Christ In YouÉ Doing His Work As You.

John 14:6-23; Col 1:29

 

Christ in youÉ one with youÉ a profound mystery. (Eph 5:31-32)

á      Greatest of all the mysteries weÕll ever contemplateÉ Creator God has come to make

His dwelling in us. This oneness with God represents the heart of Christian Gospel.

o     Christianity is not another religious system, but rather a deep, intimate, & living relationship with a personal Creator. Eternal life is knowing God. (Jn 17:3)

á      A mystery: Christ in youÉ doing His work as you. (Col 1:27,29)

á      Just as you trusted Him for your salvationÉ trust Jesus in you as your life.

 

Hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:3; 2Cor 5:17)

á      Hidden w/Christ in God (Col 3:3)É We live, move & have our being in ChristÉ

o     No longer you living your life, but Christ living His life in you, as you. (Gal 2:20)

á      I no longer live but Christ lives in meÉ you & He are one. (Gal 2:20)

á      Not you producing His life, but you trusting Him to live His life thru you, as you.

á      Jesus is within us & He is living His life unto God thru usÉ (Jn 14:10)

á      God wants us to be filled to all the fullness of Christ. (Eph 4:13)

 

Christ in youÉ doing His work as you. (Jn 14:10)

á      True religion is an essential union of our spirit with the H Spirit: God in us, & we in God.

á      Our human nature has none of the truth, power, or divine worship in itÉ all we can be in our natural man is self-love, self-esteem, & self-seeking.

á      Only the H Spirit can move us from self-dominated to Christ-centered. We donÕt have the power to live for Him or adore Him except by His Spirit.

á      All self-effort to transform your character is futileÉ only the H Spirit can impart purity of heart. He sets us free from sinÕs bondage & He alone has power to do it.

á      The life we can attain thru self-effort is described in Gal 5:21.

á      When we come to end of ourselves & renounce all our self-efforts for holinessÉ only then does H Spirit take full control & bear His own glorious fruit (Gal 5:22-23) in our life.

á      Christ is our victory (1Cor 5:57)É we donÕt need our own will power & determination to resist temptationÉ we need only look to & trust in Him who is our life. (Col 3:4)

á      We must be careful of counterfeit victoryÉ achieved by self-effort.

á      In real victory, Christ does it allÉ He works in our lives to give us victory.

á      Key to victory is not that we behold what is impossible for us in Christ, & reach for itÉ but rather that we behold what is accomplished for us in Christ, & appropriate it.

á      He who enters GodÕs restÉ rests from his own work. (Heb 4:10)

á      Entering the rest of God is the ceasing from self-effort, & yielding ourselves in full surrender to GodÕs working in, thru, & as us.

á      Two stages in the ChristianÕs life: First, after conversion the believer seeks to work what God would have him do. Second, after many painful failures he ceases from his work, enters the rest of God & begins to allow Christ to live in, thru & as him.

á      GodÕs rest is not mere contemplation or neglect of duties of life. True rest in God is to yield ourselves up to highest level of activity. We work because He works in us. (Phil 2:13)

á      Do you desire that every area of your life be surrendered to God, & at rest in Him?

 

Be separateÉ come out from among the world. (2Cor 6:17-18)

á      We have lost power of H Spirit because line between church & world has been obliterated.

á      DonÕt you know that friendship with world is hatred toward God? (Ja 4:4)

á      Because we look to world for acceptance & pleasure, etc. God will not fill us.

á      Love of world excludes the love of GodÉ you must choose one or the other. (1Jn 2:15)

á      When holy & unholy (worldly) come togetherÉ both are unholy. (Haggai 2:10)

o     Self-effort (sinful nature) makes every act of service unacceptable (unholy) to God.

á      You can not run with the wrong crowd & stay pureÉ you become unclean. (1Cor 15:33)

 

Many spiritual blessing Òabove the lineÓ go unclaimed.

á      Spiritual blessings above line which are ours in Christ may be divided into three classes:

á      First, those which come to us upon putting our faith in Jesus as your Savior. (e.g. forgiveness, justification, regeneration, sonship, etc.)

á      Second, those which are ours by inheritance but we cannot enjoy until our Lord returns. (e.g. ultimate moral perfection, resurrection & glorification of our bodies, heaven, etc.)

o     These treasures are ours as surely as if we possessed them now.

á      Third, those which are ours by blood atonement but which will not come to us unless we make a determined effort to possess them. (e.g. deliverance from sins of flesh, victory over self, fruitfulness, awareness of presence of God, growth in grace, increasing awareness of union with God, & unbroken spirit of worship, etc.)

o     These are ours as we hunger for them, separate ourselves from the world, take time & effort to be holy, & trust in Christ to manifest them in/thru us.

o     Temptation is to make our relationship with God judicial instead of personal.

o     Paul devoted his whole life to knowing, following, & adoring Christ. (Phil 3:14)

á      Work of H Spirit in our heart is not automatic or unconscious thingÉ your will & intelligence must yield & cooperate.

o     Paul labored but it was only with GodÕs strength. (Col 1:29)

á      At this point we often go astray: Either we try to make ourselves holy & fail miserablyÉ or we seek to achieve a state of spiritual passivity & wait for God to perfect our naturesÉ

á      H Spirit does not work in us apart from our own moral responses. Watchfulness, prayer, self-discipline, & yielded to GodÕs will are indispensable to real transformation in holiness.

o     I laborÉ struggling with all His energy! (Col 1:29)