law, I have crucified the race of Adam, and I have crucified all else that has this hour entered into me.” Death cried, “I take comfort in this: I am also killing the Galilean. That is satisfaction enough for me. Let me end, here and now, but Carpenter, you shall lie in the grave beside me.” Death screamed and then screamed again as he sank into his grave. His last desperate utterance: “If I can hold you for three days, Carpenter, then will I hold you forever.” When everything I am that was not sin had fled from me, I cried out - Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani. A bystander thought I was calling for Elijah. “Hold, let us see if Elijah will come and save him.” Then I heard the voice of my Father, “Well done, my dear and faithful Son.” Hearing my Father’s words, I cried out - It…is…finished! In the last second of life, I released my divinity to the Father. Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.
The curtain to the entrance of the Holy of Holies ripped open while splintering wood crashed upon the floor below. Instantly the great and foreboding cloud that had gathered around Golgotha disappeared. For the first time the Passover was spent in chaos. Terrified priests attempted to find some way to cover the entrance into the Holy of Holies, yelling all the while, “Do not look upon the Holy of Holies!” When told the door between man and the holiest place on earth was visible to ordinary people, Caiaphas tried to hide his panic. At that same moment in heavenly places, the fierce cherubim with their ever-circling swords of fire (which had guarded the door between the two realms since the Fall) fled in terror because the door suddenly disappeared. Not since Adam of earth and God of heaven walked in the garden had there been commerce between these two worlds. Angels, as terrified as the cherubim, fled that empty place where once had been the guarded door. Finally, when curiosity overcame them, the angels cautiously crept back to that place which had so long been sealed.
It was three o’clock in the afternoon. I had been on the Cross for six hours. Those executed by the cross never died in so short a time, as the point of crucifixion was to exhibit a long, merciless death. Unsure that one could be dead so soon, the soldier raised a spear and pierced my side. I was pierced in the same place where I long ago had opened Adam’s side to bring forth his bride. The second man to be the head of a new race also had a woman inside him. In a few days, divine woman would come forth out of me. As the soldier removed the spear from my side, first water flowed out of my side, then blood - thus fulfilling what I had told Zechariah. At last it was all over, but who would come for my body? As far as the Romans cared, my body was now meat for vultures. But someone from the Sanhedrin, with newfound courage, and faith, was about to lay claim to my body. Although the Passover was approaching, one of the men of the Sanhedrin had come to the hill to inquire about my body. It was Joseph from the nearby town of Arimathea. He dared not come too close to the dead, but he did ask the soldiers how he could go about removing my remains. “Only Pilate can do that,” replied one of the guards defiantly. Joseph, a good and kind man, not present at my trial, nerved himself, went to see Pilate, and asked for my body. When Pilate heard that I was already dead, he did not believe it. “No man has ever died that quickly on the cross.” One of the guards replied, “Sir, his side was pierced; he is dead. I was there.” With that word, Pilate gave Joseph permission to remove my body. Soon another member of the Sanhedrin, a man named Nicodemus, joined Joseph and his servants. With time running out, they rushed to Golgotha to claim my body. Meekly and remorsefully, Nicodemus and Joseph, along with their servants, placed my naked body upon a long, white, linen sheath that covered my entire body. Some years, earlier, Joseph had purchased a tomb for himself and his family, one never before used. The tomb was near both Gethsemane and the place where I was crucified. With the Passover only moments away, the servants rushed to Joseph’s tomb and there left my body, along with seventy-five pound of aloes and spices. Just a short distance behind these men was my mother, wanting to be certain that she would know where I was laid. With my mother were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph. Before departing, Joseph of Arimathea had his servants roll a huge stone across the entrance to my tomb. No one in the entire universe could have grasped what lay in that tomb that evening. Creation itself was in that tomb awaiting the birth of a new creation. That new creation would not take seven days, but rather just three, and its beginning would be from this very tomb. That new creation would be born instantly in a burst of light and power. All the power of darkness, World, Sin, and Law were in that tomb. So also the Jewish race, the Gentiles, all the race of mankind. But most important of all, Death lay there, still and silent. All were awaiting - awaiting their triumph or mine. Would it be the powers of darkness which would arise? Or perhaps the all-consuming victory of Death, with the end of life forevermore? Or?? Was it possible that nothing at all would come forth?
