In part one of I have been crucified with Christ I discussed what it means to be crucified with Christ. I was able to see that being crucified with Christ meant that I am to die to myself. That I am to die to the desires of my flesh and the bondage of sin. That Jesus paid for it on the cross and that in doing so I was there on his mind with him.
In this post I want to see what Paul means when he says “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Just as Jesus was resurrected from the dead, I too am resurrected and now live a new life. Paul tells us in this verse that it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. We were designed to be a dwelling-place of the spirit of God. God didn’t create man to live on his own. We were created to be in fellowship with him. However, sin has broken that fellowship and caused man to live separate from God. When we are in Christ, we are a new creation, our old life has passed away and our new life has come.
So what is this new life in Christ that Paul is telling us to live? I think if we look at Colossians chapter three we might see a little bit more clearly what he is saying. Col 3:1-2 says that if we have been raised with Christ, then we will seek the things above. He says we are to set our mind on things above.
The key for us to “set our mind on the things above” is to come to an understanding of who lives in us. Paul says it is no longer I who live. So what does that mean? I am sure we can understand that Paul is not talking about his natural being. Rather, he is speaking of our spiritual being, the life we live in faith in Jesus Christ.
Christ living in us can seem quite mysterious. When we have found our new life in Christ, and He dwells in our heart, we begin to live different than those who don’t know Christ. The way we think, the way we believe, and the way we act, begins to look more and more like Him.
So, when Paul says it is no longer I who live, I believe he is saying that the life he lives conforms to the life of Christ because of who he has now become, a new creation.
It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. When we begin to grasp the magnitude of that statement we must change the way we live. 1John 1:6 says that if we have fellowship with God but go on living in darkness that we are liars and we do not practice the truth. We are liars… We claim to be something we are not. We pretend to be a Christian all the while living in darkness and living to satisfy our own desires. That is what John is saying if we do not practice the truth.
Who lives in you today? Have you been crucified with Christ? Do you claim to have fellowship with God but still live like the rest of the world? Are you seeking after the things that bring simple pleasure rather than seeking after the things that bring pleasure to Christ?
Eph 4:22-24 tell us to put off our old self which belongs to our former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of our minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
“It is no longer I who lives” means that I now live with Christ in me as a renewed person in the likeness of God, pursuing righteousness and holiness.
Does Christ live in you today? If he does, do your desires conform with his?
Lord Jesus, help me to understand what it means to have you living inside of me. Help me not to live my old ways but to live in such a way that brings Glory and honor and praise to you alone. Lord, I know you live in me and the life that I live now I want to live in you.
May the Lord bless you today as you live in Him.
Blessings,
Keith