CHRIST IN YOU


A. "TO WHOM GOD WOULD MAKE KNOWN WHAT IS THE RICHES OF THE GLORY OF THIS MYSTERY AMONG THE GENTILES; WHICH IS CHRIST I YOU THE HOPE OF GLORY" - COL. 1:27
  1. Jesus Christ was and still is:
    1. The alpha and the omega to all the believers of the gospel of Jesus Christ - Rev. 1:11
    2. No change has taken place in this relationship nor ever will be - Heb. 13:8
  2. To preach Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead was the ever present and pressing burden of Paul:
    1. "But we preach Christ" - I Cor. 1:23
    2. Wrote he to the Galatians, "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" - Gal. 5:14 B. CHRIST IN YOU THE HOPE OF GLORY
  3. The special emphasis is on that little word - "in":
    1. The Christ related word "in" is used by the Lord no less than ten times in John 15:1-7
    2. Note, how the Lord makes that little word "in" a condition to all the blessings of the kingdom
  4. "Every branch in me that beareth fruit" (v.2)
  5. "Abide in me and I in you" (v.4)
  6. "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me" (v.4)
  7. "He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit" (v.5)
  8. "If a man abides not in Me, he is cast forth" (v.6)
  9. If ye abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (v.7)
    1. Our Lord carried this little word "in" into that great prayer of intercession - in words like these, "I in them, and thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one" - John 17:21-23
  10. Paul's special experience:
    1. He saw Jesus Christ on several occasions - Acts 22:17-18; 23:11
    2. He emphasizes that Jesus Christ lives in him - Gal. 2:20
    3. To Paul to live was Christ and to die for Christ was gain - Phil. 1:21 C. LET US NOTE SOME OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE OPENING TEXT
  11. For Jesus Christ to dwell in me:
    1. I must be a new creature - "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature" - 2 Cor. 5:14-17
    2. Said Jesus, "I am come that ye might have life" - John 10:10
    3. The new birth - regeneration is the incoming of the life of Jesus Christ - I John 5:1
    4. Said Jesus, "As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so He that eateth me, even he shall live by Me" - John 6:57
    5. It was in this connection when Jesus spoke the sad words, "And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life" - John 5:40
  12. For Christ to dwell in us our body must become a temple: - Solemn thought indeed:
    1. Shall God in every deed dwell with men
    2. The answer is emphatically "Yes"; Examples: When God made provision for the earthly sanctuary - that provision included a dwelling for the Majesty from on high - Ex. 25:8; 29:45; then let us remember John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us"
    3. Paul emphasizes that our bodies are to be the dwelling place of God - I Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19-20
  13. Governed by His will:
    1. The motto of my life will be, "Not my will, but Thine be done" - Gal. 2:20; Acts 9:6; Matt. 26:42
    2. That simply means that Christ is in complete control of my thoughts, my words and my actions; it is utterly impossible for two opposing powers to live in the same house
    3. A surrendered will is the greatest progress in the relationship between us and the Lord Jesus
  14. In possession of all sufficiency:
    1. Our connection with Jesus Christ brings to us the riches of God in Christ Jesus - Eph. 2:7; 3:8-16; Phil. 4:19
    2. That is the key to the boldness of Paul when he says, "I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengtheneth me" - Phil. 4:13


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