In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (John 1:4)

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: (John 11:25)

Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

Christianity is CHRIST IN US. We are INDWELT with a Person – His resurrection life through the Holy Spirit. But once we understand that, we also understand that the Christian life includes all of the ramifications of Christ in us. These ramifications are many.

One ramification is that because we have Christ in us, we have all of the blessings that are found in Him. Those blessings include, not just material THINGS, but a relationship with God. Because Christ is in us, we have potential for all of the fruits of the Spirit, spiritual gifts, the knowledge of the Truth, and really, the kingdom of God.

I said, "potential," because even though everything I just listed are IN CHRIST, and therefore IN US if Christ is in us, it is nevertheless a fact that Christ must grow IN US in order for us to manifest them, and come into the fullness of them. Why? Why must there be growth? Why can’t we just have all these things, not just, "potentially," but fully in our experience, just by virtue of the fact that Christ is in us? Because those things are OF CHRIST – and therefore if we are to fully experience that which is OF Christ, Christ must grow in us.

Now, when I say that Christ must grow in us, don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that WE must grow to be LIKE Christ. No. Christ must grow in and through us. What this means is that He must come to be preeminent in all of our being. Or, to quote John the Baptist, we must decrease that HE might increase – in and through us.

This is an important distinction. Christians everywhere believe that we are supposed to, "be like Jesus." Well, we will never be like Jesus, anymore than an earthen vessel with a treasure in it (see I Cor. 4) will ever be like the treasure. No. The earthen vessel will never be like the treasure. It will contain the treasure. In fact, the only way in which the treasure will be seen that is within the earthen vessel is if the earthen vessel is BROKEN.

Here we see another great ramification of Christ in us. From the perspective of the flesh and self-life, it will seem to be negative. But it is nevertheless a fact that Christ in us will clash with everything in us that is NOT of Christ. The flesh wars against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. Thus, Christ in us not only brings many blessings, but Christ in us will bring conflict and turmoil.

If Christ be in us, then we have been joined to God Himself. Can we possibly wrap our minds around that?

The Nature of Things

Of course, Christ is in us through the new birth. When you surrendered your life to Christ, Christ came to dwell in you. That happened all at once – just like a birth happens all at once. You didn’t get merely, "part of Jesus." Neither did you get, "saved only," but still lacked a second blessing known as, "the baptism of the Holy Spirit." No. Salvation, the new birth, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit are all the SAME experience. Through salvation you are born again through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. At that point, YOU ARE COMPLETE IN CHRIST. Any other teaching is error.

Now note: Despite the fact that the new birth happens all at once and you are sealed forever, you have just begin – you have simply gotten born again. From that point on, all of the ramifications of Christ in you will begin. And at the top of the list is that the Holy Spirit is going to begin to try to bring you under the Lordship of Christ – which means an end of yourself – of your own lordship of your life. This is a lifelong process and will, at times, result in great stress, perplexity, and conflict.

But why must this be so? Because of the NATURE of things – and I mean our nature. Have we yet realized that, in Adam, we have NO TRUTH in us? Well, once we are born again, we then have Christ in us – and Christ IS Truth in us! Thus, the Truth will begin to tear down all error, ignorance, and rebellion. And the war will be on. Not maybe. It is a guarantee.

Of course, there are professing Christians out there who NEVER seem to have conflict. They seem to completely happy and at peace with God and themselves. But there is a reason for this. When I give this reason, it may sound to you as if I am being critical or putting down people with agreeable temperaments, but that is not my intention. I am simply stating the Truth, based on the Word of God. If I am a Christian who has never had much inner conflict, or who is never faced with perplexity about God, or a Christian who has never come to what amounts to a complete despair over himself, then yes, I may indeed be a Christian. But I am not a Christian who has had his faith tested very much. I am, in that case, not a Christian who has been put through the fire. This is not a guess, but a fact.

