Galatians 2:20, emphasizing that the Christian life is not lived by the self but by Christ dwelling within. It explores the concept of 'not I, but Christ liveth in me' by examining the problem of the self ('I') as the source of sin and difficulty, contrasting it with the transformative power of Christ's presence. The message highlights that believers are temples of the Holy Spirit, bought with a price, and are being shaped by God like a potter with clay to display His glory. Ultimately, it concludes that Christ living in believers brings peace, victory over the flesh, and the capacity to live according to God's will, as exemplified by the resurrected Christ appearing to His disciples.
Restored with Diffio
Audio restored with Diffio. Diffio processed the original archive recording to reduce noise and produce a cleaner listening version; the original stays available.
Speech quality score (model-estimated, SCOREQ): before 2.39 → restored 4.41
I don't know about the rest of you, but I can sure say amen to that song. That was beautiful. Thank you. In Galatians chapter two and verse twenty, the verse that I have been using during the course of this conference to key up the thoughts that I believe that the Lord has given to me, he gives to you. I always like to say that whatever the Lord gives to me, I do my best. by His grace to give you the whole thing. I try not to hold anything back. So you get the full load. Sometimes it may not be much, but you're getting all I got.
Galatians chapter two, verse twenty. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I lived by faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I divided this verse up into four sections. The first one that we've looked at, I am crucified with Christ. The second one that we've looked at, nevertheless, I live, this life I live. Now the third section this morning we want to take a few moments to examine. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.
Now notice the phrasing here. Nevertheless I live, this life I live, yet not I. Isn't it interesting that the middle letter in the word sin is I? And if we were totally honest with ourselves, we would admit that ninety-nine point nine percent of our problems, if not more, are caused by I. That usually when there's a difficulty and usually when we're in trouble, that if we would be on it. Now, we're not always on it. Because many times, human nature is to look to the other guy. Not me, yeah, it is, Lord. Let me give you this scene.
And this is one that you're probably familiar with. You've all probably lived through this at one time or another yourself. Two couples are sitting around a dinner table. The four children have gone into another room. The couples are talking back and forth in quiet conversation when suddenly their conversation is interrupted by a loud crash. Parents quickly get up from the table, move to the other room to look. Four children all stand staring intently at a broken lamp. One parent finally speaks up. Who did it? What do you suppose the four children all say?
did it. But little Sammy, we'll say, no offense to anyone being saying, but little Sammy, why are you holding the cord? Sammy thinks for a minute. Well, he made me do it. You see, we'll do anything. From the time we're little, even to when we're older, we'll do anything to evade this I, my fault. And yet we also know at the same time that maturity comes when we see that I is the problem.
And that if we would just look in the mirror, we would see the source of the bulk of our problem in life. And then when we see that I is the problem, then we can deal with the I. We deal with the I by reckoning him as dead with Christ and buried. We deal with the I by seeing that we bear the cross of discipleship and we are following Jesus. That this life that I live really is not I living. Nevertheless, for yes, not I, not me, but Christ liveth in me.
And that's where we want to set our attention. just as this morning as we have remembered the Lord we have set our affections upon him now let's set our attentions upon him but we see Jesus and now let's focus in on Christ it is Christ living in me in second Corinthians chapter four and verse seven we read but we have this treasure in earth and vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. The text goes on to say, we are troubled on every side, and it speaks of the persecution and the suffering, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, not I, but Christ liveth in me. again in second Corinthians chapter six a familiar passage of scripture where we read in verse fourteen be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness and what communion has light with darkness and we've all had opportunity to either apply this verse in our lives or to either counsel others with this verse and I suspect that we all agree that this verse can extend not only in the area of marriage but in business, in social relationships, in every area of our life.
Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers. We say, well, why not? Verse sixteen. What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them. and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Back to First Corinthians chapter six. And the context here concerns being joined with a harlot.
fornication but again we see how these verses can reach into several areas of our life verse nineteen what know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you whom ye have of God and ye are not your own for ye are bought with the price therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God One person once told me, he said, Christianity can be characterized in one line. We don't drink, we don't smoke, we don't chew, and we don't run with those who do. Well, of course that's an oversimplification by someone that doesn't know what they're talking about.
But it's true, we don't do those things. And why not? Well, because we understand that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and so we're going to be very picky about what we dump inside this body, right? We're kind of watching what's going on. We want to take care of this body. Now, I've been convicted lately about something that I'm going to share with you, and then I'll apologize for sharing this with you afterwards. But there's something, you know, whenever you study material, you put it together, and invariably the material you're putting together, there's something that reaches up and socks you right between the eyes. It never fails.
