Abide In Christ: Living Under His Lordship Daily | Devotion

“And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” —EPHESIANS 1:22

If our Christian lives are not centered on Jesus Christ, we relegate Him to being little more than the patron of our faith. All we’ll have left is religious form and ceremony. Jesus’ invitation is to “Come to Me”, and then to “Abide in Me”.

Abiding in Christ means we are part of His body, the church, through which God will work. Christ is the head of that body and we are its members. F.F. Bruce, a former Professor of Biblical Exegesis at the University of Manchester, was regarded for the first half of the 20th century as one of the most accurate and widely respected Bible expositors within the Christian church. He comments on “Christ is the head of his body, the church”, in this way:  

“Christ and His body are viewed together as a living unit. Christ is its head, exercising control and direction. Believers are His body, individually His limbs and organs under His control, obeying His direction, performing His work. And the life which animates the whole is Christ’s risen life, which He shares with His people.”.

The church of Jesus Christ is one church around the globe with a mandate to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth and to make disciples. If we’re going to serve Christ well, it isn’t our ideas, strategies or plans He wants, but our willingness and availability to carry out His plans. Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” It is under Christ’s authority and in His power and wisdom we operate. He is its life. The more time we spend in communion with Christ, the more we’ll hear His voice and can take direction.

As Christians, we know that under the Lordship of Jesus Christ we are under the Lordship of the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. Everything comes down to Him, both on earth and in the heavenly realms. Under Christ’s Lordship is to submit all that we are and all that we have to Him and to His work on earth. Our task is to become the vessels He will use in saving souls around the world. There is no higher calling and no greater fulfillment than to be under the Lordship of Christ, working with Him in accomplishing His purpose.

Dear Lord, I pray for a freshening and deepening of our relationship so that I will hear your voice and follow your direction. Thank You, Lord.

Am I a willing participant in the body of Christ?