God dwells in His children
by the new birth we receive from Christ through Salvation (John
1:12). He rejoices as we grow in the
knowledge of our salvation (1 John 3:2),
but He waits for our realization that we are also temples of the Holy Spirit (1
Corinthians 6:19). Once we begin to
submit to the Spirit for sanctification of our flesh, then He teaches us about
the divinity of Christ, which dwells within us (Galatians 2:20).
We are not separate from
Christ, obeying Him in our own power. He permanently dwells in us and expresses
Himself through us (Colossians 3:3). We
are children of His death, but we are also children of His resurrection (Luke
20:36). We are transformed into Christ’s
image in ever-increasing increments of glory, which come from the Lord’s
Spirit. Then, as unveiled mirrors, we reflect to the world the glory of the Lord
within us (2 Corinthians 3:18). In our daily life, as His Spirit molds us into His
image, we experience and express all of the attributes of God just as He is
within us, (Romans 8:29).
Jesus
gives us the glory that God gave Him, so that we will be one with our triune
God, just as they are one (John 17:22). If we do not recognize this divine power within us,
then we will never live up to our full potential as Christians. Jesus’
sacrifice enables
us to share in His divine nature and to escape the corruption in the world
caused by evil human desires (2 Peter 1:4). As we mature, we attain to the whole measure of the fullness of
Christ who dwells within us. We put on our new self, shaped by the Spirit to be
like God with all of His virtues and holiness within us (Ephesians
4:13,24).
We
often limit our understanding of life to what we perceive through our five
senses. We also rely heavily only on what our human mind envisions. Yet, we
ignore the supernatural and the eternal aspects of Christ within us. Therefore,
we hinder the expression of God’s power in and through us. With Christ in us, it does
not matter where we live, with whom we live or even if we live alone. Christ’s
presence within us rises above the limitations of the natural realm and the
circumstances in it. God imparts His Spirit to us in order to allow the
glorious nature of Christ in us the freedom of expression through us (Colossians
1:27; 1 Corinthians 12:27).
As
we grasp this fact, we realize who we really are in Christ. Then, we live by
faith in the eternal, and no longer by sight in the temporal realm of life (2
Corinthians 5:7).
It is not I, but Christ living in me (Galatians 2:20). When trials and tribulation
afflict my life, I no longer have to overcome them. They are simply another
adventure in Christ; an opportunity for Him to show His divine nature through
us. Nothing, which comes into our life, is a surprise to God. He saw it all
before the beginning of time (Ephesians 1:4).
Jesus
completed the work of redeeming, sanctifying and perfecting us on the cross (Hebrews
10:14). Now, He
is working through us to perform His purpose in each situation in our life as
it occurs. We have His joy in our tribulation, because we know that God has a
divine purpose for us in it. God allowed Job to experience devastating loss in
his life; but He used Job for His glory in each one of them. In the end, God
gave Job much more than he ever lost (Job 42:12). We enjoy God’s presence in
our life now, and we look forward to dwelling with Him where righteousness
reigns, in the new heaven and new earth (2 Peter 3:13).
Prayer:
Father
God, when we forget that we are simply aliens and pilgrims in this world, we
take life too seriously. We put all of our effort into attaining success in
this world. There is no reason for us to doubt Your Word; it is true because
all of its prophecies are true. Help us to believe Your Word and to allow it to
transform our life as we live by the direction of Your Spirit through each
moment of every day, until You decide to take us home to live with You in
glory.
Thought
for the Day:
As we continue to live in Christ,
we walk in His holiness. When He returns for His bride, we will face him with
confidence and unashamed (1 John 2:28).