I want to speak about the indwelling power of Jesus Christ.

Paul describes for us a principal which if we can grasp will completely change our approach our faith.

Colossians. 1:15-27 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. 21Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- 23if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. 24Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness-- 26the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. 27To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

I believe that one of the reasons the church is struggling in the 20th century is because we are trying to do something which it is humanly impossible to do. We are trying to copy a historical figure. There are many other religions that try the same thing. Some may succeed for a brief period of time with their man made codes and prescriptions, but ultimately human kind fails. Their is only one person who could ever live the Christian life. There is only one person who does live the Christian life. And that person is Jesus Christ. Thus Paul says these words. It is Jesus Christ in you which is the hope of glory. He reprimanded the Galatians church for trying to live the Christian life apart from the Spirit of God in them. It is an impossible task. The only way this may be accomplished is apart from ourselves. When we come to the point of dying to ourselves and coming alive to Christ. And so he says it is Christ in us, the hope of glory.

The question this morning is this. Is there any doubt whatsoever that the Christ of history is the Christ of the present living in your life. You must be able to say that of certainty today. If you cannot. If you cannot say with certainty that you know that you know that you know that Christ alive dwells in your life, then I must question whether you are saved at all.

What is the significance of Christ in us. Paul speaks first of all of:

I. The Majesty of the Indwelling Christ.
We may have a small concept of the Christ who dwells in us. It is appropriate for us to rethink who this is that lives in us. We must elevate our concept of Christ in us beyond the small concept of God that we may have, who is limited in his authority over the world and it's circumstances. When we recognize who He really is, we will be more confident in our behavior as Christians. Observe then, the significance of He who indwells us. He is:
1. The Image of the Invisible God

It is through Christ that God becomes known to us. If we want to know God, we look to Christ. Max Lucado shared once how he caught his daughter staring into the mirror with her mouth wide open. "What in the world are you doing? "I'm looking to see if God is really in there"

God is really in there. That is the majesty of it. Because Christ is in us, the full power of God Himself is in us. Jesus, when asked by His disciples to show them the Father said "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. The indwelling Christ is also,

2. The Author of Creation.

vs. 15-17 This is not a limited Christ who indwells us. He is the creator of the universe. The gospel writer John says that through everything was made and without Him, nothing was made. Not only was He creator, but He is the creator. The hymn writer proclaims, "New every morning is the light our waking and uprising prove". He takes His hand off creation today and everything ceases. The blade of grass that stands upright stands there because Christ so wills it. The breath that you take in the next instant you take, because Christ wills it so. Not only is He over all physical creation. He is also over all human and spiritual authority. 16,17 That means that there is nothing that happens on this earth and in the affairs of man that He does not have something to do with. It then follows that we do not have to fight our own battles. Someone wrongs us? They take up issue with Him. Someone unjustly accuses us, they take issue with Him.

This is who He is and our devalued view and concept is insufficient. He is the creative Christ and He dwells within us. The majesty of the creative Christ.

Notice also that the indwelling Christ is:
3. The Redeemer of Life.
vs 18-19 This is an awesome truth. This Christ whom John says was with and is God, chose, according to the writer of Hebrews to set aside His deity and His equality with God and become a man Just like us. The creator becomes the created one. Born of a physical woman. Grows up to be a man, experiences the temptations of life, suffers pain, rejection, humiliation, sorrow. And then one day is taken under false arrest, is wrongly accused and in the greatest travesty of justice ever known to man is nailed to a cross and dies. For one reason. That you and I might come back into a right relationship with God. So that God our judge could become God our Father. So that we could become one body, the Church of Jesus Christ. The spotless, unblemished, accusation free bride of the Son of God. This is the good news, says Paul. It is this truth that caused the writer of that great spiritual song to exclaim, "Oh how I love him. How I adore him. My strength my sunshine, My all in all. Creator, became my savior…" The majesty of the indwelling Christ. This is who He is that lives in you and who is the hope of glory.
Paul relates to us not only the Majesty of the Indwelling Christ, but in the second place:
II. The Mystery of the Indwelling Christ
vs 27. The word mystery used here is taken from a pagan idea of secret knowledge. They used it in terms of secrets that only a select few had access to. But he changes the meaning radically. Although this is a mystery that the world does not understand, it is a secret which is open to all those who receive Christ, but only to those who receive Christ.