“It has only been seconds as men count time, and already so much is changing.” “I cannot but wonder,” mused one of the angels, “does the disappearance of the door mean that we will be able to go back and forth to earth as we once did with Adam?” “Or more,” asked another, “shall we see mortal beings setting foot in the realm of the spirituals?” “I could not so imagine,” replied one of the angels. “Perhaps you are correct,” agreed another. There was a pause. All the angels looked toward the missing door and on to earth. One startled angel blinked and asked, “Pray tell what is that I see? Whatever it is, it seems to have only this moment appeared. It seems to be coming this way.” “Forbid that fallen man should gain entrance to the habitat of the heavenlies!” exclaimed a rather concerned angel. “But what is that?” “I have no idea,” responded another angel. “Could it be an angel of some kind we have never known?” “No, it is far, far too bright to be an angel.” “Perhaps one of the vanished cherubim?” “No, too bright even for that. Besides, cherubim are fierce. This appears to be trying to express some kind of overwhelming joy. It is not a cherub.” “It cannot be a human, can it?” “Of course not! Fallen men are not allowed in the realm of things spiritual under any conditions. Well, whatever it is, it is coming this way.” “He stumbles, runs, and stumbles again. Look, now he is jumping. He is definitely…coming in…here!” “I have never seen such conduct,” mused another of the angels. “Look, he is transparent,” called one of the angels. “I think that he can see both realms.” “I think he belongs to both realms.” “That is not possible.” “No, at least it was not previously possible.” “There is no doubt the one coming this way thinks he has a right to be here.” “I believe he can see us!” “Is that possible? After all, we are invisible.” “I thought something like this would happen if the wall between the two realms disappeared - and it has.” “I miss having that door,” said one very troubled angel. “I do not like this vast, unguarded space,” agreed another. “Should not at least one of us draw a sword?” “I doubt what good that would do,” declared another as they all began shielding their eyes.
“Are all of you angels?” he asked. “It is speaking to us!” exclaimed one of the angels. “Am I an angel?” asked the approaching creature as he paused and slowly looked around. “No, I guess I am not an angel. I think I used to be a human being. But oh, look at me!” “I have never seen such innocence, purity, and perfection,” whispered one of the angels. “He does not seem to be aware of how beautiful he is or how bright his light is.” “Where am I? What am I doing here? Who are you? Please, pray tell, what am I? You have never seen anything like me, have you?” “You are the first,” stammered one of the angels finally, “but…I have an idea you will not be the last. As to who you are…I would be pleased to tell you, but I do not know who or what you are.” He told me that I would be here today. Is this today?” The mouths of the angels fell open. One said, “At last we know who you are!” Another said, “That is not possible. After all, remember what he was: He was an old thief. That old, cheating, lying thief.” “Now I remember!” exclaimed the thief. “And, oh, oh, oh! HE remembered me! I am a thief. Or was. What am I now?” “You are the first of the redeemed. You are the handiwork of Christ’s redemption.” “That is what I am!” exclaimed the former thief. “I have another question. Am I as beautiful as I think I am?” “Even more so,” replied the angels as one. “Am I as bright as you are?” he inquired again. “No. More so. Much more! We have never been that bright.” “Never before have I been able to see places which cannot be seen,” observed the thief in wonderment. “Are you sure I am the only one of my kind?” “You are the first of your species,” another angel informed him. “I think I died,” said the thief. “I was on a cross just a few moments ago. Now look at me! Am I in…in…paradise?” “This is at least paradise,” replied the angel, “and perhaps it will be even more. We will know in three days. In fact, with your arrival, we are sure this will be much more than paradise then.” At those words, this child of God grabbed one of the terrified angels, embraced him, and began to dance. “I do not know who I am. I know not where I am. I do not know what I am, but I sense I am not what I used to be - and I am wonderful and beautiful,” he shouted. Suddenly he paused. “The one dying next to me said that I would be with him in paradise, but he also mentioned something too about a book. A Book of Life. Is there something called the Book of Life? Oh, also, there was something about being known even as I am known.” With that the angels rushed to the Book of Life. Just as they had expected, the very first name written in the Book was that of the thief. As the angels began to shout praises, the thief asked, “I am the first of what?” “You are the first of those for whom we have waited throughout the ages. We have long waited for this day to arrive.” “One last question: You are called angels. What am I called?” he asked. “You are called a holy one.”
