Being In Christ, And Having Christ In Our Lives.
Introduction
Jesus Christ declared: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.” (John 16:7)
Some years ago, the Spirit of the Lord impressed upon me that I needed to come up in my estimation of who I am in Christ. Since then, I have become increasingly convinced that every believer needs a twofold revelation in our lives:
The first is to know who we are in Christ.
The second, and far more important, is to know who Christ desires to be in and through our lives.
Understanding the doctrine of being in Christ is not enough. The greater question is whether Jesus Christ is being revealed through those who claim to profess His name. This study, Being In Christ, And Having Christ In The Believer, must become more than a collection of spiritual thoughts or inspired truths. These truths must become firmly established in our hearts until they are demonstrated in our everyday life.
The Holy Spirit once impressed these words upon me: “The Word of God must become a personal word, a word of reality. This comes as you give yourself to meditate upon the Word.”The Scriptures were never intended to remain as words printed on a page. They are to become a living reality within every believer.
The written Word will never lose its power, but its power cannot be experienced while it remains merely ink on paper. It must be spoken with the mouth, heard with the ears, believed in the heart, and received into the inner man. The Law was written on tablets of stone, yet it did not profit those who refused to receive it into their hearts”.
From the beginning, the Father has desired that His Word would first transform the inward man before it is expressed through the outward life. The Lord then impressed upon me four essential requirements :
- His Word must enter the believer’s heart.
- His Word must govern our desires, choices, and daily conduct.
- The Word preached must become the Word practised.
- The message proclaimed with the lips must be confirmed through a life of obedience.
This is very important to understand; it is only then that the Word of God can reveal its full power, not merely as truth that is proclaimed, but as truth that is lived. Being in Christ is a glorious position granted by the Father through faith. Yet the evidence of that position is seen when Jesus Christ is manifested both in and through us. The world does not need believers who can merely explain the Scriptures; it needs believers through whom the life of Jesus Christ is plainly seen.