Portable Strength
When Pope Gregory left the monastery to assume the Papacy, he lamented that he was "borne ever onward by the disturbance of those endless billows" and that he had almost lost sight of the port which he had left. There was much difference between the quiet of the monastery and the turbulence of the throne that dominated Europe.
Many Christians have expressed the regret that they could not carry the high moments of a convention or the spiritual grip of a communion service back into the life of school, office, store, shop, factory, or home. The difference between the daily round of life and the climax of a spiritual assembly comes from a profound truth that is revealed in the Word of God.
Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit from the moment we are born again. Since the day God tore the veil in the temple there has been no building on earth that has been a true house of God. The finest church building in Christendom is empty of the presence of God when there is no human being within its portals; but let two or three children of God gather together in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in that moment He fulfills His promise - there am I. There is the added presence of the Lord in the midst of spiritual assembly, whether it be in a church building, a home, or on a ship at sea.
When we leave the spiritual assembly, the presence of the Godhead - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - accompanies us in fulfillment of other promises. Though the high moment of the assembly may not continue, there is, nevertheless, a strength that goes with us. We need not complain, as Gregory did, that there is danger of losing sight of the port; the haven of strength is not a place of mystic contemplation away from the world, but in the active bustle of life. If we mean business with God we may be sure of the continued manifestations of His presence. This is not merely the ordinary indwelling presence of the Spirit, but the special power and presence that God grants to individual believers when they arc ready to fulfill the conditions of surrender to His Lordship.
Every believer, whether in fellowship or out of fellowship, is sure of the indwelling presence of the Father (John 14:23), the Son (Col. 1:27), and the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). When the Lordship of the indwelling Trinity is made secure by our yieldedness, His presence is in full control, and when we assemble with other believers there is an added dimension to His presence. Only one more step is possible. When He comes again we shall behold His visible presence and we will have no flesh life to detract from the completeness of the domination of that presence.
1. If the spiritual manifestation of the people of God are important, how important is the physical manifestation of God’s people?
2. What is the hope of the Church when Christ returns?
3. How does our answer to the above question influence how we live today?
