Identified With Christ

Recently I joined facebook. It is a great way to communicate with old friends and stay connected. I have reconnected with friends I haven't seen or heard from in years. In a way Facebook allows you to spy on everyone's life.

I put a little post on the wall (as they call it) mentioning I was sitting thinking about Facebook and I made the comment, "so many Christians but very little talk about the Lord." I have only received a few comments back. One said they agreed, one said that it is a great to stay in touch with others and to reconnect to which I agree. This second comment in a way avoided the real issues. I agree with their statement but continue to think that if the Lord is really our life, should it show in our general conversations of life?

It got me thinking about Colossians 3.

"Therefore if you have been ​raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, ​seated at the right hand of God. 2 ​Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 FFor you have ​died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, ​who is our life, is revealed, ​then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

5 ​Therefore ​consider ​the members of your earthly body as dead to ​​immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which ​amounts to idolatry. 6 For it is because of these things that ​the wrath of God will come ​upon the sons of disobedience, 7 and ​​in them you also once walked, when you were living ​​in them. 8 But now you also, ​put them all aside: ​anger, wrath, malice, slander, and ​abusive speech from your mouth. 9 ​Do not lie to one another, since you ​laid aside the old ​​self with its evil practices, 10 and have ​a​put on the new self who is being ​​renewed to a true knowledge ​according to the image of the One who ​created him— 11 a renewal in which ​there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, ​circumcised and uncircumcised, ​barbarian, Scythian, ​slave and freeman, but ​Christ is all, and in all.

12 So, as those who have been ​chosen of God, holy and beloved, ​put on a ​heart of compassion, kindness, ​humility, gentleness and ​​patience; 13 ​bearing with one another, and ​forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is ​​the perfect bond of ​unity. 15 Let ​the peace of Christ ​​rule in your hearts, to which ​​indeed you were called in ​one body; and ​be thankful. 16 Let ​​the word of ​​Christ richly dwell within you, ​​with all wisdom ​​teaching and admonishing ​one another ​with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, ​singing ​with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 ​Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, ​giving thanks through Him to God the Father."

Since we are "in Christ" we are new creatures. We have been given a new nature since we have received forgiveness of sins. We have been bought with a price and we are not our own anymore. There is no need to exert effort or to try to have a new nature, we have been given a new nature. While it would be nice if that old nature were totally gone, in reality it is still here and we need to train ourselves for godliness and day by day, moment by moment continually be being filled with His Spirit. We are told to put on the new man, to yield to the Spirit, to put on the armor of God. But we do have a new nature as well.

Christ now is our life (vs 4). We have been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness and have been transferred into the Kingdom of His dear son. (Col 1:13). It appears there is an active part of our lives that Colossians says we are to do, such as putting on compassion, kindness adn humility etc; but there is also a passive resting transformation that the Spirit of God does in our lives. We are told to let the word of God dwell in us richly, let the peace of God rule in our hearts. But the new life ought to show itself naturally in our lives.

William Ramsay says in his Daily Bible Study Series on Phil, "the Christian will view everything against the background of eternity and no longer live as if this world was all that mattered. This will obviously give him a new set of values. Things which the world thought important, he will no longer worry about. Ambitions which dominated the world, will be powerless to touch him. He will go on using the things of the world but he will use them in a new way. He will, for instance, set giving above getting, serving above ruling, forgiving above avenging. The Christian’s standard of values will be God’s not men’s.

I believe it will effect all of our lives. It will effect our interests and passions; it will effect our values and priorities and it will show itself naturally throughout all of our lives. The Christian life is not just another way to live life, it is our life. We have been eternally changed and are being changed daily into His likeness.

How are we being changed? Is it evident to others around? Shouldn't it show in what we talk about and how we talk about it? The city of Jerusalem took note that the people had been with Jesus. It showed. They turned the whole city upside down. We are suppose to be mirrors reflecting the glory of God to a world around us. The King of the universe lives within us. We are joint heirs of Jesus Christ, we are children of the King. Those are truly incredible and motivating truths that should spur us on to love and good deeds and to walk worthy of our calling in Christ Jesus.

My fellow believers, watch your speech and manner of life closely because others are too. What a joy to be His.