Our theology—our way of thinking about God—must do more than fill our minds with doctrine or point us to a distant hope. If it does not bring us into the present, subjective enjoyment of God’s presence through faith in Christ, it has failed its most essential purpose. This is not a secondary matter. God’s goal is not merely to inform us, but to bring us into the immediate enjoyment of Himself.
Many who are strong in grace doctrine shy away from the language of subjective experience, fearing it will open the door to mysticism or a new legalism. But the New Testament does not share this hesitation. It does not teach us to wait passively for “Heaven when we die” as the only fruit of grace. Instead, it insists that the blood of Christ has already brought us into the Holiest—into God’s presence now—and that His Spirit within us is the source of peace and satisfaction today.
Consider the Gospel of John. It is saturated with the revelation of a subjective Christ: Christ as a fountain springing up within, as rivers of living water flowing out, as our very food and drink. Paul, too, does not hesitate to call us into the present experience of Christ. In Philippians 4, he commands us not to be anxious, but to make our needs known to God with thanksgiving, so that His peace will mount guard around our hearts and minds. This is not a call to develop a mere virtue of forbearance. Rather, it is a call to become so aware of Christ’s nearness and sufficiency—so intimate with Him, so reliant on Him for everything—that we are no longer dependent on others for satisfaction, and thus cannot be disappointed by them.
Why do anxiety and disappointment so often mark our relationships? The answer is not circumstantial, but theological. Anxiety is the fruit of an incomplete theology—a theology that fails to make us aware of God’s present sufficiency and care. If we do not see that:
- He is present now,
- He is everything we need,
- We have access to Him now,
- He is for us,
- He cares about everything that concerns us,
- He is working all things for our good,
then our theology is not only incomplete, it is defective. It leaves us anxious, disappointed, and restless—cut off from the peace and satisfaction that are our inheritance in Christ.
It is one thing to know that justification will acquit us at the judgment seat. But justification is not merely a future verdict. The blood of Jesus Christ brings us into the Holiest now—into the presence of God, who accepts us right now. God’s heart is not to postpone His lovingkindness until the ages to come. He desires to show Himself kind toward us today. Regardless of what we are in the flesh, we are welcomed to come, to drink, and to be satisfied with Him now.
To judge our spiritual condition or God’s acceptance of us by anything other than the blood of Christ is to paralyze ourselves and to disregard both God’s presence and the blessing of the promised Spirit we have received. The Spirit is not a mere future guarantee; He is a present pledge, a foretaste of the good things to come. He settles our hearts in peace and satisfaction, bringing the comforts of God into any environment.
Only this kind of subjective experience of Christ by the Spirit could produce a person like Paul, who could say he “longed for [the saints] in the inward affections of Jesus Christ.” This is not natural affection, but the very feelings of Jesus experienced by Paul. Paul taught us to expect not just heaven, but that the life of Christ would be manifest in our mortal flesh. This does not come by mystical pursuit, by more prayer, more fasting, or seeking some “apostolic experience.” It comes by faith in the blood that justifies us—not just to “go to Heaven,” but to bring us into the presence of God and give God a righteous way to dwell in us, forgive all our sins, and make Christ at home in our hearts, rooting and grounding us in His love.
If we accept a theology that withholds the present enjoyment of God’s presence, we lose everything that makes the Christian life distinct from mere religion. We forfeit peace, satisfaction, and the manifestation of Christ’s life in our mortal bodies. We are left with anxiety, disappointment, and a restless striving that can never produce what only Christ Himself can give.
Let us not settle for a theology that leaves us outside, waiting for a future blessing. The finished work of Christ has opened the way. We are called to draw near now, to enjoy God’s presence now, to be satisfied now. Anything less is not the gospel Paul preached, nor the inheritance Christ purchased.
