One
of the most common formulas for successful Christian living has been, "Let
Christ live His life through you."
This is the central theme of the doctrine of sanctification long
promoted by the Keswick Bible Conferences, and it is very common in books on
spiritual living. The idea is that the
Christian is but a channel for the life of Christ to flow through. The Christian is told to "let go and let
God," and to let Christ live through him. While there is an element of truth in the
teaching, it is carried to an unbiblical extreme that can actually hinder,
rather than promote spiritual living.
For
many sincere Christians who have been seeking to live a victorious life to the
glory of God, this doctrine has a strong appeal. I must confess that it strongly influenced my
thinking when I was in Bible college. I
still remember with some nostalgia the powerful speakers we had in chapel, many
of whom promoted the Keswick doctrine of sanctification. The British preachers seemed to impress us the most. It was as if we were hearing the
great Charles Spurgeon himself just because of the accent! (Ironically, Spurgeon never participated in the Keswick conferences.)
Occasionally,
usually at the annual Spiritual Life Conference at Detroit Bible College, the speaker would invite
anyone who wanted to have victory over sin to respond to an invitation to come
forward and "do business with God".
We were told that it was a once and for all act of surrender and faith. It was sometimes equated with the filling of
the Spirit. One preacher paraphrased F.
B. Meyer who seemed to hear God telling him, "As you accepted salvation
from the hands of a dying Savior, won't you accept the filling of the Spirit
from the hands of the living Savior?"
A Christian psychologist who held that view once said, "It's as easy as taking
a bath."
So we
responded, confident that now we would live the victorious, powerful Christian
life that we had read about in the biographies of Hudson Taylor, F. B. Meyer, D. L.
Moody, George Mueller, and many others.
For a time we did experience new joy, new power, and new victory. But many of us found that after the
excitement of having "found the secret" wore off, we were more
discouraged than ever, because we found ourselves defeated again in the same
areas as before. Yet we sincerely
believed that we had surrendered our lives to Christ, and we truly desired that
He live His life through us. Other
revivalists would claim that there was some secret closet of our lives that we
had not really opened to Christ and His Spirit.
But after repeated self-searching, we had to conclude that if there was
some area of our lives that we had not yielded, God had not revealed it.
I
don't mean to imply that any of those preachers, British or American, were
anything less than outstandingly dedicated men of God. Would that we had more Christian leaders of
their moral and spiritual character today!
Nor were they promoting a gross heresy.
Most of the content of their messages was solid Christian doctrine. It was, in fact, more heavily doctrinal than
today's audiences will tolerate. The
Keswick teachers and preachers have simply carried certain biblical truths to
unbiblical extremes.
My experience of seeking to live a holy life led me to
test the foundation upon which the Keswick doctrine was built: can we indeed
negate our own identity in such a way that Christ alone is living through
us? And more importantly, is that what
the Bible really teaches about the Christian life? Consequently, I began to question the popular
statement, "Christ living through you," and its related admonition,
"Let go and let God."
The
logical place to start my study was with the Greek word normally translated
'by' or 'through' in the New Testament.
Surely, if this doctrine is true, it should show up quickly in the usage
of this word in the New Testament. My
findings were very revealing: they showed just the opposite of the popular
view of sanctification. The New
Testament teaches that we are to live our lives through Christ,
not vice versa. Indeed, God "did
predestinate (believers) to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might
be the first born among many brethren (Romans 8:29). Christ is not looking for zombies through
whom to live His life; He is seeking and saving men and women whose individual
lives will be conformed by God's grace to the character of Christ so
that he will have many "brethren," siblings.
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
By
God's design, each Christian has a unique personality and special talents, and
God's plan is that we should glorify Him through our individual
characteristics. The Psalmist revealed
that God formed each one of us in our mother's womb according to His divine
plan.
For Thou didst form my inward parts;
Thou didst weave me in my mother's womb.
I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:13‑16).
