Abiding In Christ

And I do not pray for these alone, but for those also who shall believe on Me through their word, that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. And I have given them the glory which You have given Me, that they may be one, even as We are one, I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me. ~  John 17:20-23

So that if any one is in Christ, that one is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17

But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us (even when we were dead in sins) has made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are saved), and has raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. ~ Ephesians 2:4-10

Did you know that when Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross and rose from the dead, He established a covenant between Himself and our Heavenly Father? That is the New Covenant, the New Testament. It is a covenant between Jesus and our Father that is eternally established. No person can break it, change it or mess it up. The devil can't touch it. Once that covenant was established, all of mankind was invited to take part in it. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we enter into that very covenant and a miracle takes place. Our spirit is reborn. Our spirit, which was dead in sin, is made alive unto righteousness. We are unified with Christ. We are in Christ and He is in us. We become Citizens of Heaven.

Some years ago, I taught a bible study in a women's prison about "Walking in the spirit". I talked about the importance of knowing who we are in Christ, knowing that our identity is forever settled in Him. We are a new creature in Christ. I compared walking in the spirit to a fish in the water - that fish is in its element and can swim, move, breath and live fully as it was designed to. When it is in the water, the fish can act like a fish. However, a fish out of water ceases to act like a fish - it can't swim, can't breathe and just flops around uselessly, struggling to get back in the water. A fish out of water is like a Christian walking in the flesh. The fish is still a fish. It doesn't stop being a fish when it is out of water, it just stops acting like one. I believe the same is true for Christians. We don't stop being Citizens of Heaven when we give in to our flesh, we just stop acting like it. Which brings me to my point:

Being a Christian is not based in what we do, but in who we are.

Yes, we become a Christian by action - we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths. Believing and confessing are actions. Those two actions bring us to a place of being. We become something new. Our spirit, our truest inner being, is reborn and made righteous. Our spirit is made alive and is no longer subject to sin. However, we are a three-part being - spirit, soul (mind, will and emotions) and body. Our spirit may be reborn, but our soul and body are not. Our body seeks comfort and ease, so it pulls on our thoughts and our will. Our soul, our will, is the decision maker of our lives. Our soul will decide either to walk (act) according to our spirit (which is in Christ) or to walk (act) according to our body, our flesh. Those actions do not change the reborn status of our spirit. They do not change who we are in Christ, unless those actions lead us to the point of renouncing Christ.

In my opinion, one of the biggest mistakes made by Christians (myself included) is to give too much place, attention, and power to our actions - to the fruit of our souls. Yes, we need to be mindful of our actions, to an extent. The Bible tells us to be doers of the Word and not just hearers only. But, if we become so focused on what we are doing, or not doing, that we lose sight of who we are in Christ, then we have missed the mark. We must guard our focus. I can sit down in the church sanctuary and focus on worshiping the Lord or I can let my focus drift off to my job or my kids or the bills or the bank account. My mind can be totally absorbed with all of those things, but that does not mean I have left the sanctuary. Most of the time, my mind will return to where I am. My focus will shift back to where I am truly seated. Granted, if I think about all those distractions long enough, I might just jump up, drive home and try to deal with it all. That is exactly what the enemy is after - to deceive us into shifting our focus from where we are to where we are not, from who we are to who we are not. Dangerous stuff, this. If that crafty enemy can get us focused on the pit, focused on doubt and unbelief, focused on our mistakes, he can get us to move in a wrong direction. But, if we keep our focus on who we are in Christ, on our Heavenly Citizenship, we will not be moved and our actions will line up with our focus!

It is the very nature of who we are in Christ that should direct our actions. Not vice versa. Faith declares that I am seated in Heavenly places with Christ Jesus and no one can snatch me out of my Father's hand. Not even my own actions!! Faith declares that my actions must line up to who I am in Him. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them." Therein lies the key - we are created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Who we are leads us unto what we do.

For myself I will say that if my salvation, my justification, my obedience to His Word and my destiny are dependent solely upon my own actions, decisions and choices beyond that one which forever placed me in Christ; then I am utterly hopeless.  HOWEVER - I rejoice that this is not the case!! In Christ, I am saved! In Christ, I am justified and made righteous! In Christ, I can do all things! In Christ, my soul is renewed by the washing of the water of the Word! In Christ, I am a doer of the Word! In Christ, I am accepted in the beloved! In Christ, I have an inheritance! In Christ, I fulfill my calling! In Christ, I abide FOREVER!!!!!!

For to them God would make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory... ~ Colossians 1:27