Hearing His Voice #313

This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. . . . And this is the secret: Christ lives in you.

Colossians 1:26-27

Some Christians believe that God doesn’t speak today because the Bible is complete. Of course, nearly every believer accepts the authority of God’s Word in matters of doctrine, but Scripture itself demonstrates God’s desire to converse with His people and guide them. In Paul’s words to the Colossians, this kind of relationship is confirmed. The Son of God—elsewhere called “the Word”—is in us. Would the Word be put within us only to remain silent? Of course not. God is a revealer of mysteries, and this one is perhaps most profound. The Word long desired before the coming of the Messiah was planted by faith inside of us after the Resurrection.

A promise is implied in this truth. God has secrets, but He shares them with His people. He is the Word, but He also lets us embody the Word. The much-desired voice of God is no longer “out there,” it’s “in here.” We are carriers of the divine mysteries, and as such, we are now revealers of them too. The secrets of God unfold in His people, especially as we maintain a vibrant, dynamic, intimate relationship with His Spirit. If it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives within us (Galatians 2:20), then it is also Christ who speaks within us, because He does not live without speaking. The Word is living and breathing in us.

This is not only our hope of glory, as Paul goes on to say, but also the world’s hope of glory. God is made manifest in Christ, and Christ is made manifest in us. We may shrink back at such an awesome role, but we do so at great cost. The world needs Jesus and His voice. And it gets them through us.

Dare I believe this, Lord? On second thought, dare I not believe it? If it were not Your Word, it would be arrogant and presumptuous. But I don’t want to fall short of Your Word. Help me, in every way possible, to be a revelation of Jesus.