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Resting in the Love of Christ Within
Many believers spend their lives trying to become what God says they already are. They love Jesus, they want to follow Him, but often feel like they're stuck on a never-ending journey of self-improvement, hoping that one day they'll finally arrive. The good news is that the Gospel begins somewhere entirely different. It begins with what Christ has already accomplished. When you were born again, God did not simply clean up the old you or make a better version of the old you. He brought forth something entirely new. He placed His own life within you. Something was born of God in your spirit, and what is born of God carries His nature. The Christian life is not about striving to become someone else, it is about awakening to who you already are in Christ and learning to live from that beautiful union.Jesus said simply,
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6)
Flesh produces flesh. Spirit produces spirit. The new birth is not a moral renovation project, it is the creation of spirit by the Spirit. Something in you now shares its origin with God Himself. That is why John can speak with such clarity,
“Whoever is born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him, and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” (1 John 3:9)
John is drawing our attention to is something much deeper. He is pointing us to what God actually placed within us when we were born again.
Many people read this verse and immediately think, "That can't be talking about me." The reason is often because they have spent years seeing themselves primarily as sinners who occasionally get things right instead of sons and daughters of God who are learning to live from a new life within. But John wants us to look beyond our struggles and see our true beginning. When God caused you to be born again, He placed His own life in your spirit. That new life did not come from Adam. It did not come from the flesh. It came from God Himself.
The spirit that was born of God within you loves Him, desires Him, and is drawn toward Him. It is not looking for ways to rebel. It is not producing sin. It is carrying the very life of Christ. This is why the Christian life is not about trying harder to become someone different. It is about learning to live from the new person God has already created you to be. The more we see who we are in Christ, the more naturally His life begins to shine through us.
The verse is not denying that believers can still act out of the flesh, it is anchoring them in the deeper reality that their truest self, and please note, "their truest self" in their spirit has been born of God and carries His nature.
At the same time, Scripture is honest about the believer’s ongoing growth. John also writes, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8). There is no contradiction here. The distinction is between identity and expression. The person can still commit sins. The mind can still think in old patterns. The body is not yet redeemed. Paul explains with precision,
“For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells.” (Romans 7:18).
And again,
“Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.” (Romans 7:20)
Notice how he speaks. He distinguishes between his true “I” and sin dwelling in the flesh. The regenerated self, the new creation, is not synonymous with sin. Sin is something a believer can do, it is not who a believer is in the spirit.
the Law of Moses, people lived with commandments written on stone tablets. Those commandments were good because they came from God, but they constantly reminded people of where they were falling short. There were real consequences for breaking them, and people often lived with an awareness of judgment hanging over them. We see this in the story of the man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath in Numbers 15. It was a serious matter because Israel was living under a covenant built around obedience to the Law.
But while the Law could tell people what was right and wrong, it could not change their hearts. It could point out the problem, but it could not give them the life needed to overcome it. It worked from the outside in. The New Covenant is completely different. Through Christ, God has placed His life within us. Instead of trying to change us from the outside, He now works from the inside. What the Law could never accomplish, Christ accomplished by giving us a new heart, a new spirit, and a living relationship with the Father.
In Christ, something entirely different has taken place. The new covenant does not operate primarily by external pressure, but by internal union. Paul writes,
“But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” (1 Corinthians 6:17)
Wow! One spirit. Just stop and think about that for a moment. Through Christ, you are no longer trying to get close to God. You are no longer hoping He hears you, notices you, or accepts you. The separation that once existed has been completely removed. Because of what Jesus accomplished, God is not far away and you are not on the outside looking in. His Spirit now lives within you, and you have been brought into a real and living relationship with your Father in heaven. This is not about trying to reach God, it is about learning to enjoy the closeness that Christ has already given you. That is why Paul could say,
“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’” (Romans 8:15)
The language of bondage and fear belongs to what has passed. The cry of the new creation spirit is not dread, but ”daddy.”
This is where everything begins to get wonderfully simple. Living by the Spirit is not about following a formula or learning a new set of religious rules. It is about living in a relationship. At its heart, the Christian life is a love story. John said it beautifully, “We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19). Notice where it starts. It doesn't start with our love for God. It starts with His love for us. Before we ever reached for Him, He reached for us. Before we ever sought Him, He sought us. Paul makes this even clearer when he says,
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
The Father revealed His love through Christ and then poured that same love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. The more we see how deeply loved we are, the more naturally trust begins to grow, and from that trust flows a life of love, faithfulness, and joyful obedience. As Paul writes,
“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:5)
Love is not an external command we are trying to satisfy, it is an internal reality that has been given.
When Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15), He revealed the order of the new covenant life. Love comes first. Obedience flows from relationship. John later confirms,
“For THIS is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3)
Not burdensome why, because they are no longer hanging over our heads, demanding something from us. In Christ, they have become an expression of the very life He has placed within us. The Spirit living in you is not fighting against God or pulling away from Him. He delights in the Father because He came from the Father. This is why the Christian life becomes so different when we begin to understand how deeply we are loved. Fear starts to lose its grip. The anxiety of trying to measure up begins to fade. As John tells us, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18). The more we rest in the Father's love, the more naturally trust grows, and from that trust comes a willing heart that desires to walk with Him. What once felt like obligation to me, over time became the joyful overflow of a love relationship.
Paul describes this inward dynamic as a new law,
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2)
This is not about following another set of rules or trying harder to be a better Christian. It is about learning to trust the life that Christ has already placed within you. The Holy Spirit is at work in you, shaping you from the inside out. That is why Paul could say, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22–23). Notice that Paul calls it fruit, not effort. Fruit is simply the natural result of life. An apple tree does not struggle to produce apples. It does so because that is what it is. In the same way, Christ's life within us naturally begins to express itself as we learn to trust Him. Love, joy, peace, kindness, and faithfulness are not things we manufacture. They are the fruit of His life growing within us.
This is why the new creation spirit within you cannot be defined by sin. It was created in righteousness.
“Put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:24)
Created according to God. And because of that, your deepest identity is not sinner striving toward acceptance, but son or daughter living from union. As Paul proclaims,
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
This is not just a nice thought meant to encourage us. This is what God has actually done for us through Christ.
And more astonishing still, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27). Not Christ near you. Not Christ assisting you from a distance. Christ in you. The very life that pleased the Father perfectly now indwells your spirit. John can therefore say without hesitation, “As He is, so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17). As He is. Present tense. Your union is not theoretical, it is now and it is real.
As this truth begins to sink into our hearts, something beautiful happens. Fear slowly loses its grip. We stop feeling like we have to earn God's approval or prove ourselves to Him. Instead, we begin to rest in the love He has already shown us through Christ. What once felt like pressure starts to feel like relationship. Trust begins to grow. Love begins to grow. And from that place, obedience becomes less about duty and more about simply walking with our Father.
This is not a new idea God came up with after the cross. It is the very promise He spoke through the prophets in the Old Testament. God said He would give His people a new heart and a new spirit. He did not promise to repair our old heart, improve it, or perform a spiritual renovation on it. He promised something far greater. He promised to remove the old heart and give us a brand-new one. In Christ, that promise has been fulfilled. God has implanted within us a new heart that shares His own nature, a heart that knows Him, loves Him, and desires Him.
The new life God placed within us loves Him. It is drawn to Him. It finds joy in Him. As our minds are renewed to the truth of who we are in Christ, that life begins to shine through us more and more. Love, patience, kindness, courage, faithfulness, and peace are not things we have to force. They are the natural fruit of Christ's life at work within us. The same life that raised Jesus from the dead now lives in His people, expressing itself in everyday ways for the world to see.
And so we rest in what has already been accomplished.
“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” (Romans 8:16).
You are not standing outside trying to earn entry. You are inside, joined, reconciled. As Paul writes, “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:18).
Take a moment and let this sink in. You have been born of God. His life now lives within you. You are not separated from Him, trying to find your way back. You have been joined to the Lord and welcomed into a relationship that nothing can break. His love has been poured into your heart, and Christ Himself is your life. As you learn to rest in that reality, trust begins to grow, joy becomes steadier, and obedience flows more naturally. Not because you are trying harder, but because the life of Christ within you is finding expression through you.
Not because you are striving toward acceptance.
But because you are already home.
Father, we thank You that we are already joined to You in Christ. We trust the life You have placed within us. We rest in Your finished work, not striving to become, but receiving what is already true. Teach our hearts to lean into Your love, to abide in Your nearness, and to walk in step with Your Spirit. Let trust become our posture, rest become our home, and obedience become the natural overflow of Your life within us. Amen.
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