Colossians 1:24-29
I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you. This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon certain people to empower them for service, but then He would leave. New Testament believers have a different experience. The Spirit indwells us permanently.
The permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit given to New Testament believers was a “mystery” to the Old Testament saints. Although He frequently visited the patriarchs and matriarchs of old, not since Adam and Eve, had the Spirit of God permanently dwelt with humanity. We see His presence with Moses at the burning bush. We acknowledge His power in the strength of Samson; and we delight at His interaction with King David in the Psalms. God never actually went away anywhere (how can He, He is everywhere) but His Spirit wasn’t readily evident. Outside of miracles, signs and wonders, we were incapable of identifying the presence of His Spirit. He lived outside the scope of human perception. But after Jesus ascended to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to live within us, never to leave (John 14:16–17; 16:7).
The King James Version of today’s scripture uses the phase: Christ in you, the hope of glory. There’s something in the sound of that statement that resonates with me. While I understand the sentiment of Christ dwelling in us, I also am made aware of the responsibility that comes with a relationship with Him. This is not about religious fervor or piety, this is about embodying the Risen Christ. It’s one thing to believe He lives and did great and wonderful things. It’s something altogether different to accept the responsibility of living up to His high standards and expectations. What’s even more daunting is knowing we represent the hopes and aspirations of all the great saints of the ancient past. That’s a lot to take in! But take it in we must…
The challenge this morning is the personal consideration of what to do with this newly discovered power. Before coming to the Lord we all lived by the rules and regulations of our own conscience. We were governed by the dictates of our hearts and minds. But now that we’ve come to know Jesus, we are indebted to live, not only for Him, but as Him. Because He lives not only around us, but in us. We now become the extension of His glory. We are the evidence of His existence and His love.
When Moses needed a miracle he used a staff to demonstrate God’s power. The staff wasn’t the power, but God used it to show He was there. When Samson used the jawbone of a donkey to defeat his enemies, the jawbone wasn’t the power, God just used it to show the enemy He was there. When David wrote powerful psalms and prophetic sonnets, the songs and sonnets weren’t the power. God used David’s fingers and voice to demonstrate He was there.
Though we may not feel it, or even understand it, by faith in Jesus Christ we have been transformed into His image and likeness. We are the staff, the jawbone and the fingers of God. We are evidence He is here; and the Jesus is alive and well. 1 John 3:2 describes our spiritual metamorphosis in this manner: Beloved, now are we the children of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
The Holy Spirit seals us for the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30). In other words, the Spirit’s presence in our hearts guarantees our ultimate salvation. God will continue to work in us until He is finished perfecting us (see Philippians 1:6). This forward-looking guarantee of perfection is what is meant by “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The J. B. Phillips translation of Colossians 1:27 puts it this way: “The secret is simply this: Christ in you! Yes, Christ in you bringing with him the hope of all glorious things to come.”
God Bless
