The Essence Of The Christian Life

You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

SO OFTEN WE ASSUME that the essence of the Christian life is being forgiven of our sin. Many professing Christians are stuck here, believing that Jesus has cleansed them from their sins, yet they are lacking true, authentic, real, radical change in their lives.

This is not the way it’s supposed to be. As God promises in Ezekiel, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. . . . I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”^a The meaning behind these words is mind-blowing. When you come to Jesus, he not only forgives you of your sin, but he also fills you with his Spirit. Feel the magnitude of this: When you come to Jesus, he puts the source of his life in the center of your life.

This is the heart of Jesus’ call to follow him. When you become a Christian, you die and Jesus becomes your life. To paraphrase Paul, “You have died with Christ, and you’re not even alive anymore. Instead, Christ is alive in you, and the only way you live is by faith in him.”^b

Paul later writes, “If Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”^c

This is the stunning message of Christianity: Jesus died for you so that he might live in you. Jesus doesn’t merely improve your old nature; he imparts to you an entirely new nature—one that is completely united with his.

When you come to Jesus, his Spirit fills your spirit. His love becomes your love. His joy becomes your joy. His mind becomes your mind. His desires become your desires. His will becomes your will. His purpose becomes your purpose. His power becomes your power. The Christian life thus becomes nothing less than the outliving of the indwelling Christ.

Thank God for the gift of his Spirit. Praise the Spirit for giving you new life in Christ.