THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST IN YOU THE HOPE OF GLORY (Col. 1:27; I Cor. 2:7-14; 4:1-2)
In the N.T. a "mystery" is some glorious eternal spiritual truth that had not been revealed in the O.T. but is now revealed in the N.T. (Col. 1:26). Faithfully teaching these mysteries is key to establishing new Christians in the faith (Rom. 16:25-26). They are very important truths for the church that are revealed by the Holy Spirit & can only be understood by the illumination of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 2:10; Eph. 1:17-19).
The mystery of "Christ in you the Hope of glory" (Col. 1:26-29; 3:11) is the salvation truth we are studying now. Not Christ “with” you but Christ "in" you! A deep understanding of this great mystery will totally transform us as it frees us from religious bondage to walk in intimate fellowship with almighty God!
GOD CREATED MANKIND AS A TRI-UNITY WITH A BODY, SOUL, AND SPIRIT. Genesis 1:26-27 reveals the creation of the soul. Genesis 2:7 reveals how God formed the physical body. Man is both created & formed (Isa. 43:7). God "breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul." Jesus himself tells us it is the spirit that giveth life (John 6:63; Eccl. 12:7). Thus we observe man has a body, soul and spirit (I Thess. 5:23; Heb. 4:12)
Jesus died on the cross to save us from the penalty of all our sins (1 Thess. 5:9-10; I Tim. 1:15; Titus 2:14; I John 1:7). Knowing the 1st Mystery of godliness is essential to fully experience this salvation from the penalty of our sins. Jesus died on the cross to save us from the power of sin (Romans 6:1-14). The omnipotent power of the indwelling Christ saves us from the limited power of indwelling sin. Knowing this 2nd Mystery of Christ “in you” is essential to fully experience salvation from the power of sin in us. Jesus died on the cross to ultimately save us from the presence of sin (ICor. 15:51-57; Rom 8:18-23; Rev. 21:1-8). Knowing the Mystery of the Rapture (IThess. 4:13-18) empowers us to live in the joyful anticipation of being eternally delivered from the presence of sin.
GOD'S PURPOSE IN CREATING MAN WITH A BODY, SOUL AND SPIRIT WAS SO THAT WE COULD BECOME A LIVING TEMPLE OF THE TRINITARIAN GOD. (Eph. 2:21-22)
The Holy Spirit lives in us (I Cor. 3:16; 6:19; Rom. 8:9, 11). "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you."The LORD Jesus Christ lives in us. (Col. 1:27; 3:11; Gal. 2:20). "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" (2 Cor. 13:5). God the Father lives in us. (Eph. 3:16-19; 4:6).
This omnipotent sovereign Christ literally lives “IN ME”
Through the Indwelling Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9-10).
“Christ in you, is the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).
This mystery is realized & experienced through the indwelling Holy Spirit: "…the father shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you & shall be in you." “At that day ye shall know that I am in my father & ye in me, and I in you" (John 14:16-20).
Why only “in that day” shall you know? (The day Holy Spirit comes to live in you?)Because these truths can only be grasped & understood through the ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit (I Cor.2:7, 10-13).
The reality of this Mystery is the great infallible test of true faith: “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Cor. 13:5). Here is a spiritual test we must not fail! We cannot be saved unless Jesus lives in us. Jesus cannot be “in you” unless you have specifically asked Him to come in! “He that hath the Son hath life…” (I John 5:11-13)
Christ in us dwells in our heart: “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; (17) That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith…(19) …that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph 3:16-17, 19). When Jesus comes into our hearts He is able to cleanse our hearts from all sin (Act 15:9; Heb 9:14; I Pet. 1:22).
Christ living in me makes my physical body the Temple of God! (I Cor. 6:19). This is the Divine Eternal Purpose for the Human Body! “To be filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:17, 19).
Illustration: The Temple
The true and greatest glory doesn’t come from the building but from God Himself filling the building with his glory!(Ex. 40:34-35; 2 Chron. 5:14; 7:1-3; Jn. 1:14). There are 4 Dwelling places of God are revealed in His Word: The tabernacle. (Ex. 29:42-43); The Temple. (2 Chron. 5:14); Jesus. "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9; John 1:14; Col. 2:9; 2 Cor. 5:19); The Church (I Cor. 3:16; 6:19; Col. 1:27; Eph. 2:22): Corporately as the body of Christ "the fulness of him that filleth all in all"(Eph. 1:22-23; 2:22; I Cor. 3:16): Individually as members of Christ's body (I Cor. 6:19-20; Col. 1:27). "That ye might be filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:19).
