My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
Paul's words are a mother's travail of soul for believers in danger, longing with anxiety until they stand fast in the liberty of the gospel with inward change made visible in reformed lives. To have Christ formed within is to have Christ himself dwelling in heart and soul as the living hope of glory. It is His character, righteousness and image taking shape in the life, until self dies, pride is brought low, and the believer is united with Him in perfect obedience as one with Christ. This is wrought by the Holy Spirit as the soul looks to Jesus, feeds daily on the truth of the Word, beholds His glory in meditation and communion, and walks in full obedience with prayer and daily conversion. Where it has taken place the temper is transformed into meekness, love and unity, unselfish good works take the place of mere profession and worldly conformity, and this inward formation becomes the very object of all ministry and soul-winning labor.
Paul's Burden and Travail
Paul's words reveal great anxiety and burden of soul, for he stood in doubt of the Galatians when he saw some in error, some halting, and some in lasciviousness. He had once felt intense desire of soul that they should receive the knowledge of Christ, and now he travailed in birth for them again until Christ be formed in them.
His greatest desire for his converts was that Christ be formed within them as the hope of glory. His greatest joy was to know that they were standing fast in the liberty of the gospel. Their inward change and reformed lives testify that they have received the truth, and those who have received it are zealous for it and seek to live in harmony with it.
That travail is the call upon the church to labor to bring forth souls. God wants His workers to have travail for souls, with hearts that can feel and with deep earnest feeling that will affect hearts so that they shall believe. The travail is strong crying for the vitalizing power of God's Spirit, earnest wrestling with God for the impartation of the Holy Spirit through eager, earnest, importunate prayer, which has efficiency with God to turn the thoughts and hearts of men as He turns water.
By gospel preaching the image of Christ is imprinted anew on the hearts of men and can never be finally effaced. Though popes and bishops seek to destroy it, and though the first preacher is imprisoned and put to death, God causes it to be replaced in greater numbers and brighter colors through other and much better preachers, so that the true faith triumphs.
Christ Formed Within
Christ formed within is the inward dwelling of Christ in the heart and soul, and this indwelling is the hope of glory. It is the true, joyful life of the soul, and with Him thus within, His servants can safely follow where He leads and meet even the hardest paths with joy because Jesus is their companion. This inward change is the evidence of union with Him, meant to become visible in a life that makes others better, with self hidden and Christ revealed. It must be present before anyone is fitted to teach the grand mysteries of godliness.
It is Christ's righteousness and truth shaping the life, and His character, image, and righteousness taking shape until the person becomes pure, holy, and undefiled like Christ. As the person comes into close relationship with God, self dies, pride is brought low, and Christ's image is impressed more deeply upon the soul until Jesus takes possession and is developed in life and character. Inner life and daily conduct must increasingly become like His, for this is genuine Christianity and not profession or pretense, making the believer a representative of Christ whose life bears witness to divine grace to turn sinners to God and bring victories over the enemy. God did the best He could do by sending from heaven a sinless Being in His Son to show what the saved must be, bidding men build character in harmony with that ideal, since Christ came in the likeness of man and worked out a perfect character so the world is without excuse, and His whole ministry of self-denial and self-sacrifice revealed God not merely as a theory of divine mercy but as a life lived out. This happens when a person is divested of self and stands free in God in humility, lowliness, and meekness, strong by grace to battle every wrong, and it makes him a great blessing to God's people.
It is union of the human with the divine, in which Christ identifies Himself with the members of His church and is formed within every truly converted soul as the hope of glory, bringing rejoicing. This union comes by the quickening power of His Spirit and the sanctification of body, soul, and spirit, so that when all who profess to be church members are thus converted they blend in keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, become a power for truth and holiness and laborers together with God in leading souls to Christ, and through that blessed union the truth is magnified, the world convicted, and the manifold wisdom of God made known. He is to be multiplied in every believing man and woman so they live over His life again on earth, living His life, representing Him, and showing the world God's love and the gospel's power. Those who have received His tender compassion and grace reveal that same grace tenderly to others, with great tenderness and compassion filling the soul for those wandering in sin and under Satan's control, shown in blessing and enlightening others and bringing hope and peace and joy to other hearts. His life is developed in the believer's life and wrought out in character through perfect obedience, and this brings salvation, so that even when poor in temporal things those in whom He is thus formed are rich in spiritual things, members of the royal family with title to an immortal inheritance and a life that measures with the life of Christ. When all truth is received as the life of Jesus, the knowledge from God becomes the bread of life, the leaves of the tree of life for the healing of the nations, and as Christ's words are believed and practiced the current of spiritual life thrills the soul, the believer is made one with Christ, the weak experience becomes strong, and truth cleanses from all impurity and prepares the soul for Christ's presence, which is eternal life if the beginning of confidence is held firm unto the end.
