"CHRIST
IN YOU, THE HOPE OF THE GLORY." Col. 1:27
The glory held out in Scripture is immortality at the Coming of Christ, either by the resurrection of the dead, or the transfiguration of the living. The glory of a perfect body, a body that shall be like unto his own glorious body.
Our
Lord Jesus Christ was patient in all things, but he was not content
that the body in which he dwelt should remain mortal; hence he
carried it into death and the grave, triumphed over them in it, made
it immortal, took it up to the throne of God, dwells in it there, and
shall dwell in it forever, forever manifesting to the universe the
wonder of a shining, glorified, immortal, human body.
If
he was not content with his own body as a dwelling place till he had
made it immortal, will He be perfectly content till he has made our
bodies as his dwelling places also immortal? Sooner or later if he
tarries they must die and fall into decay, and thus the body that has
been the temple of the Holy Ghost, the dwelling place of the eternal
life, shall at the last be vanquished by him who has the power of
death, that is the Devil; and over that which had once been a witness
to the glory of Christ shall be written that victory of Satan which
would be the shame of Christ.
Such
a consummation would be indeed a scandal to the Son of God, a fearful
commentary on his own immortality, and a grave question as to the
permanency of his relation to those whom he calls his own.
In
the very nature of the case it is impossible that the body in which
Christ has ever dwelt shall finally be destroyed. In the very nature
of the case he must make it immortal to justify his own indwelling,
and the immortality which he himself achieved. Wherefore it is
written:
"But
if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you,
he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal
bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you."
To
say that the Father will quicken the bodies by his Spirit, is to say
that the Son in the name of the Father will quicken them by the
Spirit; and because the Spirit dwelling in them is in the name of the
Son, it is the Son dwelling in them who will quicken them by the
Spirit.
Thus
Christ living in the believer is the pledge and guaranty of
immortality; and therefore Christ in the believer is the sure, the
definite hope of glory. The hope that shall never be deferred, or
make the heart sick.
In
carrying the Living Christ within, the believer carries the hope that
casts its light onward to the glory hour, and illuminates all the way
between. Just as the Pillar of Cloud and Fire went with the children
of Israel by day and by night, assuring them that they were being
guided, and guided home, so this Indwelling Presence picturing to us
each day the Morning hour and the Morning land, is a constant witness
that we are being guided, and that we are being guided home.
What
a pledge of grace, of certitude, and love.
Well
may the Apostle exclaim, speaking of this in-living Christ: "Who
loved me and gave himself for me."
The
indwelling of this Presence brings with it a double obligation:
An
obligation to the world; an obligation to the Indwelling Christ
himself.
As
Christians, we are under obligation to the world to let Christ live
in us so freely, so fully, that men may see and know Him who is the
Way, the Truth, and the Life.
We
are under obligation to the Indwelling Christ to let Him so live in
us, that he may manifest himself to the world.
It
is his desire. This is why he ascended to the throne and sent down
the Spirit in his name.
He
yearns to-day to use your lips and mine, our hands and feet.
Yonder
is one in sorest trouble. The blessed Christ would speak and comfort
him. He can only speak by your lips and mine. There is a hand that is
trembling. He would like to take it and hold it in his own and give
it the clasp of assurance and perfect love. He can only do so with
your hands and mine. Up yonder flight
of
stairs, in yonder dingy room, is one sick and nigh to death. He would
climb those stairs, kneel by the bedside of the sick, and touch the
fevered brow. But he can only climb those stairs with your feet and
mine; he can only kneel with your knees and mine; only with our hands
can he touch the fevered brow; only with our voices utter the message
of love; only through our bodies manifest himself to a sad and dying
world.