Why can I say such a thing which such certainty? Because according to the Bible, we are all made of the same flesh. You might have a much more agreeable temperament than I do, and thus, it might be said that you NATURALLY handle life in a less stressful way, but this has nothing to do with spiritual issues. You still have a self-will, and are of the flesh without Christ. Indeed, your natural make-up could end up making it harder for you. Christ in you is going to seek to take over. But if you don’t see your need – because you are a naturally happy person – this make be harder.

One of the biggest mistakes Christian people make is to think that natural temperament equals spiritual maturity. It is entirely possible to have the most happy and agreeable temperament imaginable, yet to be fully on the throne of my life – and even to think that my happy disposition is of the Holy Spirit. But it isn’t. It belongs to my natural makeup. And in contrast, it is possible to be ill-tempered, and to the point of despair, yet fully under the work of the Holy Spirit. How can this be? Because the work of the Cross is upon you, and you are having a hard time with it.

Now, I am not saying that the goal is to make happy people miserable, and that it is good that miserable people are that way – or that this is a sign of maturity. I’m simply saying that Christ in us – the Holy Spirit – is not going to honor our natural temperament, whatever it may be. Christ must become LORD – inside of us and out. And a naturally happy temperament may be just as big of a hindrance to that as might be a difficult one.

This actually ought to come as GOOD NEWS to some of us. It means that if I have reached the place, in my walk with God, of utter despair over myself, it may be that God has brought me there! That IS, after all, where we all need to come – to utter despair over ourselves. It is then that we begin to realize what it really means to place our full trust in Christ. Anyways, if you are in totally despair over yourself, it is a sure sign that your trust has been IN yourself – for why would you be so devastated at your failures?

But you see, no one wants to come to a despair over themselves, because we all have a nature that demands delight in ourselves. Thus, it will, when we are going through this, seem to us that God has forsaken us. It will seem to us that this could not be happening if Christ was really in us, because Christ in us would surely produce joy, peace, and happiness.

Well, ultimately, that is true. But the joy, peace, and happiness that comes from Christ within us is going to be because of CHRIST! Not because we are delighted with ourselves! There will, in fact, have to come a complete abandonment of ourselves to Christ! We will have to come to leave ourselves alone!

So if you have truly sought the will of God, and have desired that He truly set you free, and do a work in you, and if despair over yourself has been the result, you are not seeing evidence that God has forsaken you. You are seeing evidence that God is answering your prayer!

A New Creation

Christians today are being taught more and more that Christ in us is little more than an enhancement of our old selves – sort of like salvation sort of ADDS to us Jesus Christ, and He makes us better people than we were. Today’s modern gospel of self-esteem suggests that we are of such great value to God – even before we are saved – that all we really need is some added, "flavor," called Jesus – and what will pop out is a person who finally appreciates himself as much as God does. Not only is this errant gospel of the Devil himself, but also it is based on complete ignorance of the Truth.

The Truth is, there is absolutely NOTHING about us in Adam that God values. Nothing. The fact that God LOVES us even while we are yet sinners is not proof that we are of any value. Rather, it is proof of His love, and of HIS VALUE. The real proof that God values nothing about the old creation is found in the fact that the whole thing was put to death in Christ on the Cross – and in Christ, old things are passed away. God would never do that to anything He found of value. But in contrast, the real proof that God loves us despite it all is found in the fact that He saves us and raises us up in Christ.

If you still think that God values the old creation – anything in Adam – perhaps you ought to ask as to why, then, those who refuse Christ and choose to remain in Adam end up in hell. The fact that Redemption was necessary, and it cost Jesus everything to accomplish it, ought to tell us that the old is without value at all, but that God so loved the world that He gave Jesus to save us from it. Old things really are passed away, and all things are become new – not in Adam, but in Christ. In Adam all die. In Christ all are made alive.