God
wove together the genes and chromosomes that would determine our inherited
characteristics. Having created this
masterpiece in each one of us, is God now commanding us to deny our
individuality and become nondescript channels for the life of Christ? No, according to the New Testament, the
"secret" to the abundant life in Christ is to practice living our
individual lives through Christ, drawing upon his power, identifying
with his person and character. This
will become clearer as we examine the biblical references in the word study.
Christ Who is Our Life
But
doesn't Colossians 3:3, and 4 say "For you have died and your life is
hidden with Christ in God, and that Christ is "our life"? Certainly.
But notice that it is "your life" that is hidden with Christ
in God. You have not totally
disappeared. It is also true that the
true Christian, as opposed to the professing Christian, has no life apart
from Christ. He energizes our new
life to His glory. When we were outside
of Christ, we thought we had life, but we were actually "dead in your
trespassses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1).
Now,
as those who have been raised spiritually from the dead, we must draw upon His
life to experience abundant life ourselves and to bear fruit that is pleasing
to God. This is what Jesus was teaching
in John 15:1-5—
"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
(Joh 15:1-5)
We
must not minimize this great truth that our only true life comes to us from the
True Vine, Christ, and that life does flow through us to bear fruit. But let us notice again that we, as
responsible individuals, are to "abide in Him" and "bear
fruit".
When God works through humans
There
have been times in the history of God's people when God worked through people,
they were His channels or instruments.
In fact, the majority of references to the Greek word dià in the Book of Acts (9 of 13) refer to God working or
speaking through men. But these acts of
God were extraordinary, miraculous acts for a special purpose. One category is divine inspiration. For
example, Acts 2:16 says, "but this is what was spoken of through
the prophet Joel . . ." Another
category is miracles and signs which were designed to confirm the Word. Acts 5:12 states, "And at the hands
of (lit. 'through') the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place
among the people . . ." Many other
references refer to the same extraordinary acts of God through men.
Salvation through Christ
It
will undoubtedly surprise many Christians to discover that other than the above
mentioned miraculous interventions of God in giving and confirming the
Scriptures, there are no references to Christ living His life or working
through believers. In fact, Christ is
shown to be exactly what First Timothy 2:5 says he is: the "one mediator
between God and men." Christ stands
as the mediator for all the Father's dealings with us and also as the mediator
for our approach to the Father. It is through
Christ that we live our lives to
God's glory. This places Christ at the
very center of all interaction between God and His people. And this is perfectly in accord with the
fact that only Christ is both God and man.
First
of all, the uses of dià in the
New Testament teach us that we are saved through Christ. A very clear statement of this is found in
John 3:17: "For God sent not His Son into the world to judge the world;
but that the world might be saved through Him." In John 10:9 Jesus says, "I am the door;
if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out,
and find pasture." Again, in John
14:6 Jesus says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no man comes
to the Father, but through Me."
Access to the Father through Christ
The
New Testament also makes it clear that our access to the Father is through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:18 says, "for through Him we both
have access in one Spirit unto the Father." And Hebrews 7:25 says,
"Hence also He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through
Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them."
Worship through Christ
Often
we read or hear a speaker say that we should let Christ do through us what we
find difficult (nay, humanly impossible) to do, even though the Bible clearly
exhorts to do it. For instance, consider
the exhortation, "In everything give thanks..." (I Thessalonians
5:18). This seems humanly impossible at
times, but the New Testament states that we, through Christ, can and
should offer thanksgiving to God.
Hebrews 13:15 says it well: "Through Him then let us
continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips
that give thanks to His name." (See
also Romans 7:25)
Another
challenge we think of as impossible is: "Love your enemies" (Matthew
5:44)! Since love is the most
distinctive characteristic of the Christian life (I Corinthians 13, Romans 13:8‑10),
we can justly say that it is the heart of the "spiritual sacrifices"
that we are to offer to God. And how do
we offer those sacrifices? Consider what
Peter says: "You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual
house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God through
Jesus Christ" (I Peter 2:5). Through Jesus we can offer any and all
spiritual sacrifices.
