Part 2
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
The one who is in Christ – the one that has been justified by God and reconciled to Him – must daily and habitually acknowledge that good exists in him or her. That “good” is Jesus Christ. The believer has been made partaker of His divine nature. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. The theological truth of being “born of God” speaks of parentage and passing on divine character. Here is the profound truth: if you have been made “the righteousness of God” and through faith you are “in Christ,” then everything that Christ is dwells in you.
New Testament writers Peter and John speak of this reality using the metaphor of a seed – God’s seed and the incorruptible seed. A seed is small, and it must germinate and grow to produce and realize all the potential that is packed within. And so it is with Christ in the believer. We are instructed to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (II Peter 3:18).
By growing in Christ we undertake two important tasks that have life-changing implications. First, we put off the old man (Rom. 6:6; Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:8). The “old man” is the expressions of the mind and body habituated in sin, that is – things that are contrary to God’s character and His purpose for us. But just taking away leaves a vacuum. A replacement is necessary. Growing in Christ also means the manifestations of Christ developing in and through the one who is in Christ. The old becomes replaced with the new. Therefore, secondly, we are called to put on the new man (Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10) which is the outward expression of God’s presence and work in the believer.
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