{{2015_09_18_t1.jpg}} {{2015_09_18_t2.jpg}} {{2015_09_18_t3.jpg}} [[http://www.jesusnetwork.eu/de/doku.php/jn_de_2015_09_18|Deutsche Version]] [[Start|| Wiki Start]] [[topics_collection_vii|| Topics Collection vii ]] ======Jesus in the Church ...====== Friday, Sept 18, 2015. Today, the church is not very popular in modern society. Many people associate abuse with the church, since we had abuse there and it was in the press, worldwide. But that is only a very distorted view! Also, "the church" is a term which denotes a very diverse and rich szenery of people, groups and institutions. But let us look one or even several layers deeper! {{2015_09_18.jpg }} **Where is Jesus? ...** This morning I was unclear what to read when opening the bible. I thought: I would like to read about Jesus. It would be natural to open the gospels in this case, since they are the story of his life and his ministry until his resurrection. Where would you get more "Jesus" than in the gospels? But somehow I felt that this view was wrong. Thinking further I thought that the letters of the apostles contain as much Jesus as the gospels. They are somehow as close to him as the gospels themselves. They are as filled with him. There is no difference! How can that be? Then I opened one of these letters, and ran into the following paragraph, right at the beginning of Ephesians: 15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your {{ 2015_09_18_2.jpg}} **love toward all the saints** , 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1, 15-23) The Fullness of Him ... The church is his body, the fullness of him. He fills it all. This sentence caught my attention. It summarizes the general feeling I had a moment before, the feeling that Jesus is everywhere in the bible, that he is not only in the Gospels. There are, of course, theological reasons and a very deep framework for what I just expressed on an intuitive level. Yes, Jesus is the son of God. He lived with him, before creation. He was there, with his spirit, over the waters, when it all began. And he came into what was his from the very beginning, he became human, the word became flesh. He suffered, died and was resurrected. He is the lamb of God. And him was given all authority and power. By his spirit, he comes to those who sincerely follow him, to those who believe and trust him. He fills them, and by this process he fills the church, it is his body, and the fullness of him. He is there, no less than he would be anywhere. It does not mean we would be perfect, just that his mercy is with us - that is much more than you could hope for! Meet Jesus! Sometimes it is just the step to see through what is there already. But you need eyes of faith, of trust, of love, of truth, of mercy. And be filled with him yourself - it is fantastic, life is a miracle! (RWEP) [[http://www.jesusnetwork.eu/en/doku.php/topics_collection_vii|... more texts]]