A Human Vehicle of the Divine Life
Trusting Christ for life gives you the power to live a supernatural life, free from self-effort and the tyranny of a defeated enemy within.
Major Ian Thomas emphasizes that the call to a righteous life is not a burden of self-effort but a divine enablement through Christ. He explains that by trusting in Christ, believers can experience a supernatural life where God works through them, freeing them from self-distrust and the fear of others' opinions. This divine provision allows Christians to live victoriously, overcoming the struggles of their humanity while being empowered by the life of Christ within them. Ultimately, they become vessels of divine life, embodying true humanity restored through Christ's victory over death.
Text
"Faithful is he that calls you, who also will do it." (I Thessalonians 5:24).
The One who calls you to a life of righteousness is the One who by our consent lives that life of righteousness through you! The One who calls you to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, is the One who by your consent, goes into all the world and preaches the Gospel to every creature through you!
This is the divine genius that saves a man from the futility of self-effort. It relieves the Christian of the burden of tying to pull himself up by his own bootstraps! If it were not for this divine provision, the call to Christ would be a source of utter frustration, presenting the sorry spectacle of a sincere idealist, constantly thwarted by his own inadequacy.
If you will but trust Christ, not only for the death He died in order to redeem you, but also for the life that He lives and waits to live through you, the very next step you take will be a step taken in the very energy and power of God Himself. You will have begun to live a life which is essentially supernatural, yet still clothed with the common humanity of your physical body, and still worked out both in the big and the little things that inevitable make up the lot of a man who, though his heart may be with Christ in heaven, still has his two feet firmly planted on the earth.
You will have become totally dependent upon the life of Christ within you, and never before will you have been so independent, so emancipated from the pressure of your circumstances, so released at last from that self-distrust which has made you at one moment an arrogant, loud-mouth braggart, and the next moment the victim of your own self-pity and, either way, always in bondage to the fear of other men's opinions.
You will be free from the tyranny of a defeated enemy within. You will be more than conqueror, for even death itself is conquered by His life. Christ through death destroyed "him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14). This indeed is victory!
You will be restored to your true humanity to be the human vehicle of the divine life.
From: The Saving Life of Christ. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House. ©1961.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Divine Genius That Saves a Man
- A. Relieves the Christian of self-effort
- B. Provides the power to live a supernatural life
- II. Trusting Christ for Life
- A. Not just for redemption, but for living through us
- B. The next step taken will be in God's energy and power
- III. Total Dependence on Christ
- A. Emancipated from circumstances and self-distrust
- B. Free from the tyranny of a defeated enemy within
- IV. Victory Over Death
- A. Christ conquered death and the devil
- B. We are more than conquerors
Key Quotes
“The One who calls you to a life of righteousness is the One who by our consent lives that life of righteousness through you!” — Major Ian Thomas
“You will have begun to live a life which is essentially supernatural, yet still clothed with the common humanity of your physical body” — Major Ian Thomas
“You will be free from the tyranny of a defeated enemy within” — Major Ian Thomas
Application Points
- Trust Christ for life, not just for redemption, but for living through you.
- Become totally dependent on Christ to experience true freedom and victory.
- Recognize that you are a human vehicle of the divine life, and live accordingly.