Colossian 1:27 says, “To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
A Christian is not a religious fellow, but one in whom all the fullness of God resides. If you’re born again, God dwells in you. This should give you a new mindset and confidence. There’s a big difference between us today—the new creation—and the Old Testament folks. God’s plan was to be in them, but they couldn’t enter into His rest because of unbelief.
When Jesus came, He came as “Emmanuel”, meaning “God with us”, and thus was with them until His crucifixion. After His resurrection and the arrival of the Holy Spirit, the new creation—the Church, came into being and now He lives in us by the Spirit. He’s no longer Emmanuel, God with us, but God in us. God was with the prophets of old, but He is more than with us today, He is in us.
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon certain people to empower them for service, but then He would leave again. But we New Testament believers have a different experience, as the Spirit indwells us permanently. After Jesus ascended to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to live within us, never to leave (John 14:16-17, 16:7). Jesus told His disciples, “On that day, you will realize that I am in my Father… and I am in you” (John 14:20).
The Holy Spirit seals us for the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30). In other words, the Spirit’s presence in our hearts guarantees our ultimate salvation. Though we are in this world, we are not of it (John 17:16). God will continue to work in us until He is finished perfecting us. (Philippians 1:6 – “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”) This forward-looking and guarantee of perfection, is our hope of glory.
The hope of glory is the fulfilment of God’s promise to restore us and all creation (see Romans 8:19-21 and 1 Peter 5:10). This hope is not a wishful thought, but the confident, expectant, joyful knowledge that we are being changed by God and will one day see Christ Jesus face to face, having been conformed to His image (Romans 8:29, 1 John 3:2).
The hope of glory includes our resurrection: “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you” (Romans 8:11). It includes a heavenly inheritance: “In His great mercy, He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4). The Spirit of Christ within us is the “deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:14).
Christ’s presence in us is the hope of glory, and this truth is full of “glorious riches.” Our once dead, darkened spirits, are made alive. Christ is in our hearts, and we know that there is life beyond this earthly existence—a life that will be glorious beyond all imagination.
Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
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