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"But when it pleased God…to reveal His
Son in me, that I might preach Him among the
heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh
and blood" (Gal. 1:15-16).
This was Paul's magnificent
obsession! Not only was the Lord
revealed to him on the Damascus Road, but by
revelation through faith. This
revelation came not from men, but by God:
"For I neither received it
[the gospel] of man, neither was I taught it,
but by the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Gal.
1:12).
Paul's exalted goal was
more than "to know" Christ; it was to actually
have the living Christ in Him!
"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"
(Gal. 2:20).
A believer must be
"crucified with Christ" in order to have the Son
"revealed in him" and to have Christ living in
this body of flesh.
No conversion alone results
in Christ in the believer. Only a
crucified life of total commitment, holiness and
Christlikeness will effect Christ "formed" in
the believer:
"My little children, of
whom I travail in birth again until Christ be
formed in you
(Gal. 4:19).
God's word is explicit in
its call for Christians to follow the example of
Christ in us!
Here is the spiritual life,
light and faith of the living Christ in the
believer. There is no plateau in
spiritual development. The call of
God is always onward and upward.
Every Christian should seek to have Christ
formed in him or her.
One sign of the indwelling
presence of Christ is the "Fruit of the Spirit"
of Galatians 5:22-23:
"But the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance…"
Love, joy and peace result
in longsuffering and patience.
Gentleness is kindness in action.
Goodness shows in fidelity. Meekness
and temperance radiate in self-control. Faith is
all of the fruit in action.
"Christ in me" should be
the priority of all Christians. This
incomprehensible concept cannot be limited to
the leadership, but sought and shared by all in
the Body of Christ. Christ in a believer is
faith working in love:
"For in Jesus Christ
neither circumcision availeth anything, nor
uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love"
(Gal.5:6).
The religious rites of the
flesh do not reflect genuine internal
righteousness. Only the constantly
abiding residence of Christ in the believer will
affect true obedience to God and His Holy
Word. The "faith" of Galatians 5:6
above is produced by Christ Himself.
To have Christ formed in us
is the upward call of God to His
people. The importance of the call
is shown in the apostle Paul's statement to the
Galatians that he suffered the travail of birth
pangs again for Christ to be formed in these
Galatian believers.
It is not enough to have
Christ as an example; we need to have His
character, His characteristics, and His holiness
formed in us.
Any man or woman who is
born of the Spirit of God has the Spirit of
Christ. However, not all Christians
hunger and thirst equally to the point of having
the living Christ fully formed in
them. There is a maturing
'process.' This comes by total
commitment---denying self and taking up the
cross and following
Him.
