In Colossians 1:26-27, Paul speaks of a great mystery which has been “hidden from ages and generations, but has been revealed to the saints.” It’s this mystery which makes Christianity so totally different from any other religion in the world. Yet this mystery seems to be misunderstood even by many Christians.
So what is it? It’s “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” It’s the absolute indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit in the inner most part of you, leading you, empowering you, changing you, and growing you to reflect the attributes of God Himself.
All other religions have laws – lists of do’s and don’ts – which, if followed, are supposed to bring people into perfection. But our faith is different. In our faith, our lives of sin are forsaken at the cross of Jesus. We accept His sacrifice for our sinful nature – and then we accept the empowerment of His Holy Spirit to walk away from sin and into the life He has for us.
That’s why we know that we have authority over sin, sickness, and poverty. The “Greater One” lives on the inside of us and causes us to overcome the evils of the world…if we are relying on Him and not ourselves.
If we will just live “from the inside out,” many of our problems will be solved. In the most inner part of us is every answer we need. We will not only overcome sin in our own lives and receive health for ourselves, but we will have wisdom to pray for those around us. We will have answers which will benefit them and an anointing to release them.
Stop and think about it. Man is the only creature which has a choice about the way he lives his life. Animals instinctively know that they should find food, build nests or dens, mate and raise their young. They have no choice but to live from the inside out. They live from the dictates of their instincts.
That was God’s intention for us from the beginning – to live from the instincts of our spirits. Before man sinned, he lived from his spirit, not his flesh. Then, from the fall until Jesus paid the price, he had no power over that sinful nature. Now that we can be born again and filled with His Spirit, the power is restored – but we have a choice.
Will we live from the flesh, where there is no power? Or will we live from the spirit, where Christ resides as our hope of glory? The choice is always ours and we make it daily.
When Christians rise up to live from the inside out – from the spirit within – our world will be changed. Prayers will be answered more quickly, prophecies will be fulfilled, and the world will begin to see God’s true church rising to its place in the earth.
When God’s true church lives from the inside out, God’s kingdom will be manifested for all to see!