The unbeliever when he sees the Christian walking across the stage of life does not understand what makes him tick. He doesn't understand why this person is different. Takes a different approach to things. And that is because it is something which is unexplainable.

In the first place:
1. The Miracle of the Mystery

Sometimes we dwell so much upon the simplicity of coming to Christ that we completely miss the miracle of it. It is the greatest miracle.

I'm reminded of that Hymn. It took a miracle to put the world in place. It took a miracle to hang the stars in space. But when he saved my soul, cleansed and made me whole, it took a miracle of love and grace.

This is the greatest miracle. It is the miracle that gives us new birth. It cannot be obtained by knowledge. It cannot be attained by study. It cannot be attained by religious activity. It is a miracle whereby upon opening your heart and life to Christ he enters in to dwell forever and ever and ever. And thank God there is a miracle that can take place right here today. Rev. 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Here is the majestic Christ standing before us today. This encompasses the threefold process. Behold. "Here I am" The written or spoken revelation of Himself to man. The intellectual process. Then, "If anyone hear my voice." God's voice can only be heard with the ears of the heart. This is the emotional process. And then finally, "And will open the door. " The volitional process. The action on our part to respond.
The miracle of his incoming. Although quietly and gently entering our lives, it is the greatest miracle that could happen to anyone. So Paul can say, Christ in you the hope of Glory. The miracle of this mystery. Now see:
2. The Measure of this Mystery.
This may the point at which our understanding of the fullness of the glory of Christ in the Christians life is vague. You see, He enters into us in all of His fullness. In all of His glory. The text tells us that in Him the fullness of the Godhead dwells. That means He enters into our lives as prophet, Priest and King. As prophet He speaks to our inmost being the truths and the revelations of God and calls us to obedience to every Word that comes from the heart of God. If he is dwelling in us in full measure then we must obey Him as prophet.

He comes into our lives as priest. Not only to deal with and to forgive our past, but to be an advocate on our behalf before the Father in every detail of our sinful life. This is a mystery that so few can grasp. Instead of trusting in the finished work of the anointed priest of God, we try and earn our continued forgiveness through good works. There are those who pray to the saints and do pennants before the priest and burn candles and repeat Rosary after Rosary, and Paul is saying, It is Christ in you the hope of glory. He is your high priest. Come to Him. Submit to Him. Trust Him as your advocate. He is the only priest you need.

He comes into our lives as King. King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Undisputed sovereign in our lives. We sing the songs of honor and majesty yet we do not understand all that that means. There are many people who have asked the lord Jesus into their lives who have never known what it means to submit to Him as King. So, they continue to be controlled by those things to which they give greater value.
They haven't heard him as prophet, they haven't heeded him as priest. They haven't honored Him as King. The measure of His incoming. Let me ask you. Is He dwelling in your life in full measure? Is he a guest in your heart or is he the host? This is a miracle. This is a mystery.
In the third place Paul addresses for us:
III. The Mastery Of the Indwelling Christ.
Paul speaks about the hope of the indwelling Christ. I wondered what he meant. I am convinced that he is not speaking exclusively of the future hope which will be ours when we pass from this life into eternity. He is speaking also of a present hope. "Christ in you, the hope of Glorious living." Hope. Not something nebulous and intangible and uncertain. It is not the pie in the sky kind of hope. There is nothing more certain in all the world than we find in the Bible. It is not just and idea. It is not just and emotion. Not the kind of hope that Johnny expresses connected to the results of a math test for which he failed to prepare. Not the hope of some hard working factory worker that his job will still be there for him tomorrow. Not the hope that the investor has that he made the right choice at the stock market.
I want to suggest first of all that this hope that we have is:
1. A life of absolute certainty.
Hebrews 6:19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 1 Thes. 5:8 But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. This is what the hope is. It is a sure thing.

