Christ in us

Colossians 1:27

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Man was made in the very image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26). In the garden of Eden man and God had fellowship like equals. And since the fall (Genesis 3), man lost the confidence of facing God. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Religion came into existence because man was desperate to reconcile with the distant God and feel complete. Hindus believe in karma, based on good deeds their destiny is determined. Other popular religions today including Christianity believe that there is a day of judgement and God will judge based on good works. Sacrifices were made to stop the pagan gods from being angry. The general philosophy of any religion is that God is seen as someone who is distant and who cannot be associated with man.

During a time when man could no longer have fellowship with God. God promised that He would send a Messiah whose name was Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18, 23). Immanuel means ‘God with us’. This so called Messiah broke all the stereotypes of religion and racism. He used to dine with sinners and had a following of tax collectors and prostitutes (Luke 15:1). He was popular in attending parties and in one particular occasion he invited himself to a sinner's home (Luke 19). He was so radical in his methods that the religious leaders were mad at him. They wanted to kill him and they tried a couple of times.

Jesus indeed became God with us. But the story does not end there. This was just the beginning. After Christ’s ascension, the Spirit of God lives in those who believe in Him. The religious leaders could not kill Jesus, He gave up His life (John 10:18) so that He could change our status of ‘God with us’ to ‘God in us’. We are finally reconciled to God in Christ Jesus and made complete in Him. Christ in us the hope of glory.

Samuel Thomas (Sam)

Sam is a Christian minister who is serving the Lord in various capacities. He is an integral part of MTU, New Delhi and is also ministering with Crossway Church. He can be reached on samvthom16@gmail.com