Christ in you Begins a process of transformation: “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you” (Gal. 4:19). Once Christ comes to live in your heart you begin a lifelong growth process to become more and more like Jesus. “For whom he {God} did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son…” (Romans 8:29; Rom. 6:13).
Christ in me empowers me to live righteously: “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Rom 8:10). Christ in me gives me spiritual life. “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit” (I Cor. 6:17). I now have to decide if I am going to nourish my spirit, through spiritual disciplines, and thus become a self sacrificing spiritual person; or am I going to feed the lusts of my flesh and become a very carnal self absorbed person.
Christ in me is the key to submitting to the LORD ship of Christ: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Christ in me establishes my intimate relationship with God!
Christ in me is the key to victory over the devil: "greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (I John 4:4).
Christ in me Anchors my life in God’s love: “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love…” (Eph 3:17). Only Christ in me can fill me with all the fullness of God. God created us with some infinite capacities that nothing on earth can completely satisfy. That is why only as I allow Christ to live in and through me will I be complete as a human being (Col. 2:9-10).
Other Scriptures on the Mystery of Christ in you: Col. 3:11; John 6:56; 14:17, 20, 23; 17:23; I John 5:12-13. What an incredible supernatural source of strength, wisdom & drive (Gal. 2:8). (Phil. 4:13)
These Scriptures reveal profound life changing spiritual realities that totally transform who I am as a human being! May God grant you to experience the ever present power of the Trinitarian God in your trinitarian being (Eph. 1:16-20). Being a faithful steward of “the Mystery of Christ in you, the hope of glory” is one of the main reasons a solid presentation of the Gospel, with an invitation to repent of all sin and trust Christ alone for salvation, is followed by a prayer inviting Jesus to come into your heart! (Eph. 3:17; Rev. 3:20).
“Who is this Christ that dwells in me?” This was the subject of the 1st Mystery of God: that “God was manifest in the flesh” (ITim 3:16). Jesus is the awesome, incomprehensible, sovereign, omnipotent Creator & Sustainer of the Universe (Col. 1:15-19; 2:3, 9). JESUS is the image of the invisible God (1:15); JESUS is the firstborn of every creature; JESUS is the one true God who created all things (Col.1:16). Jesus created all things in heaven; all things that are in earth; all things that are invisible; all things that are visible. Jesus created every throne, dominion, principality, and power. All things were created by Jesus & for Jesus. JESUS "is" before all things (1:17); Jesus is the great "I AM", the self existent eternal God who created time and thus is not bound in time or by time. In JESUS all things consist (1:17): that means He holds the whole universe & every atom in it together! JESUS is the head of the Body, which is His Church (Col. 1:18). JESUS is the beginning (1:18). Jesus is the alpha and the omega (Rev. 21:6). JESUS is the firstborn from the dead (1:18). In all things JESUS has pre-eminence.
Does Jesus have pre-eminence in your life? In your career? In your studies? In your family? In your dating? Your friendships?
I.) Experiencing the reality of Christ in me empowers me to achieve Unity of the Faith with other believers (John 17:21-3)
II.) Experiencing the reality of Christ in me causes me to take more seriously the importance and purpose of my human body.
We understand why we must avoid sexual immorality. "The body is not for fornication but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body." "Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?" (I Cor. 6:13, 15, 19-20; I Thess. 4:3). Have you dedicated yourself to God to stay sexually pure until marriage? Why not pray a prayer of dedication now?
III.) Experiencing the reality of Christ in me explains why sometimes I experience a civil war raging within me!
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Gal. 2:20)
There are two persons inside me: Me and Jesus. There are two forces struggling for control: the flesh and the Spirit (Gal. 5:17).
Have you been experiencing this civil war inside you since you became a Christian? Do you better understand now how the working of God's spirit in us and the working of the lusts and weaknesses of the flesh creates a constant struggle to do what's right for God? This internal civil war is clearly revealed in Rom. 7:18-25. Victory proclaimed 7:24-5
Understanding this mystery gives me an unshakable assurance of salvation. (I John 5:11-13- read it). "He that hath the son hath life."
IV.) Experiencing the reality of Christ in me empowers me to have
victory over the power of sin in my life (Rom. 6:1-14; 7:24-25)
V.) Experiencing the reality of Christ in me allows me to access the resources which make me more than an over comer against all my spiritual enemies!
"Ye are of God, little children, & have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. (I John 4:4)
Because in Christ, God Himself dwells in our hearts, the Kingdom of God is within us! (Lk. 17:20-21).
