Would you turn with me to the
book of Galatians? I've entitled this message. Christ
formed in you. Predestination is true. And I can't even conceive of
believing in God and not believing in predestination. God is God. He has the power to do whatever
he pleases, and he is the God of predestination. But predestination,
it's not an abstract philosophical principle, it's glorious. And
here's why. God has predestinated every single
one of his people to be perfectly conformed to the image of his
son. Isn't that glorious? To think that God has predetermined
that I, myself, Todd Nyberg, I'm going to be a carbon copy
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that is awesome. Whom he
did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of His Son. And when He returns, we will
experience that in its fullness. John said it does not yet appear
what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we
shall be like Him. Four, we shall see him as he
is. And you know there's such glory
in that sight that seeing him as he is will cause you to be
perfectly conformed to his image. And every man that has this hope
in him purifies himself even as he is pure. Now Paul is writing
to the church at Galatia And the book of Galatians is like
no other epistle in the New Testament. He commends and praises. The grace of God in the other
churches, like the Philippians and even the Corinthians, but
he never gives a word of commendation to the Church of Galatia. Look
in Galatians, chapter one, verse six. He says to these Galatians, I
marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into
the grace of Christ unto another gospel. Now, if I heard that you fell grievously,
I'd be sad, but I wouldn't be amazed, because I know something
about myself, and I know how easily it will happen to me if
God doesn't prevent it. And I wouldn't marvel, but I
understand why Paul marveled here. I marveled that you so
soon removed from him that called you to the grace of Christ to
another, another gospel. Look in chapter 3, verse 1. He
says, O foolish Galatians. That's strong language. Who hath
bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose
eyes Jesus Christ had been evidently set forth, crucified among you? He says in Galatians 4, 9, But
now after that you've known God, or rather are known of God, how
turn you again to the weak and beggarly elements wherein to
you desire again to be in bondage. You observe days and months and
times and years. I'm afraid of you. Lest I bestowed
upon you labor in vain. Looking at the way you're conducting
yourself, the way you're believing, it appears to me that I've wasted
my time preaching to you. He fears that. Look in Galatians
5 verse 7. You did run well. Who did hinder
you? What happened that you should
not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of
him that calleth you. A little leaven leavens the whole
lump. I turn back to Galatians 4 verse
19. Paul says, I desire. In verse 19, I'm sorry, 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, for I stand in doubt of you." Now,
Paul compared the preaching of the gospel to a woman prevailing
in labor pains. He said, I prevailed in birth
again. He said, I prevailed once. I'm
prevailing again. And I'm going through it again
with you because it appears that Christ has not been formed in
you. Now, why did Paul use that kind
of strong language, that strong language that we don't really
read this anywhere else in the scriptures where Or in Paul's
epistles, at any rate, when he speaks so strongly to some people,
what was it he saw that made him fear this? Well, look what
he says in verse 21. And before you read that, before
you read that, what if he saw great worldliness in him? That'd
be a bad thing. But that's not what he mentions.
What if it seemed great immaturity in him? That'd be a bad thing.
But that's not what he mentions. What does he say that caused
him to think that Christ had never been formed in them? He says in verse one, tell me
you that desire to be under the law. Don't you hear what the
law says? They desired to be under the
law. Now, if I really If I desire to be under the law, and if I
continue in that desire, you know what it means? I've never
been born again. I have never had the Lord Jesus
Christ formed in me. If I desire to be under the law,
I am completely ignorant of what the law says. I'm completely
ignorant of the purpose of the law, and I'm completely ignorant
of my own personal sinfulness, or I would not want to be under
the law. If I desire to be under the law,
I prove that I don't know anything about grace. If Christ is formed
in me, I'm going to have a strong, a fervent, an earnest desire
to be under grace. is what I want more than anything
else. Oh, that I might be under grace. Sin shall not have dominion over
you, and here's why. You're not under law, but you
are under grace. Now, what does Paul mean when
he says, I prevail in birth again until Christ be formed in you? Well turn to, hold your finger
there and turn to Philippians chapter 2 for just a moment and
I want us to look at the way this word formed is used. This is the same word in Philippians
chapter 2, verse 6, speaking of the Lord
Jesus Christ, who being in the form of God. Now why was he in the form of
God? He was God. He is God. If you ever see God,
all you'll ever see is Jesus Christ. All you and I will ever
see of God is Jesus Christ, who being in the form of God, he
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but he made himself
of no reputation and took upon him the form, same word, the
form of a servant. You know, there's no servant
like the Lord Jesus Christ. He who is God took upon himself
the form of a servant. Now, what the form means, that's
the reality of the thing. He's really God. He's really
the servant. If you want to know what a servant
is, look to the Lord Jesus Christ. And turn to John chapter 14 for
a moment. Christ formed in you. John chapter 14, verse 20. At that day, you shall know that
I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. He says you'll know this. You
know I'm in my Father, and you'll know that you're in me, and you'll
know that I am in you. Now this mysterious, glorious
thing All of the elect are in Christ, and Christ is in all
of His people. If you're a believer, Christ
is dwelling in your heart right now, that new heart that He has
given. He is there by His Spirit. Christ
in you, the hope of glory. Now, you take a little insignificant
cup and throw it in the vast ocean, and that little cup's
in the ocean, isn't it? But you know what else? The ocean
is in the cup. Christ in you, you in Christ. Now, you were only safe when
God passed through in judgment if you were in the house with
the blood over the door. There was no safety outside of
that house. If you were outside of that house,
you were destroyed. You were safe in the house. But you know what you had to
do in the house? There was some unleavened bread. And there was
a lamb that had been roasted. It wouldn't do you any good simply
to look at it. You had to take it in you and
eat it. And it became part of you. You in the house The lamb in
you. You can look at a loaf of bread.
