Accepting Jesus Christ as Savior is not just attending Church on Sundays, or becoming a member of the church, or getting to go to heaven, and having some thoughts about religion. It’s much, much more than that. Coming to know Jesus Christ as one’s Savior is only the beginning of the Christian life. One is saved to become a disciple of Christ. This means having a personal relationship with Christ each and everyday.
The Bible says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has past away; behold the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This means an entirely “fresh beginning” with Jesus Christ because our sins are forgiven, our guilt has been removed, and the Holy Spirit now “resides” in us. Our body becomes the “temple” of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul puts it this way, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).
The Christian life is the outliving of the in-living Christ. Paul knew Jesus Christ as his Savior and therefore he could truthfully declare, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). We can discern from Paul’s statement that he was speaking from a heart of love for God and much enthusiasm about living the christian life no matter the cost of doing so.
It is certainly God’s intent that His children live by His principles as revealed in the Holy Scriptures. In explaining to the Ephesian congregation God’s method of salvation, Paul was in fact pointing out that whereas they were once “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1), they had to be “made alive” in order to be reconciled with God, and live the christian life.
The point is this. It is essentially God alone who has “made us alive” who were [spiritually] dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:1,2). And Jesus Christ is the source and essence of the believer’s spiritual life. Also, with “Christ in us,” we have “the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). The “prince of the power of the air” is Satan because he “rules” with power so as to manifest evil and wickedness in the world “in sons of disobedience” (those who have not trusted Christ as Savior).
Paul also states, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are saved)” (Ephesians 2:4,5). Here we see that God’s mercy, love and grace are essential for our salvation in Jesus Christ. However, it is important to note that God does not save sinful man by His mercy or His love, but only by His grace. The text is telling us that God who is rich in mercy and because of His great love, He is then able to save us by His grace. How great is our God of amazing grace.
In his letter to the Church at Philippi, Paul personally expressed, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Paul’s testimony here gives us a window into the heart and soul of this apostle. Here was a man who suffered tremendous hardships in his life. He was beaten, persecuted, and imprisoned. Yet, in spite of these sufferings, he was determined to bring glory to his Lord.
It is quite obvious that Paul earnestly wanted Christ to live His life through him. For Paul, the Christian revelation has nothing to do with man’s wisdom, neither did he rely on it. He wrote the Corinthian church telling them, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:1,2).
What a great example Paul has set for believers today. Christ meant everything to him—his priority, joy, hope, aspiration, objective, and desire. He was eager to know more about his wonderful Savior and Lord, hence He could solemnly express “that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share in His suffering, becoming like Him in His death” (Philippians 3:10). Paul already knew Christ for his salvation. But perhaps he felt the urge for a renewed and stronger knowledge of Christ’s glorious resurrection power and His vicarious suffering and death on the cross. May we have a similar mindset like the apostle Paul.