I love that song. There's a real
contrast between Matt singing and Moo singing, isn't there? Turn back to Galatians chapter
4. Let's read these verses again. My little children, of whom I prevail in birth again
until Christ be formed in you. I desire to be present with you
now and to change my voice. I don't like talking like this
or thinking like this, for I stand in doubt of you. Now, I'm trying to put myself
in their place. If you said, I stand in doubt
of you, I would wonder why you said that. I would be concerned. I would ask the Lord if there's
something that I'm not seeing. But I don't think that would
shake me up totally if you said that to me. And probably it wouldn't
shake you up if I said that to you totally. But what if the
Apostle Paul said it? He said to the Galatians, I stand
in doubt of you. I feel such pain and agony with
regard to you. I want to see Christ formed in
you. Now, why does Paul stand in doubt
of him? Is it because they were practicing
lasciviousness or wicked acts? No. Here's why. Verse 21. Tell me, ye that desire to be
under the law, That's why I stand in doubt of
you. You desire to be under the law. And then he asked this question. Don't you hear what the law says? We're gonna look more at that
next week. But this desire to be under the
law betrays an ignorance of the law itself. If you had any idea
what the law meant, you would not want to be under the law.
It betrays a self-righteousness and a blindness with regard to
yourself. It demonstrates very low thoughts
of God. and low thoughts of his law. Look in Galatians chapter 5 verse
7. He says to them, you did run
well, who did hinder you that you should not obey the truth?
They were talking about obedience to the law, and he's saying you're
not being obedient at all. This persuasion, this belief
that you have, cometh not of him that calleth you. You didn't
learn this from Christ. You didn't learn this from the
Father. You didn't learn this from the Holy Spirit. Now the
question I want to deal with is what does Christ formed in
you mean? That's what he said, I travail
in birth until Christ be formed in you. He said earlier in this
epistle, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. What's that mean? In 2 Corinthians
13 verse five, Paul said to the Corinthians, Examine yourselves
whether you be in the faith. Know ye not your own selves how
that Christ is in you? Except you be reprobates. Christ
is in you. Paul said in Galatians chapter
one, verses 15 and 16, when it pleased God who separated me
from my mother's womb and called me by his grace to reveal his
son in me. not to me, but in me, that I
might preach him among the heathen. Immediately I conferred not with
flesh and blood. And you're familiar with that
scripture in Colossians chapter two, verse seven, that says,
Christ in you, the hope of glory. That's how important this is.
This is the very hope of glory. Christ in you. Now, I hope to
answer two questions in this message. One, what does Christ
in you mean? That's what he was praying for
them. I'm travailing in birth till Christ be formed in you.
What's that mean, Christ in you? And the second question that
I want to deal with is how can I know if he's in me? I want
to know, don't you? Is Christ really in me? I don't
want to take it for granted. Does he really dwell in this
sinful and dying body of mine? How can I know if Christ lives
in me? Now let me say at the outset,
that does not mean that the physical body of Christ dwells in my physical
body. You know that. He's seated at
the right hand of the Father. I know he is both man and omnipresent. I don't understand how that is.
But he said that in John chapter three. He said, while I'm here,
I'm in heaven. But he does not dwell physically. His physical body is not on the
inside of the body of a believer. What does Christ in you mean?
It's all that's associated with the new birth. It's being regenerated. It's being born of the Spirit. That which is born of the Spirit
is Spirit, and that which is born of the flesh is flesh. Now,
that which is born of the flesh can't rise above its source,
but that which is born of the Spirit, God the Holy Spirit,
is Spirit. It's described in the scriptures
as a quickening, and you hath he quickened, and you hath he
given life to, who were dead in trespasses and sins. It's
called passing from death to the life. We know that we have
passed from death to life because we love the brethren. The Lord
said the hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the
voice of the son of God. Wow. The dead shall hear the
voice of the son of God and they which hear shall live. Christ in you is Christ in you
by his spirit, by regeneration, by the new birth. Christ in you
is the life of God in you. Peter calls it in 2 Peter 1.4,
being a partaker of the divine nature. being a habitation of
God, Paul called it in the book of Ephesians, being a habitation
of God through the Spirit. In Ephesians chapter four, verse
24, Paul said, the new man which was created in righteousness
and truly holiness. It's having that nature that
John describes this way, whosoever is born of God doth not commit
sin. What's that mean? I sin all the
time. Yeah, you do. But your new nature
doesn't. It's a holy nature that's born of God. Can something that's
born of God sin? Can something that actually comes
from Him, can it sin? Absolutely not. Whosoever is
born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him. He cannot sin. He lacks the ability
to sin, just like God does. You know one thing God can't
do? He can't sin. He can't. He's unable to sin. Can't God
do anything? He can't sin, I know that. He
can't lie. He can't do that which is wrong. And neither can someone
who's born of the Spirit, not the new nature. It does not commit
sin, created in righteousness and true holiness. Now turn with
me for a moment to 2 Corinthians 5. Verse 17. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, just decide, that's where I want
to be. That's the place I want to be, in Christ. Paul put it
this way in Philippians 3, 8, 9. Oh, that I may win Christ
and be found in Him. Not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Now that's
where I want to be, found. I want to be found in Christ.