Is that the sun coming up? It is just now breaking over the ridge of the mountains. I feel the tremors of an earthquake. This must be Sunday morning! My mother, Mary, had spent a terrible night filled with images of my last moments of life, of my hasty burial, and of the huge stone that had been rolled in front of the entrance to my tomb. “Saturday was the strangest of days,” she observed to her friends. Mary Magdalene had described it best: “It is as though the universe has come to a halt, with everything in creation waiting for something to happen.” Saturday night would be as fitful as Friday. Sadness and helplessness had engulfed all my followers. But for Mary, for the Magdalene, and for the other women, all their thoughts centered around the huge stone. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea had warned the women, “By no means should you come back to the tomb, not until Sunday.” Yet for Mary Magdalene, to return to that tomb was the only purpose she still had in life. Like the other women who had witnessed my body being laid into the grave, who had watched as a large group of very strong men rolled the circular stone into place. The women had seen the stone fall into a hewn notch, depriving anyone of access, and thereby hopelessly sealing his body. All agreed, “The rock is now unmovable.” It would take a multitude of men to budge that stone. And so they waited, watched, and wondered. And there was another problem. The Jewish leaders had gone to Pilate and asked the Romans to post soldiers in front of the tomb to guard it day and night. The Roman soldiers enjoyed frightening people by brandishing their swords, and should anyone venture to approach the tomb, the soldiers would give no quarter to the curious. Until these guards departed, it was a certainty no one would dare approach my tomb. Nor would a guard ever dare fall asleep during his watch. To do that would mean certain death. An unmovable stone and a platoon of well-trained soldiers had removed all hope for a brokenhearted woman to tend to my lifeless body. The night’s wait proved too much for Mary Magdalene. She determined that, regardless of the risk, she would go to my tomb and there keep her vigil. She passed Gethsemane, the place of the crucifixion, and from there ran quickly on to Joseph’s tomb. There she waited for a morning that seemed to refuse to come. While the soldiers stood guard - and while Mary Magdalene made her way through the streets of Jerusalem - none could have imagined what was beginning to take place beneath the surface of my tomb, far below in the netherworld. Death was dead, but its clutch upon me was unbreakable. It would take a power the likes of which has never been known to free me of death’s cold hand. Not even the power which I unleashed at creation could triumph over this enemy of God. Others had been raised from the dead, only to die again. If I, the Son of Man, was to be raised from the dead, it would be a resurrection once and forevermore. Then would all the work of death be doomed - and doomed forever. There were things which had once been reckoned as lasting forever but were not everlasting because they were now in my tomb. Sin was once forever, but now it was forever in its grave. The Hebrews had thought that the sacred law had been established forever, yet the law lay quietly in its coffin, never to hold sway on men again. Then there was the World System, which had been born at the time of the Fall and had grown to encompass the planet. But that system died when I died. Also in my tomb, the entire race of Adam lay cold and dead. Things within the unseen realm had assumed the fallen human race would go on until the last child was born. As to the prince of darkness, he, like the others, had everlasting life, but my Cross had stolen such life from him. In the eyes of God, all these which men had reckoned as everlasting were now everlastingly dead. Men may not comprehend the death of death, the end of sin, the destruction of the world system, the annihilation of the entire race of mankind, or the nullification of the kingdom of darkness, but in the eyes of God - and His view is the only view that counts - all of these were now in the tomb with me. Only one question remained. Could the Son of Man be raised from the dead? Could an entire species vanish and a new species come forth in its place. Did such power exist? That was, of course, impossible. Creation had been completed in seven days. God would not create again. But the Father knew something no others knew. God had reserved the right to bring forth that which was not created - rather, that which was uncreated - His own divine life! He would bring forth life that was not created! So it was, in the darkest hour of Saturday, there gathered beneath me a power greater than that which had been released by me when I created the galaxies, the earth, and man. The gathering together into one place of such power caused the very earth to tremble. From the smallest atom to the grandest galaxy, things both seen and unseen began to lose their established ways. In the throes of such a cataclysm, creation itself began to groan while terror spread its wings across the very ends of the universe.
