“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
One of the great characteristics of the Apostle Paul was that he lived that which he taught and preached. His knowledge of Christ and His work on Calvary, coupled with the previous outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, were singular reasons for the Christ-likeness of this man. Also, the effectiveness of his ministry has been powerfully felt then and now, in the world, wherever the Gospel has been preached and taught, for approximately two thousand years. The empires of the world have risen and fallen, but this word of Christ, communicated by the Spirit in the writings of Paul, have brought more men and women to a true experience of knowing Christ, communing with Him, and living by His faith, than almost any other person. We mention this fact because of the comparable ministry of Isaiah, whose previous works have spanned a greater length of time. But for each man, we thank and praise God, for the ministry of the Eternal Spirit in them, as well as in others, which have brought us to the place where there is not only access to the great truths of knowing Christ, but the revelation by the Spirit of the meaning of these truths, and the power to live by them. Herein is true faith manifested, and communicated in this world: God has revealed His attributes in nature. He has revealed His way of redemption by Christ on the cross, confirmed by the resurrection. And now, in this age of the church, in these last days, He has revealed the indestructible, all-powerful life of Christ by the Spirit in the church, and in every true believer. Christ has come to dwell in the church, fill the church, and accomplish His blessed will through the church in these last days. For the Apostle Paul, living or life, was the person of Christ. John would put it like this: “…this is eternal life, to know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” (Jn. 17:3) Christianity is Christ, nothing more and nothing less. To know Him is to live, “…the more abundant life than earth could ever give.” How then does one experience “living” Christ, living by His faith, deriving all from Him, and this for the glory of God?
The first thing is beginning at the beginning. What does this mean? The glorified Christ described Himself to be “the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending.” In the Gospel of John He even declared to the Jews, “…Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58) In what is called His “High Priestly Prayer,” He prays to the Father: “And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thee before the world was.” (Jn. 17:5) In this matter of believing in and following Christ, we always begin with Him, what He has said, and what He has accomplished. In other words, we begin by His finished work on Calvary, and its applications to the life. Paul wrote to the Galatian believers that He was crucified with Christ. Is he saying that he was carried out by the Roman soldiers to be crucified on Calvary with the Lord Jesus, because of his faith? No. But, when Paul came through to a saving knowledge of Christ, repenting of his sins, and committing himself to Christ by the grace of God, immediately the truth, and implications of the cross, were applied to his existence, his life. Saul of Tarus died that day, and was buried. The new man, Paul the Apostle, was born. He had Life by virtue of the Father placing him in living union with Christ by the Spirit. From that day forward a spring of living water existed in him. That well would become a river, overpowering multiple enemies in its path, to bring life and hope to a dying world. True Christianity was Christ IN Paul, revealed through Paul by the Spirit.
Dear Father, Strength us to grasp Christ our life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.