Again – God places NO value upon what we are in Adam. But despite our complete lack of value, God nevertheless loves us and has done everything possible to make us brand new in Christ. This is a testimony, not to our value, but to His value, love, and grace.

Now, all of this is important to understand if we are to understand CHRIST IN US. Christ is the embodiment of the NEW creation – it is ALL in Him. Everything about us, apart from Christ, is of the old creation. It is of NO value. God seeks to salvage NONE of it. Thus, rather than spice up what we are apart from Christ, or try to enhance it with religion, there is only one solution for the old creation in Adam: Death. But the good news is that this death is only a segway unto newness of life in Christ Jesus.

As a new creation in Christ, you are not alive because God has given you a THING called eternal life. No. God has given you a Person -- Christ Himself. IN HIM alone there is life.

But HIS LIFE IN US comes only through OUR death through HIS death. There is simply no other way – because of, "the nature of things."

Christ is IN US

Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: (Col. 1:26-28)

Paul harps on this reality of CHRIST IN US continually. Indeed, the theme of Paul’s epistle to the Colossians is JESUS CHRIST – the fact that all things pertaining to life are found IN HIM. In this epistle we have such profoundly simple statements, each of which carries a tremendous revelation of who Christ is, but more importantly, who He ought to be to US. About Jesus Christ, Paul proclaims:

In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col 2:3)

As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk you in him. (Col. 2:6)

For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. (Col 2:9)

And you are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: (Col 2:10)

Which are a shadow of things to come; but the substance is of Christ. (Col. 2:17)

When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory. (Col 3:4)

Paul wants to show us that all of the THINGS which we seek after – wisdom, knowledge, completion, things to come, life itself, and God – all of these are not found through methods, formulas, reasonings, or religion. They are all found in the Person of Jesus Christ.

Now what that means from a practical perspective is this: When we receive Christ, we receive all of those things IN HIM. And as we grow to know Christ, and become adjusted to Him, those things are unfolded to us in a way that renews our minds and enables us to live.

All of these statements about the sufficiency of Christ, and what He means to us, can really be gathered up into ONE: Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col. 1:27) If we searched the Bible from cover to cover, we would not find a more accurate and profound definition of Christianity. Christianity, in all of it’s dimensions and outworking, comes down to this in the end: Christ in us, the hope of glory.

Meanings

The reality of Christ in us, according to Paul, is THE MYSTERY that God has both brought to pass and revealed to the church. But not merely as a fact or truth TO the church. Paul says that Christ in us is to be revealed IN the church. Christ in us is THE purpose of God. Everything else that is in the purpose of God is nothing more than a part of THAT central Truth.

What does Paul mean by, "Christ in us?" He is writing about something that transcends religion, doctrines, beliefs, and people living good lives according to a list of Bible principles. He is talking about the fact that God Himself – through the Redemptive work of Christ – has come to make His home in us. Of course, we tend to take this for granted. It is little more than a doctrine to believe in for many of us. But Christ in us is the whole purpose of God from the beginning of the world.

CHRIST IN YOU means just this: God has made Himself one with you through His Son. Your spirit is ONE with His Spirit. "But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." (1 Cor. 6:17) It means that you are a different order of human being – a new creation in Christ Jesus. (II Cor. 5:17) It means that you no longer belong to yourself, but to HIM. (I Cor. 6:19) It means that you have in you everything necessary to live eternally with God forever.

Pentecost and the Ascension

Before the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, Christ was in no one. Jesus Himself said so. He said that the Holy Spirit had been WITH people, but only after He ascended would the Comforter come and dwell IN people. (John 14:17) Indeed, the Holy Spirit is the means by which Christ would come to be in people. Jesus, in fact, spoke of the Father, Himself, and the Holy Spirit, ALL coming and making their home in us. (John 14:23) Of course. The three are ONE. There is not a receiving of Christ, and then another experience of receiving the Holy Spirit. There is NO second blessing, or a third necessary. There is ONE experience: The new birth. Through it, we receive the Holy Spirit, which is Christ in us, the hope of glory. We are complete IN HIM.