Victory through Christ
"But
thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ" (I Corinthians 15:57). Paul
indicates that the spiritual power we need for daily victory is available to us
through the Holy Spirit (who is also referred to as the Spirit of Christ,
Romans 8:9). Paul prays "that He
might grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with
power through His Spirit in the inner man" (Ephesians 3:16). And, of course, Paul states triumphantly,
"But in all things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37).
When dià is used in a particular grammatical construction (i.e.
with the accusative case) it has the meaning "because of." In Revelation 12:11 we see a beautiful
picture of the ultimate Christian victory because of Christ:
"And they overcame him (the devil) because of the blood of the Lamb
and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their
life even unto death."
When
we sing "Victory in Jesus," we are singing the truth. We are
more than conquerors through Christ and because of what Christ has done. Christ's victory on the cross "disarmed the rulers and authorities," (Col. 2:15) and secured our salvation. Because of His finished work, we can now have
victory through Him.
Total Christian life through Christ
From
our initial salvation to our final victory, our Christian life is to be lived
through Christ. The Scriptures do not
exhort us to "let go and let God,"
but to cultivate active fellowship with Christ in every aspect of our
lives.
John
sums it up when he writes: "By this the love of God was manifested in us,
that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live
through Him" (I John 4:9).
Exceptions?
What about "dying to self"?
Another popular phrase in the Keswick vocabulary is
"dying, or death, to self". Three verses come to mind that do not use the word dià but do nonetheless relate to our thesis.
The
first is Colossians 3:3‑4, which states, "For you have died and your life
is hidden with Christ in God. When
Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him
in glory." If this is viewed out of
context, it could be used to imply that we have no life of our own and that
Christ is merely living His life through us.
First,
the passage does not say that Christ is living His life through us; it states
that Christ is our life. When God
created Adam, "He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man
became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7).
Man was not created to have a life independent of God. Adam's sin was his declaration of
independence from God when he ate the fruit that Satan claimed would make him
and Eve like God. In Adam's fall,
all mankind died spiritually, and we can only be made alive by reuniting with
God in Jesus Christ. Through faith in
Christ as the God-Man who paid the price of our sins as our substitute, we have
new life in Him and we are said to be "raised up with Christ"
(Colossians 3:1) and "renewed to a true knowledge according to the image
of the One who created [us]" (Colossians 3:10).
As
with many passages used to support a particular doctrine, Colossians 3:3‑4 is
usually taken out of context. Nothing in
the context of Chapter 3 indicates that the believer loses his or her identity
or ceases to live his or her own life.
It simply states the grand truth that the source of our new spiritual
life is Christ. But it is still spoken
of as "our life," and we are actively (not passively) to live
it. In fact, verse one says, "If
then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where
Christ is, seated at the right hand of God."
The
same sort of distortion is often seen in the interpretation of Galatians 2:20:
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but
Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith
in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me." At first glance, this passage seems to
strongly confirm the Keswick doctrine of Christ living through us. But here again it does not say Christ lives through
us, but in us. Here again, the
context puts this verse in perspective. In
Galatians 2 Paul is not teaching the doctrine of sanctification, but
justification. He is very forcefully
saying that through the Law we die, but through grace we live. Paul is saying that the man he once was is
dead and Christ is his new life. The immediate
context makes this clear.
For through the Law I died to the Law, that I might
live to God. I have been crucified with
Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me,
and delivered Himself up for me. I do
not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then
Christ died needlessly (2:19‑21).
Notice
that Paul is saying essentially what he said in Colossians 3, that is, that
Christ is his life. But notice that he
immediately adds, "the life that I now
live in the flesh I live by faith in the
Son of God..." Paul is still living his life, but it is not independent of
the life of Christ. Without Christ he wouldn't have real life at all. Paul's old life in the flesh is dead; now
Christ is his life. He says the same
thing in a parallel statement in Romans 6:6, "knowing this, that our old
man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that
we should no longer be slaves of sin."
Likewise,
we would never take Galatians 2:20 to mean we must "die to self" (in
the sense of losing our identity) and let Christ live His life through us if we
were to see that verse first in the context of Galatians 2, rather than in the
context of popular modern teaching on sanctification.
The
final verse we need to discuss is Philippians 1:21 — "For to me, to live
is Christ, and to die is gain."
