Jesus: Historical and Experiential – Jim Fowler

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An unfortunate separation has often been made between the Jesus as narrated in the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and the Jesus explained in the rest of the New Testament writings, particularly in the Pauline epistles. In the minds of some the Jesus of history and the Jesus of experience are detached as two different entities or two different stories. How do we explain the differentiation between the physical, visible, and tangible presence of Jesus recorded in the Gospel accounts, and the risen, ascended, invisible, and spiritual presence of Jesus in the remainder of the new covenant literature?

In the Gospel accounts there was an obvious distinction between the incarnated Person of Jesus Christ and the persons He interacted with during His earthly ministry. When Jesus said, “Follow Me” (Jn. 1:43; 8:12; 21:19,22), the conceptualization was of following the physical presence of Jesus at a distance as He walked to various locations. The word “disciple” means a follower. Beyond the cross, resurrection, and ascension, however, the connotation of “following Jesus” no longer has the same corporeal implications. Now, we have a different nuanced sense of what it means to follow Jesus and be a disciple.

Paul explained that the Last Adam, i.e., Jesus the Son of God, became Life-giving Spirit (I Cor. 15:45), and subsequently, “The Lord (Jesus) is the Spirit” (II Cor. 3:18). Only as “the Spirit of Christ” (Rom. 8:9), “the Spirit of the Son” (Gal.4:6) is received into the spirits of faithfully receptive individuals can they be identified as “Christ-ones,” those in whom the living Lord Jesus lives. Those who received the Spirit of Christ and are being led (and willing to follow) the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14). Disciples are henceforth known not by following in the steps of Jesus, but by their “love for one another” (Jn. 13:35), by bearing the divine character fruit of the Spirit (Jn. 15:8). The Jesus of history and the Jesus of experience are one and the same, never to be separated or detached.

Jim Fowler

Jim Fowler is a cherished and respected friend of Plain Truth Ministries, a wonderful brother in Christ, having served in a variety of capacities, on our Board of Directors, as a theological consultant and as an author and editor.  He continues to write, with his latest being “Manifesting the Life of Jesus” available on Amazon.  Jim is a treasure to the body of Christ, a Christ follower who faithfully reflects God’s grace in Jesus, as our risen Lord lives his life within him.