Genuine Christianity is learning to live by an indwelling Christ. Consequently, the Christian life should be reframed as God’s life come to earth and displayed visibly through human beings. The Christian life is the outflow of “Christ in you,” the breaking forth of God’s uncreated, indwelling life – the radiating of God’s own energy in fallen, human vessels.
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not us.”
Seeing Christianity from this perspective changes everything.
Excerpted from Jesus Manifesto by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola © 2010 Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola (Thomas Nelson).
Originally published in Life Today with James Robison, September 2010.
Yesterday I listened to a pod cast entitled, “What is the Apostles Doctrine”. you said, in a nut shell, “…it was to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ Jesus…”
Thank you Frank for continuing to remind us that the answer to all questions is, JESUS. ; )
I love the way you and Len point to Christ in Jesus Manifesto. Thanks for posting this here.
Thanks for this, Frank. I find it so easy to read the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life and simply not see how radical, how convention-destroying his life was. And I’ll be trying to live out your statement that ‘the Christian life should be reframed as God’s life come to earth and displayed visibly through human beings’.
Thank you for the morning inspiration – the reminder “we have this treasure” in us – the treasure of the light and life of Christ, may we “fix our eyes” on that eternal treasure.
Awesome post. Awesome Lord!
What a Christ, indeed
Thanks Frank…
I read the JM last fall. Beautifully encouraging. Reading the JM also led me to find Len’s audio library called Napkin Scribbles which is a great collection of thoughts and observations.
Tom
“Genuine Christianity is learning to live by an indwelling Christ. Consequently, the Christian life should be reframed as God’s life come to earth and displayed visibly through human beings.”
correct, our Christian life should be ‘reframed’. we think too much on the ‘individual’ and too less on the corporate. we as a corporate are the ‘body’ of Christ; that being, we have the ability to heal, prophesy, speak words of knowledge, serve and do everything else that Jesus did while he walked upon this earth.
thank you for your post.
desiring a local expression closer to home.