You know, whenever somebody comes to me and says, Greg, that really stepped on my toes. And I said, that's nothing. My toes have been black and blue for a month. And there's a line right here. What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. And this phrase just reached out and jumped on me. And I was studying this at night and I went to bed and this phrase kept going through my head. What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The alarm went off the next morning and my wife says she's real quick. She jumps out of bed. But me, I thrashed around there for a while and this phrase kept coming back to mind. What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. So I finally dragged myself out of bed.
I staggered into the bathroom and I did something that I don't normally do. As a matter of fact, it has been years since I have weighed myself because I really don't want to know how much I weighed. But for some reason, that morning I pulled out the scale, I stood on it, and you know how scales go with the number? And it stopped. And it stopped on that number, and I looked down there. What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? The next phrase that came flashing through my mind was, I strongly suspect that it is at least a possibility that the Lord never intended for this five foot ten inch frame to carry two hundred pounds.
I then did something I really didn't want to do either. I looked in the mirror and that confirmed my suspicion. What? Know ye not? that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? Well, in our family, we have to be a bit concerned about weight, so forth. My father in December had triple bypass surgery, had one valve replaced in his heart with a pig's valve. I told him if he starts saying oink, we'll know why. But the doctor's told him, he said, tell your son, this is hereditary.
arterial cirrhosis, whatever it is, that blockage of the arteries, that can be passed on. So we have that concern. Whenever my brother and I have chest pains, we begin to think, oh, this is it. My turn. It's up. So we have these concerns, but it's not just that. And it's not just carrying around some extra pounds. But it's just, what's been running through my mind is, wouldn't it be nice to be a little bit more alert to have some more energy and not feel sleepy all the time and sluggish. Isn't it better to be sharp rather than dull? Well, remember now, this is just what's been convicting me. It doesn't have to convict you.
And now for the apology, this is really an awful thing to talk about just before we eat dinner. With the smell of roast beef coming over the top. Know ye not that your body, our Lord has told us, present your body as a living sacrifice unto God. We have this treasure in earth and vessels. The Lord has seen fit to indwell us and then to use us for his glory. You know, he could have used anything. There was one occasion where he said he could have, the rocks could cry out.
But the rocks didn't. People did. He could have angels come in and do this work. But he doesn't. Instead, he is called and you and I. And he is seen fit to use us. He dwell within us. Whom ye have of God and ye are not your own. Yet not I. You're not your own. You belong to someone else. And you've been bought with a price. What kind of price? Whenever we go into a store of some kind, one of the first things we do is look at the price tag. And if you're like me, if you walk into a store and there's no price tags, you know that that's not the place to shop by turning around.
We look at the price tag and say, how much does it cost? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. How much did it cost? This morning, as we have had the emblems before us, we've been meditating on how much it costs. It costs the best. that heaven had to give, the Son of God. And he came and poured out himself as a drink offering. He gave himself totally the price of our redemption. We are now the temple of the Holy Spirit, not I, but we belong to another, for we have been bought with a tremendous, glorious, wonderful price that He has paid for us.
He is in us and He's making changes. In second Corinthians three, eighteen we read, But we all with unveiled faith, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. In Romans chapter nine, there's a discourse on the potter and the clay. And the idea that we get also from the prophet Jeremiah in chapter eighteen. a potter is taking a lump of clay and forming it into a vessel that he intends to use. And as he was forming it, we get the vision of ourselves being that lump of clay. And we can see that contrary to a normal lump of clay, this lump of clay has feelings.
And as the potter begins to shape and mold and suppress and to take out some of the lumps, sometimes this lump of clay says, ouch, not that. but the potter faithfully and lovingly continues to shape. And in Romans chapter nine, and verse twenty, nay, but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the same form say to him that formed it, why has thou made me thus? Has not the pot or power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? what if God willing to show his wrath and to make known his power known endured with such long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction and that he might make known now notice this verse that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had before prepared unto glory even us whom he has called not of the Jews only but also the Gentiles then he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy.
He's made these pots, these clay pots, formed them. For what reason? To make known the riches of his glory. In Ephesians chapter one and verse twelve we read that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ. Ephesians chapter two and verse seven that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. The riches of His glory and the riches of His grace are seen in these clay pots that He has formed by gentle and loving hands. Even though many times as He's worked with us, we've wondered about the pressure He's applied to certain places.
And some of the things He's kicked out of our lives, we said, maybe I'll miss that. But the Lord keeps on forming, and He forms these vessels to the praise of His glory. It is Christ living in me. With Christ living in me, many times it also creates conflict. And back in Romans chapter seven, we read something of that conflict. We don't have time to read that entire section. You may want to do so at some time. But in verse twenty-four we read, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death? And all through this text he said that the things that I know I should do, what happens?