You can tell all the ingredients on it. You can know exactly what
it looks like. But what goods are going to do
you unless it comes in you and becomes part of you when you
eat it and digest it? It becomes you. Now, our Lord
said, except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his
blood, you have no life in you. Now somebody says, I don't understand
this. Whoever thought you would. I
don't understand it either, but I believe it. I believe it. Our Lord said, I am the bread
of life, he that cometh to me shall never hunger, and him that
believeth on me shall never thirst. Now this thing of believing on
Christ is the same thing as eating him and drinking him. Believing
on the Lord Jesus Christ He's in you. Listen to this scripture.
He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I
in him. Christ in you. You in Christ. Now, deeply sensible of how over
our heads we are, let's look at what the scriptures say concerning
this thing of Christ being in us. And this has something to
do with regeneration. This has something to do with
the new man, the new creature in Christ Jesus. Now, let's look
back again at Colossians chapter I want to look at four or five
scriptures regarding Christ being in us. Now, Paul calls this, in verse
26, the mystery. Now, a mystery is something we
would have never known unless God was pleased to make it known.
We wouldn't know anything about this, but God is pleased to make
it known. The mystery which had been hid
from ages and from generations But now is made manifest to His
saints, 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. What is hope? Hope
is a confident expectation. It's not hope it doesn't rain
or hope it rains. It's a confident expectation. Now, because Christ is in me.
I have a hope of eternal glory. Now, I have a hope of Christ
representing me. I have a hope of Christ dying
for me. All those things are hopes. But here he says the hope
of heavenly glory is Christ in you. Jesus Christ, the eternal God,
the creator of the universe dwelling in you. Turn to John 17. Beginning of verse 20. The Lord says, Neither pray I
for these alone. He's not just praying for the
eleven apostles, but for them also which shall believe on me
through their word. Beloved, he's talking about me
and you tonight. Some folks who look, he prayed for me even then. All those who shall believe,
not who might believe, who shall believe. I'm dying for them.
I've determined their salvation. They're going to believe. He's
praying for everyone who shall believe on me through their word
that they all may be one. As thou, Father, art in me and
I in thee, that they also may be one in us. that the world
may believe that thou hast sent me, and the glory which thou
gavest me, I have given them, that they may be one, even as
we are one, I in them," you hear that? I in them, and thou in
me, that they may be made perfect, that they may be made perfect. in one that the world may know
that thou hast seen me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved
me." Have you heard what he's saying? I'm not asking you to
understand it, but I'm asking you to believe it. Christ in
me makes me perfect to this extent. The same love that God the Father
has to his Son, he has to me. And we wouldn't dare say that
or even think it if it didn't say that, would we? The same
love that he has to his Son, He has to mean, and that's the
glory of Christ being in a man. It makes every believer lovely
to the father. You see, when the Lord loves
his son, when we think of the Lord's love to us, I mean, I
wish we didn't think this way, but we do. We think he puts up with
us and tolerates us and so on for the Lord's sake. But that's
not the way it is at all. He looks at us and says, altogether,
love me. That's the love the father has
to every one of his children. I turn to Galatians chapter 2. Galatians chapter 2. Paul says in verse 19, For I
through the law am dead to the law. that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life 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 think about what Paul says
here. He says, I'm crucified with Christ. When Christ was
crucified, I was too. Now, I just got a letter from
a man this week, and he asked me this question. He said, he
listened to a message and he said, how is it that you can
say that we actually sinned when Adam sinned? Romans 5, 12, by
one man sin entered the world and death by sin, so death passed
upon all men and ended all sin. His sin was charged to our account,
but we couldn't have sinned because we weren't alive. Now explain
that to me. Explain that to me. Well, I can't. I don't feel the need to. That's
what it says. What else do you need? When Adam sinned, I sinned, just
like when Abraham paid tithes, Levi paid tithes. I was in it. What he did, I did. I was crucified
with Christ. I died with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this is not something you
can understand, just believe. Nevertheless, he says, I live.
