Christians must understand what it means for Christ to become ours if we are to walk in victory.

 

He Becomes Ours

IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING

In a previous article we looked at how we are Christ’s. He purchased us and now we belong to Him. Every part of us is now under His ownership. Today, we’re looking at the flip side—Christ becomes ours. If the fact that “you become His” implies His possession, then the truth that “He becomes yours” implies your possession. This means:

  1. His Life becomes Your Life. Christ lives in you (Gal. 2:20). For you to live is Christ (Phil. 1:21).  “Because I live, you shall live also” (John 14:9). The Lord Jesus is not your Helper only. He is your very life. The victorious Christian life is simply the life of the victorious Christ (Rom. 5:10). You cannot get victory by trying to live for Jesus. That’s the popular (and disappointing) way. God’s way is Jesus LIVING HIS LIFE IN YOU, and that is a very different proposition. The crucifixion of the flesh gives Him right-of-way to make your heart His palace and His royal throne. It is Christ IN you that makes victory possible. “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).  No amount of effort can accomplish any level of victory.
  1. His Power Becomes Your Power. At Calvary He demonstrated His mighty ascendancy and supremacy over death and hell, and now He lives in you. His power alone can see you through. Face the enemy in your own puny strength and you’ll surely lose. Ask someone to try and make a pencil stand on its point. After his unsuccessful efforts, say, “Watch me, and I’ll show you how to do it.” Putting the pencil point downwards on a book, and keeping your finger on the top, you can say, “There you are; it is standing on its point.” “When they argue that you’re holding it, just say, “Yes, and this is how the Christian stands; he is held and kept by the power of God.” This simple illustration is vital in its application. He is able to keep you from falling (Jude 24), and only as you abide in Him are you safe. Lose contact with Him and you fail. This brings us to the next great fact that:
  1. His Victory Becomes Your Victory. Remember, the triumphant Christian does not fight for victory, but celebrates a victory already won. “Thanks be unto God who leads me on from place to place IN THE TRAIN OF HIS TRIUMPH TO CELEBRATE HIS VICTORY over the enemies of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:14 Conybeare translation). What a magnificent conception of life—to “celebrate HIS victory!” Because He has conquered, you may be “more than a conqueror” (Rom. 8:37). The victory is already won; rejoice in that! All your enemies have been overcome, and the risen, triumphant Lord demonstrates His triumph through those who are joined to Him. With Christ God has given you “all things” (Rom. 8:32). When “your team” wins, you share in the victory, even though you never stepped foot on the field. Christ won the victory on the cross, and since He is yours, you share in it.

AS I SEE IT

To make these truths practical in your daily life, you must believe that all He possesses is at your disposal. His victory is your victory. There was once a little girl with a very bad temper. After her conversion she never again yielded to her temper, and one day she was asked the reason. She replied, “Before the Lord Jesus came into my heart the devil would knock at the door, and when I went to the door he would push his way in; but now the Lord Jesus has come in, and whenever the devil knocks I say to Him, ‘Lord, you go and open the door,’ and when the devil sees the Lord Jesus at the door he sees somebody who is more than a match for him, and passes on saying, ‘Excuse me, I must have come to the wrong house.’”

This simple little story shows the simple reality of “Christ in you.” You are His, and He is yours, and all He asks is for your honest cooperation day by day and moment by moment in His will and purpose for your life. You must decrease, but He must increase (John 3:30). The last gasp of the self-life will be the first breath of the new. It’s no wonder the Apostle finds his vocabulary limited to describe such an amazing truth, and speaks of “the RICHES OF THE GLORY of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).

In Romania there is a certain valley where they grow nothing but roses for the Vienna market, and the perfume of that valley in the time of the rose crop is such that if you go into it for a few minutes, wherever you go for the rest of the day people know that you have been there. So may others take knowledge of us as we emanate the fragrance of the indwelling Christ. We are His, and He is ours.

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