The four concept of God’s existence; omnipresence, omniscient, omnipotence and omnibenevolence means God is with us. But can we say that we are with God? Most Christians are with God by the fact that they acknowledge, understand Christian beliefs, acknowledging in faith God’s existence, power and might but many do not carry His power and fire. Several believers claim they are with God because of their individual participation/faith in different religion or religious rituals. Born again Christians from Pentecostal churches believe accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour is enough because Jesus redeemed and reconciled us by His blood on the cross. However, it takes sanctification to be in Christ and it involves sacrifice which many are not willing to undertake.
Sometimes we tend to think and conclude that if one is well and prosperous then they are with God but most times it either God’s grace enabling it or other spiritual forces. By Grace mankind is with God but not necessarily in Christ. When Cain departed from God’s presence because of sin (Genesis 4:16-17), He became prosperous! The Bible says he had descendants, built a city and named it after his son Enoch.
Being with God but Not in Christ is more less like a student present at school but absent in class. The student therefore can not excel academically without learning. Judas Escariot was with God but Not in Christ hence his betrayal (Matthew 26:14-16), Peter was with Jesus in faith, he understood that Jesus was Christ/Messiah (Matthew 16:16-17), but lacked the knowledge of God. He didn’t understand Jesus’ purpose because he had not died in the flesh, Satan infiltrated him, he had the wrong perception of God’s plan for Christ (Matthew 16:22-28). We can be with God but operating in the flesh, hence we lose sight; we become far from God and fail to understand His purpose for our lives.
To be in Christ according to (James 2: 17) is faith with action as faith without action is dead. Our deeds must be acceptable before God, in obedience to the ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). Living a Christ-like life requires us to be aligned to the seven spirit of God; wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, godliness and the fear of God (Isaiah 11:2-3). For us to possess the spirit of the Lord, we must die to the flesh (Romans 7: 15-25, Psalms 5: 1-12), as God can not dwell where there’s sin.
A Christ-like life is impossible without prayer (1Thessalonians 5:17), prayer draws us closer to God, giving insights on acceptable way of living, discernment, deliverance and restoration, healing and purpose. When we pray consistently and persistently, sin loses power and grip over us, we possess power to overcome it.
Therefore, it’s wisdom to conclude that we believers should only claim we are with God if we walk with Him potraying His characters (Isaiah 11: 2-3) in our daily lives, testifying of His unending goodness towards us.
