If the human race really grasped the benefits of Christ everything around us would immediately change. We have had many people, some no doubt wiser than myself, try to explain the grandeur and majesty of these benefits. There have been hundreds, perhaps thousands, of pages written by some of our most ardent Christian scholars to plummet the depths of this most profound mystery. I dare say, over the centuries, there have only been very few in each age that has truly understood the great mysteries and benefits of Christ. These are bright lights shining in the darkness. These are the ones who have touched the very essence of Christianity through the indwelling Holy Spirit. These are the ones who have sat long at the Savior’s feet waiting for Him to open their minds to His abiding presence. They have waited patiently to understand the glorious benefits of being in Christ, to experience the great joy, and peace that truly defies understanding. As we fast approach the end it’s essential that we fully grasp the benefits of Christ. Let me encourage you to fully grasp the benefits of Christ and not settle for what can be seen on YouTube or social media. Please don’t settle for what the lukewarm church is offering.

As we embark on this journey together, we must jettison all the worry, all the fear, and all the busyness that has kept us so occupied. We must cast out all the vain imaginations, and thoughts that can enslave us to the powers of darkness. We must clear our minds of every idle thought. We must block out every little noise and distraction. We must prepare ourselves for the Master’s use. This is a very important step in a world that has gone mad, throwing information at us at the speed of light, as we are continuously being dragged into deeper bondage of exhaustion going from one thing to another. Stop! Clear your mind and your insidious schedule. Prepare yourself to meet the Lord who wishes to walk with you and talk with you along life’s narrow way. This cannot just be a chance encounter or only a one-time encounter. This wants to be a lifelong encounter, a lifelong experience of walking with Christ, a true Friend. ¹ Only after we have walked and talked with Christ will we truly understand the benefits of Christ. The Bible, perhaps for the first time in your life will come alive as if the words are flying off the page into your tormented souls.

Now, let’s back up a minute. If you have not stepped out in faith believing the Gospel message, then you have not yet experienced the power of salvation. ² So, let’s assume for a moment that this great power has not reached your heart and that you are still dead in your trespasses. ³ If that’s the case, then all that we have spoken about thus far makes little sense. There is great power in the Gospel that opens the window to a brand-new life in Christ. Before Christ, you were spiritually dead being tossed about by every wind of doctrine needing the world’s help to solve your mounting problems.⁴ God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to teach us about His love and literally take our place on the Cross to pay the penalty for our trespasses. These are the same trespasses that separated us from God causing us to die spiritually. When we believe that Christ died for us on the Cross and the third day was raised from the dead to give us a new life, then it opened the door to salvation. When we pick up our cross through faith, die to self, and follow Christ in His resurrection, we will be a new creation in Christ.⁵Although this is a beautiful first step, many never go any further to experience the true benefits of Christ. So, let’s press on and look closely at the true benefits of Christ.

I have already mentioned that Jesus Christ wants to be our lifelong friend. He wants to be a very close friend, every moment of every day even while you are working, eating, and socializing with others. If you close out Christ during these times, then you will have missed the true benefits of Christ. Jesus is with you every moment, or He is not with you at all. Pause, and think about that for a moment before we proceed. The Bible says that we are in Christ.⁶ It also says that Christ and the Father are in us.⁷ Furthermore, we also have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us as the seal of our salvation, the Teacher, and the dispenser of Spiritual gifts. ⁸ Wow! We can never speak about loneliness again. Are you beginning to see the benefits of Christ? God will forgive us of all our sins, make us alive in Christ as a new creation, be with us every moment of every day, and teach us how to experience the glories of our new life in Christ.⁹ As we explore the benefits of Christ, we will experience heavenly bliss on earth as it is in heaven. This is exactly what God wants for all of His children who are called out of darkness and into a marvelous light.¹⁰ To experience anything less, like the lukewarm church, must break the Father’s heart.

Our Father in heaven wants us to experience every Spiritual blessing.¹¹ Of course, our greatest benefit is salvation from the powers of darkness and eternal damnation. We have been made alive in Christ Jesus to hear our Savior’s voice and to feel His abiding presence even in the midst of the chaos.¹² We have been made alive to be bright lights in a very dark world.¹³ Even the horror of persecution cannot separate us from God’s love that flows powerfully through every fiber of our being, bringing a peace that defies understanding.¹⁴ God, the Father does not relish our trials and tribulations but rejoices in them to strengthen His beloved children to fill up the sufferings of Christ.¹⁵ As we are strengthened in Christ, the barnacles of the old sin nature fall off, and we learn to trust more in His loving providence to work all things together for good.¹⁶ Step by step, we no longer see through a darkened glass but can clearly see the Spiritual path before us. Oh, what joy it is to see, really see for the first time, that God’s ways are so much higher than our ways.¹⁷ All the important things of the fallen world seem like foolishness to the way that’s now been opened to us.

Oh, what a glorious way it is, to experience every Spiritual blessing from the hand of Christ. Oh, what absolute joy it is to experience the brief times of heavenly bliss on earth as it will continually be in heaven. The Spiritual blessings now can be happily realized in those little unseen miracles where you know with all assurance that God was there working everything out for the best. Have you ever seen the impossible suddenly become possible? It was nothing that you necessarily prayed about or even expected, it just happened. This is what I have always referred to as God’s little miracles. The longer we walk with God trusting in His loving providence the easier it becomes to recognize those many little miracles in the believer’s life. After we reach perfection in the heavenly places, we will see every miracle as it happens. Our participation in the miracle will radically change in that our heavenly desire and the miracle will become as one. Wishful thinking will be a misnomer because our righteous thinking will become a spiritual reality in heavenly places. Every step of the way we will rejoice that Christ is working through us causing all things to work together according to His will, witnessing little miracles, and touching others for Christ. Although there are many benefits in Christ, there is none greater than we will never walk alone.

Please scroll down for Footnotes (20 Scripture references).