Our salvation unites us with Christ in an eternal union
that will never end. This opens up for us a whole new world. Neither death nor judgment will break this everlasting
tie. We reap the victorious, joyful, righteous life of Christ in place of our
lowly sinful nature. The authentic Born Again Believer lives in Christ, who is
our life (Philippians
1:21; Colossians 3:4). The Holy Spirit conforms our
soul’s nature to possess all of Christ’s character. He lives, moves and has His
being in and through us (1 John
5:5).
We are renewed and holy; but more than that, God actually
lives through Christ in us. God perfects us in Christ (Colossians 2:9-10). The world
should see the reality of Christ through our life as He is formed in our soul (John 17:23,26; Colossians 1:27; Galatians 4:19).
His life in us is our real life (Ephesians
1:23). Our fleshly leanings and desires are part of the old,
carnal self, which is now dead in Christ (Galatians
2:20). The sum total of our converted life is: Christ in me, and
I in Christ (Colossians
2:9-10). He is all we need.
His fullness dwells within us now. We are no longer our
own, because Christ bought us with a price (1
Corinthians 6:19-20). Our life is so perfectly
connected to Christ that people see Him instead of us and are drawn to His
glory and love. It is up to us to surrender our life totally to God’s will, so
that Christ is revealed through us to the world in which we live. Do your
family, workmates, community and church see Christ in you; or is your life all
about “you”?
We were once dead in sin, lost and undone with no hope of a
future life (Ephesians
2:1,5). We rejected the truth of God’s Word, because it sounded
like nonsense to us. We had no way to understand these truths, because they
were spiritually discerned (1
Corinthians 2:14). Now, our humanity is dead and
hidden with Christ in God (Colossians
3:3). We set our hope on the living Lord within us because the
Spirit of life makes us righteous (John
14:6; Romans 8:10).
We pass from death to life because the love of Christ
manifests through us toward our Christian brothers and the world around us (1 John 3:14). Our whole
spirit, body and soul – our mind, will and emotions – are kept holy and
blameless by His Spirit until Christ returns (1 Thessalonians 5:23). We are
competent as ministers only because of God’s spiritual covenant with mankind (2 Corinthians 3:6). Let us never
pass up an opportunity to share with others the change that God brought into
our life.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You came to bring us abundant life both now
and in eternity. We were once lost in sin and degradation, squandering our
natural resources and bound up with making a living and finding natural
success. Then, You came and transformed us from the kingdom of darkness into
the Kingdom of Your glorious life. We find peace, joy and fulfillment that do
not depend on this physical world. We look forward to eternity with You in
Heaven.
Thought for the Day:
We have eternal, everlasting life in God’s Son. - 1
John 5:11-12; Romans 6:23
