But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17).
The world may assume Christianity to be a religion because many of the attributes of religion are present in Christianity, but that doesn’t make Christianity a religion. Christianity is Christ alive in a human vessel, and it’s our responsibility to help the world know this truth.
Religion, at its core, is man’s effort to try to please God. It’s about all the work people do to reach out to God. But Christianity begins with something entirely different—a relationship. Christianity is divinity manifested in every fibre of your being, every bone of your body, and every cell of your blood.
Christianity is not about trying to please God through your human efforts or good works; it’s about God living in you, walking in you, and expressing Himself through you. It is heaven alive and at work in and through you. When you understand this, you will realize that you no longer live by blood as ordinary humans do. In Christianity, we live by the Spirit.
Someone might say, “Pastor Chris, some historical leaders called Christianity a religion.” First, you must understand that revelation is progressive. In history, leaders like Charles Finney and others used the term “religion” to describe Christianity, but that was based on the understanding of their time. They didn’t have the same depth of linguistic scrutiny or criticism that required the study of words in a dimension as we do today.
That’s why the Bible instructs us: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Christianity is the pulsating life of the risen Christ in a human body! It is divinity alive in humanity. Christianity is the very walk of the living God in the quarters of a human person; the revelation of the spiritual in the physical.
Until you recognize this truth, you will never live the full Christian life. You’ll be living a poor copy of the real thing. Even that “copy” may seem beautiful, but imagine how much more glorious the real thing is. If the religious version of Christianity seems beautiful to you, just think about what will happen when you embrace and experience the fullness of what Christianity truly is—Christ alive in you. Hallelujah!
Prayer / Confession
Dear Father, I thank you for the revelation of Christianity as the life of the risen Christ in me. Christ in me makes me unsusceptible to failure, sickness or death. Your Word is alive in me, producing extraordinary results; and through me, many are brought into the knowledge of your truth, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Further study
1 John 5:11-12; Romans 8:10-11 ESV; Colossians 1:26-27
1-year bible reading plan
Luke 1:1-25; Deuteronomy 3-4
2-year bible reading plan
Matthew 23:1-12; Exodus 24
