Focus: Christ's Life

Text: Col.3:4

"When CHRIST, who is OUR LIFE, shall appear…"

The resurrected Christ is our life. John writes, "In him was life; and the life was the light of men" (Jh.1:4). Christ is not just a part of our lives; He is our life. He says in his letter, "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" (1Jh.5:11,12). Let us look at ways of living and expressing this life of Christ in us.

*The life of Christ is lived by faith

Jesus says to Martha, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that BELIEVETH in me, though he were dead, yet shall he LIVE" Jh.11:25. Faith in Christ connects us to real life - life in time and life beyond the grave. It is life that is unperturbed, undisturbed, and unharmed by death. Paul declares, "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). John tells us the reason for writing his Gospel: "But these are written, that ye might BELIEVE that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that BELIEVING ye might have LIFE through his name" (Jh.20:31). In Christ, believing and living go together. The faith of Christ is the key to living and expressing the life of Christ. Believing and obeying are also linked. We believe in Christ and obey His commands.

*The life of Christ is lived by knowledge

Our Lord Jesus Christ says to the Father, "As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him" (Jh.17:2). Christ has the mandate and authority of the Father to impart life to those who believe and follow Him. He goes on, "And this is life eternal, that they might KNOW THEE the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (Jh.17:3). Knowing God is the same thing as experiencing and possessing eternal life. If we are not growing in the knowledge of Christ we stifle His life in us. As we grow in our knowledge of God the life of Christ flourishes inside us. We become spiritually robust and healthy by constant intake of doctrine and feeding on the word of God. 

God's word nourishes God's life inside the believer. We need an enlarged appetite for the truth of God.

*The life of Christ is lived by dying daily to self

Christ lived a totally selfless life on earth. He lived absolutely for the good of others. He lived a life of total surrender to God. He says, "And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I DO ALWAYS THOSE THINGS THAT PLEASE HIM" (Jh.8:29). Prof. E. M. Blaiklock wrote in his book, Six Weeks to Eternity, "We need a Savior and a surrender," and he is absolutely right. We embrace Christ as our Savior and surrender to Him as our Lord. 

We live Christ's life by surrendering ourselves to Him and presenting our bodies as living sacrifices to God.

Paul says, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…" (Gal.2:20). Christ lives in us, expressing Himself to the world through our bodily members and faculties. We bear our cross daily, and like Paul, we die daily (1Cor.15:31). Dying to self means living a life that is God-glorifying. Paul urges us, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (1Cor.10:31).

*The life of Christ is lived by dependence on the Holy Spirit

It is not possible to live Christ's life in the energy of the flesh. The best of men cannot live the life of Christ. 

A man must be born and possessed of the Holy Spirit to be able to live out the life of Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ says, "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive…" (Jh.7:38,39). The Spirit functions within the believer as a fountain. He inundates and saturates the believer's whole being with the life and vitality of Christ. Again, Christ declares, "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (Jh.4:14). Hallelujah! 

The life of Christ is, for the believer, an inward reality. Christ's life is not lived by struggle or by sheer force of the flesh. The Spirit indwells, enlivens and empowers the believer for it. Romans 7 is the flesh trying to be spiritual, and failing; Romans 8 is the believer's personal Pentecost, which enables him to live as Christ lived while here on earth. He is the Spirit of Christ residing in us and presiding over us. The life of Christ is made possible by the Spirit of God.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter