Christ in You, the Hope of Glory – Part 3

Colossians 2:6-15 “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”

Pastor Giglio continues that some Christians believe that they are living in sin and some believe that sin is living in them. You’ve probably heard the saying that we are just sinners saved by grace, or that faith is like the hand of a beggar receiving the gift of a King. But, the Word of God in Colossians 1 tells us that we are saints, consecrated and sanctified and holy by the grace of God in Christ, in us. That is what God is doing. Something powerful has happened. By His grace, God rescued us from sin and changed us, transformed us to “Christ in you, the hope of glory”; a new identity in Christ; a new you. It’s a whole new way of looking at life. Not only is that true, but you are in Christ, sealed by the Holy Spirit.

John 17:20-23a “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one.”

On this side of heaven, in the life-long process of sanctification (maturing and growing into the likeness of Christ), we still have problems with our fleshly mind desires, but God is changing that with “Christ in you” and “you in Christ”. Our live is now covered by God. But, how do receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our life. Ephesians 2:8 tells us: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Grace is God at work; faith is us believing and receiving. Grace says, “I didn’t do it, God did”; faith says, “I believe in what God did.” It is the gift of God, by grace through faith, so continue to live in Him. We did not find it within ourselves to break free from all the sin and associated dilemmas. We got our of sin and sin got out of us by God’s grace, through the power of the risen Son of God and our faith in that grace alone. It s the only way that we are going to get out of there.

God rescued us from the dominion of darkness, and transformed us into the dominion of His beloved Son, by grace through faith. The way that you “live in Christ” is the same way you got “in Christ”; by grace through faith. Quit trying harder and promising things that you cannot produce in your own strength. All of the fullness of God is in Christ, who is the head and authority over everything that exists. So, what am I supposed to do? For the issue of living in Christ, we do nothing, except believe in faith. That is how to respond. The new confession is: “I can’t, but God can.” When it comes to being the person God wants us to be, die to self: self-ability, self-achievement, self-power and self-pride. Instead, of “try”, I’m going to “die” ... die to self, live in Christ.

Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Believe that the Lord can do anything through you. Step with trust into the new you "in Christ". Step forward in faith that Christ is going to do in us, the very thing He desires to do in us. There are neither barriers nor chains holding us back. Stand in faith and take that step of faith in trust that Christ is doing something glorious in us. The renewing of our mind is walking in freedom, in Christ. Grace is not just the thing that gets us into heaven when we die. Grace is the power of God to live in us every moment of this life. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Amen.

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

In Christ, Brian