The With-Ness of Our God: Relationship in Every Dimension

By Jan Loyd

Do you realize that the Triune God offers us a relationship that encompasses every dimension, every direction, every angle, every aspect, every nuance, every everything, and every everyplace?

Thats right, our God longs that we know the reality of His loving Presence totally cocooning us in His Son by faith.

To explore this awesome truth, we go to the Holy Scriptures, to some small words that we could quickly gloss over. Dont let these little words fool you. These words, called prepositions, are power-packed with truth for our minds, hearts, and lives. So please join us in this journey through the unfathomable treasures of the Scriptures as we catch a fresh glimpse at our relationship with the Living Godall through some verbal treasures called prepositions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781512715033

Jan Loyd

“Jan helps the learner to discover so clearly that God not only wants to be with us but He is always for us and lives in us as believers.  In her study, she helps the student of Scripture capture the message of the spiritual rest that we can only have in Jesus Christ.  I wholeheartedly encourage all believers to do this study.  You will be blessed!” Dr. Wayne Barber Senior Pastor, Woodland Park Baptist Church | Former Teacher, Precept Ministries

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Copyright © 2015 Jan Loyd.

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 author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Cover artwork by:Jeremy Loyd www.seesparkbox.com

Cover image: Stocksy United www.stocksy.com

Photo in chapter 5 courtesy of Bill McKim of McKim Photography www.mckimphotography.com

ISBN: 978-1-5127-1502-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-1504-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-1503-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015916374

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/23/2015

CONTENTS

Foreword

Acknowledgments

A First Word

Chapter 1 Prepositional Truth

Chapter 2 The With-ness of Our God: The Really Good News

Chapter 3 Christ for Us: Paid in Full!

Chapter 4 The With-ness of God Revisited: Life Union with Christ

Chapter 5 In Christ: The Bottle in the Ocean

Chapter 6 Christ in Me: The Ocean in the Bottle

Chapter 7 Living out of Christ: Life Outflowing

Chapter 8 Come to Me: Christ’s Invitation to Faith

Chapter 9 Come into My Boat: My Invitation in Prayer

A Final Word

Endnotes

About The Author

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the Message.

Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture taken from the Amplified Bible, copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

With love, appreciation, and amazement,

I

dedicate this book to my treasure of a husband,

John Charles Loyd.

Thank you for your steadfast love and faithfulness

to me, to our children, and now to our grandsons.

I’m sure it hasn’t been easy for you to be married for forty-plus years

to the Powerful Child (as Dr. Kevin Lehman would say).

I’ve often disrupted our tranquility by my ideas, projects, and upheaval.

And yet you love me still … Amazing!

Thank you for your encouragement, support,

and even gracious ruthlessness in the evolution of this book.

I’m truly one with you in Him …

for His purpose and pleasure in our generation (Acts 13:36).

With love and affection,

Jan

Foreword

I have known Jan and observed her life for over 30 years. By God’s grace, organic zoe life overcame Jan’s roots (her convent days) and our relationship, friendship, kindred spirit and sharing and growing up into our Lord Jesus together was launched.

During this time, we were able to share our experience of discovery of life in Christ, life through Christ, life as Christ. In fact, in the last ten years, our Lord Jesus and living by his indwelling life has consumed both Jan and me and dominated our conversations over dinner with our spouses. We are like children in a candy store as we taste his sweetness in our daily lives and share our Jesus stories with one another. This book is full of Jesus stories.

Much of my 40 years of following Jesus was spent trying to live the Christian life with massive amounts of discipline, self-effort, call to duty, doing separated from being, etc. I have a constant awareness of his continual pursuit of me. He just won’t let me settle for a performance-oriented faith. Rather, he has been so faithful to challenge my good performance as a poor substitute for life more abundantly (John 10:10). Although introduced to living by his indwelling life early in my follower pilgrimage through books by Watchman Nee, Major Ian Thomas and others, I knew no one personally who taught these truths. Unfortunately, without the body of Christ to pursue him together, I concluded they weren’t that important.

I came to a crisis six years ago when I was worn out by my self-effort. (I’m a slow learner!) Jesus said, Come unto Me all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me (Matt. 11:28 KJV). By coming to him again and again, I discovered I can’t live the Christian life. Only Jesus can live it. In fact, Jesus is the Christian life.