It is entire consecration and sanctification of body, soul, and spirit, wrought in this life, so that whenever Christ is received decided changes take place in the life. Having Him formed within means being pure, holy, and undefiled like Christ, with garments of character freed from every spot and wrinkle and cleansed from all defilement, fashioned in accordance with the divine likeness by partaking of the divine nature and escaping the corruption in the world through lust. Men and women must exemplify the character of Christ on earth and keep the ten commandments of God in order to give a true revelation of God, and only those so qualified in the lower school of earth enter through the gates into the city of God to eat of the tree of life. This earth is a school where people are proved and tried to see if they will become stewards of the grace of Christ, requiring conversion and the new birth made manifest, with Christ taking the disposition and making it like His own and having in this life the characteristics that make heaven here below before heaven can be seen. Without this indwelling Saviour all knowledge and aptitude is nothing, but keeping very close contact with God gives power, so that each person individually represents the character of Christ, improving capabilities and increasing influence for good, and this forming is not finished in one conversion but conversion must be daily. Because He is formed within as the hope of glory, the believer is to cease to sin, for true religion is not to mourn constantly over sin, to chasten self, to always doubt acceptance with God, or to live under a cloud of displeasure, but to realize the value of gospel privileges and the provision purchased for salvation and a title to an immortal inheritance. Those who in this their day do not know its meaning are to be prayed for that they may receive His healing power as the greatest missionary the world has ever known.
How Christ Is Formed
Christ is formed within through the continuing work of the Holy Spirit as the person looks to Jesus, changing spirit and purpose until the person becomes one with Christ and increasingly like Him in inner life and divine image. The Spirit reveals Christ and His righteousness and brings His words to the soul with living power, moving on mind and heart in perfect agreement with what is written in the Word, so that the person obeys, is emptied of self, and bears resemblance to the great moral standard of righteousness. Under that control hereditary and cultivated tendencies are overcome, the person becomes new in Christ, and life and speech represent the truth and sanctify character. The Spirit does not leave the work unfinished or abandon the soul, but as the change proceeds love for God grows and the person hungers and thirsts for righteousness, finding Christ precious with thoughts, language and conversation in harmony with His Spirit. Where the heart has no such resemblance there is no Christ to confess and profession of faith is counterfeit, for this work gives evidence in the heart of being born of God and makes a true Christian.
It comes through the truth with its sanctifying power brought into the inner sanctuary of the soul, loved and bringing every thought into captivity to Jesus Christ, in contrast to a profession of godliness destitute of the love of Christ in the heart. The Word must be daily received, believed, practiced and acted in practical life, just as the wasting body must have its blood ever renewed by food, with Christ dwelling inside energizing the whole being as the life-blood of the soul. What food is to physical need Christ as the Bread of life is to spiritual need, partaken as heavenly manna and as drink from the Spiritual Rock that followed Israel, eating the flesh of the Son of man and drinking His blood by stopping patterning after the world and being converted anew. Drinking deep from His sympathy, tenderness and love, with His example as guide and His sympathy and grace worked out in the heart in dealing with fellow laborers, His life abides and moves in the soul as blood moves in the veins, becoming a well of water springing up unto everlasting life and the cause of joy and pledge of glory. This is the object to be obtained by searching the Scriptures with diligent effort, intense anxiety and heart hunger, not merely knowing the written words but becoming understandingly familiar with their meaning by coming to the reading and praying to the Lord for light and knowledge with desire proportionate to the value of what is sought, until nothing short of Christ formed within as the hope of glory and eternal life will satisfy. Those who have Him thus formed within experience a joyous tide of spiritual health flowing out from the soul and show forth the praises of Him who called them out of darkness into marvelous light, especially as time is given to prayer and seeking the Lord and grasping the promises by faith.
It happens by beholding as in a glass the glory of God, making Christ the subject of meditation until He becomes the subject of conversation, so that fallen man is actually changed into the same image from glory to glory by the Spirit and transformed by the renewing of the mind. Looking to Jesus as Friend and Counselor, faith and trust grow through love. Hiding self with Christ in God makes the mind susceptible to heavenly impressions, realizes the divine presence within, and receives the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, with the beauty of holiness reflected in character by keeping the eyes fixed on the perfection of God's attributes. It calls for following not my way nor another man's way but the Lord's way, giving up one's own way for His way until His way appears as the only reasonable way, found by pleading with God to teach the right way and by dwelling no longer on things that must be done one's own way. The Holy Spirit then takes possession of mind, spirit, heart and character and does a real work whose fruits are seen before the world, angels and men, as a good tree bears good fruit unto eternal life: besetting sins overcome, evil thoughts not allowed, evil habits purged from the soul temple, wrong tendencies turned right, wrong dispositions rooted out, and holy tempers and sanctified emotions borne as fruit in entire transformation. Human resolutions are of no avail, but help is laid on One mighty to do it, secured only by putting oneself wholly in God's hands and laying hold of Him by faith to trust Him to work, so that as God works the believer can work, trusting Him and doing His will, making Christ's will his will and perfecting a Christian character as the only assurance his house is built on the solid foundation. When Christ is thus formed within, hope springs up anew and many souls are converted as the result of unselfish ministry.