So the Holy Spirit came on that day to dwell in people – or, if you will – Jesus Christ Himself came that day, through the agency of the Spirit, to dwell in people. Pentecost was the day, "Christ in you, the hope of glory," was revealed IN PEOPLE. It was the day that this great purpose of God was brought to birth.

But what is the purpose of Christ in us? It is one thing to say that Christ in us is the purpose of God, and that is true, but what is going trying to accomplish?

Well, Christ in us is Redemption. It is a restoration of the original design and purpose for which God made man. But to get a little more specific, let’s look at the event which actually precipitated the coming of the Holy Spirit: The ascension.

Jesus had plainly told His disciples that as long as He was bodily with them, the Comforter could not come. (John 16:7) The most obvious reason for this impossibility of the Comforter coming while Jesus was still there bodily is that the Comforter WAS the means by which Jesus would come back to dwell in us. In other words, Jesus could not come back to dwell IN His people, as long as He was with them physically.

Now, if you look at just that much, you see that CHRIST IN US through the agency of the Holy Spirit REALLY IS CHRIST IN US! The Person. Not a THING called eternal life. Not an idea, or a doctrine. Not something God does to us. But salvation itself is Christ in us. This is shown by virtue of the fact that none of it could come to pass while Christ remained with the disciples on this earth. He had to first GO before the Comforter could bring Him back by the Spirit.

But there was more – and in this we begin to see the very purpose of Christ in us through the Holy Spirit. We begin to see the purpose of God in this age. When Jesus bodily ascended into heaven, He took His seat – where? At the right hand of God. He was, at that point, proclaimed LORD of all. Everything He needed to do to merit that title, He had done after His death and resurrection. But the ascension sealed it. He had entered into heaven itself and there took His place. It was THEN, and only THEN, that He said that it was possible for the Comforter to come – for Himself to come back and dwell IN US, by His Spirit. What is the connection?

The connection is just this: The purpose of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is to make Jesus Lord of us. THAT is the purpose of Christ in us. And in order for Jesus to come back, by the Holy Spirit, and dwell in us, and become Lord in us, He had to first ascend into heaven, and take His seat AS Lord of all.

Now, don’t misunderstand. Jesus was God before He ever became a man, and as God, certainly was Lord. But after His death, resurrection, and ascension, He was Lord of all AS the God-man. Only AFTER the redemption had He conquered everything having to do with the fallen condition of humanity, and won all victory. Only then was He Lord of all – as God having become man. Thus, His enthronement in heaven upon His ascension was a proclamation of having conquered all pertaining to humanity.

This is exactly why it was only then possible for the Comforter to come. The Comforter could come to make Jesus Lord in each one of us only AFTER Jesus became Lord through victory. It was because of that victory that all of the things that BELONG to His victory can be made ours as fellow heirs with Christ.

Back to the purpose of the Holy Spirit. The Comforter has come to take everything of Jesus Christ and make Him real to us, and in us. The Holy Spirit does this by making Jesus Christ LORD in us.

Now you will notice that I am talking about much more here than the Spirit simply revealing to us the FACT that Jesus is Lord. Of course. It is one thing to give assent to the FACT that Jesus is Lord. It is another to have everything about you adjusted UNDER Him as Lord! The work of the Holy Spirit is to totally rearrange our inner constitution – our mind, will, and even, over the course of time, our emotions – to be in harmony with Jesus Christ as our personal Lord.

There are many other ways to say the same thing. Sometimes we call it, "Christian growth," or refer to it as, "being conformed to the image of Christ." It is also proper to describe the process of Jesus becoming Lord in us as, "sanctification." Or, "holiness." It is also what it means to live in, "the kingdom of God." Of course. To live in the kingdom of God means to come under the KING HIMSELF – Jesus as Lord.