I wish someone had put Jan’s book into my hands 35 years ago and surrounded me with those interested in living by his life. The With-ness of Our God: Relationship in Every Dimension is a remarkable book that walks the reader through what is means to have the Lord Jesus living in us and us living by his life. Jan opens up passages full of meaning and insight to reveal the what, the why, and the how of our following Jesus. Weaving her own story and journey throughout the narrative, she is able to very practically illustrate what living by his life means in the outworking of our stuff. Jan keeps it real and makes herself vulnerable to her readers. The story is told that when Abraham Lincoln was about to sit for his portrait, he told the artist, Leave the warts in. The artist had the courage to do so. So does Jan. You will be able to easily relate to her experiences of everything from family vacations to phobias to sunrises to disappointments to devastating news of her son’s cancer.

This book is a journal, a workbook, a theological treatise of living by His life, a personal and group study guide. It’s for sharing with best friends and total strangers. It’s for personal reflection and devotion. It’s for laughter and worship (the two go together, you know). Every chapter took me deeper and deeper into the vastness and wonder of his love and purpose. Read and reread; look up and ask for understanding of the verses. Get with a friend and work through this together. Paul in Colossians says, We proclaim Him. Jan has given us a wonderful proclamation of him in The With-ness of Our God. Antoine de Saint-Exupery writes, If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea. Jan has introduced us to living by him who is the endless sea. Enjoy!

Rennes Bowers, III

Elder, Apex Community Church

District Chief, Dayton Fire Department

Chaplain, Dayton Dragons

Acknowledgments

The evolution of this book began long before the first word went down on the page. My heartfelt love and appreciation go to my many mentors: my mom, who taught me to love God and his will; my husband, John, who has loved and stabilized me for forty-plus years; my children, Jeremy and Beth, who taught me about my Father-God’s parent love; and my mentor friend, Donna Marriott Hines, who sent me on a journey from which there was no return with her God does it and I’m just a vessel. And my love goes to many brothers and sisters, past and present, who have taught and written of the mystery of our union with God through Jesus Christ, not the least of which is Dr. Wayne Barber, whose memorable illustration, entitled Biscuits for Jesus, has made the mystery of our union with Christ as understandable as a mystery could be.

My sincere gratitude and love also go to the amazing group of sisters and brothers who have been part of this exciting venture of faith: my Dayton Christian homeschool moms Bible study group of years gone by who, when told of my idea of a study entitled The Prepositions of His Presence: Exploring the Lord’s Relationship with Us, immediately and excitedly said, Go for it, Jan! They were my first (of many to follow) students in exploring prepositions in Scripture. In addition, Dr. David Rough of DCS took the risk of allowing me to present this material early on to a small group of teachers and staff at Dayton Christian Schools. Thank you, dear brother!

God gave me a gracious group of proofreaders. My appreciation goes to my longtime friend, Shirley Wharton, who spurred me on to better communication of these truths. Her friend and a dear brother, Pastor Jim DeJonghe, joined in to become an efficient proofer as well as a gracious encourager. I am so honored!

Penny Mandeville, my beloved friend and sister in the Lord; Kathe Bricker, a new friend and precious sister; Sue Cutting, longtime friend and prayer partner; Joanna Wright, my graciously ruthless proofer; and Kitty Green, my constant reminder of how personal God is, all met with me several times a month in those early days of writing. How can I thank you darlings for holding my hand through those early words on the computer?

My Bible study pilot group at Patterson Park Church made it easy to take the manuscript and see if it would work for a group study. This includes Sue Brixey, Kitty Green, Mary Medley, Janet Allen, and Mara Curran. Likewise, the self-study group who were reading and critiquing on their own proved that it could be done independently. This includes Suzanne McNiel, Cynthia Travis, Karen and D.J. Gesin, Mel Pinkerton, Debbie Ruxer, Peggy Rizzolo (my beloved cousin), Linda Herrmann, Dave Rough (studying along as he was reviewing it for endorsement), and others. You are all so precious to me!

