Glorious Hope In Living The Paschal Mystery

Reference Scripture:

Romans 8:18-25,  ‘Mankind’s Divine Heritage In Living The Paschal Mystery’.

In Romans 8:18-25, the apostle Paul make it clear that in following the historical Jesus in living the Paschal Mystery, Christ-centered, spiritually awake believers are made sons and daughters of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. They therefore no longer live after the mind of the flesh. To claim and appropriate their divine spiritual heritage of deliverance from slavery to sin and passing over into the freedom of God’s love, while incarnate in their physical bodies, they must live their lives in alignment with the mind of the Spirit. 

 

Paul sees the Christ of Faith as indwelling Spirit, the image and likeness of God, in the spiritual body of the historical Jesus and spiritual body of every person. He therefore describes the Christ of Faith as the ultimate Judge, midwife and Savior in every human soul, heart, mind, life and relationship. Paul teaches that by following the historical Jesus in living the Paschal Mystery, Christ centered, spiritually awake believers will live and dwell in the light, liberty, grace, truth, love and civility of the risen Christ of Faith, the image and likeness of God, in and through their spiritual bodies (Romans 8:12-17). 

Through Christ-centered spiritual mindedness and empowerment by the Holy Spirit, the historical Jesus fully emptied himself of the mind of the flesh (Matthew 4:1-10, Philippians 2:5-8). Jesus lived this Paschal Mystery in the parable of his actual birth, life, passion, death, resurrection, ascension and second coming.  With God's help, Jesus revealed, taught and fully demonstrated the spiritual realization of humankind’s spiritual union with God, spiritual union with one another and kingdom living, within human lives and relationships, in the midst of the evil, error, unrighteousness and incivility throughout our planet.  

In Matthew 13:24-30, the historical Jesus therefore declared in parable, that the kingdom heaven and the kingdom of God here on earth are like a man who sowed wheat seed in his field. During the night, an adversary secretly contaminated the field with tares. Jesus uses this parable to remind believers that in following him in living the Paschal Mystery, righteousness, evil, sin and error will grow together in believer's hearts, minds, lives and relationships within witnessing faith communities. Jesus assures Christ-centered, spiritually awake believers however, that the indwelling and incarnate Christ of Faith is the universal midwife, forever birthing the spiritual kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven and kingdom living, in the midst of the spiritual warfare, which took place in his heart, mind and life and continues to occur in every human heart, mind and life (Matthew 13:36-37, John 1:1-5, Luke 17:20-26).  

God has mysteriously designed and forever placed, the indwelling Christ of Faith, the primal life of Being, in the spiritual body of the historical Jesus and every person. The Christ of Faith as the image and likeness of God is the only final Judge, Redeemer and Savior in every human soul, heart, mind, emotion, life and relationship (Matthew 13:37-43). With God’s help, the historical Jesus therefore recommends Christ-centered, Holy Spirit-based patience, kindness, compassion, hope and long suffering, during times of spiritual warfare, as we follow him as Messiah in living the Paschal Mystery. 

Spiritually awake believers in all traditions, religions, cultures, ethnic and secular groups are now called to live and appropriate the universal Christ-centered, spiritual mindedness, which the historical Jesus modeled. Spiritually awake believers are called to walk as joint heirs with the historical Jesus, in kingdom living here on earth. In the power of the Holy Spirit, they are challenges to manifest the incarnation of the indwelling Christ of Faith, the fruit of the Spirit, and kingdom living, within their unique witnessing faith communities (Galatians 5:22-26). 

By following the historical Jesus in living the Paschal Mystery, the love, grace and truth of the indwelling Christ of Faith and the Holy Spirit will burn up all dross, error and anything unlike God's image and likeness in human hearts, lives and relationships (Matthew 13:40). The indwelling and incarnate Christ of Faith and the Holy Spirit will cleanse and purify human hearts. Following the historical Jesus in living the Paschal Mystery will bring the inner spiritual realization of the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, kingdom living and eternal life, within us and in our midst.