Complete in Christ

Lesson 21- Christ Liveth In Me

The Lord has poured out much grace upon us. He has poured upon us the Spirit of Enlightenment which has filled us with joy in the face of the scriptures. We have been moved to the Spirit and are walking on the winds of understanding. Nevertheless, the deep still calleth the deep and God will take us further in our understanding.

Galatians 2:20

20 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.

It is an awesome reality that Christ has come to live in us. His life is the force which moves our bodies. His Spirit is the force that has activated all our bodily activities. Every cell, tissue, organ, nerve and system works because of the life of Christ in the flesh. This is a crucial reality for us to understand. Jesus is the life we have all received at salvation. However, how did we get here? The scripture above explains this. I am crucified with Christ To be crucified is to die.

It is common for the church to quote that the old man is dead. This, however, seems to have little literal significance. Many have summed it to mean only that, we have decided to live differently from sinners. But I would have you know that we had no ability to destroy the old man. The old man is dead because God destroyed it at salvation. He did so by removing our souls from our flesh. This was done in the split second we received the Holy Spirit. The removal of the soul from the flesh resulted in death. However, before this death we lived according to the principles of the world.

Ephesians 2:1-2

1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

We grew up being taught by society and the principles of this world. For example, we learned that one day we would have to fend for ourselves. This led us to pursue our careers and we made goals and pressured ourselves to achieve them. Life was simply about making the best out of ourselves and that best was simply what we agreed was best for us. Some went to school and studied for most of their lives. Others joined gangs and brotherhoods and reverted to violence. There are others who could not achieve what was good in their eyes, and they were forced to settle.

Nevertheless, in our lives we create goals, desires and draft plans. These plans drafted our entire lives, and these were the only things we were certain would maintain our livelihood. However, during all of this, there are spiritual forces at work. These forces look beyond the life we will live on the earth and consider eternity. They are constantly fighting for the soul. The devil and his angels fight to bring the soul to hell, and the Spirit of the Lord and His angels seek to preserve life and destine souls for heaven. Prior to salvation, the spiritual forces of the devil worked within us. Some did not even realize there was a demonic spiritual power at work within them. All they could see were the things and principles of this world. However, the devil was in them and had masked himself the whole time.

Romans 8:8

8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Though many of us had honest and pure goals, some never desired to hurt anyone. Our focus was simply to provide for ourselves and our families. Despite all this, our souls were still in jeopardy because of the spirit of iniquity in us. Because of this, we could not please God. Though some of us felt like we did everything right according to society, we still lacked the capacity to please God. Now if any man would be saved, they must be freed from the spirit of iniquity. This spirit worked its lusts within our bodies. It tainted our lives, and filled it with sin. However, Jesus explained the criteria to be saved.

Luke 14:26-27

26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

The word ‘hate’ here is explained in Matthew 10:35 as loving someone more than God.

However, included in all of this we must deny ourselves. However, who is ‘yourself’? When the scripture teaches self-denial, it is speaking to the fact that we have goals, agendas, desires and plans for our life. Included in that are things we wanted to say, to do and the lusts of our heart. Though we had all these, we must let go of our desires and embrace God’s will for our lives. Self-denial speaks to giving self no opportunity to live unto self. However, let us consider where the scripture takes it. …nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me

Matthew 10:35

35 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Self-denial takes into consideration the death we faced at salvation. Remember our souls were removed from our bodies. This means we no longer have a body which belongs to us. All the goals, agendas and plans we had before we were saved ended because the death at salvation caused us to die before we could accomplish them. Our true focus was the salvation of our souls. We came to the point that we preferred God over everything. We desired God over life itself. Therefore, He made an exchange, He saved our soul in exchange for our bodies. If you have received the Holy Ghost, this exchange has already been made.

1 Corinthians 6:20

20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

There seems to be somewhat of a disconnect in our understanding. Therefore, open your ears and hear the mind of God. Our bodies belong to God. It no longer belongs to us. Therefore, everything associated with this body also belongs to God. For example, if on the day you received the Holy Ghost, you were a doctor in severe debt, these are the things associated with that body. Therefore, when God enters it, He takes on the doctor title and He takes on the debt. He will therefore live a life with this body according to what He sees fit. The scripture instructs us to owe no man anything but to love them, therefore, God entered that body knowing He is subject to His own law. Therefore, He has already devised a plan that would bring that body out of debt. All the soul must do is agree with the route God chooses. This route may entail severe suffering, nevertheless it is the life God choses to live through the flesh. I find that the disconnect comes into play when we fail to realize the body belongs to God. Meaning there is never a time when the body is not His. When He enters our flesh, He enters to use it for Himself. The life He decides to live, however, will revolve around the ministry of reconciliation.

So therefore, if the Father decides to continue as a doctor in the flesh, He has decided this because He is seeking to reconcile some of the people who will cross the paths of the doctor’s influence. If we only see God in church, we have missed the mystery. Christ is our life.

Everything about our lives must be about ministry. Whether we are at work, or church, it is all about ministry. The situations we face at home too, are about ministry. Ministry is our life! We are the witnesses of the life of Christ through us. God is not here to serve us, rather we are His servants. Often it seems we go after our own things, and seek to include God into them. We pray for God to open doors for us. However, we miss the mystery by this. God is in the flesh, and we should allow Him to do what He wants to do through us. The doors He needs open He will open them – and we will witness Him do it. To live is Christ. Consider today the life of Christ in and through you.

God bless, Kareem