And finally, to my dear son, Jeremy J. Loyd of Sparkbox Web Design and Development, thank you for not laughing at this fledgling blogger and instead supporting my dreams by designing my blog, www.abranchinthevine.com. I so appreciate all your teaching and trouble-shooting as we would move from mother-son talk to shop-talk. Your kindness and validation sent me on a path of no return. Yes, I got the writing bug, and thus this book. Did I even detect a glimmer of delight as we talked about my manuscript and your ideas for crafting the cover? And what a masterpiece you have created! Your cover has brought a glory to this project that is so deserving of our glorious God! So I praise him!

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.

To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

—Romans 11:36 (NASB)

A First Word

Welcome to this devotional study of some small words of Scripture that help us understand some amazingly big truths. They are truths about our relationship with the living God. And what could be more important than that?

As you go through the study (alone or with a group), you will read chapters followed by seven days of personal interaction and application. These days will amplify the truths from the chapter. Day 7 will always be a restful day in some way.

Some of the chapters explore truths that are deeper than others, so don’t get discouraged if you struggle a bit. After all, God is God, isn’t he? And in a very real sense, he is beyond our understanding. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will use his infallible words along with my feeble ones to meet you just where you are with his life-giving truth.

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free … So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed."

—John 8:31–32, 36 (NASB)

So Let’s Begin

My journey toward God began at a very young age. I can’t analyze how, but it all started at my mother’s knee.¹ Over the years, I’ve traveled through various Christian churches and traditions. Maybe each of those would interpret my spiritual journey slightly differently. But all I know is that

my Lord God, Three in One—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is in relationship with me in every dimension, from every direction, every aspect, every angle, every nuance, every everything, and every everyplace.

Not because I’m so great but because my God is the divine initiator. I am the receiver, his vessel, and his channel. And so are you through faith in his one and only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. He is certainly the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

So I wanted to write this study. It’s not a scholarly one,² mind you, but hopefully and prayerfully, it’s a heart-drawing and heart-filling one. Why?

So that you may know and more fully experience the reality of his loving presence totally cocooning you in his Son by faith.

Please don’t get scared away by any grammatical terms. There are really just a few. And you don’t have to fully understand them in order to benefit from this exploration in the Scriptures. But one thing I pray is that you will understand and embrace wholeheartedly the reality that

our Lord God Almighty has done all that is necessary through his glorious Son to be in a loving, personal relationship with you and me.

But first a little background for this study.

The Love Affair

I have to confess I’m having a love affair, and it’s been going on for years. When I tell you, you’ll be convinced that I’m crazy. I’ve had a love affair with language for as long as I can remember. It’s not because I like to talk (although I do), because I like to write (I haven’t always), or because I love to read good literature (I really don’t). It’s because (hold onto your hat) I adore grammar!

Now before you click out, turn off, or give up, I assure you that you won’t have to know, or even learn, grammar to do this study. You may pick up something by osmosis, but that will be purely a God-wink, an unexpected and delightful blessing. But let me tell you a little about my history with grammar—just for your enjoyment and, hopefully, spiritual application.

I’m a baby boomer who was in elementary school in New Jersey in the 1950s. My siblings and I attended St. Matthew Church and School in Edison. In those days, the nuns wore the habits that covered them from head to toe with just a small opening for their faces. They were pretty daunting figures, to say the least. It was under the tutelage of these good sisters that I learned my grammar. I remember the nail-biting syntax drills. Sister would put a new sentence to be analyzed on the board each day. We each had a list to go down, word by word, person by person—subject, verb, direct object, indirect object, predicate nominative, person, number, gender, case, and on and on.

I dreaded it, as we all did. But guess what. I learned my grammar, and to this day, I love knowing grammar well. Even my sister Nancy, who is a dental hygienist, still remembers her grammar. And I truly believe that God loves language—and yes, even grammar. Why? Because he is a speaking God! So to begin our study, let’s take a look at this one who speaks.

The Speaking God

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

—John 1:1 (NASB, emphasis added)

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.

—John 6:68 (NASB, emphasis added)

God loves to communicate. A.W. Tozer, in his magnificent book The Pursuit of God, has a whole chapter on God’s love of communication titled, The Speaking Voice. He says,

God is not silent, has never been silent. It is the nature of God to speak. The second person of the Holy Trinity is called the Word. The Bible is the inevitable outcome of God’s continuous speech. It is the infallible declaration of his mind for us put into our familiar human words.³

In Scripture, don’t we see the Lord God as a speaking God? Think of how he spoke the worlds into existence (Ps. 33:9). Remember how the Son of God is