However, you will again notice a problem here: In order for the Holy Spirit to make Jesus Lord IN US, it is also necessary to dethrone US as our own lord. If the kingdom of God is to freely reign in us, then God must concurrently tumble our kingdom. This is the negative side of things – the work of the Cross. Death. But always UNTO life. There is nothing of Christ in us that can come to be made manifest unless it comes under this process. It may seem negative while we are going through it. But in the end, what springs forth is eternal.

When everything Jesus said the Comforter would do when He came are gathered up, they all come under the heading of Jesus as Lord IN US. They all work towards that, and really, stem from it. Why would that be surprising? When we invited Jesus into our hearts and got saved, what did we think we were doing? Well, we were SURRENDERING our lives to Christ, weren’t we? We were asking Him to BE LORD of us.

So in the ascension of Jesus Christ we find the event that released the eventuality of Pentecost. It is the same in US. If we will allow Jesus to be seated as Lord IN US, we will find a release of the work of the Holy Spirit IN US. The two always go together. The work of the Holy Spirit is to make Jesus Lord. And the more we open ourselves to Jesus as Lord, the more the Holy Spirit can be free to work. And the more the Holy Spirit is free to work, the more Jesus will be exalted as Lord in us.

Not Just Things

Today, as never before, Christians have the idea that the Holy Spirit has come to give us THINGS. Some want POWER – power to do miracles. Others want GIFTS – especially the more supernatural gifts of healing, prophecy, and tongues. Others simply want health and wealth. But in the end, the Holy Spirit has not come to give us THINGS. The Holy Spirit has brought a PERSON. But not just an indwelling of Jesus. The Holy Spirit has brought Jesus as Lord, to enthrone Him as Lord of each one of us.

You see, if the church would get its focus back onto this one great purpose of the Holy Spirit for this age, everything would change. All of a sudden, we would realize that what happened on that day of Pentecost was not POWER FOR SERVICE. The disciples had already gone out and preached, and healed, and cast out demons. Jesus had sent them out and GAVE them that power long before Pentecost – long before they had any indwelling of the Holy Spirit. On that day of Pentecost, the disciples were being given POWER TO BECOME – power to become witnesses.

You cannot BECOME a witness unto Jesus Christ unless He is first LORD IN YOU, OF YOU, and TO YOU. You might verbally do a thing called, "witnessing," and you might, if you try hard enough, act like a witness unto Christ. You might be saved, and even know lots of Bible verses. But you cannot actually BE a witness unto Christ, as is defined by Jesus Christ, unless Jesus is first Lord of your life.

If Jesus is Lord of a life, there will be two dominant characteristics: Dependence upon Christ, and devotion to Christ. If Jesus is Lord, I will be brought to utter weakness in myself. But this is good. For to the extent that I am weak in myself, I will be strong in Him, and dependent upon Him. And likewise, if Jesus is Lord of me, I will be totally devoted to Him. I will not only obey Him, and live a progressively holy life, but I will be defined by my devotion to Him. Even through my failings, my constant devotion to Christ as the solution will shine through.

If the church would be dependent upon, and devoted to Jesus Christ – which would mean that Jesus really IS Lord of each of us – we would see power, miracles, and the church would BE a witness. And it would be real.

Jesus said, "Seek you first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you." (Matt. 6:33) Can we possibly see that He is, right in these words, using kingdom language, telling us that if we FIRST surrender to Him as Lord of our life – which is what the kingdom within us suggests – that everything else can be added to us. Sure. Jesus as our Lord provides.

The Treasure in Earthen Vessels

Paul lists some other dimensions of CHRIST IN US:

But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: (1 Cor. 1:30)

Now notice: These are not THINGS we possess. No. They are CHRIST IN US. In other words, God does not give us a THING called, "eternal life," or a THING called, "wisdom, etc." Rather, God gives us HIMSELF – in His Son. And He is all of those things in us.