It requires a life of obedience defined as decided withdrawal from Satan's sway, giving the whole heart in allegiance to God as Creator and Redeemer, cutting off every supply received from Satan in any line, and seeking God with the whole heart, cleansing the natural passions from the soul. Each person must know for themselves that Christ is formed within as the hope of glory by pleading with God individually, humbling the proud heart, refusing to blind the eyes to defects of character, confessing sins, grasping the promise and believing, refusing to let go until He reveals Himself as a sin-pardoning Saviour, obeying the truth and all the commandments with the settled purpose of a sanctified mind, and walking in light and not in darkness and doubt. Living righteously gives day-by-day evidence that Christ has been formed within, and this character must be formed in this life because believers belong to the Lord. They must have Christ's mind and practice His words, living in love and peace with others in harmony, kindness, courtesy and delicate regard, for one satisfied with his own ways and condemning fellow believers does not have Christ formed within and will not reach heaven. This inward forming is high, elevating, ennobling freedom that makes a person a blessing to all around him, and this inward Christ holds firm as a rock when the testing time comes.
It requires vital connection with God and not merely outward religion or a form of godliness, living in close connection with God with self crucified. Close students of the Bible who understand the solemn position of living in the closing scenes of this earth's history feel their own inefficiency, weakness and inefficiency and make this their first business and dare not rest until Christ dwells inside as the hope of glory. That inward dwelling kills self, expels pride from the soul, and gives the meekness and gentleness of Christ. When self is crucified and Christ is thus formed within, belief in the truth becomes real and shows in thought, word and deed. Daily conversion by God's power overcomes a perverse disposition and leads students to serve and glorify Christ, with His character worked out in their lives, made possible by His infinite sacrifice and gracious condescension. It gives discernment to recognize the promptings of His Spirit to speak personally about spiritual things to particular people who come for help, including those who come to restaurants and those without Christ, so the Lord is present and the Holy Spirit works through believers to reach them.
Life Transformed in Character
Christ formed within is seen in a life that reveals the Saviour and follows His principles in unselfish good works, mercy, and love, rather than in mere profession of godliness. Selfish thoughts, words, and actions show He is not formed within, leaving a person a sinner in God's sight even when counted a saint by others, for lack of living faith in the bread from heaven. Without this inward forming there remains selfishness, jealousy and sensitiveness about appreciation and credit, excusing of failure, and hindering of others who would advance the work. The same lack appears in dry, formal, slow and tedious preaching that wearies hearers with long talks and unnecessary minute details that obscure vital points instead of leaving truth clear like mileposts, while inward holiness and vital connection with Christ make saving grace visible in sympathy and love for the perishing and in a daily life and spirit united with Christ.
When Christ is formed within as the hope of glory the natural temperament is transformed and the character changed, seen in unselfish, Christlike conduct. Self dies, pride is brought low, and His image is impressed ever more deeply upon the soul coming into close relationship with God. His indwelling brings His Spirit, meekness, gentleness, and loveliness, emptying of self under hallowed influences unto purity, holiness, and completeness in Him. The person thus becomes well balanced and steady instead of changeable, rising above discouraging and unsettling influences by being stayed upon Christ, which is the foundation of true dignity and completeness of character.
Thorough conversion bears the imprint and thoroughness of Christ instead of self, revealed in temper, style, spirit, profitable and uplifting speech, order, and diligent care. Its absence is shown by neglect, retained old habits, unimproved defects of character, unprofitable words revealing the spirit of the world, and too much self. Besetting sins are overcome, evil thoughts are not allowed, evil habits are purged, wrong tendencies are turned right, and holy tempers are borne as fruit. In this way godliness enables even exacting callings to be filled wisely and successfully while serving the Lord in sincerity as an active Christian.
Christ formed within brings love and unity, for when He truly dwells in the heart His Spirit leads husband and wife to live in agreement and seek the heavenly home together. Loving one another as Christ loved is the testimony to the world that He is formed within as the hope of glory. In gospel workers this inward forming sanctifies, purifies, refines, and ennobles the whole person, making the religion of Jesus an apparent quality in life. It is measured by loving as Christ loved and working as Christ worked, with words, works, and thoughts such as can meet God's approval by one who knows himself Christ's representative.
