“Christ in You”

Last time, in our presentation of the Spirit’s indwelling, I made a brief reference to the idea that Christ and the Holy Spirit are often used interchangeably in the promise of God coming to live in us.  Today, we will look at some references to “Christ in us”.

[Jesus speaking] “In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (Jn 14:20).

“And since Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the Spirit is alive because of righteousness” (Rom 8:10).

“The mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations; but has now been manifested to His saints, … which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:26-27).

In this last reference, Paul calls “Christ in you” a mystery.  And we understand that.  After all, who can really get their arms around all that is meant in that one powerful phrase: “Christ in you”?  But just because it is a mystery does not in any way make it less than a true and real fact.  “Christ in you” is an undeniable reality for those who are in Christ; for those who have trusted Christ and accepted His offer of forgiveness for our sins.

The mysterious part of “Christ in you” does not scare us away.  Just the opposite.  We run toward it.  Why?  Because we do not understand and embrace this mystery by human logic.  We embrace this mystery by faith.  “I bow my knees before the Father … that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (Eph 3:14,16-17).

The promise of the New Testament is that Christ already dwells inside you.  The encouragement of the New Testament is that we can feel, we can experience, we can live into the reality of this indwelling by faith.  Christ’s life inside us can be part of our practice and experience, not just a theological concept or idea.

There is much more to be said about how we move from the theological to the practical in our daily walk regarding this promise and we will get there in the weeks ahead.  Until then, may “Christ in you” be the reality you walk in today.  He is at home in you.

One thought on ““Christ in You””

  1. “Christ’s life inside us can be part of our practice and experience, not just a theological concept or idea.” … is a great jumping off point. I look forward to the next post!

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