CHRIST, YOUR LIFE (PART 1)

Many of us are very conscious of our need in the Christian life to get rid of worldliness, selfishness and sin in our lives. This is so clearly understood throughout the Scriptures that the apostle John can boldly say:

No one who lives in [Jesus] keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. (1 John 3:6)

And in his letter to the Colossians, Paul gives us a sweeping call to turn away from sin, saying:

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. (Colossians 3:5-8)

However, as we read Paul's command to "put to death" the sin in our lives, we should stop for a moment and notice the little word, "therefore." As all good Bible students do, we ask, "What is the 'therefore' there for?" 

To answer this question, we must take a step back in Paul's line of thinking:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 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 3:1-4)

With this understanding, we see that God's call in our lives to get free from sin is not a call for death, but a call to life. It is not an issue of a moral scorecard—"Bob’s losing today, he's committed 2,352 sins and only twelve righteous deeds." No, no, no. 

You see, friends, Jesus isn't only our Savior from sins. He is not just the One who shows us the way to real life. He Himself is our very life. By saying He is our life, we don't merely mean that He keeps us alive, although He does that. No, we mean what we mean when we talk about really living life. Purpose. Fulfillment. Treasure. Joy. Hope. He is the fullness of what makes life worth living. And seeking Him and knowing Him grants us access to this true life.

The Lord Jesus Himself said, "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3).

Eternal life is not merely existing forever—even those in Hell will exist forever. No, eternal life is a quality of existence that fills us up from the inside out and satisfies our deepest longings. And the Lord Jesus declared that this life, in eternal proportions, is found in knowing Him and the Father. 

The apostle John experienced this himself and so invites us to understand Jesus this way as well. 

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. (1 John 1:1-4)

Here he speaks of Jesus as "the Word of life," "the life," and "the eternal life," and he invites us into fellowship with this life, which he declares will bring us into completeness of joy. 

Later in his letter, John wrote:

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:11-12)

In Greek, John has an interesting use of the present-continuous tense that isn't obvious in most English translations. The word "has" should be rendered "is having." So we could read it this way:

"Whoever is having the Son is having life; whoever is not having the Son of God is not having life."

This changes the meaning from being a statement of: "True Christians have life and unbelievers do not," to a more applicable invitation to Christians: "If you are not abiding in Christ, you are not having life."

Back to Paul's call to "put to death" that which is earthly or worldly within us. We see now that it is not really a matter of death, but a matter of life. If we understand that our true life is hidden in Christ above, then it is Christ and the things that are above that we seek. We no longer look for life in our worldly desires that lead to sin. We are now free to put those things out of our lives, by God's grace, because we have found something better.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." (Matthew 13:44)

In his joy. Friends, our Christian life is filled with many difficulties, but it ought not be so! It must not be joyless because we have found true life in Christ. If we are not experiencing that inner renewal and Spirit-born joy, it is no fault of Jesus; rather, it is a sure sign that we are looking for life elsewhere. He is your true life. Look to Him to satisfy the hunger and thirst of your heart.