Do we have Jesus living in our hearts (lives)? If so, how did He get there? Where was He before He entered?

2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings [we are all royalty].

We know all the metaphors:

• We must be born again (John 3:3);
• We were dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:1);
• We were alienated from God (Colossians 1:21);
• We were enemies of the cross (Colossians 1:21b and Philippians 3:18)
• Behold, I stand at the door and knock (Revelation 3:20).

So, which is it? All of them. They all describe a spiritual state of being that is beyond human language to describe. God is right in front of us and all around us, but we cannot “see” Him because of the blinders that sin and Satan have put on us. Jesus came to break the power of Satan (Hebrews 2:14-15) and to take our blinders off (another metaphor). The closest verse/passage that I have been able to find that literally describes the two spiritual states of mankind is 1 John 5:10-12,

¹⁰ The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. ¹¹ And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹² He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

• What testimony do we have in ourselves? The Spirit, of course. Verses 7-8 tell us as much. We also have the fact that Jesus went away so that the Spirit could come to us (John 16:7).
• The difference in being unborn and born, dead and alive, alienated and adopted, enemies and family, and having Christ on the inside supping with us is who we believe: Do we believe the witnesses, i.e. Christ’s divine nature, God’s miraculous works through Christ, and the word of the Spirit, or do we believe the lies and deception of Satan, our own logic, and our own feelings of pride and rebellion?
• The eternal life that John talks about in verse 11 is not so much about heaven as it is life RIGHT NOW. Heaven begins the moment Christ enters our hearts and lives. The life we live in the Son is from that moment on, all day, every day. It’s called the Jesus Walk and it’s a way of life. If a person is not interested in following Jesus, then He is basically calling God a liar (He says our sin is destroying us and we need life) and the truth is not in him. Neither is the Spirit.
• We could easily rephrase verse 12 to say, “He who has the Son has daily life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have daily life.”

Instead of saying, “believe in,” I like to say, “believe on.” The first implies a static, logical decision where the second expects action. We believe in a chair to hold us, but we sit (believe) on the chair to use it. Let’s trust in and rely on Jesus today, shall we? By doing so, we will live life abundantly (John 10:10).

Abba, life without You would be lonely, boring, and scary. I already get duped by Satan even though You are with me; I can’t imagine how duped I would be without Your Spirit guiding me–if only I would listen to You all the time! I’m 61 today, Abba; I’ve learned a lot over my lifetime, but I still have so far to go…I’m counting on You to see me through each day, each circumstance, even each moment! Amen.