The Outflow of His Life

 By Arthur J Licursi

 

2 Cor. 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

 Col. 1:27 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:

 Philip. 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

 Many world religions admonish their followers to be tough on themselves ? some even practicing asceticism and such. Sadly, in the Christian church today, the focus is upon ?do, do this and don't do that?. This is all man trying to please God or to change his own self by self-effort. In this the focus is upon man and man's self-effort and we miss the enlivening power of the indwelling 'Christ, who is our life'. The true righteous Christian walk is achieved in quite another way.

 The victory of Christ expresses itself in and through the trusting believer in a normal and automatic way as the believer grows in His knowledge and trust of the indwelling Lord. Christ life within is automatically expressible. In the past, according to the dictates of religion, the more we suppressed, the better it was. Now the more we express, the better it is. Christ lives within us, and we live Him out before men, however He pleases. Victory is when let go of self-restraint to allow Christ to be expressed. Victory is Christ expressed through us. True Christianity is different from all other religions. The difference does not lay only in the cross's death aspect, but also in the fact that believers now have the resurrected living Christ living within them  and through each of them, individually. Thus Paul says to the Colossian's, 'Christ in you' is the only hope we have of the glorious expression of His righteous life.

 The result of possessing Christ's overcoming life is a life of expression, rather than a life of suppression. Life in any organism flows; whether the blood of animals or the sap of a tree, life flows. The problem with 'our' attempted achievement is that most of it comes by suppression.

 Example: Some people always try to suppress their temper when irritated. They maintain there smile outwardly, but struggle to suppress their temper inwardly. One may appear to have much patience, but actually everything is merely locked up inside. There is no victory when we suppress everything within us. This kind of suppressed life will only result in internal suffering when it is allowed to continue for years. All the bitterness remains inside with a suppressed life.

 The cross of Christ is two-sided ? death and life. Our victory comes from the life side of the cross, which is predicated upon the death side of the cross; death of our old man in Christ. Our victory is seen by a life of expression, not a life of suppression. Our victory is the expression of His indwelling life by the 'out-flow' of a new normal life for us  its God working in and through us by the life of His Son. He works within us both to will and to do of His pleasure? (Philip 2:13). Only Christ is capable of living the Christian life through us.

 Oh yes, we are admonished by Paul to have self-control (Gal 5:23), however, it must be understood that all Paul's admonitions are predicated upon Paul's mystery gospel, the revelation he received from the risen Christ ? that Christ lives in him. Galatians 1:15-16a But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, 16 To reveal his Son in me?

 Christ indwells each of the members of His body on earth as their life (Col 1:27). So our self-control is achieved by us only as we turn aside, to yield to the indwelling life of the Lord, who is now our new life.

 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.

 

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