What does Paul mean by "For me to live is Christ"? Isn't this an example of Christ living His
life through us? Once again, the context
shows that this verse lends no support to the Keswick doctrine.
For I
know that this shall turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the
provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation
and hope, that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but that with all
boldness, Christ shall even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by
life or by death. For to me, to live is
Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am
to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not
know which to choose. But I am hard
pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ,
for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary
for your sake (Philippians 2:19‑24).
It's
not hard to see that Paul is saying that he has only one reason to go on living
— to magnify Christ. And that is his
active pursuit. This is certainly not a
man who has merely let go and let God!
VII. How do we live through Christ?
It is
not enough to point out that the New Testament says we are to live our lives
through Christ, and not the other way around.
Every true Christian wants to know how to have spiritual victory in his
or her life. While it is beyond the
scope of this treatise to fully expound how we are to live through Christ, some
basic principles should be understood so that readers can further explore the
biblical teaching and apply it to their lives.
First,
if we are to live our lives through Christ, then we must focus our
attention on Christ, on His character, His attributes, His work for us, and our
relationship to Him. Our relationship
to Him is expounded in detail in Romans 6.
In that chapter, Paul says that through our faith in Jesus Christ we
are identified with His death and resurrection. This identification is not
just theoretical. The Holy Spirit actually works a change in us so that the
person we once were is dead and we are spiritually raised to a new life created
in the image of Christ. Jesus described
this as being "born again," or "born from above" (John 3:3,7).
To
understand this better, we must realize that ever since Adam fell into sin,
each human being has found his or her identity in the flesh. We thought of ourselves as fleshly beings and
we sought to please the flesh. God
created us to be spiritual beings who manifest God's likeness in the flesh. Since Adam fell only one man has ever
manifested God's likeness in the flesh ‑‑‑ Jesus Christ.
When
we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior, His death for our sins becomes our
death to sin, that is, the death of the "old man" who was fleshly and
under the total domination of sin. And
Christ's resurrection becomes our spiritual resurrection to new life in Him.
In
Romans 6 Paul uses three words to indicate the steps we can take in our mind
and will to live our lives through Christ: (1) know (v. 6), (2) consider (v. 11), and (3)
present (v. 13). These are not steps that can be
taken once and for all. We will have to
remind ourselves of these truths over and over during our sojourn here on
earth. But as these truths become more a
part of us, living through Christ will become more habitual, and the old habits
of the flesh will fall away.
Romans
6:6‑8 says,
. . . knowing this, that our old man was crucified
with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no
longer be slaves to sin. For he who has
died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we
shall also live with Him...
The
first step is to know the truth about our relationship with Christ. We can never rise above our beliefs. Our beliefs must change our behavior or most
certainly our behavior will change our beliefs.
That is why Paul had a habit of expounding the doctrinal basis for the
Christian life in his epistles before he went on to the practical
applications. We must know, then, that
when we received Christ, the old person we were died. That life was truly gone for good, and we
were spiritually raised to a new life, a life empowered by the Holy Spirit
after the nature of Christ.
If
this be true, then why do we still feel the impulse of sin, and why do we
sometimes stumble into actual sin. Paul
explains this problem in Chapters 7 and 8 of Romans. Paul points out that our bodies are not yet
redeemed and the "law of sin" still resides in our
"members". That vestige of sin
in our flesh is all that remains of the dead old man. In fact, Paul calls it a "body of
death" (Romans 7:25). The good news
is that while sin is still resident in us, it is no longer president
in us. We can and will have victory over
it by God's grace which works mightily in us through the Holy Spirit who lives
in us. "For sin shall not have
dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace" (Romans
6:14).
The
second step is to consider ourselves dead to sin, and alive unto God. To reckon means to count on the fact. Once we know the truth, we must count on it
when temptation comes. Paul says,
Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed
to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your
mortal body, that you should obey its lusts.
(Romans 6:11‑12)
We
can illustrate this principle by thinking of a nation that was under the
domination of a tyrannical dictator and was forced to obey his every
command. Finally, the dictator was
overthrown and banished from the country.
