The 'Spiritual Salt' Syndrome - Part 2

.... The 'Spiritual Salt' Syn- drome occurs when we are reading the Scriptures and miss the meaning of key phrases such as ‘in Christ’, ‘in Him’, ‘through Him who loved us’ etc. These are important clues to tell us who Jesus is, for they speak, first and foremost, of the Lord Himself; and they only pertain to us in a secondary sense as we abide in Him:

.... ". . . just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love . . ."

(Ephesians 1:4)

.... For example, in the passage above we see that we were chosen in Jesus. This means, first and foremost, that Jesus Christ is the Chosen One of God:

.... "Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights!"

(Isaiah 42:1)

.... Once we've discerned the primary focus on Jesus, our own placement follows through abiding in Him, and often this will change our whole understanding. In this particular case, rather than being saved because we were chosen, we are chosen in Him because we were saved -- because He is one who was chosen. So Jesus Himself is the chief testimony; the point is entirely true of us also, but only in a secondary, dependent sense, as we abide in Him.

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.... When we miss the intention of the ‘in Christ’ statements, we begin to leave Jesus out of our understanding. As our personal connection suffers, the inevitable result will be the ‘Spiritual Things’ Syndrome, which we discussed in our earlier postings: for if we don’t see the testimony of Jesus in the Scripture, we’ll end up viewing your walk with the Lord as a series of impersonal arrangements or provisions.

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.... Now, where are those two 'syndromes' mentioned in the Scriptures? In fact, it was Jesus Himself who described them:

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.... "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me."

(John 5:39)

.... The Jews regarded the promises of Scripture (such as eternal life) as ends in themselves, not as a relationship with God through their Messiah. So in the same passage Jesus went on to say of them: "But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life." (v 40).

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.... Likewise for ourselves, when we leave out the part about Jesus (the 'Spiritual Salt' Syndrome) we’ll end up with a very religious list of ‘programs’ and ‘provisions’ instead (the 'Spiritual Things' Syndrome). We’ll only see the promises instead of seeing the Lord Himself, who gives us life. But beloved, suffice it to say: .

.... "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us."

(2 Corinthians 1:20)

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Daily Bible Reading: John 7