Yes, I was crucified with Christ, but I'm alive right now. I believe. I love God. Somebody doesn't
do it for me, I do it. I repent. Somebody doesn't repent
for me. I repent. I walk with the living God. I
live. I live before God. I have life
before God. I walk with the living God. I
live. I was crucified with Christ.
Nevertheless, I live. Yet, not I. But Christ liveth in me. You know what he means by that? All my sin is all my fault. I take complete, ashamed responsibility
for my sin. It's all my fault. I'm not a victim. It's all my
fault. Everything else is all his fault. I live, yet not I. But Christ
liveth in me. I believe the gospel. Let me
give you one reason why I do. Because Christ lives in me. I
wouldn't do it if it wasn't for that. I love God. And let me tell you why I do.
It's not me. It's Christ living in me. He gets all the glory and he
gets all the credit. I live, yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me. Now listen to the rest of this
verse. He said, In the life that I now live in the flesh, I live
by the faith of the Son of God. Now, notice he doesn't say the
life that I live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of
God, although he did, but that's not the meaning here. He said,
I live by the faith of the Son of God. Now, what is the faith
of the Son of God? Somebody had to believe God perfectly
with no unbelief. Somebody had to trust God completely. Now, do you remember in his baptism
when the Lord said, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well
pleased? And as soon as that took place,
he goes out and the devil tempts him. Now, you'll remember that
I have no doubt that the devil was there during that baptism
and he heard that voice come down from heaven. And so he's
tempting the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, we're talking about
the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's tempting the Lord Jesus
Christ. He said, if you are the Son of God, if you really are,
now I know I heard that voice, but if you are, command that
these stones be made bread. Prove it! The Lord said, it's
written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word
that proceeds out of the mouth of God. The Lord couldn't create
bread for himself because we couldn't. That's why he could
have, but he didn't because all the limitations we have, he had
to impose upon himself. He never performed miracles for
himself, just for others. And he had to live by faith that
his father would feed him. And then the devil takes him
up on that high pinnacle and he says, if you're the son of
God, prove it, prove it. Jump off, because the scripture
says, the devil uses scripture. He always does. He uses scripture.
He says, the scripture says, thou shalt bear him. I bless
you. Dash your foot against the stone. It's a scripture out of
Psalm. And the Lord said, it's written, thou shalt not tempt
the Lord thy God. God said, I was his son. I don't
need proof. I don't need to prove to you
or anybody else. God said it. That's all that's needed. You
see, he believed God perfectly. And then the devil brings him
and shows him all the kingdoms of the world and says, this I'll
give to you. It's in my power to do it. And he said, get thee
hence, Satan, thou shalt worship the Lord God and him only shalt
thou serve. He believed his God completely. And I'll tell you, when his faith
was the greatest, when he was hanging on the cross, Forsaken
by God, feeling wrath and agony that you and I don't know anything
about. Feeling darkness and desertion that you and I don't know anything
about. Not one time did he cease to believe God. He believed God perfectly. Now, the life that I live, that's
my life. I live off that life. I live
by the faith of the Son of God. That life that I've just spoken
of, that believed God perfectly, that is my life before God. I'm living off that life. That's
my history. That's my story. Because whatever
He did, I did. I live by the faith of the Son
of God who loved me. You know one of the reasons,
you know people talk about God loving everybody the same, well
that would make that verse meaningless, wouldn't it? If he loves all men the same,
what difference does it make? But no, he loved me. And he gave
himself for me. I don't frustrate the grace of
God. If righteousness came by the law, what Christ did was
a waste of time. Christ liveth in me. Do you know anything about that?
Well, I can't feel him. Do you see? Do you see for sure
that the only reason you believe is because he lives in you? You
wouldn't do it without that. The only reason you love God
is because he lives in you. You wouldn't do it without that.