So when God looks at me, all he sees is Jesus Christ. I'm in him. Is that what you
want? Do you want to be found in Christ? Well, I sure do. That's
the only place I want to be found, in Christ. Now, Paul says, if
any man be in Christ, He is a new creature. He's something that
he was not before. It's a creation, a new creature,
a created work of God. We are His workmanship, the scripture
says, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them. Now, this is a
new creation. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. Now, I had someone call me not
that long ago, and they asked me that if I, they said, do you
believe in two separate natures? Do you believe that a Christian
has a holy nature that does not sin and a sinful nature that
doesn't do anything but sin? Now, the first thing I've got
to say about that is, yes, I do. And I'll tell you why and give
you the implications behind it. But in saying that, it's not
like I can say, well, The new nature did that, and the old
nature did that. No, I've always got it all mixed up, you know.
It's all there. The old man and the new man, and they're all
mixed together, and there they are. So it's not like I ever
feel, well, I was holy there, but I sin there. No, all I do
is sin. That's my experience. That's
my experience. So I'm not in any way saying, well, I feel
very holy. But for one thing, there was a time when I did not
believe, when I had no love for God, when I had no love for the
gospel. Now, I do now. Now, was that the Holy
Spirit working on my old nature and giving my old nature the
grace to believe and to repent and love, kind of just working
on that old nature, making it better? Now, if that were the
case, that would be a complete denial of total depravity. You see, there's nothing in my
old nature but evil. And it can't be improved. It's
not like I've been operated on by the Holy Spirit and I've been
made to be better and holier and I'm doing better. No, that's
a denial of what happened in the garden. That's a denial of
dead and sins. That's a denial of the truth.
No, I have two natures, I've got one in me now that wasn't
there before. It's new. It's the work of God. It's the creation of God. And
He gave me a heart, a new heart, that believes the Gospel. That
loves Jesus Christ. That loves holiness. That loves
obedience. A new nature. If any man be in
Christ, he's a new creation. Brand new. There's something
there that was not there before. There's a heart that was not
there before. A new creation. And notice what He says. He says,
old things are passed away and behold, all things have become
new. Now, what if I said, since God
saved me and gave me this new heart, my old sinful habits and
desires have all passed away? What would that be? It would be a lie. That's all it would be. It would
be a wicked lie. I've had people say, no, I'm
different. I'm changed. Nobody believes you. I certainly
don't. I know you better than that.
I know from the word of God. I still have an old, sinful nature. And it's no better. It's not
improved. As a matter of fact, as the Lord
is my witness, I say that carefully. I feel more sinful now than I
ever have. I really do. I don't feel like
I've become better in that sense. I'm dealing with myself right
now. So what's Paul mean when he says,
old things are passed away and behold, all things have become
new? I have a new heart that was not
there before. I have a new history. Oh, I love to think about this.
I have a new history, and it's all good. People talk about all
their life being put on a screen. Wouldn't bother me a bit, my
whole life being put on a screen, because I've got a perfect history.
The perfect obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ is my obedience
before God. And I've got a new history. You
know, I've said this before, it wouldn't do me any good if
you say, well, your slate's wiped clean. What if your slate was
wiped clean right now? What good would that do you?
It wouldn't do you any good at all, would it? You'd mess it
up within a second. But I don't have a clean slate. I've got a new history. And it's
all good. That old standing before the
law has passed away. I'm not guilty before God's law.
I'm justified. It's all good because of him
who said, I make all things new. I have a new belief, grace. All things have become new. And
that's what Christ in you means. It's Christ in you by His Spirit
giving you His nature so that Christ is in you. You're a habitation
of God through the Spirit. Now that's what Christ in you
means. It means you've been born again. It means you've been born
above. It means God the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of
Christ. And you have the Spirit of Christ if Christ is in you.