During all this tempest I lay cold and breathless, dead as any creature who had ever died. Nor was death’s furious grip likely to release its prey. Was death’s power as great as the power of the Eternal Spirit? And so began the duel. Death versus life. Life over death. Eventually the heavenly host realized there was no particular direction in which to take flight, for from molecules to galaxies all things were in uncertain turmoil. “The conflict is somewhere beneath the earth, near Jerusalem,” announced one of the angels. As one, they now understood. “It is almost the third day.” With that the entire angelic host moved - as it had three days earlier - to the hills of Jerusalem. There the anxious messengers of God took up an uneasy watch, knowing that the outcome of the ensuing battle would decide the fate not only of creation, but also of eternity. Could the Eternal Spirit break death’s vice? Could the Eternal Spirit win over death? Does that mean that eternal life - even the very life that God lives by, divine life - could become the life-source of man? And there was more. The Spirit was striving to impart eternal life to a new species of mankind, and that same Spirit was extinguishing the old creation. A new species could now live in utter freedom in a new creation. The earthquake intensified, and some of the graves in Jerusalem ripped open. Places long forgotten, even the burial place of Adam and Eve, shook in grand relief as all the descendants of the first family came to an everlasting end. Still death’s hold would not relent. “Not since the Fall has creation known such throes,” murmured an awe-stricken angel. “Shall God now annihilate this fallen realm? Or is something even more profound being done?” Jerusalem’s hills began heaving stones into the air, fissures formed in the earth, buildings reeled. And in all of the world graves were being denied their peace. “Is it something of death?” whispered one of the angels. “Or perhaps something of life,” responded another. As earth’s spasms grew, so also the brightness grew. This was not the light of stars, nor of suns, nor of fire, but rather a brightness no angel had ever known nor beheld. “This is God before He ever created us! This is God before there was anything. This is what God was like when He was the all!” exclaimed one of the angels breathlessly. “Our eyes are seeing something that no created thing has ever before beheld.” “Can the power of death be as great as the power of life? We are witnessing the ultimate duel. No war ever fought can compare with this battle.” The brightness of the light finally forced the angels to turn away. The entire heavenly host, with faces shielded in awe-smitten reverence, dropped to their knees. Quietly they began to weep. The light which had been emitting from beneath that tomb was now radiating through the angels. The light of the glory of the power had so enveloped everything that there was no room for anything save glory.
And so, swallowed up in the life of my Father, Death’s hold at last began to weaken. Deep within the tomb something moved. For a moment there was a burst of light such as no man, nor angel, nor pen could ever describe. For one brief, glorious moment the entire universe was enveloped in God. Death was dissolving in the presence of glory. In that same moment, Magdalene was moving toward the tomb, struggling to walk, as the earth continued to tremble. As she was thrown to the ground, she dropped her vases of precious ointments she had planned to use to embalm my body. They spilled on the ground and their oils sank into the troubled earth. “Oh, my Lord!” cried the Magdalene, “You once delivered me from such bondage as womankind has ever known. If this be my hour, then I praise you for releasing me from the pain which is in my heart, for I have lost you, my Lord, my everything.” While I was lost in the sleep of death, I suddenly felt! It was my hand that moved. Then my feet, with the wounds they bore. I had begun to move out of the deep tunnels of the netherworld. My Spirit began to glow. Then came a cry, a shout of triumph, a shout so great that even the discerning ears of angels could not comprehend its origin. As the cry beamed its way across the worlds, it finally came to be understood. “It is HIS voice,” they cried as one, “but the words, what are his words?” I AM RISEN! I stood up. With a joy that no man nor angel (but God alone) would ever know, I passed through my grave clothes. I folded the cloth from my head and laid it in the corner of the tomb. I raised my hands to the everlasting God, my Father, who was now proven to be Lord of All. I threw back my head and cried out again. I have risen! I have risen! I have risen from the dead! “The enemies of man, the enemies of God are vanquished!” I exclaimed. “At last it is safe for the new species to come forth. There is nothing to hinder the new race.” The next moment was the most joyous moment I had ever lived! I touched my side! I cried out excitedly, “She is no longer inside me! I am no longer alone. Oh, Father! You who have made me Lord of heaven and earth have given to me one who is spirit of my Spirit. Here is my grandest hour.” “I am no longer alone because she lives. Father, you have loosed her to the earth. She has no enemies, nor does she even know of their existence, for she walks in the new creation. She cannot see that which once was, for she is born after they have passed away. Just as my Father is not created, nor I, neither is she, for she is bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, spirit of my spirit, eternal life of my eternal life. Father, you have brought her forth, the female of me.” Lest the very tomb itself should melt from my radiance, I walked to the entrance and passed through the stone door. There I was greeted by such shouts and cries of excitement as have never heretofore been heard. (And never will be again until the hour of my wedding.) “She has come forth!” I cried. “This day I have fashioned neither stars, nor planets, nor orbs, but I have fashioned her out of my divine matter. My new creation is nothing less than my own species. As I am so is she. Like me she is divine, yet human. She is my divinity, she is my humanity. She is my match. She is my substance. The shadow of oneness has passed away; the reality of oneness is here. This woman is of my own kind.” Having understood, the angelic host burst into what could only be described as delirium!
