This is what some may call the “proper Christian experience,” but before Paul could say, “For to me, to live is Christ,” Christ had to live in that man! While Paul states this here, he says elsewhere, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”

What a wonderful thing for him to say, “Christ lives in me”! Is Christ just? Christ lived in Paul. Is Christ righteous? Christ lived in him. Is Christ gracious? Christ lived in him. Is Christ compassionate? Christ lived in him. Is Christ merciful? Christ lived in him. He is not righteous at the expense of grace. He is not gracious at the expense of truth. Christ lived in him. That was the impression produced by the power of the Spirit of God in him, and therefore the expression was “For to me, to live is Christ.” Oh, what a Christian experience: willing to live down here in his present circumstances to bring glory and honor to Christ.

The great thing for us is to seek to live Christ, to walk humbly and in great fear. But the greatest obstacle of all is ourselves. The worst enemy is within, and therefore what we want is simply to look to Christ that He might command the vision of our souls, that He might be the attractive object for us, and that He might govern and command us as we are passing through here. Our time is short. We are here for a little time to live for Him. That is our purpose for being here. By and by, when we have been in heaven ten thousand years, we shall still go on forever to sing His praise. The great thing is to walk in His fear now, simply, quietly, and calmly: to seek grace at His hands, to walk in His steps, to pass through the world with the smile of God, with the commendation of God. For the Christian experience will be the experience produced in a Christian by the Spirit of Christ.