"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." Philippians 2:5
One of the great truths we have come to know and realize as believers is that Christianity is not just about having faith in God. It is about a living relationship that puts us in union with Christ. In other words, the deeper we allow our relationship to grow "in him" the more separated we will live our life "for him." It is actually our coming into a place where the choices we make and the things we decide upon are based upon something much bigger than ourselves. In essence, it is where we discover there is a greater life within that far exceeds this natural life, where we choose to make quality decisions to live beyond ourselves. That is where the power to living a supernatural life resides.
In all my years as a Christian, and especially as a minister, I have witnessed many who have tried living a life of virtue but somehow found them self struggling with issues of the past or just finding it hard to let go of the things of this world. I truly believe they have a love for God and want to live their life totally devoted to Christ but somehow fail to tap into what abides in them to make that possible. Jesus made this so very clear in his teachings about the vine and the branches, when he said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5). There is something significant in what Jesus said that really needs to grab our attention. If you look at this Greek word "abide," you will find three different references to how it applies. One, it's a reference to a place; two, it's a reference to time; and three, it's a reference to a state or condition. The place, of course, is our union with Christ. The time is now and forever. We don't abide today and become disengaged tomorrow. We abide in him on a perpetual, continual, and eternal basis. And, our state or condition is to remain as one with him constantly with the idea that there is no other life to live.
Paul said it most beautifully when he told the church of Corinth: "What! Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Cor. 6:19, 20). I think one of the things that holds so many Christians in a state of spiritual limbo is they try to live their Christian life out of duty and responsibility instead of a deep love for God to where everything in them is about embracing the life Jesus lived. There is a life for every believer that is beyond just how we think it should be and what it actually needs to be. Jesus said, "I have come that ye might have life and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). Some folks have heard this statement so much that it has almost become a cliché to them. But, it not just a cliché! It is to become the source of our most vital interest where we discover the virtue and character in living our lives like Christ, in every respect!
When Paul said, "Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof" (Rom. 13:14), he was helping us to see where our Christian vitality lies. He was describing the source from which all grace flows, and where true victory resides. When folks find themselves pulled upon by worldly issues and they feel drawn by things that are not grounded in the vitality of Christ's life, it tells me that somewhere they have lost reference to abiding in him. Everything I know about being true to my commitment to Christ has to do with waking up every morning and going to bed every night with a deep desire to please God, to love him above everything else, and to realize I am not my own. When we master the art of putting on Christ, then and only then we will untap the reservoir to a living faith that holds all the essence of who he is and what we are to become. It's not just about a faith-based religion. It's more about a vital relationship that brings us face to face with the virtue and character of true Christianity!
