From Near to Within: Christ as Life

From spirit to soul to body—His indwelling life flows outward.

Many of us first learned to think of Jesus as near us and for us, which is gloriously true. But I wish to press further, testifying to Christ in us as our very life. Union with Christ is a present, operative reality: not merely “Christ for me” as an external Savior’s work on my behalf, but Christ in me as my life (Gal 2:20; Col 1:27). The Christian life is not chiefly God lending strength to an independent self; it is Jesus Himself, by the Holy Spirit, living in and through a still-responsible, still-distinct person. That recognition changed my posture from “Lord, please help me” to “Lord, I trust You to live Your life in me and through me in this moment.”

This shift did not come from wordplay but from Scripture. In Galatians 2:20, Paul declares that he has been crucified with Christ and that Christ lives in him; the life he now lives, he lives by faith in the Son of God. That is more than imitation; it is participation. Romans 6:1–14 says we were baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection; the old dominion of sin is broken, and we reckon this true and present ourselves to God. This is why I say Christ is our functional source of living, not a distant consultant. Romans 8:9–10 speaks plainly: the Spirit’s indwelling is Christ’s indwelling. Christ’s glorified body is at the Father’s right hand, yet His personal presence is truly ours by the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised this: the Father and the Son make their home with us through the Paraclete (John 14:16–23), and the vine-and-branches image is not decorative; apart from Him we can do nothing, and His life in us bears fruit (John 15:1–5).

Here is how that life actually moves through a person. Scripture speaks of us as spirit, soul, and body (1 Thess 5:23). In union, we are joined to the Lord as “one spirit” with Him (1 Cor 6:17). From this spirit-to-Spirit union, Christ’s life renews the soul—mind, will, emotions, and affections—and then expresses itself through the body’s members in real time. The Word itself discerns soul and spirit (Heb 4:12), helping us see how His indwelling presence at the deepest level reshapes our thinking, choosing, desiring, and feeling. Scripture also says Christ dwells in our hearts through faith (Eph 3:17). “Heart” names the core of the inner person, gathering the whole interior life under one banner. So it is fitting to say that union is spirit-to-Spirit, and that the indwelling Christ lays claim to the heart as the seat of our inner life. In this way, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27) and “your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:3) are not abstractions; they describe how His life flows from the innermost place outward.

Because of that, my language changed. I stopped relating to Jesus chiefly as the powerful Ally beside me and began abiding in Jesus as the indwelling Lord who is my life. Prayer reshaped. Instead of asking Him to assist my self-project, I learned to present my members to God—mind, mouth, hands, and calendar—and trust Him to express His life through them (Rom 6:13; cf. Rom 12:1; Col 2:6). This did not make me passive; it made me responsive. Grace is not opposed to effort; it is opposed to self-reliant achieving. The enablement is His; the consent is mine. And as faith works through love (Gal 5:6), obedience becomes the Spirit’s fruit rather than my leverage.

This reality carries clarifications. Union with Christ does not erase personhood. The branch is truly in the vine and remains a branch. It is not a second hypostatic union; only Jesus holds two natures in one person. It is not bodily indwelling on earth; He is bodily in heaven while truly present in us by the Spirit (Acts 3:21; Rom 8:9–10). It is not sinless perfection in this age; union breaks sin’s dominion and reorders desire—indeed, our affections—yet we still contend with the flesh until glory (Rom 6:14; Gal 5:16–25; Rom 7; 1 John 1:8–10; Phil 3:12–14; cf. Rom 8:23). And it is certainly not passivity; “Christ lives in me” animates obedience, puts to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit, and sets our minds on things above (Col 3:1–17; Rom 8:13).

Here is how it lands in daily life for me. I start the day by presenting my whole self—spirit, soul, and body—to God, remembering that I am a member of His body and His dwelling. I choose dependence before activity, trusting that fruit is the outflow of His life, not the outcome of my willpower. I walk by the Spirit consciously, step by step, welcoming His initiatives and yielding to His promptings through the Word (Gal 5:16). When temptation or hurry presses in, I return to this simple confession: “Lord Jesus, I trust You to live Your life in me and through me in this moment.” And I lean into faith, not as a mental trick, but as the steady gaze of the heart upon the One who truly lives within (Gal 2:20).

If I were to compress the whole testimony into a single sentence, it would be this: I am describing the Spirit-wrought union of the believer with the risen Christ—Christ truly indwelling and expressing His life in and through a still-responsible person—so that the Christian life is not God “assisting” self-effort but Jesus Himself as our life (Gal 2:20; Rom 6; John 15; Rom 8:9–10; 1 Cor 6).

I close where I began, only closer. Jesus is indeed near us and for us. But He is more: He is our life. Let us then present ourselves to God, abide in the Vine, walk by the Spirit, remember that we are His members, and live by faith in the Son of God. Right now, where you are, you can articulate this trust: “Lord Jesus, live Your life through me.” And He will, because He does.