And Christ is in every believer. Here's, I don't know if I would
call it a bigger question, but in a way it's a bigger question.
How can I know if he is in me? That's making a big claim. Christ
being in me. God the Holy Spirit being in
me. Me being the habitation of God. Me being the house of God. Me being the body of Christ.
That's what every believer can claim. How can I know if he's
in me as sinful as I am present tense. I'm not talking about before
I was saved. I'm talking about the way I am right now. How can I know if Christ is in
me as sinful as I am? Would it be an act of presumption
for me to think he dwells in me? Almost like he'd be dwelling
in a cesspool if he dwelled in me. How can I know if Christ
by His Spirit, supernaturally, dwells in me so that I'm actually
a partaker of the divine nature. And in this, in this, how can
I know? Well, let me give you how you
can know. From the context of this, we
know that Christ is not in a man if he really
wants to be under the law. If Christ is in you, you have
a strong, strong desire to not be under law in any way, but
you want to be under grace. You don't want to be under law.
You want to be under grace. Paul knew if they continued in
desiring to be under the law, Christ did not dwell in them,
and reality, he never did. If Christ is in you, you see,
you have some understanding of the law, and you know it's a
law that you could never keep. If Christ is in you, you have
some understanding of what sin is, and you see your sinfulness
before God's holy law, and you understand that. You don't have
to be convinced about it. You see it. Every commandment
you've broken, you don't want to be under the law. You want
to be under grace. Oh, you want God to deal with
you graciously, not in accordance to what you deserve or what you've
done or what you haven't done? Oh, you want to be under grace.
Do you want to be under grace? Oh my, I want to be under grace.
So far, so good. Folks that have Christ in them,
they want to be under grace. They don't want to be under the
law. Look in Galatians chapter 2. Paul says in verse 20, I am crucified
with Christ. That's one of the strongest statements
regarding union with Christ that you're going to find in all the
Word of God. He doesn't say Christ was crucified for me, although
He was. He said, I am crucified with Christ. When Christ was
crucified, I was too, because I'm united to Him. I'm crucified
with Christ. I died with Christ. Nevertheless,
I live, yet not I, but Christ. liveth in me." Now, if Christ
is living in you, something that's going to come out of your mouth
real quick is, yet not I. I live, I have spiritual life,
but it ain't me. It's Christ living in me. I believe, yet not I, but Christ
in me. You know it doesn't come from
you. You know it comes from Him. Do you love the Lord Jesus Christ?
Do you see Him as altogether beautiful and glorious and awesome
and majestic? Why do you feel that way? It
didn't come from you, did it? It's Christ in you. Do you look
to Christ and rest in Him? You know for a fact it's not
you, yet not I. But Christ liveth in me. And the life, he said, which
I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who
loved me and gave himself for me. Now, the only way I can live
is by the faith of the Son of God. That's my life. That's it. The only way I can live is by
the faith of the Son of God. I can't live off my faith. I
can't live off anything that has anything to do with me. All
I can live off is the actual, literal faith of the Son of God,
that one who believed God. Somebody had to believe God,
he did, and I'm justified by his faithfulness. I'm living
off the faith of the Son of God. So that's what somebody who has
Christ living in them, this is their life. They've got a quick
not I, I live yet not I. I don't give myself credit for
anything. I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me and gave himself for me. If that's not my life, I will
die. Look what he says in verse 21.
I don't frustrate, I don't nullify or render void the grace of God. For if righteousness come by
the law, then Christ is dead in vain. I understand that my
righteousness didn't come by anything I did. It comes through
the death of Christ. And that's what somebody's like
who has Christ living in them. Turn over to Galatians chapter
six. Now remember, we've been talking about this new creation. Verse 15, for in Christ Jesus,
there's that place we want to be again. For in Christ Jesus,
neither circumcision avails anything nor uncircumcision. I love that
statement. Somebody says, I've been circumcised. I keep the law. You know how
much that avails? Not a thing. Somebody else says,
well, I understand that. You know how much that avails? Not a thing. What you do or what
you don't do, it avails nothing. But what avails? A new creature,
a new creation. And as many as walk according
to this rule, peace be on them and mercy upon the Israel of
God. Walk according to what rule? Now this is what people who have
Christ living in them, they got a rule. You want a rule? Somebody
says, what's the rule? Here, I'm going to give you a
rule. I say we don't have any rules, you know, but yeah, we
do. Here is a rule that must be kept
if Christ lives in you. And here it is, verse 14. This
is the rule of our life, but God forbid that I should glory. that I should have confidence
in, that I should rest in, that I should trust. God forbid that
I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom the world is crucified into me, and I into the world. For
in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision,
but a new creation. And as many as walk according
to this rule, peace be on them. Now here is the rule. God forbid that I should glory. Have confidence. Find acceptance
and peace in anything except what Christ Jesus accomplished
on Calvary Street. Now that's what somebody who
has Christ living in them, that's the rule of their life. God forbid
that I should glory. Can you say that from your heart?
