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Dear Friend,

We have learned many wonderful things about the Lord Jesus in this course. We have learned that He is the promised Saviour, He is the mighty God, He is the great Teacher, He is the Lamb of God, He is the risen Lord, He is Lord of all, He is our great Intercessor, and He is our Righteousness.

Jesus Christ is all of these and much more. He is our power, our holiness, our victory, our joy, our strength, our patience, and much, much more. And God has given this wonderful Christ to us to be everything we need. The Bible says,

"Because you are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts…" Galatians 4:6

What does this mean? It means that Christ is actually living in us by His Spirit. The Bible says,

"Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27

Does Christ live in every believer? Yes, He does! The Bible says,

"…know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you…?" 2 Corinthians 13:5

"…if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." Romans 8:9

In this lesson we are going to learn more about the indwelling Christ and who He really is.

We Were Created to Be Indwelled by God

The Bible says that man was created "in the image of God." We were not only created in the image of God, but we were made in such a way that God Himself could live in us.

A sweater is a piece of clothing made in the form or image of a man. It is not only made in the image of a man, but it is made to be filled with a living person.

We, too, were made to be filled with a living person—the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself!

Who is Christ?

Christ lives in the heart of every believer, but not every believer understands who Christ really is.

The Gospel of John emphasizes two great truths:

It will help us to know who Christ is if we learn more about one of His names. He is the great "I AM."

The name "I AM" is a name which belongs exclusively to God. God Himself said that this was His name. To understand the meaning of this name, we must go back to the time when the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt.

God chose a man named Moses to lead His people out of Egypt and into the land which God had promised them.

Moses was in the wilderness tending sheep when God appeared to him in a burning bush. The bush burned with fire, but it did not burn up.

God spoke to Moses from the burning bush and told him to go back to Egypt and lead the children of Israel out of slavery and bondage.

Moses was afraid that the people would not believe that God had sent him. He said, "When I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me unto you'; and they shall say unto me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say unto them?"

God told Moses that His name was "I AM." God said,

"Thus shall you say unto the children of Israel, I AM has sent me unto you." (Exodus 3:13-14)

When God said that His name was "I AM," He meant that He is the self-existent One, the God who has always existed and always will exist.

But there is another meaning to the name "I AM." It is really an unfinished sentence like this: "I AM _________." It was as though God was saying to Moses, "Moses, I am the Almighty God. I am the One who will meet all your needs. You will need courage to do this great work that I have called you to do; I AM your courage. You will need wisdom; I AM your wisdom. You will need strength; I AM your strength. You will need patience; I AM your patience. I AM whatever you need."

Moses believed God and he depended on God to be all that he needed. What was the result? The Bible tells us that God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt "with a mighty hand."

Christ is the Great "I AM"

The Jews understood fully that the name "I AM" belonged only to God. No prophet or king, however great he might be, would dare to use this name for himself. It is a name which belongs exclusively to God; yet Jesus took this name for Himself. John records Jesus' astounding claim that He is the great "I AM." Here are our Lord's own words,

"…if you believe not that I AM…you shall die in your sins."

" When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall you know that I AM…Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM." (John 8:24, 28, 58)

In taking to Himself the name "I AM," the Lord Jesus was declaring these two great truths:

Jesus Christ is Indeed God

When Jesus took the name "I AM" for Himself, He was saying in unmistakable words that He was God. The Jews who did not believe in Him hated Him for this and they tried to kill Him. When Jesus asked them why they wanted to kill Him, they said, "Because you, being a man, make yourself to be God."

If Jesus were not really God, it would have been a terrible thing for Him to claim to be God. But He was, and is, and always will be God. Jesus said,

"I and My Father are one." John 10:30

"He who has seen Me has seen the Father." John 14:9

Jesus is the One Who Meets All Our Needs

If we were asked to write down a list of qualities that we need to live the Christian life, we would probably list such things as these:

God certainly knows that we have these needs. He even knows of needs that we are not aware of. How does God meet all our needs? He meets all our needs by giving us Christ.

The Lord Jesus is the great "I AM." He is the One who is every thing we need. The Lord Jesus said,

• Christ is our door

  

Jesus said, "I AM the door." He does not just point us to the door of salvation; He IS the door. He is not just one of the doors; He is THE door—the only door by which we can enter Heaven.

• Christ is our way

Jesus said, "I AM the way." He does not simply show us the way to God; He Himself IS the way to God, the only way. If you have been saved, you have had the experience of knowing Christ as the way to God.

• Christ is our truth

Jesus said, "I AM the truth." He does not simply teach us the truth; He Himself IS the truth. The Bible says,

"In whom [Christ] are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians 2:3

• Christ is our life

The Lord Jesus said, "I AM the life." Christ does not give us eternal life apart from Himself. He Himself IS the life. If we have Christ, we have eternal life; if we do not have Him, we do not have eternal life. The Bible says,

"He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son of God has not life." 1 John 5:12

• Christ is our light

Jesus said, "I AM the light of the world." Without Christ as our light we cannot "see" and understand spiritual truth. Before we were saved, the Bible was all a great mystery to us. But once Christ came to live in us, we could see and understand spiritual truth.

• Christ is our living bread

Jesus said, "I AM the living bread." Bread represents that which satisfies us and sustains us. Christ is our "living bread" — the One who satisfies and sustains us.

• Christ is our good shepherd

  

Jesus said, "I AM the good shepherd." We are the sheep and He is our shepherd. Just as the shepherd protects and cares for his sheep, so the Lord protects and cares for us.

• Christ is our true vine

Jesus said, "I AM the vine, you are the branches." This teaches us that our union with Christ is a living union. Just as the living vine supplies all that the branches need, so the living Christ supplies all that we need.

• Christ is our resurrection

Jesus said, "I AM the resurrection." Jesus went into death and came out of it. He said, "I am He that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forever more." One day we may have to enter into death, but because Christ is in us, we shall be raised from the dead. We will have a new body like Christ's glorious resurrection body. Why? Because Christ is our "resurrection."

• Christ is our Alpha and Omega

Jesus said, "I AM Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending" (Revelation 1:8). The words "Alpha" and "Omega" are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Jesus is saying, "I am the first and the last—the One who begins your salvation and the One who completes it."

• Christ is our "ALL IN ALL"

Christ Himself is the answer to all our needs. He is our righteousness, our joy, our peace, our love, our patience, our wisdom, our holiness, our victory—everything we need. He is our "all in all." Christ lives in the heart of every believer and He is all we need. The Bible says,

"…Christ is all, and in all." Colossians 3:11

Do you need wisdom? Christ is your wisdom! Say to Him, "Lord Jesus, You are my wisdom. I am trusting You to be my wisdom."

Do you need love? Christ is your love. Say to Him, "Lord Jesus, I am trusting You to be my love."

Do you need victory over your sins? Christ is your victory. Say to Him, "Lord Jesus, You are my victory! I am trusting You to be my victory."

God wants us to see that He has met all our needs by giving us His Son. We do not need to go outside of Him for anything. Christ is the great "I AM." God wants Him to be everything to us. The Bible says,

"For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And you are complete in Him…" Colossians 2:9-10

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