Does Jesus live in your body?

1 John 1:1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life- Welcome to today’s live to love scripture encouragement. I’m Norm Wakefield, founder and executive director of The Spirit of Elijah Ministries International and livetolovewithjesus.com. It’s joy to have you join me as we start a journey through the letter of 1 John looking for encouragements to live to love with Jesus. 1 John 1:1. What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life- Jesus is the Word of Life. He is life. He has been life from the beginning of the history of the world. The amazing encouragement from this verse is that it is the testimony of the apostle John. He testified that the Word of Life became flesh and blood and entered into history during his lifetime. His name is Jesus. John, speaking for the rest of the disciples, heard, saw, looked at, and touched the Word of Life. The importance of this statement is that Jesus Christ wasn’t just a fictional character, or more to their historical context, the Word of Life had a material body. John’s point was and is: God became a man in the flesh. This is foundational to living to love with Jesus. The Jesus who lives in us is God, and as John said later in this first letter, “God is love.” So the one who knows God, loves. We must be careful not to think everything is Christ (as some progressive “self-called” Christians) profess. We don’t believe the lie that an earthly love is God. The love that dwells in us is the love of God, the living Word of Life, Jesus Christ, who died for the sins of God’s people according to the Scriptures, was buried for three days, and who was resurrected according to the Scriptures. He then went in His material body into heaven where He sits with all authority over heaven and earth. Having removed every sin that could separate His people from God, He brings us to God, seating us with Him in the heavenlies where He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, most importantly revealed in His giving us the Spirit of life in Christ. It is out of the fullness of Christ that His love flows through us. It’s a love that can be heard, seen, looked at, and touched—living in our material bodies—God’s temple. Do you have the Word of Life living in you? Is Jesus your life? If so, your body is not your own. It is Jesus’ body. And every believer is Jesus’ body. As we love one another, we are living to love with Jesus.