He takes shape inside the heart to be carried as a witness and sign in the daily life. When the Saviour's love melts the heart there comes a sense of the divine presence, certainty that the Word of God is true, a mind moved by the Holy Spirit and enlightened by heavenly truth, with eyes of understanding opened to see clearly truth once seen dimly. There is given a rich, deep, full, divine measure of love and peace and joy even in the midst of the trial of faith, with power to tell the story of the cross with deep appreciation and to bear triumphant witness to the word of promise. Then from the treasure-house of the heart come forth words suitable to the occasion, not light trifling words but uplifting words of spiritual power, as teachers and students watch for opportunities to confess Christ in conversation, acknowledge Him as giver of every good gift and author of all blessings in whom is centered hope of eternal life, present His words, speak of experience in following Him, pray for the Holy Spirit, and confess Him openly and bravely with simplicity of true godliness and true representation of His meekness before believers and unbelievers.
Christ formed within is His character taking shape in the person instead of conformity to the world, and where He is not formed within professed Christians follow and appear to sanction its demoralizing fashions. Luxurious living and extravagant dressing show His absence from the heart and stand among the signs of the last days, being pride and vanity and idolatry of dress that prefers the mirror admiring self to the law of God. Such display destroys all that is humble, meek, and lovely in the character and consumes time that should be given to meditation, searching of heart, and prayerful study of God's word. Having Him formed within is instead the heavenly adornment, cleansing the soul temple and fitting a people to stand amid the perils of the last days, to lift the voice like a trumpet against sin, and to get ready because the Lord is coming.
He is to be formed in the believer as the life of the soul, an inward work by which He enlightens, sanctifies, and strengthens, purifying every defect of character. This spiritual growth depends on pure influences and spiritual nourishment and develops through active Christian service in doing good, encouraging and instructing others, and practicing self-restraint, love, patience, and forbearance. Every individual must receive Christ for an individual experience, becoming rooted and grounded and established in the faith by the teachings of the Word, through individual knowledge of Him, linking up with Him, and walking by faith and prayer. So exercised in duty and fellowship, believers grow in faith, obedience, hope, and love to God, and this Christ-centered hope of glory preserves from false representations of God.
Ministry Teaching and Mission
The forming of Christ within the heart is the object of ministry, when truth with its sanctifying power is brought into the inner sanctuary of the soul. It is the first principles of the gospel, and ministers and workers who are unconverted do not have this experience and must themselves be taught it. Where this inward formation has taken place, ministers neither mix the comical with the religious in jolly lightness fit for the theater nor are sour, cross, and crabbed in spirit. They are fitted instead to teach the precious lessons of Christ to perishing souls, their character converted and changed.
No one is fitted to teach the grand mysteries of godliness until Christ is formed within as the hope of glory. The true teacher must be a daily learner in the school of Christ, constantly working out his own salvation by receiving and imparting an all-round education. He educates himself in moral excellence, keeps the sense of true physical, mental, and moral excellence, and is never satisfied with a low standard. So by precept and example he leads souls to understand the lessons of the Great Teacher, with Christ's attributes expressed in words and practice as the mystery of godliness belonging to the higher education found in the Word of God.
Every worker must work for his own soul until self is subdued and Christ is formed within so that Christ recognizes His own image in him, with this inward work continuing alongside outward labor and not giving way to apparent difficulties. This requires living what is taught and showing love, confidence, respect, and the spirit and meekness of Christ toward one another, with perfect harmony among workers as the greatest evidence of the power of truth upon the heart and with all who advance the truth united in heart, mind, and voice. Those in whom Christ is thus formed dwell with Him in the heart as their hope of glory in consecration and self-sacrifice, and are enabled to preach the word with holy zeal; the lack of such workers leaves the church weakened and allows fatal errors to spread. When Christ is not formed within the mind, especially in preachers, discourses leave out the grand and heavenly theme of Christ and His work and become dry and Christless, where Jesus is scarcely named, the heart is not subdued and melted by His love, and there is no divine unction and no power to move hearts, whereas His powerful and essential name should be on every tongue as the theme of contemplation and adoration. Their transformed life becomes the most impressive lesson to new converts who look to them for an example, and God enables them to perfect their work in a manner that pleases Him.
Those who have Christ within them, the hope of glory, are workers together with God, whatever kind of labor they perform. Their worth is fixed not by class of labor but by the One who paid the price for every soul. They are God's husbandry and God's building in charity, simplicity, and integrity, and the heart where the love of Christ abides constantly manifests more refinement because the spring of life is love to God and man. True growth from Christ formed within tends upward to the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus, and true culture and refinement of thought and manners come better through lessons in the school of Christ than through labored effort to observe forms and set rules when the heart is not under the holy discipline of the Spirit of God.
This inward change is the hope of glory and is revealed in a life transformed by truth, and conversion is not the end, for believers are to learn to win others to the truth through that example. When all who profess to be church members are thus converted by the quickening power of His Spirit with sanctification of body, soul, and spirit, they blend in keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, they become a power for truth and holiness and laborers together with God in leading souls to Christ. Each new day is one more golden opportunity to represent the Saviour, to show this inward work, and to help others travel the same path, making winning souls to Christ the special work. Through that blessed union the truth is magnified, the world is convicted, and the manifold wisdom of God is made known.