The citizens were free from the tyrant and protected by the army and
police force of the new democratic government.
But the old ruler began to make clandestine radio broadcasts into the
country, making the same old demands on the people, and some were terrified by
his voice and felt that they should obey him. They needed reassurance that the
old dictator had no power over them. His
power was broken and they were free to serve the new benevolent government that
existed for their welfare.
In
the same way, we may feel the impulses of sin in the flesh, but the power of
sin in broken through our relationship with Christ. In fact, it is even better than the
illustration: we actually died to the old dictator and have been raised with
Christ to a new life! Many people wish
they could be considered dead and begin their life anew. Only reborn Christians can do that.
The
final step is to present our members as "instruments of
righteousness unto God" (Romans 6:13).
While sin resides in the members of our body, the body is not sinful in
itself. When we speak of a glass of
water, we do not mean that the glass is made of water. It is merely a container for water. In a similar way, "the body of sin"
(Romans 6:6) may contain sin, but it is not in itself sinful. Our members can be made useful to God's
glory, and when that happens, sin cannot operate. That's what Paul means when he says,
"Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh"
(Galatians 5:16).
In
conclusion then, when you feel the impulses of the flesh to sin, you should
recognize that the temptation does not come from your inner self, but from the
last vestige of the old man who is dead.
You need to remind yourself that "if Christ is in you, the body is
dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness"
(Romans (8:10). In other words, the real
you is a spiritual and righteous person
because of Christ's Spirit. And your
inner desire is to glorify God. By God's grace we all can offer our members as
instruments of righteousness to God. It is
the most natural thing for a saint to do.
###
APPENDIX
References to dià in relation to salvation and
the Christian Life
John 3:17 "For
God did not send the Son into the world to judge the
world;
but that the world might be saved through
Him."
John 6:57 "As
the living Father sent Me, and I live because
of the Father;
so
he who eats Me, he shall live because of Me."
John 10:9 "I
am the door; if anyone enters through Me,
he shall be saved,
and
shall go in and out, and find pasture."
John 14:6 "Jesus
said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no
one
comes to the Father, but through Me."
John 15:3 "You
are already clean because of the word which I have
spoken
unto you."
Acts 1:16 "Brethren,
the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy
Spirit
foretold by the mouth of David concerning
Judas, who
became
the guide to those who arrested Jesus."
Acts 2:16 "but
this is what was spoken of through the
prophet Joel..."
Acts 2:43 "And
everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders
and
signs were taking place through the
apostles."
Acts 3:18, 21 "But
the things which God announced beforehand by
the
mouth
of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He has
thus
fulfilled . . . God spoke by the mouth of
His holy prophets
from
ancient time."
Acts 4:16 "What
shall be do with these men? For the fact
that a
noteworthy
miracle has taken place through them is
apparent to
all
who live in Jerusalem . . ."
Acts 5:12 "And
at the hands of
(lit. "through") the apostles many signs
and
wonders were taking place among the people . . . "
Acts 10:43 "Of
Him all the prophets bear witness that through
His name
every
one who believes in Him has received forgiveness
of
sins."
Acts 13:38 "Therefore
let it be known to you, brethren, that through
Him
forgiveness
of sins is proclaimed to you."
Acts 14:3 "Therefore
they spent a long time there speaking boldly with
reliance
upon the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of
His
grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by
their
hands."
Acts 15:11 "But
we believe that we are saved through the
grace of the
Lord
Jesus, in the same way as they also are."
Acts 18:27 "And
when he wanted to go across Achaia, the brethren
encouraged
him and wrote to the disciples to welcome
him;
and
when he had arrived, he helped greatly those who had
believed
through grace."
Acts 21:4 "And
after looking up the disciples, we stayed there seven days;
and
they kept telling Paul through the Spirit
not to set foot in
Jerusalem."
