Rushwavefrom the book Why I Love God
15. A Family Indwelt with Eternal Life
Thus far I have described how when I believed I was forgiven of my sins, miraculously transformed into a new man, and established in a Father and son relationship with God. But I was not the sole recipient of these blessings, and this is where yet another blessing came in: I became part of a new spiritual family.
I did not know it at the time, but the moment I believed I became spiritually connected to others who had likewise believed and been indwelt with God’s Spirit. By spiritually connected I mean they had eternal life indwelling them also, just as that same divine life was now indwelling me. And as recipients of eternal life the blessings of forgiveness, transformation, and relationship I experienced was their experience also. We therefore had a connection that went far deeper than merely a sharing of common interest. We all had God’s eternal life indwelling us.
Collectively as believers we all formed what scripture refers to as the body of Christ. I am not using the phrase “body of Christ” to denote a particular church, denomination, religious association, or any other such thing. I am speaking simply of all those throughout the world who are believers and possess God’s Spirit irrespective of what church they attend.
Scripture likens the body of Christ to the human body. By way of analogy, the human body has physical members such as the eye, ear, hand or foot. And while each member has different abilities and serves the body in a different way, each member is animated by the same life. In the same way, while believers are all unique with different gifts and talents, each is nonetheless animated by the same Spirit.
Being collectively indwelt with God’s eternal life meant a unity and like-mindedness on an entirely different level; a spiritual level. There is no comparison between this connection and other types of connections, such as those rooted in being lifelong friends, siblings, or husband and wife. Being indwelt with eternal life meant we all had undergone the same miraculous transformation of being. We all had God’s law engraved on our hearts. As a result the thoughts we conceived, the predominant desires we felt, and the emotions we experienced all flowed from God. This like-mindedness did not necessarily mean we reacted to situations in exactly the same way. It just meant the variety of ways we reacted were in keeping with God’s nature and character, they cooperated with one another, and everything worked towards fulfilling God’s will which involved many different but related tasks.
from the book Why I Love God
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