Life-in-Him

Golden Text; 2 Cor. 5:16

• One of the most vivid truths that a believer in Christ shall ever come to is the truth of how the Christ within him handles 1. Enemies and 2. Various relationships with others.
• This is the truth very often not dealt with by religion, and as a result multitudes of believers never come to know how they are to deal with others by Christ in them.
• The verse says we are not to know Christ after the flesh, and of course this means Jesus of Nazareth. This is a whole different topic will deal with next time, if the Father allows.
• However, the interest we have in this particular verse is centered in the words, “wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh”.
• It was only as I came to an understanding of what this verse meant that I had a tremendous burden lifted off me.
• The most important thing that the believer in Christ should clearly see is what we are to do by what happened to us in the birthing.
• The love of God is in the believer and has been shed abroad in the hearts by the Holy Spirit. So it is not us who are really loving, it is God – by Christ – exercising His love through us.
• When Jesus taught that we are to love our enemies, He was lifting us to a realm of living which goes beyond the finite understanding in our third dimension.

1. CHRIST IN US IS THE LOVER
LUKE 6:27

- Unless we experience the love of God in our hearts, we cannot fulfill the high standard of loving our enemies.
- The love of God which has been shed abroad in our hearts has come about because the Father has birthed His own nature in us.
- The nature of God of course, is the incorruptible seed of Christ.
- Christ, who is the perfect union with the Father, now seeks that union with the believer, and just as the Father and the Son represent total love, so does in the believer finally exemplify that total love. Read: Jeremiah 31:3; Eph.2:4-5; 1John 3:1.

2. CHRIST IN US IS THE PRAY-ER
1 TIMOTHY 2:1

- It is important that we pray for those whom we love, but it is also important that we pray for those who hate us.
- If there is one clear message from Jesus of Nazareth, it is that His followers were to pray for those who misused them and hate them.
- But now we must consider, as new creation race believers, that it is not we who do anything within our selves, for our self has been married to Christ and He has become our all.
- As our all, He obviously will be the prayer-er in us
- We all find it difficult to pray, especially for things we do not have interest in or do not like; such as our enemies.
- But once again, as it is not the believer (US) who loves but Christ in him (US) who prays but Christ in him (US) who prays.
- Thus this our very lips becomes servants to the Christ Spirit within us. Read: Romans 12:20; Prov. 24:17

3. CHRIST IN US IS THE BURDEN – BEARER.
ISAIAH 53:5

- Since our Saviour was willing to take abuse for us, we should be willing to bear any mistreatment for His sake, for He is the life we now live.
- I have found that loving my enemies was a tremendous burden and I sought an answer for relief.
- That relief came when I saw that I could not love my enemies aside from Christ, but Christ as me was able to love.
- He was the one who was victorious, who died in order that even my enemies might have forgiveness.

Pastor Joe