Acts 28:25 "And
when they did not agree with one another, they began
leaving
after Paul had spoken one parting word, 'The Holy
Spirit
rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to
your
fathers
. . . "
Romans 1:2 "which
He promised beforehand through His prophets
in the
holy
Scriptures . . . "
Romans 1:5 "(Jesus
Christ our Lord) through whom we have
received grace
and
apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all
the
Gentiles for His name's sake . . . "
Romans 1:8 "First,
I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you
all, because
your
faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world."
Romans 5:1, 2 "Therefore
having been justified by faith, we have peace with
God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we
have
obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which
we
stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God."
Romans 5:5 "and
hope does not disappoint; because the love of God has
been
poured out within our hearts through the
Holy Spirit who
was
given to us."
Romans 5:9 "Much
more then, having been justified by His blood, we shall
be
saved from the wrath of God through
Him."
Romans 5:11 "And
not only this, but we also exult in God through
our Lord
Jesus
Christ, through whom we have now received the
reconciliation."
Romans 5:17 "For
if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through
the
one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace
and
of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through
the
One,
Jesus Christ."
Romans 5:21 "that,
as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through
righteousness
to eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord."
Romans 7:4 "Therefore,
my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through
the body of Christ, that you might be joined to another, to Him who
was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit
for
God."
Romans 7:25 "Thanks
be to God through Jesus Christ our
Lord! So then, on
the
one had I myself with my mind am serving the Law of God,
but
on the other, with my flesh, the law of sin."
Romans 8:3 "For
what the Law could not do, weak as it was through
the
flesh,
God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh
and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh
.
. ."
Romans 8:11 "But
if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells
in
you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give
life
to your mortal bodies through His Spirit
who indwells you."
Romans 8:37 "But
in all things we overwhelmingly conquer through
Him
who
loved us . . . "
Romans 11:36 "For
from Him and through Him and to Him are all
things. To
Him
be glory forever. Amen."
Romans 12:1 "I
urge you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, to
present
your bodies a living sacrifice, acceptable
to God, which
is
your spiritual (or rational) service of worship."
Romans 12:3 "For
through the grace given to me I say to
every man among
you
not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think
.
. ."
Romans 15:18‑19
"For I will not presume
to speak of anything except what 1
Christ
has accomplished through me, resulting in
the obedience
of
the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and
wonders,
in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and
round
about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel
of
Christ."
I Cor. 15:57 "but
thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through
our
Lord
Jesus Christ."
II Cor. 1:5 "For
just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so
also
our comfort is abundant through
Christ."
II Cor.3:4‑5 "And
such confidence we have through Christ
toward God.
Not
that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as
coming
from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God."
Galatians 1:1 "Paul,
an apostle (not sent from men, nor through
the agency
of
man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the
Father who
raised
Him from the dead), . . . "
Gal. 3:14 "in
order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might
come
to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of
the
Spirit through faith."
Gal. 3:26 "For
you are all sons of God through faith in
Christ Jesus."
Gal. 4:7 "Therefore
you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son,
then
an heir through God."
Gal. 6:14 "But
may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been
crucified
to me, and I to the world."
Ephesians 2:1 "for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the
Father."
Eph. 3:16 "that
He might grant you, according to the riches of His glory,
to
be strengthened with power through His
Spirit in the inner
man."
Phil. 3:9 "and
may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my
own
derived from the Law, but that which is through
faith in
Christ,
the righteousness which comes from God on the basis
of
faith."
Col. 2:12 "having
been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were
also
raised up with Him through faith in the
working of God,
who
raised Him from the dead."
Hebrews 7:25 "Hence
also He is able to save forever those who draw near to
God
through Him, since He always lives to make
intercession
for
them."
Hebrews 12:28 "Therefore,
since we receive a kingdom which cannot be
shaken,
let us show gratitude, by which we may
offer to God
an
acceptable service with reverence and awe..."
Hebrews 13:15 "Through
Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of
praise
to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His
name."
I Peter 2:5 "you
also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house
for
a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable
to
God through Jesus Christ."
I John 4:9 "By
this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has
sent
His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live
through Him."
Rev. 12:11 "And
they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and
because of
the word of their testimony, and they did not love
their
life even unto death."
(All Bible references are from the New American
Standard Bible)