The earthquake ended. As she rose to her feet, Mary Magdalene looked around. There in the east she saw the first ray of the sun breaking over the hills. “My Lord has been three days in the grave. Three days…has my Lord…been dead.” This very thought turned her face into a river of tears. She looked up with a start. “What was that? Some kind of shout?” she asked herself. “Some call of triumph? Was it a trumpet, perhaps? Never have I heard anything like it. Or did I not hear it at all? It seemed to…come from…within me. Whatever it was, it was beautiful, like the cry of thousands of angels.” She stared at the broken vases and her failed attempt to preserve her Lord’s body. “I cannot even tend to your body. The oils are gone. Oh, dear God, I beg you, bring forth some miraculous way to preserve his body. Man cannot, but I know that you can.” Mary began making her way to what she did not know was empty at that moment - a very empty tomb. He thoughts turned toward the soldiers. She was certain they would draw their swords and then order her away. She felt certain she would hear one of them call out, “So you are the one who comes to steal away the body of the carpenter?” She could even hear their scorn, “You are welcome to the body. All you have to do is roll away the stone.” Little did they know that the stone was in fact removed! And it had been moved for her. With joy two archangels had stepped forth and effortlessly rolled back the stone. It was now for the universe to see that the tomb was indeed empty. Lucifer and his charges did not see this hour, for it was not theirs to see. Law did not see this hour, for it was not for law to see. Neither sin nor death saw this hour, for it was not theirs. Neither was it for the race of Adam, for their hour had passed. As Mary Magdalene approached the tomb, she was overwhelmed by sorrow and brokenheartedness. She fell once more upon her knees and wept. Then she looked toward the tomb and saw the stone had been rolled away! She rushed into the grave. “They have stolen his body! Now I will never find him.” As she stepped out of the tomb, it was then she heard a sound. “The caretaker of the garden! Perhaps he knows…perhaps he has seen something.” “Oh gardener, Please tell me, what have they done with the body of my Lord?” With joy I smiled at one who had learned the simplest, yet greatest truth. It was out of this simple heart, out of this maiden, there had come the greatest, highest desire of God. That was, simply to be loved. With all gentleness, I spoke one word. “Mary.” She whirled around. “Lord, oh my Lord!” “Mary,” I said, “you must let me go. It is time for me to ascend into the heavens. I am going there in triumph. The angels await me. But most of all, my Father awaits me.” I knelt down beside her and whispered, “And now Mary, I want you to do something for me. I want you to go and tell my many brothers.” I looked into Mary’s startled face. She exclaimed, “Your many brothers! You have many followers but only four brothers.” “Mary, there is a new race on the earth. The old race of man is gone. You may not understand this, and you may not see it. But my Father sees it and so do I, and that is all that is important.” “Mary, you are now my sister. You are kin of my kin. You are kind of my kind. There is no difference now in our bloodline. I was once divine and became human. No creature such as that existed before I came here to earth. I was a totally new but singular species. Now all that has changed. Now my species has increased and will continue to increase. As surely as I am the Son of God and the Son of Man, you are my sister, a child of God. There now dwells within you that which is redeemed humanity, and there also now dwells in you my divinity. Yes, Mary, go tell those who are now my brothers. Tell them three words: I HAVE RISEN! “Go quickly, Mary, I shall now ascend to my Father and YOUR Father. But do not be troubled, for before the sun sets on this glorious day… I shall SEE my brothers… I shall BE WITH my brothers… I shall BE IN my brothers!”
So what do you think? Couldn’t some Hollywood producer, with all the special effects available, make a great movie out of this script by Gene Edwards? The Bible tells me that my “old man” died with Christ on the Cross. And the really important part is that my “new man” came up with Christ in the Resurrection and He now lives in me. I am crucified with Christ - nevertheless I live - yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
Infallible Church? Infallible Bible? Or INFALLIBLE CHRIST?
