Am I With Him or In Him?
3 Reflections
Being with Jesus isn’t the same as being in Jesus. Multitudes stood close enough to see His miracles and feel the surge of His presence…yet for so many there was no exchange. No surrender. No union. And when Jesus confronted them with the hard truths of His kingdom—love your enemy, pick up your cross, feast on Me—their hearts were revealed. They enjoyed proximity, but they refused to step into union. They were with Him, but never in Him.
Proximity has no saving power. Two criminals hung beside Jesus. Both were with Him. Only one joined himself to Salvation. That same divide plays out every Sunday across our nation. Many gather to be near God…to warm themselves beside borrowed fire. But proximity to presence is not the same as participation in divine life. The question must be asked: Are you in Him, or do you simply enjoy the benefits of being around Him?
True rebirth demands repentance. New birth requires the death of everything we inherited from Adam. It demands union with the cross of Christ—His death for your death, His life for your life (see Galatians 2:20). Repentance is the gate through which the old man is ushered out so the Spirit of God can breathe resurrection life into what used to be dry bones.
“Everyone wants to be close to the fire of God, but few want to be consumed by it.” - Leonard Ravenhill
2 Scriptures
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. ”
— 2 Corinthians 5:17
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
— Galatians 2:20
1 Action
Ask yourself: Am I actually in Christ, or have I settled for being near Him?
Invite the Holy Spirit to reveal where you’ve settled for proximity instead of surrender. Ask Him to expose anything in you that still carries the residue of Adam so you can fully yield to the life of Christ. Let the Spirit lead you into genuine repentance and deeper union. This week, refuse to live as a spectator…live as someone wholly joined to the resurrected Lord.
Grace and Peace,
NEIL