Do you really believe that? When you hear Paul say this,
do you say the same thing? God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Won't look anywhere
else. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter
13. Paul had all kinds of people
in the church at Corinth examining him, and he turns the tables
on them. He says, examine yourselves,
whether you be in the faith. Prove your own selves. Put yourselves
to the test. Know you not your own selves
how the Jesus Christ is in you, except you be reprobates? Now, if Christ is in you, it's
real simple. If Christ is in you, you are
in the faith. Did you notice how he said, examine
yourselves whether ye be in the faith? If Christ is in you, when
I read this scripture, to him that worketh not, but believeth
on him that justifieth the ungodly, You're one of those hymns. That's
what you believe. You're somebody who really believes
you can't be saved by your works. Do you believe that? to him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly."
Do you believe on him that justifies the ungodly? Do you believe that
by what Christ did, the ungodly were actually justified? As ungodly
as I am in myself, by virtue of what Christ did for me, I
stand before God just. And I know it has nothing to
do with my works. I'm not working. I'm believing on Him that justifies
the ungodly. Now, if you do that, you know
what? That's because Jesus Christ, the Lord, dwells in your heart.
He dwells in your heart by faith. He's in you. You see, if He's
in you, you are in the faith. You believe the gospel. Ephesians
3.17 says that Christ might dwell in your hearts by faith. Colossians chapter 1. I want
you to look at every one of these scriptures with me. Colossians
chapter 1. Can I make this claim that Jesus
Christ is in me? Verse 27. to whom God would make
known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the
Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Now, what is a hope? A hope is
a confident expectation with regard to the future. That's
what a hope is. Now, if I can see that hope,
Paul says it's not hope anymore. Hope that seems not hope anymore.
It's not something I can see, but it's something that I have
a confident expectation with regard to the future. Now, I
have a hope. I have confident expectation
that when I stand before God in judgment, I'm going to be justified. No guilt. Come on in. You've done a good job. I'm going
to hear, well done, thou good and faithful servant. Now it
almost makes us cringe to think of the Lord saying that to us,
doesn't it? But the fact of the matter is, if Christ is my righteousness,
he did well, and I did too. He could say to His Son, Well
done, thou good and faithful servant. Well, if He says it
to Him, He says it to me too, because I'm in Him. I've got
this hope. And what is this hope? Christ in me. The hope of glory. Christ in me. You know, Paul
put it this way, and I've already quoted this, I live, yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life that I now live in the
flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me.
and gave himself for me. And there's my hope. From Christ
being in me, he loved me. Don't you love to think of his
love to you? When I think of my love to him, all I do is get
embarrassed and ashamed and think I know it ought to be a lot greater,
but I love to think of his love to me. I love that song, "'Twill
be my joy through the ages, to sing of his love to me." And
that's my hope of glory. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians chapter three. Verse 10. And you have put on the new man.
which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created
Him. That's Christ in you. The new man. Renewed in knowledge. You have a special knowledge,
by virtue of you having this new man, you have a special knowledge
that every unbeliever doesn't have. But you've got it. You
can say with Paul, you know when Paul said, we know, you're one
of those we's. You know it's true. You have
a special knowledge. Now what is that special knowledge
that everyone that's this new creation is, that has this new
man in them? Look in verse 11. Well, read
verse 10, 11 together. You put on the new man, which
is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created
him. You're the creation of God, where there is neither Greek
nor Jew. There's neither circumcision
nor uncircumcision. There's neither barbarian, Scythian,
bond nor free, but Christ is all in all. That is the knowledge that you
have. Christ is all that God is. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead in a body. He's all in the Bible. It's only
about him. You believe that? It's only about
Him. He's all in every doctrine. He's the sum and substance of
every truth. You talk about justification, well, it's His righteousness.
