He Has Moved In, Baggage and All!
As a basic Christian doctrine, we know that when we gave our heart to Jesus, He came to live within us. And that sounds rather peculiar, one of those Christian jargons we love to spout — sometimes without knowing what it is we are saying.
Okay, so what does this really mean?
It means that when He arrived, he had His bags packed, toothbrush in hand! He moved in and made your heart His home. He brought along with him all of His power and resources. Suddenly, our inner man — our spirit — had uninterrupted access to God’s strength, wisdom, truth, and peace. He brought everything we need to live in victory.
There is no reason for us to cry out to him to come down to us from heaven. “Oh Gawd, please come rescue me . . .” No, no. He is already in us. As Juan Carlos Ortiz taught, “There is no need to go thirsty when you are swimming in the Amazon River!” Paul told us how powerful we are in Christ.
Some believers have created for themselves an image of a self-centered God whose only pleasure is in receiving praise. I pray that is never said about our Lord because that isn’t at all why he has come to live in us. He has come to show us that he is a God who is not distant and unreachable. The Lord wants us to know he isn’t just out in the dark expanse of the cosmos somewhere. He is very present in us. He doesn’t flit in and out of our lives at will. No, he never leaves his home in us.
But as Paul pointed out, “Now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). Paul is making it absolutely clear: our Lord is here now, living in us. When our Father made His dwelling in our temple, He brought to us strength in our inner man — in our spirit, a deep rooting and grounding in love, as well as access to ask Him 24-hours-a-day — for every need or concern you have. He has made everything possible, through His divine power at work in us (see Ephesians 3:16-21).
Okay, so what does this really mean?
It means that when He arrived, he had His bags packed, toothbrush in hand! He moved in and made your heart His home. He brought along with him all of His power and resources. Suddenly, our inner man — our spirit — had uninterrupted access to God’s strength, wisdom, truth, and peace. He brought everything we need to live in victory.
There is no reason for us to cry out to him to come down to us from heaven. “Oh Gawd, please come rescue me . . .” No, no. He is already in us. As Juan Carlos Ortiz taught, “There is no need to go thirsty when you are swimming in the Amazon River!” Paul told us how powerful we are in Christ.
“I kneel before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:14-21).That is an amazing prayer! This prayer is proclaiming that we have the most incredible treasures the Lord. And He has made them available to us! In fact, ALL of His riches are available to us in Christ Jesus.
Some believers have created for themselves an image of a self-centered God whose only pleasure is in receiving praise. I pray that is never said about our Lord because that isn’t at all why he has come to live in us. He has come to show us that he is a God who is not distant and unreachable. The Lord wants us to know he isn’t just out in the dark expanse of the cosmos somewhere. He is very present in us. He doesn’t flit in and out of our lives at will. No, he never leaves his home in us.
But as Paul pointed out, “Now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). Paul is making it absolutely clear: our Lord is here now, living in us. When our Father made His dwelling in our temple, He brought to us strength in our inner man — in our spirit, a deep rooting and grounding in love, as well as access to ask Him 24-hours-a-day — for every need or concern you have. He has made everything possible, through His divine power at work in us (see Ephesians 3:16-21).
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