I in Christ, Christ in Me

“Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“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.” (Galatians 2:20)

Success in our Christian life depends on the fulfillment of these two verses. They refer to two different conditions, which are actually complementary; one is the consequence of the other one: I in Christ and Christ in me. They are two stages of our Christian life. In the first stage, the person who is in Christ has become a new creation, has experienced the new birth, a great change has taken place in his heart. This inner change can be seen outside, both in his appearance and in his attitude. When we have had such an experience with the Lord, our habits are not the same, our interests are others; our concentration is fixed only on Jesus and everlasting life and not on this world. Even if we can still appreciate beauty here, our longing is the fulfillment
of the promise that says: “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9). When we have become a new creature we have no desire to exalt ourselves, but there is a constant need to be hidden in Christ. God’s law has been written in our hearts and we have the privilege of seeing things like God sees them and we have to be very watchful so that we may not lose the freedom that has been offered to us.

The old man has not died, it was only crucified by the love of God and it is our task to keep him on the cross. That is only possible if we constantly concentrate on God’s love and mercy for us. When we have had this great experience with the Lord, we desire with all our heart to be more and more like Him and we find no excuses for our transgressions, on the contrary, we can be quite depressed when we can still see the old man trying to get his own way through us.

The old man does not want to remain on the cross, has no fun in hiding behind Jesus, and will always try to appear on the scene, to show either a hand or a foot so that people may know that he is still alive. That is the reason why we should constantly feed the newly born child with God’s word so that it may grow and have no fear of the old crucified man.

The newly born child has no knowledge, no life experience, no position in society to boast of; he has no past, only a bright future before him and wants to learn always more from Him who is Wisdom Himself. A newly born person does not boast of his knowledge of God’s word, but suffers when even in little things he cannot reveal the Spirit of the Lord. There is a great desire to walk in Jesus’ steps, to be approved by Him in everything one thinks, says or does. One does not want to do one’s own work but to be an instrument in God’s hands and one always comes too short of it! This new creature follows his Master wherever He leads without asking where, how or why. He wants with his whole heart to learn from Him humbleness and meekness and to
reach the point in which there is no more trace of self, in which there is a complete identification with his Master, in which the same spirit of self-sacrifice Jesus Christ revealed on this earth may be seen in him.

A newly born person looks for the things from above, sees that everything in this world passes by and it is just a shadow of what is to come. One wishes to have wings to be able to fly and reach a higher level; but before one can fly and be a completely free man, ?one must have patience until the process
of metamorphosis is over. One must remain wrapped in the cocoon of Jesus’ arms, hidden in Him, quiet, silent, waiting patiently in prayer until that wonder takes place in one’s life, that mystery of God’s love that can change an ugly caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly.

The wonderful promise in Isaiah 10:27 is the highest goal of any new creature: “And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.”

As we learn to walk daily with the Lord, surrendering our will to His, we pass from the first stage: I in Christ, to the second one, Christ in me. One has learned to remain hidden in Christ, to walk with Him, to carry His yoke with joy, without pulling or remaining back, but to follow the Master in everything. There is a perfect identification of one’s will with God’s will. What freedom! Then there is no more yoke, because Jesus makes of our heart His dwelling place; “the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.” We shall be anointed with His Spirit and He will do His work through us. No more effort to imitate Him, to hide behind Him. Now, He who abandoned heaven and the worship of the angels to come to this earth, who lowered Himself and became a man, will come to live in our heart and make us rooted and grounded in His love. (Ephesians 3:17-19). Christ in us, as the result of our obedience
and faith, is our only hope of glorification. (Colossians 1:27)

May the Lord help us to understand the great wonder that has to take place in our mind and heart before we may be with Him in eternity. May He be still patient and merciful with us until we reach the sacred goal.
AMEN.

Teresa Corti