By Dr. Brian Bailey
“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” - Colossians 1:27
One aspect of the glory of God in the Last Days will be the very presence of Christ manifested in His Church. When writing to the Thessalonian Church, the Apostle Paul said that Christ would come to be admired in His saints, for the beauty of Jesus will be manifested in those glorified saints (2 Thessalonians 1:10).
In Colossians 1:27, Paul states, “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” This is not the salvation experience, but something far greater.
This experience of ‘Christ in us’ is expanded upon in the Book of Ephesians, which is regarded as the “Queen of the Epistles,” containing great spiritual depth. Paul is not speaking to those who are immature or little children, but he is writing to the mature saints:
“That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen” (Ephesians 3:16-21).
The Word of God is written with mathematical exactitude. Thus Paul, who was anointed by the Holy Spirit, was exact when he gave the divine order in Ephesians 3.
First, he speaks of being strengthened with might by the Holy Spirit in our inner man, so that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith. Now Paul is not referring to the salvation experience here. The salvation experience refers to being born again, when Christ comes into our hearts. Salvation is then followed by water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Ghost. But here, the order is reversed. Paul is saying that he wants them first to be strengthened with might by the Holy Spirit so that Christ may dwell in their hearts by faith. In other words, there is a greater manifestation, indwelling, and revelation of Christ to us than what we had received at conversion.
Christ would come to be admired in His saints, for the beauty of Jesus will be manifested in those glorified saints.
Many years ago, while in California, I was seated on the platform at a meeting while someone was preaching. Then I saw the Lord walking down one of the aisles and up the steps and across the platform. He walked right into me, and He was in complete control of me. It was an amazing experience. I looked at my clothes, and they were His white garments. I could see the slit in His hands. I looked at people and found that I looked at them through His eyes.
The Lord wanted to hear what the preacher was saying about Him, so He leaned forward; and as He did, I leaned forward too. He put His arm out, cupping His ear to hear more clearly, and I did the same. As I listened to the preacher, I felt the warmth of His heart as the preacher eulogised Christ.
In just a few minutes, I had a revelation of what Paul was saying — that there is a greater manifestation of “Christ in us” than what we have at conversion. This is what is going to happen in the Last Days — “Christ in us, the hope of glory.”
Then Paul continues in the letter to the Ephesian church: “being rooted and grounded in love…” This is something that God wants to work out in our lives so that we “may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:18-19).
This is what the Apostle Paul is putting before us. It is a real experience of Christ being in us. We must not think that these things are unattainable, because He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). Again, this is a manifestation of the glory of God.
All Scripture quotations in this article are taken from the King James Version Bible.
This article is an excerpt from chapter four of Dr. Brian Bailey’s book, The Glory. It has been printed with covering permission from the late Dr. Brian Bailey.
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