26th July 2022
Jesus, our new life
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
(Colossians 3:3-4 NIV)
There is no shortage of power in the spiritual realm, which is why Paul declares, in the header scripture above, that there is ‘someone’ within us who empowers us, and enables us to face each day in his strength as we endure the buffeting storms of life. The message for today is that Jesus is alive and lives in us! (Colossians 1:27). The Apostle Paul shares with us the truth concerning his new life in Christ, when he states: ‘I was put to death on the cross with Christ, and I do not live any more—it is Christ who lives in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself to save me.’ (Galatians 2: 20 EXB).
This new nature is the nature of another world (John 18:36). It is the love of God living in us – producing things that do not come from our human nature but come from the nature of Christ within us! We become a new creation in Christ, being now ‘dead’ to our old self and ‘raised’ with him to a new life, whereby the Holy Spirit is able to cleanse us of our self-reliance, our pride, and the excuses we have been holding on to –everything that blocks our faith and the flow of the power of Jesus in our lives!
The Apostle Paul wrote, ‘But this precious treasure—this light and power that now shine within us—is held in a perishable container, that is, in our weak bodies. Everyone can see that the glorious power within must be from God and is not our own.’ (2 Corinthians 4:7 TLB). We have more power than we think.
Notice at this point Ephesians 1:22-23: ‘God has placed everything under the power of Christ and has set him up as head of everything for the Church, for the Church is his body, and in that body lives fully the one who fills the whole wide universe.’ (Phillips, emphasis mine).
This awesome gift burns with holy fire, it empowers us daily as we walk with our Saviour Jesus and allows him to lead us from within!
Prayer
Thank you, Lord, you have not left us as orphans but have come to us. Amen.
Study by Cliff Neill
About the writer:
Cliff Neill is a Minister in the Hemel Hempstead congregation of Grace Communion International, where he is on the leadership team.
Local congregation:
GCI Hemel Hempstead
Adeyfield Free Church Centre
Maylands Avenue
Hemel Hempstead HP2 4GZ
Meeting time:
Sunday 10:30am
Hemel Hempstead is also on Zoom, please email the congregational contact below for the link
Local congregational contact:
Shirley McLean
Email: hemel@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church