Living From The Inside Out

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“for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’” — Acts 17:28, NKJV

 

Acts 17:28 is my life scripture. I especially cling to Part A.

In Him, we live — To breathe, be among the living.

Move — Motion which is evidence of life.

Have our being — We are. To exist, to be present.

Paul’s purpose in quoting this passage of scripture is to show that all life is controlled and rests in the hands of God. It is His breathe that gives us life. Genesis 2:7 lets us know that God breathed the breath of life into man’s nostrils, and then man became a living being. I like to think of it this way, every time God exhales; we inhale for our breathing patterns are in sync with one another.

With this syncopation of movement comes the evidence of life. If a doctor can see signs that the lungs are taking in and expelling oxygen, he knows a patient is still living, and there’s evidence of life. However, when the motion stops, physical life ceases, and eternal life begins. But until that takes place, our earthly existence — our being is in Christ.

Think of life in Christ this way; to be in Christ is like living in this world with an autoimmune disease. Our immune systems typically guard against germs like bacteria and viruses. When it senses these foreign invaders, it sends out an army of fighter cells to attack them.[1] When our immune system has been compromised, our bodies are not able to fight against this invasion. Television depicts a person with this type of condition as living life in a bubble.

Well, think of Christ as your bubble. We live in Him for protection — protection from toxic relationships and a toxic world. We live in Him as totally surrendered beings seeking His counsel, guidance, and will.

When He moves, we should move.

What He thinks, we should think.

What He says, we should say.

What He does, we should do.

What He feels, we should feel.

We are a mere extension of Christ in the earth doing greater works. (John 14:12) Living life from the inside of Christ out into the physical world.

Casey J, a famous gospel artist, penned these words when she wrote the song: “I’m Yours.”

“… Your songs flow through my lips,
Your work moves through my hands,
Your thoughts stay on my mind
Live in me….”

Here, the psalmist expresses to God how she sees their relationship and how intimate their relationship is. Then, she asks Him to live in her. But since it’s a mutual relationship, not only should we desire God to live in us, but we should desire to live in Him.

Dr. Tony Evans says, “Since God is the sum total of all of life, it is in getting to know him intimately that you truly come to know who you are and what you were created to be.”[2]

We cannot find God within time and space constraints, yet He is closer to us than our breath.

The more intimate our relationship with Christ becomes, the more we learn who we are and whose we are. And when we know who we are and whose we are, we understand where we are — In Him.

 

Join me next week for more Coffee on The Couch.

 

 

[1] Autoimmune Disease — Anthony’s Legacy of Love. https://www.anthonyslegacyoflove.org/autoimmune-disease

[2] Evans, Tony, Tony Evans Bible Commentary, Nashville, TN, Holman Bible Publishers, 2019, page 1098.