The first coming of Jesus Christ was a watershed moment in human history. After thousands of years in darkness, man was illuminated with the Light of God; the Divine was wrapped in human flesh; the infinite God was born in a finite moment of time; the Creator was made like His creation; the Lord of Heaven came to earth (Joh 1:1-14). Throughout human history, God has spoken in divers manners, but Christ's first advent featured God, by His Son, speaking (Heb 1:1) and doing the miraculous — overcoming nature, healing sickness and disabilities, conquering evil spirits, raising the dead, revealing divine truth, and offering eternal life.
Can you imagine the wonder of walking and talking with Jesus? As Christians, we often envy Christ's contemporaries who physically heard, saw, and handled the eternal Word.
1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
We can only imagine the glory of experiencing God in such a complete way. As with those faithful men before His coming (Job 19:26), there exists for us after His ascension an unfulfilled desire and anticipation of seeing Jesus.
1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
Truly our hearts long for the day when our faith becomes sight, and we hear Jesus audibly, see Him visibly, and touch Him tangibly. Though we have unlimited interaction and fellowship with Him spiritually, we do not physically. Jesus acknowledges this missing part of our relationship with Him, and He offers a special blessing to believers in this age:
John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
Jesus did not explicate the ways in which those who believe without sight would be blessed, but one thing is evident: Jesus has replaced His presence on earth in such a way that we can have real, meaningful fellowship with Him before he returns.
Jesus Christ replaced Himself with three things
God appears to have formed much of creation after a pattern of Himself — three in one. As man's observation of creation grows, so does our awareness of the pervasiveness of this pattern. But of all that God made, He explicitly made man after that pattern.
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…
The plural pronouns “us” and "our" express the plurality within the godhead, the doctrine of which is concisely and clearly declared 1 John 5:7 and elsewhere mentioned (Mat 28:19; 2Co 13:14; 2Th 2:13-14; 1Pe 1:2). God is clearly three-in-one. Following the precedent of Himself, God created man a triune being: body, soul, and spirit.
Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Here we see the fulfillment of God’s plan to make man after the triune pattern of Himself. Adam was created from the dust (body), given the breath of life (spirit), and became a living soul (soul). The New Testament confirms that the whole person is comprised of precisely these three:
1 Thessalonians 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As fully God and fully man, Jesus was comprised of the same three. Although Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, we can have real, meaningful fellowship with Him — spirit, soul, and body — because He replaced all three parts of Himself. By God’s grace, we can fellowship with Christ in much the same way as His first disciples — we can hear, see, and handle Him (1Jo 1:1).
Christ replaced His spirit with the Holy Spirit, so we can HEAR Him
The spirit of a person communes with the spiritual realm and is the grounds for faith, hope, belief. The Spirit of Christ was replaced by the Holy Spirit. This correlation is so closely associated that the terms are seemingly used interchangeably.
Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Philippians 1:19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
1 Peter 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
The Holy Spirit indwells (Joh 14:17), seals (Eph 1:13), strengthens (Eph 3:16), affirms our salvation (Rom 8:16), intercedes for us (Rom 8:26-27), guides (Joh 16:13), reproves (Joh 16:8), comforts (Joh 15:26), and reveals truth (1Co 2:10). Jesus said it was expedient for us that He go away so that we could receive the ministry of the Holy Spirit:
John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
We can have true fellowship with Christ’s spirit through the Holy Spirit. Assuredly, as you hear the teaching of the Holy Spirit, respond to His reproof, and obey His leading, you hear the express Spirit of Christ.
Christ replaced His soul with the Word, so we can SEE Him
The soul is the seat of the person’s mind, personality, and will. Christ’s soul and the Scriptures are inextricably linked. We recall that the disciples’ handling, seeing, and hearing was specifically with “the Word of life.”
1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
The eternally existent God the son is named “the Word,” and He was made flesh to allow men to behold the glory of God, revealing grace and truth (Joh 1:1-14; 1Jo 5:17; Rev 19:13).
For us, it is in the written word of holy Scriptures that we behold the glory of God (2Co 3:18) and see His grace and truth revealed. As the Living Word was a visible revelation of God, so is the written Word, revealing the very mind of Christ (1Co 2:16). The written Word is no ordinary book; it is alive (Heb 4:12) and is often personified — concluding, growing, increasing, prevailing, multiplying. See these examples:
Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Romans 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
To further consider the strength of the link between the Living Word and the written Word, consider: as Moses had not yet written Scripture during Abraham’s or Pharaoh’s life, “scripture” here must refer to the Living Word.
We can have real, meaningful fellowship with Christ’s soul — His mind, personality, and will — through the Bible. Truly, as you read, study, and meditate in the Bible, you see the very soul of Christ.
Christ replaced His body with the Church, so we can HANDLE Him
The body is that part of the person that is physical and tactile. The Bible declares the church to be the body of Christ. Though the physical flesh that incarnated God the Son be gone for the moment, God has provided a way to interact physically with Christ; that way is the church.
Ephesians 1:22-23 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
It is noteworthy that the cited Scripture calls the church “the fulness” of Christ. It is difficult for us to imagine that anything earthly could possibly be the fulness of God the Son (especially a gathering of people). In Colossians 1:19 and 2:9, we see that Jesus is the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Ephesians refers to the universal church (i.e. all believers in Christ) as the body of Christ, and even says, as we saw, that it is the fulness of Him. The truth becomes even more practical when the body of Christ is later defined not only as the universal church, but also as the local church (in this instance, in Corinth):
1 Corinthians 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
It is through the church — and most practically the local church — that we have the opportunity to interact physically with the body of Christ. The “one anothers” of Scripture command us to be kindly affectioned, love, serve, bear burdens, be hospitable. Verily, as you interact with your local congregation of believers, you handle the body of Christ Himself.
The precious privilege of full fellowship with God the Son
Are you in real fellowship with Christ, hearing Him through the Spirit of God? Submit to Him — repenting, praying, forgiving, growing. Hear the Holy Spirit, Christ’s spirit, with such attention, humility, and obedience, as Christ’s disciples would hear Him.
Are you in real fellowship with Christ, seeing Him in the Word of God? Take time with God’s Word to read, meditate, study, obey, and to teach others. Behold the Scriptures, Christ’s soul, with such diligence, regard, and awe as Christ’s disciples would see Him.
Are you in real fellowship with Christ, handling Him through the church of God? Find a Bible-believing local church and faithfully attend, relate, give, serve, pray, follow, and love. Handle the church, Christ’s body, with as much care and reverence as Christ’s disciples would handle Him.
Through faithful fellowship with the Spirit of God, the Word of God, and the Church of God, fellowship with Jesus Christ may be to the full.
James DeKoker is the lead pastor of Oakland Heights Baptist Church in Cartersville, GA.