For the Christian it means that he knows where he's been, he knows where he is, and he knows where he is going. Last week the Cardinal made the statement that none can know for sure whether they will one day go to heaven. What a sorry statement. Romans 5:5 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. 2 Cor 1:22 says that this same Holy Spirit, Christ in us is the seal guaranteeing what God has already promised us. Yes sir. We can be certain. Not because we have some crystal ball with which to gaze into the future and determine what tomorrow holds, but because we know who holds tomorrow and that He dwells within us, the hope of glorious living.

It doesn't matter where you are, or what you do. We all need this kind of hope. This is why Paul could say over and over again, "Christ in you the hope of glory!" A life of absolute certainty.
2. A Life of absolute radiancy.

vs. 24 When one is indwelt by the lord Jesus Christ who is our hope and is our certainty, there is very little if anything in this world that ought to get us down. Christians ought to be the happiest people alive. The life of Christ puts rejoicing in our hearts. It puts a song in pour hearts. It is the flag that flies from the castle of our hearts when the king resides there.

I recall the story of my father's salvation. He had survived the Death March at the end of the second world war. He had returned a free man physically, but his soul was imprisoned. His life was in the gutter. He was known as "the village drunk". One night he stumbled into the living room where the preacher was visiting with his mother. He tripped and fell headlong, landing at their feet. He heard the preacher say, "Mamma, it would have been better had your son died in the dessert, then you would not have had to know him this way. There is nothing anyone can do for him." Dad decided on that day to take his life. He got drunk and went to the city center where the cenotaph was, and had determined to blow his brains out on the city square. As he was cursing God and everyone else, he heard this young girls voice behind him say, "Jesus loves you." He swung around and began to curse her, but she persisted. "Jesus loves you and he gave his life for you." He insisted that the only person that had given his life for him was his friend Jock Davis, who years before had died in his place after being beaten in one of the concentration camps. As he told this young girl what Jock had done for him, she related that that was exactly what Christ had done for my dad. All of a sudden the miracle began to happen. The mystery began to work as my dad had a vision of Jock at the stake, taking that final beating, but as he looked, he saw that the stake had changed into the shape of a wooden cross. And when he looked into the face of the man hanging there, it was not Jock Davis. He realized it was Jesus. He fell to his knees and there, on the Cenotaph where he would have taken his life, he received life everlasting. The most significant thing that he can remember of that day is the indescribable joy that flooded his soul. The radiance that fell upon him caused him to run all the way home singing at the top of his voice. He knew no Sunday School songs, so he sang the only song he knew, "It's a long way to Tiperary". The neighbors turned and stared, no doubt thinking that Clemmy was full of spirits again. Little did they know that this time he was filled with the Spirit. The life that is mastered by the indwelling Christ is a life of absolute radiancy. Throughout the ages, the movement of the Spirit of God in any revival has been proceeded by exceeding great joy. Read the history of Acts. They rejoiced. Even in the midst of trials and persecution there was a sense of joy.

A certain church was having a crusade. Someone outside was handing out fliers advertising the meeting. A passer by took one look at the mans face and responded with "No thank you, I have enough troubles of my own."

I wonder if you have that genuine, quiet radiance of the indwelling Christ?

The life mastered by the indwelling Christ is also,
3. A Life of Purity.

Throughout the scriptures there is more mention of holiness than any other attribute of God. It is the most prominent theme throughout scripture. The manual for life that God has given us, is called the Holy Bible. The Bible does not call us to be happy, but to be holy. 1 Thes. 4:7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Hebrews 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 1 Peter 1:15-16 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

1 Peter 2:5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Holiness is a critical part of this principal of Christ in us. He is the one, and the only one that can enable us to live a life of holiness.

There is not a person who would not like to know the security of that kind of life. Young man, young lady, if you are fighting a losing battle in the area of sexual purity, it is because you have not submitted to the power of Christ in you that can overcome those fantasies and perversions that torment your mind. If there are though patterns that are unhealthy and that you cannot bring under control, it is because the only one who is able to do that does not have free and uninterrupted reign over your life.

All of who we are and are becoming comes down to this one great principle of Paul's that it is Christ in you the hope of glorious living. Some of you here today know the victory of such a life. I have seen the power of God work in these areas of life. Wont you consider His call to you today to live above the status quo. To experience the full measure of this marvelous miracle? The greatest miracle of God. The miracle of the indwelt life of Christ.