In-fal-li-ble: 1 incapable of error 2 sure, certain Webster's Dictionarry Some people trust in an infallible church in which the will of God is interpreted by others. They say that the church was founded by Jesus Christ, therefore its doctrine must be His will. There are many Christians who know about Christ and try to live their lives under their "infallible" church rules. The yoke is not easy and the burden is not light but they give it their best shot. Many suffer guilt and condemnation and feel like spiritual "cripples". They may begin to wonder: Is this the right church? Is this the only church? Do I really agree that every doctrine is infallible? Then there are those who trust in the infallible Book, the Bible, and try to live by it. These Christians sincerely believe in God's Word and its inspiration and infallibility. But the specific solutions to many day to day situations and circumstances are not given in the Bible. And so many doctrines which conflict with each other are proven by Bible verses. The result can be hair-splitting debate, contrary interpretation and a kind of pharasaical approach to God's will. What is really God's way to a TRULY INFALLIBLE Christian life? It is THE Life, the Person of Jesus Christ, living within you by your conversion, your new birth. It is eternal Life NOW, and it is infallible! If you have called on God for forgiveness, accepted Christ's death for your sins, and made Jesus the Lord of your life, you are now in an eternal living union with an INFALLIBLE Christ. Does this make your human life "incapable of error", "sure", "certain"? YES and NO! It all depends. What?? Let's explain. Because of Jesus Christ coming to dwell in your human spirit, God sees YOU as righteous (which is just another word for "infallible") because Jesus in you is righteous. In your core, in the real you, you are infallible. It is just that simple. But hold it! You may say, "I'm a Christian. I accepted Christ. But you don't know me if you think that I'm infallible! I make wrong choices, at times. I sin! And about the time I think I have overcome a problem, I sin again! What do you make of that?" I still say that you are infallible! But either you just never became AWARE of Christ's righteousness living in union with you, or you temporarily lost that AWARENESS of Christ due to pressure from worldly influences. The infallible Christian life (the Life of Christ within you) has become an eternal feature of your existence. This is what we term "salvation". But your soul (mind, emotions and will) must first come into this knowledge as truth, as fact. The Holy Spirit is the Teacher of the soul sent by God to reveal Christ in you. Secondly, as you daily grow in this knowledge and AWARENESS of your infallibility in Christ, you TRUST CHRIST TO LIVE INFALLIBLY FOR YOU. You know from experience that your human mind is prone to error. And your body follows your mind. SO THE KEY TO BEING INFALLIBLE IS CONSTANT AWARENESS THAT, IN UNION WITH CHRIST, YOU ARE INFALLIBLE! The Bible says that, as a Christian, you "have the mind of Christ". But your soul mind must TRUST in or turn over control to the mind of Christ. This is what the term "spiritual growth" means. You don't really grow stronger spiritually because your spiritual union is full and complete at conversion. You receive total Christ, total Christ's righteousness, TOTAL CHRIST'S INFALLIBILITY at the new birth. But you grow in AWARENESS and TRUST in who you are! Okay, so you still have a human mind and the world gets to you sometimes. You slip into the illusion of independent-self once in a while and try to do your own thing. Your brain is still wired to accept external influences. At conversion, God doesn't do a re-wiring job in your brain so that you can only hear from your spirit. You still live in the world and hear its messages. And, on occasion, SIN! (For a Christian, sin is nothing more than trying to do your own thing separate from Christ in you.) But Christ doesn't leave. And He soon draws you back into awareness and trust in His Life, His eternal life, YOUR eternal Life, His righteous Life, YOUR INFALLIBLE LIFE! The sin will hurt you in some way, sometimes in an extensive way, but Jesus will use the experience to actually INCREASE YOUR AWARENESS AND TRUST IN HIM. God corrects His children when they slip up and do wrong in an attempt at independence, but He does not disown them. They have been made "partakers of the divine nature" and are forever IN God's Family. We don't lose Christ in us when we slip and sin. We are "saved". All of the promises for God's children in the Bible are infallible! Therefore YOU, as one of God's children in Christ, ARE INFALLIBLE! You just must LEARN about Christ in you, ACCEPT the truth of Christ in you, and TRUST in the guidance and power of Christ in you. "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free" John 8:32 It could be stated that you shall know the truth of Christ's infallible living power within you, and the AWARENESS of this truth shall make YOU infallible! Then you can begin just to live; to do the things at hand; to know the Life rising up and spreading out into so many areas. The more our eyes are opened to it, the more it happens. Even when the environments are grim and pressuring – there is no fallibility. It is HE! Life becomes a steady, dawning AWARENESS that you are not merely a struggling patchwork of body, soul and spirit, but a unity, AN INFALLIBLE UNITY, expressing the universal Life of God. Surely that is what "wholeness" (holiness) really means – a conscious, inner, INFALLIBLE unity with the Life of God through Christ. GOODBYE TO FEAR, TO GUILT, TO CONDEMNATION, AND TO FALLIBILITY!