Paul's words are a mother's travail of soul for believers in danger, longing with anxiety until they stand fast in the liberty of the gospel with inward change made visible in reformed lives. To have Christ formed within is to have Christ himself dwelling in heart and soul as the living hope of glory. It is His character, righteousness and image taking shape in the life, until self dies, pride is brought low, and the believer is united with Him in perfect obedience as one with Christ. This is wrought by the Holy Spirit as the soul looks to Jesus, feeds daily on the truth of the Word, beholds His glory in meditation and communion, and walks in full obedience with prayer and daily conversion. Where it has taken place the temper is transformed into meekness, love and unity, unselfish good works take the place of mere profession and worldly conformity, and this inward formation becomes the very object of all ministry and soul-winning labor.
Paul's Burden and Travail
Paul's words reveal great anxiety and burden of soul, for he stood in doubt of the Galatians when he saw some in error, some halting, and some in lasciviousness. He had once felt intense desire of soul that they should receive the knowledge of Christ, and now he travailed in birth for them again until Christ be formed in them.
His greatest desire for his converts was that Christ be formed within them as the hope of glory. His greatest joy was to know that they were standing fast in the liberty of the gospel. Their inward change and reformed lives testify that they have received the truth, and those who have received it are zealous for it and seek to live in harmony with it.
That travail is the call upon the church to labor to bring forth souls. God wants His workers to have travail for souls, with hearts that can feel and with deep earnest feeling that will affect hearts so that they shall believe. The travail is strong crying for the vitalizing power of God's Spirit, earnest wrestling with God for the impartation of the Holy Spirit through eager, earnest, importunate prayer, which has efficiency with God to turn the thoughts and hearts of men as He turns water.
By gospel preaching the image of Christ is imprinted anew on the hearts of men and can never be finally effaced. Though popes and bishops seek to destroy it, and though the first preacher is imprisoned and put to death, God causes it to be replaced in greater numbers and brighter colors through other and much better preachers, so that the true faith triumphs.
Christ Formed Within
Christ formed within is the inward dwelling of Christ in the heart and soul, and this indwelling is the hope of glory. It is the true, joyful life of the soul, and with Him thus within, His servants can safely follow where He leads and meet even the hardest paths with joy because Jesus is their companion. This inward change is the evidence of union with Him, meant to become visible in a life that makes others better, with self hidden and Christ revealed. It must be present before anyone is fitted to teach the grand mysteries of godliness.
It is Christ's righteousness and truth shaping the life, and His character, image, and righteousness taking shape until the person becomes pure, holy, and undefiled like Christ. As the person comes into close relationship with God, self dies, pride is brought low, and Christ's image is impressed more deeply upon the soul until Jesus takes possession and is developed in life and character. Inner life and daily conduct must increasingly become like His, for this is genuine Christianity and not profession or pretense, making the believer a representative of Christ whose life bears witness to divine grace to turn sinners to God and bring victories over the enemy. God did the best He could do by sending from heaven a sinless Being in His Son to show what the saved must be, bidding men build character in harmony with that ideal, since Christ came in the likeness of man and worked out a perfect character so the world is without excuse, and His whole ministry of self-denial and self-sacrifice revealed God not merely as a theory of divine mercy but as a life lived out. This happens when a person is divested of self and stands free in God in humility, lowliness, and meekness, strong by grace to battle every wrong, and it makes him a great blessing to God's people.
It is union of the human with the divine, in which Christ identifies Himself with the members of His church and is formed within every truly converted soul as the hope of glory, bringing rejoicing. This union comes by the quickening power of His Spirit and the sanctification of body, soul, and spirit, so that when all who profess to be church members are thus converted they blend in keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, become a power for truth and holiness and laborers together with God in leading souls to Christ, and through that blessed union the truth is magnified, the world convicted, and the manifold wisdom of God made known. He is to be multiplied in every believing man and woman so they live over His life again on earth, living His life, representing Him, and showing the world God's love and the gospel's power. Those who have received His tender compassion and grace reveal that same grace tenderly to others, with great tenderness and compassion filling the soul for those wandering in sin and under Satan's control, shown in blessing and enlightening others and bringing hope and peace and joy to other hearts. His life is developed in the believer's life and wrought out in character through perfect obedience, and this brings salvation, so that even when poor in temporal things those in whom He is thus formed are rich in spiritual things, members of the royal family with title to an immortal inheritance and a life that measures with the life of Christ. When all truth is received as the life of Jesus, the knowledge from God becomes the bread of life, the leaves of the tree of life for the healing of the nations, and as Christ's words are believed and practiced the current of spiritual life thrills the soul, the believer is made one with Christ, the weak experience becomes strong, and truth cleanses from all impurity and prepares the soul for Christ's presence, which is eternal life if the beginning of confidence is held firm unto the end.