Well, I don't do that. And the things that I know I shouldn't do, what happens? Well, I do those. What's happening? I just kind of try to keep crawling up there. We're living in these fleshly bodies and the flesh is still there. Yes, we are to reckon the old man is dead and is buried and gone, but still the old eye comes up like a monster rising up out of the sea, fuming and with glaring eyes. Here it comes, I. And we sink down into despair and we say, oh, what a wretch I am. Who shall deliver me from this body?
of his death. Notice the next phrase. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. What a marvelous way the Spirit of God, the Word of God has of bringing in the good news after the bad news. The bad news. Oh, this flesh is getting me down. What am I going to do? How can I control this monster eye? I thank God through my Lord Jesus Christ. There is the answer. It is Christ living in me and he is the one that is giving the victory.
Throughout the Gospel of John our Lord spoke of things that he gave to his own. In John one twelve he's given us the authority to be called the children of God even to them who believe on his name. In John four fourteen We are given the water of life, not just water, but water as a well that springs up unto everlasting life. So wherever there is dryness and death around us, the Christian has this water springing inside of them. In John six fifty-one, we have been given the bread of life. In John ten twenty-eight, we have been given eternal life.
In John thirteen, we've been given a new commandment, John thirteen, thirty-four, that is to love one another. He not only gave us the commandment, but He gave us the capacity to do so. It is Christ living in me. John sixteen, twenty to twenty-four, he's given us joy. There may be weeping for a moment. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning. And our Lord went on to say in that text, this joy no man can take from you. This is substantial joy. This is not giddy happiness, but this is joy that endures.
We're given his glory in John, verse twenty-two. And in John fourteen, verse twenty-seven, the one I have kept for the last, he has given us his peace. Not as the world gives to us, but his peace. I'm going to look at this more closely in John chapter twenty, because this is a favorite of mine. And because I believe that it really summarizes this thought, Christ living in me, Christ living in me means he's changing from glory to glory.
Christ living in me means that he is the one who's given me this victory over the flesh. Christ living in me means that he, the one who stood up in a boat and spoke to the seas and the wind and said, peace be still. Still today, in my life in this world, right now today, still speaks peace. First of all, there is a cessation of hostility. I, who was once alienated from God and enemies against everything that was holy and everything of heaven. When I was at war with God, then He displayed His love for me.
Christ died for me. And through believing faith in that finished work at the cross, there is now a cessation of hostility. But even more than that, there is a calm assurance. There is a confidence that is inside Christ living in me. Do you sense that at all? John chapter twenty verse nineteen, then the same day at evening being the first day of the week. When the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst and said unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he is so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord.
Then said, Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you. As my Father has sent me, even so send I you. And when he has said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit. Whosoever sends ye remit, they are admitted unto them, and whosoever sends you retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I see in his hands the print of the nails, And put my finger into the print of the nails, And thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again, his disciples were inside, and promised with them.
Then came Jesus, the door being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to promise, Reach here thy finger, and behold my hand. Reach here thy hand, and thrust it into my side, And be not faithless but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God, Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. I would suggest to you three areas of peace that is mentioned in this text. First, there is peace that is inherent in the new nature. Secondly, there is the peace that goes with the great commission, or the peace of commission. And then thirdly, there is the peace of restoration.
Firstly, the peace that is inherent in the new nature, at a time in which men in the flesh were troubled about what was taking place, and they had every right to be disturbed. The shepherd had been slain, the sheep had been scattered, and now the sheep are together behind closed doors for fear of the Jews, thinking that any moment they would hear the tromping of hobnail boots coming to their door to arrest them and to take them away. thinking that very probably their fate would be the same as their master. For fear they were behind closed doors. But what did the master say to them when he came to them?
Peace. In a world filled with toil and trouble, in the presence of great fear and anxiety, there is one who comes and speaks peace. It is Christ living in me and inherent in that new nature is peace no matter how great the difficulty. You will also notice that he did not upbrave them. The shepherd smitten and the sheep scattered. They all ran. You notice that he didn't come into the room and say, All right, you all deserted me and fled. And now you're in trouble.
Nope. Peter had made a big deal by saying to the Lord, Lord, I would never deny you. No matter what, I'll stay with you. See, you're going to deny me three times. Sure enough. And what did the Lord say to Peter and ask for you, fishermen? You said you wouldn't deny me. You deny me three times, didn't you? Admit it. Isn't that the way we behave towards one another? We could paint another scenario where we could see a father coming to children and saying, ah! None of that here.
