51. THAT CHRIST MAY DWELL IN
YOUR HEARTS. So many times and in so many ways the Lord expresses His most sincere desire to dwell IN His people. It is a work of faith where the believer has trust and confidence in the promises of His Word. Oddly enough, He is depicted as standing at the door of the church, this is not the door of the sinner but that of His people. The letter is written to the church. Waiting and knocking, He is outside anxiously seeking entrance. Those who hear His voice and bid Him welcome find that He has come prepared to abide and to eat with them. Rev. 3:20 What meal would He rather eat with them other than the communion. There is a very real connection between participating in the table of the Lord and the abiding presence of the Lord in us. There is a saying today which dietitians often repeat, you are what you eat. It is never more true than in the case of participating in the eating of the body and the blood of the Lord. That simple act of faith triggers the promise of the Lord Jesus that if we eat of Him, we dwell in Him and He is us. Jn 6:56
CHRIST LIVETH IN ME. The words of the Apostle Paul present an example of what is necessary to reach that high and holy calling where the physical body is filled with the Lord. He had so entered into the experiences of following the Lord Jesus that he could say that he was crucified with Christ. He had arrived at that place where he was crucified unto the things of this world. To die to self and all the demands of the flesh is a great step in achieving the separation which is necessary for Christ to dwell within. Christ indeed, lived within him. The life which he lived after the experience of being crucified with Christ was a life of great faith. Gal. 2:20 He lived a life in the power of the resurrected Christ. Consider the fact that he was stoned in Lycaonia (Acts 14:9) These people of the region judged him to be worthy of capital punishment and executed a death sentence by stoning him. They did not merely throw stones at him but consistently cast stones upon him until he was dead then dragged him out of the city and cast his carcass outside of the city. Acts 14:19 Can you imagine the emotions of the disciples as they stood around him. Most certainly there were some extreme thoughts running through their minds. In the midst of all this he stood up and went back into the city and the next day took off on a missionary journey. Because he was filled with the life of Christ, that power of resurrection, he was able to come to life again and act as if they had not harmed him in any way. Were there not a demonstration of super natural power here, he could not have recovered but also have been totally healed of all his contusions, wounds and broken bones. The scriptures plainly show that Paul experienced death frequently. He said that he was in deaths oft. Not facing death but literally died only to come to life again. 2 Cor. 11:23 Also he had spent a day and a night in the depths of the sea. That is surely enough time for one to drown. Yet he lived. 2 Cor. 11:25 Only when he came to the end did he say, I am now ready. 2 Tim. 4:6