It is entire consecration and sanctification of body, soul, and spirit, wrought in this life, so that whenever Christ is received decided changes take place in the life. Having Him formed within means being pure, holy, and undefiled like Christ, with garments of character freed from every spot and wrinkle and cleansed from all defilement, fashioned in accordance with the divine likeness by partaking of the divine nature and escaping the corruption in the world through lust. Men and women must exemplify the character of Christ on earth and keep the ten commandments of God in order to give a true revelation of God, and only those so qualified in the lower school of earth enter through the gates into the city of God to eat of the tree of life. This earth is a school where people are proved and tried to see if they will become stewards of the grace of Christ, requiring conversion and the new birth made manifest, with Christ taking the disposition and making it like His own and having in this life the characteristics that make heaven here below before heaven can be seen. Without this indwelling Saviour all knowledge and aptitude is nothing, but keeping very close contact with God gives power, so that each person individually represents the character of Christ, improving capabilities and increasing influence for good, and this forming is not finished in one conversion but conversion must be daily. Because He is formed within as the hope of glory, the believer is to cease to sin, for true religion is not to mourn constantly over sin, to chasten self, to always doubt acceptance with God, or to live under a cloud of displeasure, but to realize the value of gospel privileges and the provision purchased for salvation and a title to an immortal inheritance. Those who in this their day do not know its meaning are to be prayed for that they may receive His healing power as the greatest missionary the world has ever known.
How Christ Is Formed
Christ is formed within through the continuing work of the Holy Spirit as the person looks to Jesus, changing spirit and purpose until the person becomes one with Christ and increasingly like Him in inner life and divine image. The Spirit reveals Christ and His righteousness and brings His words to the soul with living power, moving on mind and heart in perfect agreement with what is written in the Word, so that the person obeys, is emptied of self, and bears resemblance to the great moral standard of righteousness. Under that control hereditary and cultivated tendencies are overcome, the person becomes new in Christ, and life and speech represent the truth and sanctify character. The Spirit does not leave the work unfinished or abandon the soul, but as the change proceeds love for God grows and the person hungers and thirsts for righteousness, finding Christ precious with thoughts, language and conversation in harmony with His Spirit. Where the heart has no such resemblance there is no Christ to confess and profession of faith is counterfeit, for this work gives evidence in the heart of being born of God and makes a true Christian.
It comes through the truth with its sanctifying power brought into the inner sanctuary of the soul, loved and bringing every thought into captivity to Jesus Christ, in contrast to a profession of godliness destitute of the love of Christ in the heart. The Word must be daily received, believed, practiced and acted in practical life, just as the wasting body must have its blood ever renewed by food, with Christ dwelling inside energizing the whole being as the life-blood of the soul. What food is to physical need Christ as the Bread of life is to spiritual need, partaken as heavenly manna and as drink from the Spiritual Rock that followed Israel, eating the flesh of the Son of man and drinking His blood by stopping patterning after the world and being converted anew. Drinking deep from His sympathy, tenderness and love, with His example as guide and His sympathy and grace worked out in the heart in dealing with fellow laborers, His life abides and moves in the soul as blood moves in the veins, becoming a well of water springing up unto everlasting life and the cause of joy and pledge of glory. This is the object to be obtained by searching the Scriptures with diligent effort, intense anxiety and heart hunger, not merely knowing the written words but becoming understandingly familiar with their meaning by coming to the reading and praying to the Lord for light and knowledge with desire proportionate to the value of what is sought, until nothing short of Christ formed within as the hope of glory and eternal life will satisfy. Those who have Him thus formed within experience a joyous tide of spiritual health flowing out from the soul and show forth the praises of Him who called them out of darkness into marvelous light, especially as time is given to prayer and seeking the Lord and grasping the promises by faith.
It happens by beholding as in a glass the glory of God, making Christ the subject of meditation until He becomes the subject of conversation, so that fallen man is actually changed into the same image from glory to glory by the Spirit and transformed by the renewing of the mind. Looking to Jesus as Friend and Counselor, faith and trust grow through love. Hiding self with Christ in God makes the mind susceptible to heavenly impressions, realizes the divine presence within, and receives the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, with the beauty of holiness reflected in character by keeping the eyes fixed on the perfection of God's attributes. It calls for following not my way nor another man's way but the Lord's way, giving up one's own way for His way until His way appears as the only reasonable way, found by pleading with God to teach the right way and by dwelling no longer on things that must be done one's own way. The Holy Spirit then takes possession of mind, spirit, heart and character and does a real work whose fruits are seen before the world, angels and men, as a good tree bears good fruit unto eternal life: besetting sins overcome, evil thoughts not allowed, evil habits purged from the soul temple, wrong tendencies turned right, wrong dispositions rooted out, and holy tempers and sanctified emotions borne as fruit in entire transformation. Human resolutions are of no avail, but help is laid on One mighty to do it, secured only by putting oneself wholly in God's hands and laying hold of Him by faith to trust Him to work, so that as God works the believer can work, trusting Him and doing His will, making Christ's will his will and perfecting a Christian character as the only assurance his house is built on the solid foundation. When Christ is thus formed within, hope springs up anew and many souls are converted as the result of unselfish ministry.
