Christness.: Jesus' Stuff and Our Stuff Is the Same Stuff.

By Reverend Tom Wright

Reverand Tom Wright is an associate pastor at the First United Methodist Church in Geneseo, Illinois. He is concerned that believers are missing the essence of Christianity. Most believers feel a separation between themselves and Jesus Christ. Jesus is divine and they are not, so they feel that Jesus is over there and they are over here. As a result, there is no intimacy, no relationship with Christ. With that mindset, modern day Christianity is experiencing a power shortage, limping along in dry intellectualism.

Rev. Wrights book paints a different picture. Believers have a Christnessan intersection where there is no difference between themselves and Christ. Scriptures describing Christness are found in virtually every chapter in the New Testament. Wright challenges believers to use their Christness as Jesus used His.

The concept of Christness liberates believers from the practice of passively listening to sermons Sunday after Sunday. They will now become capable of leaving the bleachers, stepping onto the playing field, and getting into the game.

The revolutionary insight of Christness causes Rev. Wright to ask believers to stop making excuses and become what they were created to be.

What is that? you ask.

Jesus describes it in John 14:12; Verily, verily, I say to you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go to the Father.

Rev. Tom Wright is an accomplished speaker for investment and Christian audiences. He has developed a course-of-instruction called Soul Searching which enables students to discover Gods purpose for their lives. This course has been successfully taught in academia prior to his entering the ministry. (For details, see his website: Tomthesoulcoach.com).

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781512705386

Reverend Tom Wright

The thesis of this book is that Believers have a Christness: something identical between Jesus Christ and themselves – not simply Christ-like, as so many writers claim. The book comes to the astonishing conclusion that, “Jesus' Stuff and Our Stuff is the Same Stuff!” What a revolutionary insight this is. Everything changes. Christianity is turned upside down! This book deals with being rather than conduct. Believers are exhausted and burned out over conduct issues. People are asking, “Is there anything fresh and exciting in Christianity?” The answer is, “Yes, it's you walking in your Christness!”

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Copyright © 2015 Tom Wrigtht.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from The HOLY BIBLE, Authorized King James Version. Copyright 2003 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Other Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-7802-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-0538-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015906422

WestBow Press rev. date: 07/22/2015

CONTENTS

Introduction – We’re Inhabitable

Chapter 1 – Stuff

Chapter 2 – Christness

Chapter 3 – We Don’t Get It

Chapter 4 – The Intersection

Chapter 5 – Questions And Answers

Chapter 6 – Jesus’ Incredible Offer

Chapter 7 – Why We Miss It

Chapter 8 – Jeopardy

Chapter 9 – Fruit

Chapter 10 – The Wider Plan

Chapter 9 – So What?

Epilogue

End Notes

INTRODUCTION – WE’RE INHABITABLE

What follows is called the Jesus’ high priestly prayer. We’re going to be dealing with the concluding verses of John, chapter 17. We pick up Jesus’ high priestly prayer at a tremendous verse, verse 21, He says: That they may all be one: as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou has sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one. I in them, thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; that the world may know that thou has sent me and has loved them, as thou hast loved me.

The rest of my remarks will be confined to John 17:21 and related scriptures, which are the core of this introduction. Let me tell you precisely what Jesus is saying. He says:…as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us… I call this scripture a triple-header: (1) Jesus in God, (2) God is in Jesus, and (3) they are in us. If you’re tough minded, you’re saying How does this work? How can Jesus be in God and God be in him and they are in us?

What you are hearing being said, Okay, Jesus is in God; and God is in Jesus; and Jesus is in us; also, then God is in us. You may be saying to yourself, I don’t feel that! How can that be true, because I don’t feel that?

I’m going to read you another text here. This is from Mark 9:37, and Jesus is talking. I won’t tell you what he’s talking about, I’ll just read verse 37. He says: Whosoever will receive one of these children in my name, receiveth me; and whoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him who sent me.

Here we have the triple-header again: he who receives one of these little children in my name, receives me and does not receive me but my Father who sent me. It’s the same notion that we have in the John 17:21 text: "I am in the Father, Jesus says, the Father in me and we are in you."

All of a sudden we’re confronted with the fact, from the gospel of Mark, that Jesus is saying, if you receive a little child, you receive me; and not only do you receive me, but you receive the Father. Jesus is giving a graphic example that in terms of little children, Jesus and God participate in the little child.

There’s another similar scripture in which Jesus refers to the disciples saying: If anyone does not receive you, they do not receive me,; and not only that, they don’t receive God who sent me.. In other words, it’s the triple-header again. I know you don’t feel this way, but what we’re being told is: you are inhabitable! Not