10th May 2026
In him, with him, through him
‘On that day you will realise that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.’
John 14:20 (NIVUK)
In the header scripture, Jesus pulls back the curtain on a profound mystery: our inclusion in the life of God. He speaks of a relationship that is not distant or transactional, but deeply relational and participatory. This is not merely poetic language, it is a real sharing in the life of the Trinity. Jesus reveals that he is in the Father (their eternal unity); we are in him (our inclusion through his incarnation, life, death, resurrection and ascension), and he is in us (through the Spirit). This means our relationship with God is not something we build by effort; it is something we awaken to by grace.
Salvation then is not just about being forgiven, important as that is, but is also about being brought into the communal relationship that already exists between the Father, Son and Spirit. Jesus doesn’t say, ‘You will get close to me one day if you try hard enough.’ He says, ‘You are in me.’ That one statement changes everything: we don’t strive to earn belonging – we live from it; we don’t try to reach God – we discover he has already drawn us in; we don’t define ourselves by failure but by our union with Jesus.
Practically this means when we pray, we are not speaking across a distance, we are sharing in Jesus’s own relationship with the Father. When we struggle, Jesus does not merely help us, he is with us, and in us. When we doubt our worth, remember that our ‘life is now hidden with Christ in God’ (Colossians 3:3), and Jesus’s relationship with the Father includes you and me.
The truth of Jesus’s statement in the upper room is not fickle, and it does not depend on how we feel at any particular moment. Our place in Christ is secure, given, and sustained by his grace alone. Even on the days when our faith feels weak, our inclusion in him remains strong and unshaken: we are not on the outside trying to get in. Knowing this should greatly encourage us in our Christian walk; in Jesus, we already belong. His life is our life, his relationship with the Father is now ours, and his Spirit is at work within us, bringing to our experience what is already true. We are held in the love of the Father, embraced by the Son, and filled with the Spirit, and nothing can separate us from that loving relationship of transforming grace (Romans 8:31-39).
Prayer
Loving Father, thank you that in your Son, we are already included in your love. Lord Jesus, thank you that we are in you, and you are in us. Holy Spirit, open our eyes to live each day in this reality: not striving to belong, but resting in the grace you have given. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
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Study by: Barry Robinson About the author: |
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Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA
Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm
Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church