“…Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” Ephesians 3:8
There is a radical change which occurs in every heart of every believer the moment he comes to Christ, and is born again. It takes a life-time to begin to grasp something of the enormity of this change, for it is as radical, and holy, as God is faithful and just. It is so deep that just the thought and design of it was formed before the world began, and the extent of the blessing, only revealed and realized in greatest measure at the birth of the church, or the body of Christ.
The day of Pentecost, after the resurrection and ascension of Christ into heaven, was the moment of birth of Christ’s body, for at that moment a mystery which had been hid from the foundation of the world, was made manifest. God in Christ by the Spirit not only brought individual sinners to a saving knowledge of the Messiah and Savior, but applied to them a work, the very work of Christ on the cross, whereby, in the eyes of God, all that was of the old, sinful, self-oriented life of lostness and faithlessness, was crucified with Christ, buried forever, never to be resurrected. A death occurred for the believer, a separation from all that is not of God, to embrace all that is IN Christ. Paul put it like this: “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” (Col. 3: 3) The reason for which Paul would write in his letter to the Galatians, that “…I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me,” (2:20) is because of this miraculous, magnificent, and monumental work of Christ on Calvary, where HE took the sinner to Himself, so that the sinner could partake of His work. Christ died once for sin, and so did the sinner. Christ was raised from the dead once by the power of God, and so was the believing sinner. Christ is now seated in heaven at the right hand of God, victorious and reigning…and so is the believer IN HIM. The finished work of Christ on the Cross has not only been accomplished, but has included every believer, so that every believer should be a partaker of God’s promise, one that was hidden from the foundation of the world, but revealed to the Apostle Paul, and the apostles and prophets of old. The extensive, perfect, and unalterable work of Christ is not just one to be know about, but to be lived by the Spirit. The new creation that has come forth at the new birth, that being born by the Spirit, is one where there has been a baptism, a separation from all that is of sin, the sinner, and Satan, to rise from the waters, with sins washed away, to go forth in NEWNESS of life, the very life of Christ by the Spirit.
In several of Paul’s letters, he brings before the believers the revelation of what is called, “…the mystery of Christ.” (Eph. 3:4) He writes that something has been hidden from the eyes and knowledge of men, “…from before the beginning of the world,” but now revealed. The revelation concerning the truth of this mystery was declared by the Lord Jesus during His ministry on earth, for He spoke of the outpouring of the Spirit, but specifically, the indwelling, and working of the Spirit in the heart of every believer. This mystery which was revealed to Paul, and others of his day, the great, powerful truth that had been hidden, but now revealed, to be believed, and embraced fully was this: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col. 1:27) Every member, every believer in Christ, is presently called to grasp something of his oneness with Christ, to abide in His life as his own, and to proclaim by word, deed, attitude, and action, the very life of Christ in power, by the Spirit.
Dear Father, Fill us with Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.