Christ IN You

Rev Mark Drake

Even as the people celebrate Christmas in a secular manner, this is perhaps the only time of the year to share the reality of Christmas.

We are going to look at the last chapter of the book of Romans. All the other letters by Paul were to the churches but the letters in Romans was different. He has never been to Rome. He was writing to Christians he has not met and to the churches he has not fathered. Paul is laying out his understanding of salvation by faith in Jesus. He was explaining what justification by faith is, and the difference between the New and Old Covenant.

Pastor Drake himself did not fully understand the difference even after 44 years of ministry. The Old Covenant has served its purpose for the day and has been laud aside but that the New Covenant has come and something dramatic has taken place. Both covenant dealt with forgiveness. The New Covenant is not just about the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. For many, the New Covenant means Jesus came, died on the cross and paid the penalty of sin. While that is true, it is not the whole truth. And it is summed up in the last book of Romans.

Romans 16:25-27
Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him– 27 to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.

This is the very end of a long letter. It was a conclusion to all that he has written. He says that he is going to sum up what he has written to them. He says this "mystery". Notice this word. He says this mystery has been revealed and made known. Then he close the letter and says amen. But he never said what this mystery is. Notice that.

He never explained what this mystery is. It isn't fair right? How would you like to read a mystery novel only for the writer to end without saying who did it. I have to ask myself the question why Paul did that. I can only conclude that they already knew what he was talking about.

The various writers of the New Testament uses this word quite frequently. Peter, James and John talked about this mystery. So the people already know what this means. Like if we use the word communion, all Christians know what we are talking about but the people of the world will not.

In Colossians chapter one, Paul talked about this mystery.

Colossians 1:26-27
the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

The mystery is the "Christ in you, the hope of glory."

The God who knows everything, a God that is the beginning and end, the God that made the universe live inside people like you and me? How could a holy God live inside an unholy man? The mystery is that He rose so that He may live inside of you.

Non of the religion Paul was surrounded with says that God would live inside of human beings. The gospel is not just that Jesus died and gave forgiveness to men but also that the full gospel meant God did that to live inside of men.

The prophets in the past has always prophesied that God offers forgiveness, from the Garden of Eden to the Israelites in the wilderness. God has always offered forgiveness to anyone who seeks or asks for it. But the mystery of Christ is not just about forgiveness. It starts there but it is not just forgiveness. But it was that somehow God comes to live inside human beings.

Jesus tried to prepare them many times. He told his disciples that the kingdom of God is in you. They could not understand that. Jesus told them He is going away during the last supper. And they could not comprehend that. He said it is good that He goes away so that the Spirit would come. Jesus said that you know the Spirit because He has been WITH you but Jesus said He will go away so that the Spirit can be IN them.

The new covenant is not just forgiveness but there is a whole life that can be experienced with God in you. But many stays at forgiveness.

He rose that He may live His life in you and that changes everything. This word IN is very important in the vocabulary of the gospel.

Listen to these word that Paul writes.

Ephesians 1:7-9
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,

Ephesians 3:3-5
that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.

Ephesians 3:9
and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

Colossians 2:2
My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,

Paul constantly writes about this life of God living in and through us. It is a mystery. And at this Christmas season, we share of how God came as a baby to be human and to die for us but it is not finish. He died and rose so that He may live inside of us. That changes everything. It's a mystery. How to explain it? We can't. But we can experience it. We can proclaim it. But we cannot explain it that God would live inside this mortal body.

The message of the NT apostles was not just the work of the cross but that God has come to live inside of us. So the sanctification process is not just in trying to fulfill the requirements of the word but that we have fellowship with Him who lives inside of us.

We can define or describe the difference between the old and New Covenant is in the words IN and ON. The Old Covenant says the laws are written ON stone where in the New Covenant God is living IN people. What transformed the people of the 1st century was this, that God has come to live inside of them.

When Paul went and shared with them about the new covenant he had nothing to leave with them except God that now live inside of them. They had no New Testament at that time so Paul had nothing to leave them with. They changed the world around them when they didn't have the bible including many that never had the Old Testament. They only had God living in them. Old Covenant, instructions were written on stones. New Covenant the instructor living inside of them.

Strange that Jesus never mentioned the new covenant. Not in His parables or His teaching. He never uses this word until the night before He was crucified. He knew that his disciples did not understand this, they could not wrap their minds around this.

So during supper He took the bread and He turned to them and told them to do this. He held up the bread and said "this is my body that is broken for you and this is my blood that is shed for you" and He told them to open their mouth and take it in. Jesus was using a metaphor for them to understand. Jesus said He is the bread of life, and that this bread would sustain their life. It was to explain to them naturally what was happening spiritually. This was the first time Jesus said this is the New Covenant. Take me into you, this is the New Covenant.

John later said that greater is He who is in you than he that is in the world. It is all about Christ living in you. Jesus said each time you eat the bread and drink the cup, remember this.

It can be lived, it can be experienced but it can never be truly explained. God has appointed for us to go out and tell a story that can be experienced but cannot be understood.

This mystery that God not just came to give His life for the penalty of sin but that He now live in us so that He might live through us.

When Jesus came, the Jews were racists. Everyone that is not a Jew were considered dogs. This was even though God promises Abraham that he would be the father of all nations. But by Jesus's time they have lost this. They had a racist Jewish mentality. They looked at the world as unworthy. They wanted no part of it.

Barnabas was comfortable being amongst the Gentiles. He was not from Jerusalem so they decided to send Barnabas to Antioch. He saw the grace of God when he saw these Gentiles. How can you see the grace of God? He saw people who were acting like Jesus. They were so transformed that their behavior was like Christ. So much so that believers were first called Christians in Antioch, not Jerusalem. These people who were never raised a Jew they were being made like Christ from the inside out. They had nothing written down that they can read but they were change from the inside out by the mystery of Christ.

We need to be careful and not just read what is given to us but that our faith must be in the mystery of God living in us. The bible is for us but it is more than that as there is the reality that He rose from the dead and live inside of any who would put their faith in Him.