Christ lives in me. Turn to Ephesians chapter 3. Ephesians chapter 3, verse 17, that Christ may dwell in your
hearts by faith. And before I say anything about
that, look back at chapter 2, verse 21, in whom all the building
fitly Together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord, in whom
you also are builded together for an habitation of God through
the Spirit." A habitation, a house of God through the Spirit. And how does God dwell in our
house? In this house, that Christ may dwell, Ephesians 3, 17, that
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. What is the evidence
that He dwells in my heart? Faith. Faith is the evidence
of things not seen. Faith is believing God. Faith
is believing on Him whom He has sent. This is the work of God
that you believe on Him. whom he hath sent." What is faith? Well, I like the way Paul put
it in Titus 1.1. He said, the faith of God's elect,
the acknowledging of the truth. That's what faith is. The acknowledging,
the embracing of the truth, which is after godliness. Turn to Colossians 2 Corinthians. Christ may dwell in our hearts
by faith. Here's an example. Christ said, it's finished. I believe that. There's nothing
for me to do. I rest. That it's finished. 2 Corinthians 13. Now, the Corinthians
have been doing a lot of examining of Paul. And he turns the tables around
in verse 5. He says, examine yourselves.
whether you be in the faith. Now, mainly when people think
of self-examination, they think, well, how holy am I? How humble
am I? How zealous am I? How loving?
All those kind of things. And I'm not saying anything against
him, but that's not what he says. If you could examine yourself
and look at your conduct and so on and your character and
the way you are today, I must be a Christian because of how
good I am. Or at least I'm not as bad. You missed it. You missed
it. He said, examine yourselves,
whether you be in the faith. Prove your own selves. Know ye
not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except
you be reprobate? Put yourself to the test. Are
you in the faith which is the result of Christ being in you? Colossians chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3. Verse 9. Lie not one to another,
seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds, and
have put on the new man. which is renewed in knowledge
after the image of him that created him, where there is neither Greek
nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor
free, but Christ is all and in all. Christ is all and in Well,
who's the all he's talking about? The same all that he was speaking
of when he said, all that the Father giveth me shall come to
me. That's the all. All for whom he died. All of
the elect. All of those God the Holy Spirit
gives life to. All of those people have this
in common. Every single one of them see that Jesus Christ is
all. He is all that God is. He is all that God requires. Christ is the Bible. Christ is God's salvation. Christ is the gospel. Christ
is our life. Every one of God's people that
have Christ in them. Here's the evidence. They really
believe Christ is all. He's all in the scriptures. He's
all in doctrine. He's all to me, beloved. He is
all to. He's the only. He's all the hope
that I have. He's the only hope that I have.
But what else do I need? Now, go back to Galatians chapter
four. We'll close with this. Now, Paul looked at the Galatians,
and he stood in doubt of them. He said, I desire to be present
with you and to change my voice, for I stand in doubt of you,
in verse 20. Now, look back at verse 19. My little children,
what a term of endearment and affection. My little children,
of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. Now, the fact that they were
desiring to be under the law spoke volumes. If that's the
way you continue, Christ has never been formed in you. I know this. Someone in whom
Christ dwells, they desire to be under grace. Oh, that's such
a desire of theirs. Don't you desire to be under
grace? In every respect, don't you desire to be under the free
favor of God? Now, when Christ is formed in
a man, what a mystery, there is liberty as opposed to bondage. Now what
is this thing of liberty? What is this thing of freedom? I do not owe a thing to God but
gratitude. Christ has completely paid my
debt. I have perfect righteousness
before God, and that's the greatest feeling of freedom that there
is. No debt. No debt. Doing what I want to. You know what I want to do? I
want to believe on Christ. That's what I want to do. I want to
be found in Him. That's what I want. You want
to know what I want? I want to be found in Him. If you could
cut open into my heart and see what's really there, Not just
what I say. That doesn't really mean anything.
But if you could see what was really there, you would see someone
whose only ambition and desire is to be found in the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's it. We live by faith and not by works.
When Christ is in a man, he derives comfort from Christ alone and
not his works or his evidences. When Christ is in a man, He has
obedience motivated by grace and love alone, and is zealous
of good works with absolutely no dependence upon them. When
Christ is in a man, when Christ is formed in a man, he believes
the gospel and says with Paul, 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. Now, if somebody thinks he didn't
do a very good job of explaining what it means, I'm sorry. I'm
sorry. It's mysterious. I believe. I love what I've said. What else say? Let's pray.