Galatians 2:20 ESV
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Romans 14:9 AMPC
For Christ died and lived again for this very purpose, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
God’s provision for holy living is Christ indwelling. Our experience of holy living is Christ enthroned. Christ is alive in every believer, but that does not mean every believer is experiencing a victorious life. Many Christians are completely defeated. Why? Because the Christ in us does not force Himself over our wills to do anything for us. He waits for our choice to acknowledge His rightful position as Lord of our lives. Our position is that we are in Christ, and His position is that He is in us as Lord. If Christ doesn’t reign as Lord in us, then He will not reign in victory through us. If you want to fully experience living through you the life of the Lord, then He has to rein fully in you as the Lord of your life. Colossians 3:4 refers to Christ as “our life,” which doesn’t mean that Christ is the object of your devotion. It means that he is the origin of all your activity. The words “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” is not just a Christian slogan or something on a magnet attached to the door of our refrigerator. It is the most authentic description of the Christian life in all of Scripture. The Christ who is Lord is our life and therefore has the right to exercise total sovereignty over us. It is an amazing paradox that we only know absolute and total freedom in our Christian when we surrender all of our rights absolutely. There can be no room for murmuring because murmuring is simply complaining about the total demands of the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our daily lives. Our story no longer belongs to us. It is His alone, and He alone pens every line.