The Principle of the Christ-life

For to me to live is Christ, and death is gain… Philippians 1:21

These words of Paul, inspired by the Spirit, have ignited the imaginations of Christians around the world and across the ages. They describe a new spiritual reality that every believer can experience and should experience in his daily life. It is not merely a sentiment or a suggestion but rather the expectation for how we should live each day.

Major Ian Thomas, in his classic book, The Saving Life of Christ, opens his teachings on this principle with these words:

Christ did not die simply that you might be saved from a bad conscience, or even to remove the stain of your past failure, but to “clear the decks” for divine action. You have been told that Jesus Christ shed His blood for your sins in order to reconcile you to God. This is gloriously true. But this vital work is not the most important part in God’s plan of salvation. In Romans 5:10 we read, “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!” It may be hard to believe, but Christ has come to save us from the bondage of our sinful nature by manifesting His own victorious life from within our soul.

The words of Paul quoted above are not merely an emotion, but a spiritual reality. This is the principle of the Christ-life — Christ living in the believer. It is the “Not-I-but-Christ” life described in Galatians 2:20.

We may mistake these words for merely a romantic ideal — like a young man or woman who is “in love” and cannot think of anything other than their beloved — an infatuation with Christ. Though the love of Christ for us touches us more deeply than any mere earthly attachment, this is not merely an infatuation with Christ. It means that Christ has come to live in us. He has given us a new nature, “The new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24 NKJV). And He has come to live in us and to simply be Himself in us.

So many Christians have yet to realize this truth in their personal lives that it staggers the imagination. The Church of Jesus Christ has been redeemed by His love, yet we leave blessings on the table and even after salvation we try to live much as we did before — doing the best we can under our own power and strength.

Matthew Henry, the great Puritan scholar, wrote:

It is the undoubted character of every good Christian that to him to live is Christ. The glory of Christ ought to be the end of our life, the grace of Christ the principle of our life, and the word of Christ the rule of it. The Christian life is derived from Christ, and directed to him. He is the principle, rule, and end of it.

Some Bible scholars have suggested that Paul’s comparison was between Christ and death, but this is a misunderstanding. His comparison was between earthly life and heavenly life — both which for the Christian are to be characterized by the reality of Christ.

This to be a reality we accept by faith, and live by having constant communication with Christ. He is the object of our faith, the companion in our journey, and His glory is the goal of our life. Life is to be lived in conversation with Him, accepting that whatever good can be done in our lives must come from Him, and not from us. The Christ-life is the life where Christ receives all the credit for our progress, where He is the hero of our story.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You that You did not only die for our sins, but You rose from the grave to save us fully — in this life as well as in the next. Let You become the chief reality of our minds, our hearts, and our choices. Amen.