What is the Christian Life?
What is the Christian life?
Well, the Bible is a big book. It’s actually 66 books made up of 1,189 chapters and 31,102 verses! That is a lot of information about God and the Christian life.
When there is a lot of information involved with something, it helps me so much to simplify it in some way.
Don’t get me wrong. Reading the entire Bible and diving into great detail is super important, but even throughout that process, the Lord can open our eyes to help us see in bite size chunks what this life is really all about.
What is the Christian life?
Life in Christ, Life together, and Life expressed.
LIFE IN CHRIST
Jesus spent a lot of His earthly ministry teaching. He wanted us to know the truth about God, His creation, and why He had come to earth incarnate.
The truth, He said is that He came to give us life.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
(John 10:10)
Satan’s goal is to rob us of real, abundant life and have us settle for a counterfeit life. A life of religion, performance, or sin. It never satisfies. We’re always left looking for more.
But Jesus came to give us abundant life. Where is this life found? Himself!
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. (John 1:4)
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. (John 14:6)
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. (John 11:25)
Jesus is abundant life! The satisfying and fulfilling life that we are all looking for is found in Jesus! That is why John could say, “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:12)
The life that God created us for is one that was meant to be in union with His Son. He is our Source. He is our Satisfaction. He is our Fulfillment.
No wonder Paul said in Philippians 1:21, “For me, to live is Christ!”
LIFE TOGETHER
The Life that we find and experience in Christ leads to life together with others. Why? Because we are made in God’s image and God is a relational Being.
God is a triune God. He is 3 distinct Persons but one essence. One God who exists as Father, Son, and Spirit.
The Father, Son, and Spirit are all in an eternal relationship with each other. Being made in His image makes us relational beings. We were created to be in a relationship with Him and with each other.
Sin broke those relationships, but Jesus’ finished work on the cross restored them.
As we put our faith in Jesus to forgive our sin, we enter into life with Him through the Spirit and into life with others. We are born again into His family (John 1:12-13). We are not only children of God, but also brothers and sisters to each other (Romans 12:5).
As brothers and sisters in Christ, He leads us to do life with each other.
The Christian life is not a life alone but a life in community with other believers.
That is why as soon as the disciples and early church received the Spirit after Pentecost, we read about them doing life together (Acts 2:42-47).
LIFE EXPRESSED
Not only do we find life in Christ and experience life with others, we also have the life of Christ being expressed through us!
After the disciples were united to Christ by the Spirit at Pentecost, He began to express His life through them. When you look at the actions of the apostles in the book of Acts, they look a lot like the actions of Jesus that we read about in the gospels. That’s because it was Jesus’ life being expressed through them!
Jesus put His life in them to live His life through them! And He does the same through us today.
He takes your personality, your gifts, and your talents and uses them to accomplish His Kingdom work. It looks like you and sounds like you, but it’s Christ through you. He lives the Christian life as you. It’s His life expressed through you.
What is the Christian life?
It’s Life in Christ, Life Together, and Life Expressed.
If you are trying to find life through performing, religion, or sin, then you’ve fallen for the counterfeit life that Satan wants you to experience.
If you are doing life alone and not with a group of believers, then you are missing the real life Jesus created you to live.
If you are trying to live for Jesus rather than allowing His life to be expressed through you, then you’ll always be settling for surface-level impact on others.
Fix your eyes on Jesus. Experience Him as your Life. Allow Him to lead you into authentic community with others. Trust Him to express His life through you to make eternal impact in this world.