God chose to make known how great . . . are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
-Colossians 1:27 (NRSV)
WE talk about becoming Christian with phrases like "accepting Christ," "inviting Christ into our lives," "being born again by allowing Christ to be born in us." Whatever words we use, the experience is that as we confess and repent of our sin, we are forgiven. We are accepted by God and enter into a new relationship, reconciled to God, who lives in us by the power of the Holy Spirit as the indwelling Christ.
At Pentecost, the witness of the power of the Holy Spirit became vivid to the followers of Jesus. Pentecost confirmed that Christ was alive and could be a continuing reality in their lives. For us as for them, there is no presence of the risen Christ to us or in us except through the power of the Spirit. And the only convincing proof that the Spirit lives in us are the signs called "fruit of the spirit" in Galatians 5:22: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Through prayer, meditation, and living with the words of the Bible, we cultivate a daily, deepening awareness of the indwelling Christ. We commit ourselves to seek deliberately to show his presence by our actions. This is what it means to be Spirit-filled and Spirit-expressive people.
