All week I have been pondering last week’s post that I titled “I in Christ.” I decided it was important to post an addendum, because without first grasping a deeper truth, this could be a very slippery slope.
Starting with the idea that I in Christ am able, for some it is a straight shot to I in Christ am invincible. I have seen a lot of Christians get their heads handed to them when they start claiming that such power is theirs to wield.
The emphasis of I in Christ is not on the I. It needs to be on the in Christ. It is all about knowing who we are in Christ. So the first and best words to place after it are all those things that we are told we are—the Fruit of the Spirit.
Therefore, I in Christ am loving, and joyful. I in Christ am peaceful, and kind. I in Christ am good, and faithful, and gentle. I in Christ am self-controlled.
Now that is who I am in Christ, although not consistently what my actions and attitude display. Far too often, I in the flesh am being pushed— against the genuine desire of my heart—into masquerading as that other guy. But that’s not who I am. And I am so sorry.
Maybe I could avoid that happening quite as often if I also remember that I in Christ am forgiven. And that I in Christ am a sanctified new creature, created for good works. And of course, that I in Christ am complete, loved, and acceptable.
And it remains true even when the enemy is deceiving me. Perhaps especially when the enemy is deceiving me into thinking otherwise, because he never ceases trying to do that. I thank God that because I am in Christ, the Holy Spirit is always right there to remind me—to renew my mind, heal my wounds, and nurture me until I am myself again.
Do you doubt that? As a mere mortal parent, would you turn your back on a child you adore, if you should see that child is being devoured by a roaring lion?
I can trust my Lord Jesus to know, and the Holy Spirit to know, and God the Father to know who I in Christ am…even when I don’t.
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