Continue
in prayer…Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of
utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ…that I may make it manifest, as I
ought to speak.
—Colossians 4:2-4
The
mystery which…now is made manifest to His saints: To whom God would make known
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is
Christ in you, the hope of glory.
—Colossians 1:26-27
To Paul, the very substance of his gospel was
the indwelling Christ. He spoke of the “riches of the glory of this
mystery…Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Though he had been a preacher
of this gospel for many years, he still asked for prayer, so that he might
correctly make known the mystery of it.
I often hear complaints that, after a time,
there appears to be no further growth in many churches, and very little of the
joy and power for bearing witness to Christ Jesus. The question arises whether
the home church is living in the experience of the indwelling Christ, so that
the missionaries whom she sends out know the secret and make it the substance
of their message.
Years ago, I knew a minister who went to the
mission field. Before he left, there was a little gathering at which he asked
what his message should be. The thought was expressed that it was desirable to
present a message of a full salvation, so that people would be roused to
believe in and accept an indwelling Christ. On his return, he told with what
deep interest the presentation of this truth had been received, many saying
that they had never before understood this.
Dr. Alexander Maclaren, a Baptist preacher,
once said that it seemed that the church had lost the truth of the indwelling
Christ. We speak of Paul’s methods, but is there not a greater need for Paul’s
message, culminating in the words, “Christ in you, the hope of glory”? Are
not all intercessors and missionaries called to make it a matter of first
importance to lead Christians into the enjoyment of their rightful
heritage? “If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love
him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him” (John 14:23).
And it may be the home church that will also share in the restoration of this
truth to its right place: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
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