CHRIST IN US
Col. 1:26-29
Morning Meditation 2/3/2015
Verse 26-29 says, “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.”
God chose Paul to be the apostle through whom the mystery was revealed. He says about the mystery in Ephesians 1:9, “Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself.”
Then in Ephesians 3:3-4 he identifies personally with the revelation of the mystery in the words, “How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ).”
In our text we see, first of all,
THE MYSTERY HIDDEN
This is brought out in verse 26: “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints.” The word “mystery” translates “musterion” and means, “a hidden or secret thing, not obvious to the understanding. It is used in rabbinic writings to denote the mystic or hidden sense.” The words “hath been hid” translate “apokrupto” and means, “to conceal a thing, to keep something secret.” It is a perfect passive participle. The perfect tense and passive voice means that the thing that was kept secret in the past remains secret to the religious but unsaved Jews.
It is hard to imagine the pride the Jew had in his religion. They did believe in the true God and they had His revelation to mankind in their possession. But they had long since degenerated into religious form. Jesus exposes this in Matthew 23:27 when He says, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.”
When Jesus came with the gospel they did not believe in Him which revealed that they did not believe in the Father either. John 8:42 says, “Jesus said unto them, IF GOD WERE YOUR FATHER, YE WOULD LOVE ME: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me” (Caps mine for emphasis). It is clear that they were religious but lost. I believe this indicates that those who were truly saved recognized and received Christ when He came, i.e., Luke 2:25 where Simeon recognized Him and Luke 2:36-38 where Anna recognized Him.
This mystery of which Paul speaks was hidden even to the faithful in the Old Testament. It is something that God had chosen to keep secret until after the resurrection and ascension. Next we see,
THE MYSTERY REVEALED
Verse 26 says, “ . . . but now is made manifest to his saints. The word “now” translates ”nuni” and means, “now, at this very moment “ The words “is made manifest” translates “phaneroo” and means, “to make manifest or visible or known what has been hidden or unknown, to manifest, whether by words, or deeds, or in any other way.” The words “to his saints” tell us to whom this mystery is revealed. That the body of believers would be the temple of God was not known to Old Testament saints.
It continues to be a mystery to those in the Church who have never been born again. The church today is very similar to Israel when Jesus came on the scene. They had the truth but it had changed from the heart to the head. Jews would argue against this and would argue to be a Jew and embrace the Abrahamic Covenant is enough to make one God’s child. This is also the condition of a religious lost person whether in or out of the church. Paul says in Romans 2:29, “But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” That settles the issue for the Bible believer.
We do not only have the mystery revealed, we have,
THE MYSTERY IDENTIFIED
What is this mystery ? Paul clearly sets it forth in verse 27: “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The words “which is Christ in you” are the words that take the veil off the mystery. It is no longer God in the temple in Jerusalem. It is “Christ in you” if you are saved (Rom. 8:9).
There is nothing that should thrill a child of God more than to know that we have Christ in us. We are the dwelling place of God (1 Cor. 6:19-20). The Christian life is where Christ lives in us (the New Birth) and through us (the filling of the Holy Spirit). He does this not by force but by our willingness to let Him control. We must die to directing our own lives. This is what Paul is talking about in Galatians 2:20: “ I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Some people call this the deeper christian life. I believe it is simply the christian life. It is the only life we have. Now to a lot of people this is new. They know the Lord in salvation but they have never learned the truth of Galatians 2:20.
Not only do we have the mystery identified but we also have,
THE MYSTERY’S POSSIBILITY
This is brought out in verse 28: “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
The words “warning every man” mean that every man can enjoy the truth of the mystery if he will only receive it. Why would you warn every man if he were not responsible? Why would you warn every man if it were not possible for him to be saved?
The words “that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” reveal a possibility. I believe one of the saddest days in time or eternity will be when unsaved men stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment to be formally condemned and fully realize what COULD HAVE BEEN. But it will be too late. What you do with Christ in this life is how it will stand forever. There will be no second chances or future opportunities.
Not only do we have the mystery’s possibility, but we also have,
THE MYSTERY’S PROCLAMATION
This is brought out in the words, “Whom we preach” in verse 28 and “Whereof I am made a minister” in verse 25.
The preaching of the gospel is the way this truth is revealed today. Every person who has responded to the gospel message through repentance and faith has experienced the truth of “Christ in you.” This is the entrance level of this truth. This life begins with the New Birth not with the so-called SECOND BLESSING. Ephesians 1:13 defines when the Holy Spirit comes into the life of the believer.
So the evangelical message is the proclamation of this truth.. Not only is this truth proclaimed but Paul testifies to,
THE MYSTERY WORKED OUT
He brings this out in the words, “Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.”
It is not enough for Him to enter, i.e., the New Birth. He came in to reclaim the life of the redeemed one. He does this through our cooperation. He does not violate our will. Paul says, “Whereunto I also labor.” The words “I labor” translate “kopiao” and means, “to grow weary, tired, exhausted (with toil or burdens or grief).” It is a present tense verb. It means, “I continually do exhaustive labor.” The word “striving” translates, “agonizomai” and means, “to enter a contest: contend in the gymnastic games.” Paul says, “I continually exhaust myself as I strive as in an athletic contest.” The words “according to his working” mean that What Paul was doing was in harmony with what God was doing in Him (see Phil. 2:12-13). The word “mightily” translates “dunamis” and means, “inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth.” This power is not operating on the flesh but in the new man in Christ (2 Cor. 7:17).
This working of God in the believer is called a fellowship. Ephesians 3:9 says, “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: “
The truth of Christ in the believer would put the lie to the heresy taught by the Gnostics. The best way to fortify the new Christian against error is to ground him in the truth of the Bible.
May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
