Christ as the Manifestation of the Christian Life

Paul’s words in Colossians 3:1-4 cut through every religious pretense and self-improvement scheme:

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”

This is not a call to strive for a distant ideal. It is a declaration of what is already true for those in Christ. The Christian life is not the product of your effort, discipline, or religious zeal. It is Christ Himself—your life—manifested in you as you rest in what He has accomplished.

The Subtle Deception of Self-Driven Godliness

The desire to be “Christlike” or “godly” is easily exploited. The enemy’s most effective deception is to redirect your gaze from Christ to yourself, enticing you to chase after what is already yours in Him. This is the same ancient lie that seduced Adam and Eve. They were created in God’s image, already bearing His likeness, yet Satan convinced them to seek godlikeness through their own initiative—by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The result was not wisdom or godliness, but loss and separation.

So it is today. Teachers parade worldly philosophies and religious ordinances—“do not handle, do not touch”—as if these could produce godliness. They appeal to your conscience, stirring up a hunger to be more spiritual, more virtuous, more like Christ. But this striving is a trap. It is nothing but “vain deceit” (Col 2), a counterfeit path that leads only to futility and bondage. Outward conformity may impress men, but it leaves the inner man untouched by the life of Christ.

Let this be clear:

• Self-effort and striving in the flesh are not noble—they are the very problem.
• Legalism and worldly wisdom cannot produce the life of Christ.
• Superficial Christian ethics may polish your reputation, but they leave you empty and self-indulgent.

God’s Solution: The True Circumcision

God does not patch up your old nature; He deals it a fatal blow. This is the “circumcision of Christ” (Col 2)—not a physical act, but the putting off of your religious strength and natural ability. Jacob, the ultimate example, spent his life wrestling for a blessing that was already his by promise. He could not cease striving until God Himself weakened him. Only then, crippled in his own strength, did Jacob finally rest. Only then did he receive the name “Israel.”

This is what God does for every believer He loves. He exposes the futility of your efforts, wears down your self-confidence, and brings you to the end of yourself. When you are finally stripped of hope in your own righteousness, you are freed from the root that makes you susceptible to every false teaching and every call to self-improvement.

This is not loss, but gain.
When God deals a fatal blow to your natural man, you are delivered from the endless cycle of striving and disappointment. You are brought into rest—resting in the knowledge that you are already complete in Christ. You no longer need to lay hold of what God has already given you. This is the fruit of true circumcision: the end of self and the beginning of Christ as your life.

What Is Lost If You Accept the Error

If you embrace the teaching that godliness is achieved by your effort, you forfeit the very foundation of your justification, your inheritance, and your sonship. You return to the old system of works, nullifying the finished work of Christ. You trade the riches of your heavenly position for the poverty of earthly striving. The result is inevitable: outward respectability masking inward emptiness, bondage to performance, and a life devoid of Christ’s manifestation.

This is not a secondary issue. To collapse the distinction between what Christ has accomplished and what you must do is to undermine the gospel itself. You cannot have both: either Christ is your life, or you are left with nothing but your own flesh.

The Hidden Life and Its Manifestation

Paul insists: “You are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Your true life is not visible on the surface. It is not measured by your performance, your reputation, or your ability to meet religious expectations. It is hidden—secure, untouchable, and entirely bound up with Christ in the heavens.

You do not need to dress up your old nature, perfect it, or parade it before men. The old man is crucified, buried, and put off. Your treasure is in an earthen vessel, and the vessel is broken. But you have the blood of Jesus, His forgiveness, and—most importantly—you have His life.

Set your affection on things above. Fix your gaze on Christ, seated at the right hand of God. All that is true of Him is now true of you. Even if your outward life appears unimpressive, even if you are painfully aware of your failures, you can rest in the certainty that your life is Christ, and it is hidden with Him.

Christ Manifested—The Only True Godliness

What, then, is godliness? It is not a set of ethical achievements or a polished reputation. It is a Person—Christ—manifested in you. Paul’s testimony is unambiguous:

“For to me to live is Christ…” (Phil 1:21)
“I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me…” (Gal 2:20)

Anything less is not the Christian life. You may master every principle of Christian living, impress the church, and be elevated for your outward order and discipline. Yet, if Christ is not manifested in you, it is all an ethical shell—an outwardly clean cup with an inward emptiness.

True godliness is Christ Himself, made visible in your mortal body—not by your striving, but by faith and thanksgiving. As you rest in your completeness in Him, as you repudiate your own righteousness, Christ is manifested. The result is unmistakable: peace, joy, love for the brethren, and the assurance that when He appears, you will appear with Him in glory.

Love for the Brethren—Defined by Grace

This love is not a sentimental feeling or a product of personality. It is the recognition of Christ in others—those who testify to His blood as their only sufficiency. To love the brethren is to honor the testimony of grace, not to demand moral perfection. You do not measure others by their outward performance, but by their faith in Christ. This is the love that fulfills the law, against which there is no accusation.

The Only Path to Freedom

You cannot free yourself from the pull of false teaching or the demands of religious performance. Only God can break your strength and bring you to rest. When He does, you will rejoice—not in your ability, but in Christ as your life. You will no longer be drawn to the empty promises of self-driven godliness. You will know the freedom of a conscience cleansed by His blood, a heart full of thanksgiving, and a life hidden with Christ in God.

This is the Christian life: not you striving to be like Christ, but Christ Himself manifested in you. Anything less is bondage. Anything more is impossible. Christ is your life—now and forever. Rest in Him.