Another way to look at this is to realize that none of those things can come from us. They can only come from Christ in us. Or, as Paul says in another place, "We have this treasure in earthen vessels." (II Cor. 4:7) In other words, we have CHRIST IN US. He is the treasure, and we are the earthen vessel.

We are never made to be little versions of Christ, or to be, "little gods." That teaching is the result of ignorance of what Christianity really is. No. God never makes us into Christ. We REMAIN earthen vessels, and Christ is the treasure. There IS a oneness and a union that takes place in our spirit. But Christ is nevertheless SEPARATE from us – as to identity. God’s goal is to so identify us WITH His Son that we become those through whom Christ can live and move.

This is so different than what is normally taught. We are taught that God DOES stuff to us, and that what He does changes us to look like Christ. Or we are taught that God gives us THINGS, and those THINGS change us to look like Christ. Or we think that God gives a list of THINGS to do so that we will look like Christ. But no. God gives us CHRIST HIMSELF. And if we will come under the power of the Cross – which is what it means to come under the Lordship of Christ via the Holy Spirit, Christ will be seen in us, and be able to progressively live through us. Christ in us is the treasure. We are the earthen vessel.

Not Merely a Doctrine

As I mentioned, CHRIST IN US, is a wonderful definition of Christianity. But once we start talking about definitions and doctrines, there is a danger. For you see, it is one thing to believe that CHRIST IN US is a correct definition of Christianity. And that it is a wonderful doctrine of the Bible. But we could actually do all of that – and rejoice in that statement of Truth – yet never come into the reality of CHRIST IN US.

There is something about Christian people that makes us think that if we believe a teaching about Christ that it is the same as faith in Christ Himself. I guess it is pride, based in ignorance. The question therefore becomes: Is Christ in you? He MUST be if you call yourself a Christian. But if Christ IS in you, then how real is He to you as a Christian? Or is Christ, the Person, not much more real to you than a doctrine?

According to scripture, Christ in us is supposed to be so real that His life within constitutes THE EVIDENCE to us of Truth itself. Realizing this explains much. For if CHRIST IN US was not the evidence, then where would we look? Well, we’d have to end up looking to our understanding, our interpretations of the Bible, and we’d get mired down in the philosophy and arguments of men. And in so may circles today in the church, that is, in fact, the level upon which the argument for Christ rages.

Actually, read Colossians. You will find that this is exactly what Paul warns against.

Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. (Col 2:3-4)

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. (Col 2:8-9)

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increases with the increase of God. (Col 2:16-19)

Christianity is CHRIST IN US. It is about our relationship with a Person. It is NOT about having the right philosophical argument, or to be able to get on the internet and banter back and forth with people who reject Christ.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Christianity is based on historical fact: Jesus rose from the dead. This is the objective proof – and you can prove it – that stands BEHIND the evidence with us, who is Christ Himself. But are you a Christian merely because you read an historical account of how Jesus rose from the dead? I think not. You are a Christian because the Holy Spirit convicted you of sin, and having repented, you have Christ in you.

Furthermore, are you a Christian because you explored the many faiths of the world, and the Christian faith presented the best argument, or made the most sense to you? If that is why you are a Christian, then you will only be one until a better argument comes along. Many who once professed Christ – but based on a religious argument, rather than faith – end up falling away. They profess Christ only until something shakes their faith – faith that was built upon the sand of human reasoning.

We receive Christ because a Person has been revealed to us – Christ as Savior. This need not be in some supernatural vision. Through the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we simply know that we have been wrong with God, and want to be right with Him. We see Jesus is the Way. But then having received Christ, we KNOW, and are growing in, the Truth. We know because the Truth Himself is in us. He is the evidence, the inner witness, and the true record.

If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (1 John 5:9-13)

Christ in us is THE hope of glory. He is the only hope of eternal glory that we have. We have been given a down payment on that eternal inheritance through the Holy Spirit NOW. The best is yet to come.

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