You talk about redemption, it's His blood. You talk about election,
you're chosen in Him. I mean, He's the key of every
doctrine. He's all in the scripture. He's all in salvation. And here's what I mean by that. Christ is all I have. I don't have anything else. I
don't have any works to try to tack on. I don't have any. Christ
is all I have. I wouldn't bring up anything
else on Judgment Day. No way. Christ is all I have. But you know, he's all every
believer has. I know I'm listening, I'm looking
at some people saying, yep, me too. Me too, he's all I have.
I wouldn't, I got nothing else. But what else would you want?
What else would you want to add to him? Christ is all. He's all in my salvation. He's
all I have. And I can say this, I love that
song we sing, all that thrills my soul is Jesus. He is more than life to me. and the fairest of 10,000, 10,000
in my blessed Lord I see. Christ is all, now if Christ
is in you, you really believe that Christ is all you have. You believe he's all that God
is, you believe he's all in the scriptures, you believe he's
all in salvation, and he's sure enough all you have. First John chapter three. Verse 24, And he that keepeth his commandments
dwelleth in him, and he, the Lord Jesus Christ, in him. Now, if Christ is in you, you
know what you do? You keep his commandments. It's not just that you know what
they are and have an admiration for them and can quote them,
tell you where they are. You actually keep his commandments. Now, what are these commandments
that we keep? Well, look at the verse above,
verse 23. And this is his commandment. So there we're getting it in
the context of what's being said. This is His commandment that
we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and
love one another as He gave His commandment. Now, I really do
believe the name of Jesus Christ is all I'm relying on. I'm keeping that commandment.
Right now. Right now. The only name I'm
relying on is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm keeping
that right now. I'm keeping it. I'm doing that
right now. And love one another as he gave his commandment. Anybody
who loves the Lord Jesus Christ, that person is somebody that
I love. I'm keeping that commandment. Now, if Christ is in me, that
means I will keep his commandments. If you love me, he said, keep
my commandments. Yeah, I think it's interesting
how most people look at that as keeping the Ten Commandments. Well, I've kept the Ten Commandments.
When Christ did, I kept them. And that's my obedience before
that holy law. But as far as me keeping them
personally, he doesn't say, if you love me, know what they are
and be able to quote them, but actually keep them. Keep them.
I mean, you don't break them. And here's the commandments we
keep. We believe on his name, and we love one another. Now
look at 1 John chapter 4. 13. Hereby know we that we dwell
in him and he in us, because he hath given us of his spirit.
We have his spirit. That's how we know that we dwell
in him and he dwells in us. And this is, this is what we
want. I want to be in him and I want him to be in me. That's
everything salvation, isn't it? Me in Christ, Christ in me. Take
the cup, throw it in the ocean, the cup's in the ocean, and the
ocean's in the cup, isn't it? Me and Christ, and Christ and
me. Now, how can I know if I have
a spirit? Let's go on reading. Here's what people have who have
Christ dwelling in them and have his spirit. We have seen and
do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the
world. Do you believe that? Do you believe
Christ is the only Savior of the world sent by His Father? Do you believe God sent Him?
They have believed that thou didst send me. He's the sent
one. And we believe that. And look
what it says next, verse 15. Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God. Do you believe, do you confess
that Jesus is God the Son? The second person of the blessed
Trinity. Equal with the Father. He's not
like God. He is God. God the Son. And you
believe that? You're like that Ethiopian eunuch
who said, what hinders me from being baptized? He said, if you
believe with all your heart, you may. He said, I believe that
Jesus Christ is the son of God. Do you believe that? Then Christ
dwells in you. Verse 16, and we have known and
believed, and that word believed, relied on. relied on. We have known and relied on the
love that God hath to us. Herein is love, not that we love
God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation
for our sins. Now that person who relies on
God's love, God dwells in him and he in God. Verse 17, herein is our love
made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment,
because as He is, so are we in this world. Now here's what I'm
relying on. Does the Father love the Son? Is the Son loved by the Father?
Well, as He is, so are we in this world. Thou hast loved them
as thou hast loved me. That's the love we're relying
on. If Christ is in you, you don't
want to be under the law. You want to be under grace. You can only live off the faith
of the Son of God. You glory only in the cross.
You're in the faith. Christ in you is your very hope
of glory. You really believe that he is all. You keep his
commandments and you've seen that he's the only savior. You
confess he's the son of God and you're relying on the power of
his love. Now that's what people are like
who have Christ dwelling in them. And if these things are in you,
guess what? Jesus Christ, by His Spirit,
lives in your heart. Isn't that amazing? Let's pray.