I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal. 2:20 ESV)
A Christian living by the power of God is truly an amazing sight. Christians are not remarkable because we wear odd clothing, speak a different language, have sensational personalities, or attend pleasant Sunday gatherings. Rather, Christians are remarkable, because there is an immense inner power—the power of another—that lives inside every single one of us. A Christian is an incredible mystery because the old life and person are dead and gone, yet what remains is not an unfeeling, putrefying corpse that reeks of death, but rather a new creation who has been born again to a living hope and exudes the fragrant aroma of Christ to all who are being saved by our God. And the secret to the Christian’s power does not lie in some sort of self-discovery of hidden inner strength, but rather in Christ—God himself, who lives inside of us.
Christian, have you ever stopped to consider the unimaginable gift that is ours of Christ living in us as we walk along the narrow road that leads to life? Every step we take, Christ does not just see from afar in heaven, but he is there with us! Even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, the Good Shepherd is there, leading us through the valley, beating back the wolves of despair with his rod and strengthening our faltering knees so that we might keep pressing forward. When we are faced with criticism, slander and hostility for sharing about Christ and summoned before the powers of this world, we need not fear what we are to say, for we are told that the Spirit of Christ in us will speak for us in that very hour. When we speak the Gospel as Christ’s ambassadors in human words, our words are heard, but it is ultimately the Shepherd’s voice that the sheep hear (Luke 10:16).
When we pass through suffering that would threaten to capsize us in a sea of despair, it is Christ who lives in us who will buoy us up through the breakers that threaten to drown us. When we find ourselves turning back to God again and again in repentance for our sins, our hearts are strengthened to know that our King gazes at us with eyes of love and compassion, for our Father sees not us, but his precious Son who lives in us. We stand bold and confident before the Lord of all the universe not because of our own righteousness, but because of the righteousness of our Christ who lives in us. We labour at the ministry he has assigned us to do, not in our own strength, but with all the energy of Christ that he powerfully works in us (Col 1:29).
Believer, in your sufferings and labours for the Lord, do you remember that there is another who lives inside of you? Do you believe that the power of the Christ who lives in you is limitless? Do you have assurance in your soul that the God who gave you new birth will sustain you even now and will rescue you from the lions that seek to devour your soul and will guide you safely into his heavenly kingdom? Come now, child of the immortal King who sent his own Son to die on the cross for you. You have been gifted unimaginable, divine power to live a life that seeks first the kingdom of God. There is hope for all who would come whether this be the alcoholic, the drug-addict, the negligent, the lazy, or the violent. Hope not in our own strength, but through Christ who lives in us.
And on the day our Lord calls us home and those gathered around our failing bodies sing God’s praise and also weep over a life that blessed countless others, may we whisper to them with our final breath, “Not I, but Christ in me.” Believer, may God make this the refrain of your life in all that you say and do, “Not I, but Christ in me.”
Article by: Samuel Chua
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