Christ Lives in Me

Galatians 2:20, NIV
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body,
I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.


Introduction: As soon as we accept Jesus, we all experience a battle taking place between our flesh and spirit. We have been the master of our own lives and have lived as we wished, because our spirits were dead. However, a battle begins to take place when we come to a life of faith in Jesus, because our dead spirits come to life again and contend with the outer self of the flesh.



1. Two masters in one body.
1) The first master?the fleshly self who is enslaved to sin and the devil (1Jn 3:8;
Eph 2:3).
2) The second master?the spiritual self who is saved and enslaved to righteousness and Jesus (Eph 1:7; Ro 6:6-7).


2. A life of faith is a continuous fight.
1) In the early stage of our life of faith, when someone has just been born again and has become a heavenly citizen, half of his life is fleshly, like that of a person who belongs to the devil and sin. The other half of his life is spiritual, like a person belonging to Jesus and righteousness (Ro 8:12-13).
2) The fight between the Holy Spirit and the evil spirit is taking place in me (Ro 8:5-6).
3) What a wretched man I am.
4) If the flesh and the spirit are 50% each, then he is quite a grown man, but if the flesh and the spirit are 30% and 70%, then he is a mature believer.
How great it would be to fill our lives 100% with Jesus! (Phil 1:20-21).
　
　
3. In order for Jesus to become my master.
1) I live when I am crucified on the Cross with Christ (Gal 5:24; Lk 9:23).
2) I should gradually lay down control over my life.
- I, who once had been the master of my life, must be a servant, slave, and worker for Jesus (Gal 2:20).
3) In order for Jesus to become my master.
- We will receive righteousness, holiness, divine healing, the blessing of Abraham, resurrection, eternal life and heaven. Moreover, Jesus will dwell in us and rule over us (Ps 103:3-5).
　

Conclusion: When Jesus becomes our master, we will have true peace, joy, and hope of heaven. In addition, we will have the boldness to fight the devil and death.