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Larry Ray Hafley
For the faithful child of God, there can be no doubt about it: "Christ liveth
in me" (Cf. Jn. 14:21-23; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 3:17). That Christ lives in the
Christian is not to be denied, but the question arises, "How does he do so? How
does Christ live in us? Is it a direct, immediate, personal indwelling?
In the very text of Galatians 2:20, Paul explains how Christ dwells in us
when he says, "The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of
the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." Paul told the Ephesians
that Christ dwelt in their hearts "by faith" (Eph. 3:17). When we live and walk
in the truth, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are said to live in us
(Jn. 14:21-23; 1 Jn. 1:6, 7; 2:3-5; 3:24; 4:12, 13).
"God dwelleth in us, and....we dwell in him" (1 Jn. 4:12, 13). Note that we
are said to "dwell in" God. Do we dwell in God personally, directly? No. Rather,
we are said to dwell in God when we keep his commandments (1 Jn. 2:5). If we
live after the flesh, after the lusts of this world, we have no fellowship with
God, no association with him; he does not live in us, and we do not live in him
(1 Jn. 1:6).
One who walks after the flesh, after fleshly lusts, lives in the flesh (Rom.
8:12, 13; Gal. 5:16; 6:7, 8). One who walks after the Spirit, after the teaching
of the Holy Spirit in the word of God, lives in God, and God lives in him. It is
that simple. It is that serious. It is that sublime.
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