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From Exhaustion to Victory
Certainly this body of truth is not without substantial representation. Nevertheless it is true that less
than ten percent of Christians have heard the precious secret that changed Hudson Taylor's life from
exhaustion to victory. Many know about the doctrine of the exchanged life, but knowledge is not the
same thing as experience. Profession and possession are quite different things. Many people also know
the facts about Jesus the Savior, but this is not the same as having received Christ and finding our very
life in Him. So it is with these precious truths. Let us now attempt to describe and define the exchanged
life and to discover its source in the Scripture.
The Exchanged Life Is:
Living In the IN Group
There are many verses that tell us Christ lives IN us through His Holy Spirit, but did you know there
are more verses that proclaim we are IN Christ? This exchange of life -- my life in Him, His life in me--
is the foundation of the doctrine of our unity with Christ and is also the basis of the truths called the
exchanged life. This spiritual union occurred at the point of our new birth. At that point in time we
spiritually died to the life of Adam (Romans 6:6) and were resurrected into a brand new life in Christ.
We see half of this truth presented in Colossians in this way, "For you died, and your life is hidden
with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:3) The second half of the exchange is seen in Romans, "But you are
not IN the flesh but IN the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells IN you. Now if anyone does not have
the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." (Romans 8:9) And so we learn that we have received an exchange of
life.
Christ is in us and we are in Him. Christ came into our lives when we received the Holy Spirit at
rebirth. We were placed into Christ when we died. But, you may say, when did we die? We died when
Christ died on the Cross nearly 2,000 years ago. This is a spiritual fact even if we cannot easily
understand it because we live in time and space. God is not limited to time and space so His thoughts are
not our thoughts and our thoughts are not His thoughts (Isaiah 55:8). Spiritual things are eternal and are,
therefore, not limited to time and space. Because we cannot grasp a truth with our minds we tend to not
believe what the Scripture says.
Can a believer really experience being in Christ or Christ being in them?
Perhaps the most difficult part of this truth, Christ in us and us in Christ, has to do with experience.
Can a believer really experience being in Christ or Christ being in them? If being in Christ and Christ in
me isn't to be experienced, then what is the importance of trying to understand this truth? Under-standing
and implementing this truth is the basis of the victorious Christian life. The truth is that God placed us in
Christ and it is God that has placed Christ in us. God does things for a reason. For example; it is the life
of Christ within that gives the believer the strength and resources to overcome. It is being in Christ that
gives the believer the protection and authority needed to defeat the evil one. These are just a few of the
results of being in Christ. Christ's life is a life to be experienced. Christ's life was given to the believer for
that purpose.
Oswald Chambers in My Utmost For His Highest explained this new life this way "When I pray -
"Lord, show me what sanctification means for me," He will show me. It means being made one with
Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus Christ puts into me: it is Himself in me (I Corinthians 1:30).
What are most individuals seeking today? Most individuals are not seeking new teaching or a new
leader, but a new life. They seek a life that works. This is why it is so crucial to know that Christ's very
life is within. Once we discover Christ's life within we begin to search for it -- to see His life manifest in
our everyday life. One of the most important jobs of a people helper is to help individuals see Christ
Certainly this body of truth is not without substantial representation. Nevertheless it is true that less
than ten percent of Christians have heard the precious secret that changed Hudson Taylor's life from
exhaustion to victory. Many know about the doctrine of the exchanged life, but knowledge is not the
same thing as experience. Profession and possession are quite different things. Many people also know
the facts about Jesus the Savior, but this is not the same as having received Christ and finding our very
life in Him. So it is with these precious truths. Let us now attempt to describe and define the exchanged
life and to discover its source in the Scripture.
The Exchanged Life Is:
Living In the IN Group
There are many verses that tell us Christ lives IN us through His Holy Spirit, but did you know there
are more verses that proclaim we are IN Christ? This exchange of life -- my life in Him, His life in me--
is the foundation of the doctrine of our unity with Christ and is also the basis of the truths called the
exchanged life. This spiritual union occurred at the point of our new birth. At that point in time we
spiritually died to the life of Adam (Romans 6:6) and were resurrected into a brand new life in Christ.
We see half of this truth presented in Colossians in this way, "For you died, and your life is hidden
with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:3) The second half of the exchange is seen in Romans, "But you are
not IN the flesh but IN the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells IN you. Now if anyone does not have
the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." (Romans 8:9) And so we learn that we have received an exchange of
life.
Christ is in us and we are in Him. Christ came into our lives when we received the Holy Spirit at
rebirth. We were placed into Christ when we died. But, you may say, when did we die? We died when
Christ died on the Cross nearly 2,000 years ago. This is a spiritual fact even if we cannot easily
understand it because we live in time and space. God is not limited to time and space so His thoughts are
not our thoughts and our thoughts are not His thoughts (Isaiah 55:8). Spiritual things are eternal and are,
therefore, not limited to time and space. Because we cannot grasp a truth with our minds we tend to not
believe what the Scripture says.
Can a believer really experience being in Christ or Christ being in them?
Perhaps the most difficult part of this truth, Christ in us and us in Christ, has to do with experience.
Can a believer really experience being in Christ or Christ being in them? If being in Christ and Christ in
me isn't to be experienced, then what is the importance of trying to understand this truth? Under-standing
and implementing this truth is the basis of the victorious Christian life. The truth is that God placed us in
Christ and it is God that has placed Christ in us. God does things for a reason. For example; it is the life
of Christ within that gives the believer the strength and resources to overcome. It is being in Christ that
gives the believer the protection and authority needed to defeat the evil one. These are just a few of the
results of being in Christ. Christ's life is a life to be experienced. Christ's life was given to the believer for
that purpose.
Oswald Chambers in My Utmost For His Highest explained this new life this way "When I pray -
"Lord, show me what sanctification means for me," He will show me. It means being made one with
Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus Christ puts into me: it is Himself in me (I Corinthians 1:30).
What are most individuals seeking today? Most individuals are not seeking new teaching or a new
leader, but a new life. They seek a life that works. This is why it is so crucial to know that Christ's very
life is within. Once we discover Christ's life within we begin to search for it -- to see His life manifest in
our everyday life. One of the most important jobs of a people helper is to help individuals see Christ
