“In”

“IN.”  A tiny two-letter word that is loaded with meaning in the Greek the way Jesus used it.

It means a fixed position, a place, a time, or a state of being accompanied by rest.

John 14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority, but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

This unity is not just between Jesus and the Father, but it extends to all who believe in Him.

Because Jesus was “IN” the Father and the Father was “IN” Him, Jesus effortlessly did the works He was doing.

Jesus was simply in a state of being as a result of “IN.”  Jesus was not anxiously starting His day worried about whether he would get things right or do enough things to justify His claim of being the Son of God.  He simply communed with His Father and rested in knowing the Father was “IN” Him, and He was “IN” His Father.  In other words, He and His Father were one.  They were in unity together.  They shared the same desires. They shared the same dislikes. They shared the same dreams and goals as they pertained to the reason Jesus was here on this earth to start with.  They were in tune with each other not from a have-to-be perspective but from a privilege-to-be perspective.  They authentically loved and liked each other and respected each other.

Jesus modeled a healthy relationship with the Father, showing us the way to a fulfilling and enriching spiritual life.  Jesus understood the power and the beauty of “IN.”

This was why Jesus prayed the way He did in John 17.

John 17:20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

As believers in Christ, we get to enjoy the “IN” factor of our relationship with God.  This “IN” factor comes with the glory that is shared with us so that the world might see Jesus and know that the Father sent him with purpose.

Everything is meant to flow out from the place of a loving relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ.  Nothing is meant to flow from a place of duty, payback, merit, or gamesmanship to get ahead.  The relationship is at the core of everything pertaining to His kingdom.  We are meant to flow from a place that has a fixed position of “IN” so solid and secure that we are able to just be from a place of rest in Him.  From this place of faith and belief “IN” Jesus, the works that He did, we do, and even greater works are promised, JN 14:12.