“The Glory of God is man fully alive.” This quote from Irenaeus, an early church father, has stirred something in me. When God said, “Let us create man in our own image”, it was very good! Adam and Eve were fully alive, enjoying the presence and fellowship of God. But then came the fall, the death, the broken fellowship. Jesus became a man to bring reconciliation, love, unity, and the FULLNESS of life in Christ.
Reconciliation: Romans 5:8 and 10 explains God’s plan for Christ’s death for our justification and reconciliation (to make us fully alive!)
Love: Jn.17:26 “…in order that the love you have for me may be in them, and I myself may be in them.
Unity: Jn.17:22 “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be as one as we are one…so that they may be brought to complete unity”
Fullness of life. “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” It is the intention of God to enable us to live a life fully alive in Him. How can we experience the “exceeding abundance, greater than our thoughts can imagine?” From my perspective, we’re not there yet.
We can “pray that the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened in order that we may know the hope to which He has called us, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparable great power for us who believe.” (Eph 1:18) It sounds like God wants to Glory in our being fully alive in Him.
By: Susan Kewin
~ Christ Fellowship