The great thing about being in Christ is that my past is His past, and my present is His present, and my future in His future. Therefore, we should never live in regret about our past. We should never stress about our present, and we should never fear the future.
Colossians 1:17 He is before all things and in Him all things hold togetherColossians 2:9,10 For in Him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form and in Him you have been made complete This is such an awesome reality of being in Christ. In Him, I am complete body, soul(including my emotions), and spirit. This reassures me that I’m not going to fall apart emotionally (even when it feels like I am) because He holds me together. When I get hit with anxiety, stress, worry, fear, depression, etc. , I can thank the Lord Jesus that I’m dead to those joy stealers, and that I am in union with His complete and whole emotions. Therefore, He will keep me from ‘losing it’ and from being enslaved from those cloaked enemies that steal, kill, and destroy the abundant life.
Ephesians 3:17-19 ‘so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith; and that you being grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.’
The reason you and I are able to comprehend ( lit. to grab hold) and experience the love of God is because, in Christ, we have been rooted (planted) in the love of God. We are already there positionally in Christ. It’s like being placed in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. We can have fun and experience all that’s around us because everything in the Magic Kingdom is at our disposal because we are there! In Christ, we have been placed smack dab in the eternal love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is loving on you and me with the same love He has for Jesus, and Jesus is loving on you and me with the same love He has for the Father; and the Holy Spirit’s job is to make all this love a reality in our daily experience! So in Christ, let’s bloom where God has planted us, which is in His fullness!!
Colossians 1:17 He is before all things and in Him all things hold togetherColossians 2:9,10 For in Him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form and in Him you have been made complete This is such an awesome reality of being in Christ. In Him, I am complete body, soul(including my emotions), and spirit. This reassures me that I’m not going to fall apart emotionally (even when it feels like I am) because He holds me together. When I get hit with anxiety, stress, worry, fear, depression, etc. , I can thank the Lord Jesus that I’m dead to those joy stealers, and that I am in union with His complete and whole emotions. Therefore, He will keep me from ‘losing it’ and from being enslaved from those cloaked enemies that steal, kill, and destroy the abundant life.
Colossians 3:3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
The great thing about being in Christ is that my past is His past, and my present is His present, and my future is His future. Therefore, we don’t have to live in regret of our past. We don’t have to be stressed about the present, and we don’t have to live in fear of the future.
Paul referred to himself as a man in Christ. That was his true identity, and as believers, it is our true identity. How reassuring it is to know that I have been placed into His very life, and that I am His and not on my own. This truth has become such reality to me especially in the early morning hours when I am awakened with pain or when I am awakened with the stresses of life. The first thing I do is thank the Lord that I am in Christ and that my life belongs to Him. At that moment, I am filled with His peace and the confidence His peace brings. I encourage you to take what I shared out for a spin. When you are hit with any stress or anxiety, start thanking the Lord that you are in Christ, and rest in the assurance that He has everything under control.
Philippians 1:8 For God is my witness how I long for you all with the ‘affection’ of Christ
Philippians 3:10 That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of his ‘sufferings’, being conformed to his death
In our union with Christ, we share His life and everything that makes up His life, which includes His will, His activity, His power, and His feelings and emotions. The word affection in the Greek means inner parts or inner emotions. As well, the word sufferings in the original language means deep inner feelings, such as passion. These realities blow me away, and they greatly encourage me. Simply, by abiding in Him by faith, we get to experience the emotions of Christ for other people and situations. How freeing it is to know that I don’t have to ‘drum up’ feelings or any emotion when I’m facing the various nuances of life. We can simply ask the Lord what He thinks (for we have the mind of Christ) and what He feels concerning every situation. Thank God that we have the fullness of Christ in every area of our lives.
The cross of Christ is the sole light that enlightens the current darkness. It is therefore time for the Church to go back to the cross, to the firm foundation of God. There, sins are cleansed and self is delivered. There, the redemptive facts of God are revealed for us to believe and enter in. There, the power of resurrection is experientially known so that the Church may once again be the true witness of Christ on earth. It is time for God’s children to seek for high life and service, time to review the past and rededicate themselves for the days ahead.
Watchman Nee
“At the closing of this age, the activities of Satan are intensified. How greatly are the children of God being attacked, oppressed and especially deceived. Now is the time for the saints to rise up and exercise the victory of the cross to resist and counterattack the Enemy. How fierce is the battle. Can the saints overcome without being fully armed? Saints of God, arise, stand on the victory of Calvary, and proclaim the victory of Christ. Your King is coming, and the days of the Enemy are numbered.”
One of the wonderful statements of truth that Jesus declared in the sermon on the mount was that as believers we are the lights of the world(Matt 5;14). In Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, he refers to Christians as ‘light in the Lord’ and as ‘children of light’ (5:8). Also, in his epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul tells the believers that they are sons of light (5:5). Further, in 2 Corinthians, the saints are likened as mirrors that reflect the light of the glory of God(3:18). As well, In the gospel of John, Jesus proclaimed that He was the Light of the world, and in John’s epistle, he writes that God is Light. Simply, Light is truth and the very radiance of His character, and darkness is deception and lies. Light helps you see where you are going, and it dispels darkness. Simply, we are lights because The Light Himself lives in us. Being light is not something we do, but it is something we are. As we abide and walk in union with His life, we are light and that light will shine. It is a part of our identity. So, no matter where I am going or what I am doing, I am a container of the True Light, and as I live in dependence on Hiim that True Light is always shining.