It requires a life of obedience defined as decided withdrawal from Satan's sway, giving the whole heart in allegiance to God as Creator and Redeemer, cutting off every supply received from Satan in any line, and seeking God with the whole heart, cleansing the natural passions from the soul. Each person must know for themselves that Christ is formed within as the hope of glory by pleading with God individually, humbling the proud heart, refusing to blind the eyes to defects of character, confessing sins, grasping the promise and believing, refusing to let go until He reveals Himself as a sin-pardoning Saviour, obeying the truth and all the commandments with the settled purpose of a sanctified mind, and walking in light and not in darkness and doubt. Living righteously gives day-by-day evidence that Christ has been formed within, and this character must be formed in this life because believers belong to the Lord. They must have Christ's mind and practice His words, living in love and peace with others in harmony, kindness, courtesy and delicate regard, for one satisfied with his own ways and condemning fellow believers does not have Christ formed within and will not reach heaven. This inward forming is high, elevating, ennobling freedom that makes a person a blessing to all around him, and this inward Christ holds firm as a rock when the testing time comes.
It requires vital connection with God and not merely outward religion or a form of godliness, living in close connection with God with self crucified. Close students of the Bible who understand the solemn position of living in the closing scenes of this earth's history feel their own inefficiency, weakness and inefficiency and make this their first business and dare not rest until Christ dwells inside as the hope of glory. That inward dwelling kills self, expels pride from the soul, and gives the meekness and gentleness of Christ. When self is crucified and Christ is thus formed within, belief in the truth becomes real and shows in thought, word and deed. Daily conversion by God's power overcomes a perverse disposition and leads students to serve and glorify Christ, with His character worked out in their lives, made possible by His infinite sacrifice and gracious condescension. It gives discernment to recognize the promptings of His Spirit to speak personally about spiritual things to particular people who come for help, including those who come to restaurants and those without Christ, so the Lord is present and the Holy Spirit works through believers to reach them.
Life Transformed in Character
Christ formed within is seen in a life that reveals the Saviour and follows His principles in unselfish good works, mercy, and love, rather than in mere profession of godliness. Selfish thoughts, words, and actions show He is not formed within, leaving a person a sinner in God's sight even when counted a saint by others, for lack of living faith in the bread from heaven. Without this inward forming there remains selfishness, jealousy and sensitiveness about appreciation and credit, excusing of failure, and hindering of others who would advance the work. The same lack appears in dry, formal, slow and tedious preaching that wearies hearers with long talks and unnecessary minute details that obscure vital points instead of leaving truth clear like mileposts, while inward holiness and vital connection with Christ make saving grace visible in sympathy and love for the perishing and in a daily life and spirit united with Christ.
When Christ is formed within as the hope of glory the natural temperament is transformed and the character changed, seen in unselfish, Christlike conduct. Self dies, pride is brought low, and His image is impressed ever more deeply upon the soul coming into close relationship with God. His indwelling brings His Spirit, meekness, gentleness, and loveliness, emptying of self under hallowed influences unto purity, holiness, and completeness in Him. The person thus becomes well balanced and steady instead of changeable, rising above discouraging and unsettling influences by being stayed upon Christ, which is the foundation of true dignity and completeness of character.
Thorough conversion bears the imprint and thoroughness of Christ instead of self, revealed in temper, style, spirit, profitable and uplifting speech, order, and diligent care. Its absence is shown by neglect, retained old habits, unimproved defects of character, unprofitable words revealing the spirit of the world, and too much self. Besetting sins are overcome, evil thoughts are not allowed, evil habits are purged, wrong tendencies are turned right, and holy tempers are borne as fruit. In this way godliness enables even exacting callings to be filled wisely and successfully while serving the Lord in sincerity as an active Christian.
Christ formed within brings love and unity, for when He truly dwells in the heart His Spirit leads husband and wife to live in agreement and seek the heavenly home together. Loving one another as Christ loved is the testimony to the world that He is formed within as the hope of glory. In gospel workers this inward forming sanctifies, purifies, refines, and ennobles the whole person, making the religion of Jesus an apparent quality in life. It is measured by loving as Christ loved and working as Christ worked, with words, works, and thoughts such as can meet God's approval by one who knows himself Christ's representative.
