The greatest blessing is Jesus Himself. When you come into Christ, He comes into you.6 Your body becomes the temple of His Spirit.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? (1 Corinthians 6:19) M
… that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love… (Ephesians 3:16-17). M
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (Romans 8:9-10).
The great “mystery,” Paul says, “is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
Christ in you – what a mind-stretching wonder!
Christ in you – what an indescribably high privilege!
Christ in you – what awesome power!
Surely no person can remain the same when Jesus comes to stay.7 Surely everything changes when His Spirit takes charge. What do these truths mean for your life? What changes will Jesus bring as He lives and works in you? The first goal of this Bible course is to find the answers to such questions. We want to learn what life looks like when it is filled with Christ’s Spirit.
The second goal goes beyond learning, to being. Yes, the facts are truly important – and astounding! But knowing the facts is not enough. True disciples live what they learn. When Jesus shows His disciples an example of humble service, He says,
If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them (John 13:17).
Jesus wants knowledge to become deeds.8 More than that, He wants those deeds to turn into a daily “walk,” a way of life.9 If this course is to represent the Scriptures well, it must have this second goal, a changed life. Get ready to apply and experience what it means to be “a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
7. In Ephesians 3:17 the Greek verb translated “dwell” means “inhabit,” “make one’s home” or “be at home.” Thus Christ is depicted as a resident in your heart, not a passing visitor cf. the same word in Matthew 4:13; Luke 11:26; Acts 19:10; 22:12; Colossians 1:19; 2:9; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 2:13; 3:10. There is a sense in which Christ is away, having returned to His Father’s side, Acts 1:9,11; 2:33; 3:21; 2 Corinthians 5:6. Yet, even from heaven, Christ shares His own Spirit with you as an obedient believer, and in this way He resides in you, Romans 8:9-27 cf. Ephesians 2:22; John 14:23.
8. Matthew 7:21-24; Luke 11:28; James 1:22-27; 2:14-26
9. Research Subject – The Christian’s “walk”: Romans 8:1,4; 2 Corinthians 5:7; 13:13; Galatians 5:16,25; Ephesians 2:10; 4:1,17,22-24; 5:2,8; Colossians 1:10; 2:6; 3:7-10; 1 Thessalonians 2:12; 1 John 1:6-7; 2:6; 3:5-9; 2 John 1:6; 3 John 1:3