THINGS THAT ARE ABOVE -- Tomorrow:
"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory" (Col 3:1-4)
Devotion 20 of 25
"When Christ, who is our life . . . "
When a person being moved along by the Holy Spirit speaks of "life," he immediately brings Christ into the picture. In our text the expression is "Christ, who is our life." This is not a parable or a hyperbole. What is here affirmed is exactly the case, and is precisely stated. Our spiritual life is not the result of our own works, but of Christ's indwelling presence. Our works, on the other hand, are the result of the life, for God has created us "UNTO good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph 2:10).
CHRIST
"When Christ . . . "
"Jesus" is Christ's human name, emphasizing His humanity, as well as His mission to "save His people from their sins" (Matt 1:21)."Jesus" is mentioned 983 times in Matthew through Revelation.
The appellation "Christ" refers to His office – He is the One charged with bringing many sons to glory, and all that is involved in that great work.
In Matthew through Revelation, the word "Christ" is used 555 times! Sixty of those times are found in the Gospels, eleven in Revelation, and thirty-one in the book of Acts. The remaining 453 times it is used in the Epistles (Romans through Jude).
1. Romans 67 times.
2. First Corinthians 65 times.
3. Second Corinthians 43 times
4. Galatians 39 times
5. Ephesians 45 times
6. Philippians 37 times
7. Colossians 26 times
8. First Thessalonians 14 times
9. Second Thessalonians 13 times
10. First Timothy 16 times
11. Second Timothy 15 times
12. Titus 4 times
13. Philemon 7 times
14. Hebrews 13 times
15. James 2 times
16. First Peter 20 times
17. Second Peter 8 times
18. First John 10 times
19. Second John 4 times
20. Third John none
21. Jude 5 times
The technical meaning of the word "Christ" is "THE Anointed One." While Jesus of Nazareth was anointed "with the Holy Spirit and power" (Acts 10:38), this is not the heart of the meaning of "Christ." Doctrinally, "Christ" signifies that He is the solitary Person sent by God to accomplish His great salvation. He is the one charged with taking away the sins of the world (John 1:29), reconciling the world to God (2 Cor 5:18), and making peace (Col 1:20). He alone was given the commission to lay down His life and take it up again (John 10:17-18). By Himself He purged our sins (Heb 1:3), destroyed the devil (Heb 2:14), and plundered hostile principalities and powers (Col 2:15). In all of these things, He operated alone, without any aid from any man. God sustained Him (Isa 42:1). Angels ministered to Him (Mark 1:13). But when it came to the Divinely appointed mission He did it "by Himself." The sins of the world were laid on Him alone (Isa 53:6). Only His body bore our sins (1 Pet 2:24). He alone "tasted death for every man" (Heb 2:9).
He alone was exalted to the right hand of God (Eph 1:20). He alone was given a name that is above every name (Phil 2:9). He alone received all power in heaven and earth (Matt 28:18). He is the solitary Head over all principality and power (Col 2:10). He is the only Head of the church (Eph 1:22). He is the "one Mediator between God and man" (1 Tim 2:5). There is "none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Nothing can be added to Jesus to make Him more powerful. Nothing can be combined with Him to make Him more effective. He stands absolutely by Himself above all things, the Father Himself being the only exception (1 Cor 15:27).
Let me state this as clearly as I know how. Those who would teach us to live according to Law have only revealed they do not see Jesus as all sufficient. Their miserable doctrines have contradicted the affirmation that we are "complete in Him" (2:10). For them it is Christ AND something – some law, some regulation, some procedure – something that men do.
This is the "Christ" of reference – the one in whom our life is "hid." Presently, the only thing we know about Him is what we have been told by God, in "the record He has given of His Son" (1 John 5:10- 11). He is the one Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms foretold (Luke 24:44).
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You that salvation is focused in one Person, one Deliverer, one great Captain.