“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 1 Corinthians 3:16
Christianity is not a set of rules, regulations, principles and promises. It is a LIFE lived, but one which is specific beyond comprehension or measure, unless we limit God by unbelief in His desire and will to reveal it. What is this life? In the words of the Lord Jesus, “I AM the life…” (John 14:6) Not only is Christ the objective, eternal truth of A life, but the very essence and power of it. That which makes the life of Christ so unique is that it is “other worldly,” not only beyond that which is of heaven and earth, but that which has existed from before time and creation. Christ’s life is what He declares it to be, Eternal Life. To know Him is to know this life, to experience it in some measure, and this, “…according to the power that works in us.” (Eph. 3:20)
When Christ came to earth, God the Father having prepared a body for Him, He came not to crush, destroy, annihilate, and deprive men of their existence. He came in His power and glory, though meek and lowly of heart, to descend into the depths of sin and sorrow, in order to pull out of the mire of hopelessness and helplessness, the lost sinner who possessed no capacity whatsoever to deliver himself from death. Man’s destiny was sealed by his total incapacity to save himself. It was then that this Christ, the only Begotten Son of the living God, came to stretch forth His hand to touch the leper, rescue the unclean and despised, seek the wandering soul who did not have one reason to live, and have hope. How did He do this? For a king, his eventual throne would be the symbol of his authority and power to dominate and to rule. However, for Christ, His throne on this earth was a rough, cold, despised and hated cross, upon which only the criminal would be nailed, to suffer for his crimes, and demonstrate to the world that there is a penalty to pay for rebellion. Christ allowed Himself to be nailed to such a cross, to be first and foremost seen by the entire world. No one could lower himself as low as the Son of God who alone could come, because of His worthiness and value to the Father, to pay the debt, and silence forever the sentence of death for every man because of his sin towards God. No one who was so righteous and perfect would be willing to stoop so low to “…become sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him, except Christ.” Christ’s eternal life, not of this sinful world, not having spot or blemish, perfectly innocent, and yet being fully able to stop all the suffering of the cross to come down from it, alone possessed the power to allow lost man to perish. But He did not, He could not, and He would not. Why? Because Christ, and Christ alone is Eternal Life, that which He came to give to lifeless men, so that they would rise from the depths of destruction and hopelessness, to KNOW GOD, and the power of His indestructible life, “on earth as it is in heaven.”
How can this be? How the eternal God, Almighty and glorious, perfect and holy in every aspect of His being, a “consuming fire,” and yet, an eternal consolation and comfort, who makes something beautiful out of the ashes of man’s feeble efforts and false hopes, come to transform them from within, causing the blessing of God to be upon them from without, and yet, safely sealed for time and eternity? It is because of a central truth of the Gospel of Christ.
Jesus came to die on a cross for all of man’s sins. However, He sent His Holy Spirit to live in the heart of man, transforming him from within. By His power the believer is forever changed.
Dear Father, Fill us with Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.