The shepherd comes to his sheep and he speaks to them, peace. This is what was needed. This is what would carry them through the days, months, the years ahead. This is what would carry them into the Great Commission. It is inherent in our new nature therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and then we also have the peace of God in the Commission as the Father sent him into the world even so have I also sent them into the world that was part of his prayer in John seventeen eighteen to send us out into the world Even so, sin by you.
Do you notice that nobody here in this text said, but where are we going? Who's going to pay the bill? What exactly are we supposed to be doing? You know, I think about Abraham when he was called out of the Ur of the Chaldees, and the Lord says, go. Now, if you would have been Abraham, wouldn't you have at least thought to ask, Where are we going? To a land that I will show you. Because isn't that just about how we are today? Where are we going? How are the needs going to be met? What's going on?
What about the children? What about the folks? What about this? What about that? I'm not eloquent. Who made the tongue? First of all, he said, Peace be unto you. And he said, go. Go with what? Go with this peace. A peace that says that even though I do not know it's going to happen tomorrow, even though I'm not certain of how these needs or these things are going to be met, even though I do not know the problems that may assail me, I know that Christ liveth in me and that his peace is with me. And that peace is the answer to all of life's anxieties.
for I cast my care upon him. Thomas, one of the twelve, was not with them. Think of the tragedy in this verse. Thomas was not with them. They were behind closed doors. The disciples had come together. And the Lord had came and stood in their midst. And Thomas missed it. He wasn't there. You know, many times we emphasize to one another that we are not to be forsaken the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another so much the more as we see the day approaching, that we are to be coming together and so many times people ask me, oh, what's the big deal?
I can go fishing and worship the Lord. Don't we have other things we could be doing? Beloved, keep in mind that when the disciples come together and the Lord comes in their midst, he gives to them that are there a special blessing. He came to them and he said, Peace be unto you. He calmed their troubled soul. Let calm us midst it. Beloved, when the Lord's people come together, may I submit to you, let's be there. Because the Lord will be there. The Lord will be in the midst and he'll have something very special for us. But if we're not there, so many times we miss it.
But then again our Lord does not rebuke Thomas. Our Lord does not chastise him, but he sensely presents to him the print of the nails in his hands and the wound in his thighs. And in this Thomas is restored to the Lord. It's interesting that Thomas utters a phrase that had not before this time been uttered by the disciples, my Lord and my God, mine. In the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, he came and he set in motion this new creation, this new life, Christ living in me.
He came and he spoke peace and he's made that a part of the inherent in the new nature. He has came and given us peace to carry out his commission. He breathed on them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. In Genesis, God breathed upon this man that was made and he became a living soul and here the Lord came. The last Adam came and he breathed on him and here is life. Here is the Spirit of God. Know ye not that ye are the temple. of God who is in you. Here is the Spirit of God as in dwelling. He breathes on them. And in this high priestly ministry, he reaches out to the one who had been apart from the others.
Doubting promise. The man who when the Lord said, I go to be crucified, he had the attitude of, well, let's all go. Let's all go. Let's all get killed. The one who said, Lord, if you show us the Father, that would suffice it. the one who wasn't there and then said, except I see in his hand the print of the nails, except I thrust my hand into his side, I won't believe. And the great shepherd very simply came and said, here. Notice that when the Lord came to his disciples in the first place and that when he restored Thomas in the last place, that the attention was drawn to the print of the nail, the mark of Calvary. For that is the basis of our peace.
peace with God, the peace of God. That is the basis of our peace with one another. That is the basis of the peace that we carry forward into His work. Do you have that peace? I will tell you quite frankly that if you are here at this conference without Christ, you don't have peace. You have war. You're at war with yourself. You're at war with others. And more importantly, You're an enemy to God. And there's no peace in that. That you can have peace in the same way. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And then Christ dwells in you. There is peace. And he will put all these wars to silence. All hostilities cease. And he brings this calm. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his own name's sake. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leaves me beside still waters. Or perhaps you're one here that is like Thomas. You haven't been around much. You've been apart from the Lord's people and from the Lord's things. You know that you haven't been reading and praying like you should. And you might be thinking, well, if I go back to the Lord, perhaps he'll upbrave me and reprimand me.
No. Oh, no, beloved. He'll speak peace to you. And he'll remind you of the wounds of Calvary. Oh, beloved, may we step forward in this life that I live, knowing that it is not I that live. It's Christ living in me. And Christ living in me, that makes all the difference. Heavenly Father, again, we thank thee and we praise thy glorious name for the person and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. continue to be with us this day in these activities. Blessed Father, as we wait upon thee in His name.