He takes shape inside the heart to be carried as a witness and sign in the daily life. When the Saviour's love melts the heart there comes a sense of the divine presence, certainty that the Word of God is true, a mind moved by the Holy Spirit and enlightened by heavenly truth, with eyes of understanding opened to see clearly truth once seen dimly. There is given a rich, deep, full, divine measure of love and peace and joy even in the midst of the trial of faith, with power to tell the story of the cross with deep appreciation and to bear triumphant witness to the word of promise. Then from the treasure-house of the heart come forth words suitable to the occasion, not light trifling words but uplifting words of spiritual power, as teachers and students watch for opportunities to confess Christ in conversation, acknowledge Him as giver of every good gift and author of all blessings in whom is centered hope of eternal life, present His words, speak of experience in following Him, pray for the Holy Spirit, and confess Him openly and bravely with simplicity of true godliness and true representation of His meekness before believers and unbelievers.
Christ formed within is His character taking shape in the person instead of conformity to the world, and where He is not formed within professed Christians follow and appear to sanction its demoralizing fashions. Luxurious living and extravagant dressing show His absence from the heart and stand among the signs of the last days, being pride and vanity and idolatry of dress that prefers the mirror admiring self to the law of God. Such display destroys all that is humble, meek, and lovely in the character and consumes time that should be given to meditation, searching of heart, and prayerful study of God's word. Having Him formed within is instead the heavenly adornment, cleansing the soul temple and fitting a people to stand amid the perils of the last days, to lift the voice like a trumpet against sin, and to get ready because the Lord is coming.
He is to be formed in the believer as the life of the soul, an inward work by which He enlightens, sanctifies, and strengthens, purifying every defect of character. This spiritual growth depends on pure influences and spiritual nourishment and develops through active Christian service in doing good, encouraging and instructing others, and practicing self-restraint, love, patience, and forbearance. Every individual must receive Christ for an individual experience, becoming rooted and grounded and established in the faith by the teachings of the Word, through individual knowledge of Him, linking up with Him, and walking by faith and prayer. So exercised in duty and fellowship, believers grow in faith, obedience, hope, and love to God, and this Christ-centered hope of glory preserves from false representations of God.
Ministry Teaching and Mission
The forming of Christ within the heart is the object of ministry, when truth with its sanctifying power is brought into the inner sanctuary of the soul. It is the first principles of the gospel, and ministers and workers who are unconverted do not have this experience and must themselves be taught it. Where this inward formation has taken place, ministers neither mix the comical with the religious in jolly lightness fit for the theater nor are sour, cross, and crabbed in spirit. They are fitted instead to teach the precious lessons of Christ to perishing souls, their character converted and changed.
No one is fitted to teach the grand mysteries of godliness until Christ is formed within as the hope of glory. The true teacher must be a daily learner in the school of Christ, constantly working out his own salvation by receiving and imparting an all-round education. He educates himself in moral excellence, keeps the sense of true physical, mental, and moral excellence, and is never satisfied with a low standard. So by precept and example he leads souls to understand the lessons of the Great Teacher, with Christ's attributes expressed in words and practice as the mystery of godliness belonging to the higher education found in the Word of God.
Every worker must work for his own soul until self is subdued and Christ is formed within so that Christ recognizes His own image in him, with this inward work continuing alongside outward labor and not giving way to apparent difficulties. This requires living what is taught and showing love, confidence, respect, and the spirit and meekness of Christ toward one another, with perfect harmony among workers as the greatest evidence of the power of truth upon the heart and with all who advance the truth united in heart, mind, and voice. Those in whom Christ is thus formed dwell with Him in the heart as their hope of glory in consecration and self-sacrifice, and are enabled to preach the word with holy zeal; the lack of such workers leaves the church weakened and allows fatal errors to spread. When Christ is not formed within the mind, especially in preachers, discourses leave out the grand and heavenly theme of Christ and His work and become dry and Christless, where Jesus is scarcely named, the heart is not subdued and melted by His love, and there is no divine unction and no power to move hearts, whereas His powerful and essential name should be on every tongue as the theme of contemplation and adoration. Their transformed life becomes the most impressive lesson to new converts who look to them for an example, and God enables them to perfect their work in a manner that pleases Him.
Those who have Christ within them, the hope of glory, are workers together with God, whatever kind of labor they perform. Their worth is fixed not by class of labor but by the One who paid the price for every soul. They are God's husbandry and God's building in charity, simplicity, and integrity, and the heart where the love of Christ abides constantly manifests more refinement because the spring of life is love to God and man. True growth from Christ formed within tends upward to the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus, and true culture and refinement of thought and manners come better through lessons in the school of Christ than through labored effort to observe forms and set rules when the heart is not under the holy discipline of the Spirit of God.
This inward change is the hope of glory and is revealed in a life transformed by truth, and conversion is not the end, for believers are to learn to win others to the truth through that example. When all who profess to be church members are thus converted by the quickening power of His Spirit with sanctification of body, soul, and spirit, they blend in keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, they become a power for truth and holiness and laborers together with God in leading souls to Christ. Each new day is one more golden opportunity to represent the Saviour, to show this inward work, and to help others travel the same path, making winning souls to Christ the special work. Through that blessed union the truth is magnified, the world is convicted, and the manifold wisdom of God is made known.