Until Christ is Formed in You

Gal 4:19
My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,

John 3:30
"He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Matt 16:24
Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

Is there a relationship between these scriptures?

We know Christ comes to live in us however the whole Christ takes up residence in our hearts when we believe in Him, not part of Christ. So, how can He be formed in us if He is already here?

The literal meaning of Christ being formed in us is:

“Until a mind and life in complete harmony with the mind and life of Christ shall be formed in you”.

How does our mind and life come into complete harmony with the mind and life of Christ? The recent blog entitlted, “Renewing the Mind” describes one way our minds become in harmony with the mind of Christ. When our minds are renewed they are in harmony with the mind of Christ. So, the renewing process is one way Christ is formed in us.

As we decrease, He increases. As we deny ourselves, He increases. When we yield to Him, He increases. When we submit our will for His, He increases and we decrease.

As we follow the leading of the Spirit, giving up our will for His, depending on His strength and grace, we are coming into harmony with the mind of Christ and His life is being expressed through us.

The spiritual reality is we have been born again, born of His Spirit and our spirit is now one with His Spirit. The Son of God lives in us through His Holy Spirit. As we decrease, He increases and we become more in harmony with this reality. People begin seeing more of Him and less of us until this becomes the normal occurrence in our lives. Not only was this Paul’s desire for the Galatians, it is God’s desire for our lives.