NO TWO I’s IN CHRIST!

Friday 22 November

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)

But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:17 (KJV)

Chriist. Something seems odd with the way the first word of this sentence is spelled don’t you agree? It’s the same oddness when you believe that there is more than one ‘I’ in Christ. The doctrine of identification states that when Jesus died, I died.

Think about this. It wasn’t your body that died, neither was it your soul. Your spirit that was ‘dead in trespasses and sins’ died in the mind of justice and when Jesus was raised from the dead, you too spiritually were raised to newness of life.

‘For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God’ Colossians 3:3 (NKJV). The man in sin died. The man in Christ took his place. Remember your soul and your body remain after salvation and still carry the memories both mental and physical of that old life that passed away when you passed away on the cross. You died in Him as He represented all of mankind and you now live in Him and He lives in you.

More than that, we became one spirit with the Spirit of God. We are one Spirit. This is the miracle of the new birth. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says we are ‘new creatures in Christ’. Picture this. If you pour water from a jug halfway into a glass and then pour water from another jug into the same glass to the brim, what happens to the water in the glass? Though from two different containers, it becomes one glass of water. This is an analogy of how we become one Spirit with the Lord.

Interestingly, water was actually used to represent the Spirit before the Holy Spirit was poured out. Jesus referenced it in John 7:37-39.

‘On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.’

Ephesians 4:5-6 says we have ‘one Lord, one faith, one baptism one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.’

Understand this truth. When you received Christ at salvation, your recreated human spirit and the Spirit of God became one new creation in you. Inextricably one, never to be separated. This is the miracle that Apostle Paul calls ‘the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but has now been revealed to His saints which is Christ in you the hope of glory’ (Colossians 1:27b).

The word hope means ‘an expectation of good’ and when you and God are made one, you should only expect the best for your life. As our opening scripture states ‘it is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me’. You don’t have two spirits in you; one from God and your new spirit. Emphatically no! There is only one spirit in you, only one Christ in you.

The key to living a life of the Spirit with the one Christ in you, is to not be ruled by the senses or thoughts contrary to the Word. Jesus is our example of what a person could do when they completely yield to the Spirit. It was prophesied about Him that ‘He will not judge by the sight of His eyes or the hearing of His ears’.

Don’t allow yourself to be distracted by external forces. When you need help, simply look to the Christ in you. Let your spirit take the ascendancy and dominate your soul and body. Remember, there are no two I’s in Christ, just one new creature, one new creation.

APPLICATION

Study and meditate upon Galatians 2:20 and let the realisation of your oneness with the Lord change the way you see Christ in you.