What’s the difference between following someone and actually being part of them? In this message, guest speaker Greg Stevens who leads Immanuel in Durban North and also a key leader in Catalyst Connect, the wider family of churches we’re connected to.
Greg walks through a subtle but massive shift the disciples went through: from walking alongside Jesus to, after the resurrection, being caught up in him. He works through what that actually changes about daily life: how you handle money, fear, conflict, generosity, the stuff you’re still carrying from before. Less about trying harder, more about where you’re actually standing.
Wherever this message finds you, we hope it draws you closer to God and deeper into life with Jesus.
The summary of this message has been drafted automatically from the transcript. Its accuracy may vary.
The Default Trap: Self-Absorption
Out of eight billion people on earth, our default human condition is to think obsessively about ourselves: our plans, our feelings, our reputations, our fears, and our ailments. From the garden of Eden, humanity opted for self-protection, self-actualization, and independence rather than trust.
Jesus stepped into this broken, self-absorbed world as the complete antithesis to fallen human nature. Anointed by the seven-fold Spirit described in Isaiah 11—wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord—His entire delight was in His Father.
He did not live to preserve Himself; He lived in radical, surrendered dependence:
“The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do…”
— John 5:19
He became the “New Adam,” redefining what it means to be human. Yet He did not live that life merely so we would admire Him from a distance. He died and rose again so that we would share in His very life.
Shifting Paradigms: “Next To” vs. “In”
For decades, many believers have operated under a distant paradigm, much like the song lyrics:
“You are God in heaven,
and here am I on earth,
so I’ll let my words be few.”
While we inhabit frail earthly bodies subject to the laws of decay, Scripture unveils an entirely different spiritual reality:
“It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus…”
— 1 Corinthians 1:30
Consider the disciples during Jesus’ earthly ministry. They walked alongside Him, watched Him raise Lazarus, and were sent out under His delegated authority. But prior to the cross and resurrection, they were next to Jesus—they were not yet in Him.
In John 14:1–3, Jesus makes a statement we often restrict to eternity:
“In my Father’s house are many rooms… I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
He was not merely speaking of a future mansion in heaven. He was speaking of the cross and resurrection:
- The Preparation: Going to the cross to shed His innocent blood, cleansing us completely of sin.
- The Return: Coming back to take us into Himself.
- The Union: “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” (John 14:20)
Following Jesus from the outside—trying to imitate Him in our own strength while standing next to Him—is an impossible strain. But the gospel announces that you have been placed directly into Christ.
Stepping Into Vastness
Before Christ, life is like living inside a cramped, fragile container—governed by limitations, trauma, human failure, and shame.
When you surrender to Jesus, you step out of that small container and into the vastness of who He is. In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:17
Notice where the new creation exists: in Christ. You do not drag your guilt, your condemnation, or your past trauma into Him, because inside of Christ, none of those things exist.
Buried and Raised with Him
Romans 6:3–4 reveals that God views our spiritual history through Jesus:
- When He died, our old self died with Him.
- When He was buried in the tomb, our old identity was buried with Him.
- When He was raised by the glory of the Father, we were raised to walk in brand-new life.
- As Ephesians 2:6 declares, God has already seated us with Him in the heavenly realms.
Righteousness is not a badge you put in your pocket while standing on your own two feet. You become the righteousness of God specifically in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Power for Daily Living
Living in union with the resurrected Christ is not an abstract theological concept; it provides real power for every day:
- Power to Deny Self:
When you are rooted in Him, you no longer have to fight for personal validation or obsess over your own needs. - Power to Witness:
You don’t have to panic about your own eloquence; in Him, the Holy Spirit provides the words when you step out in faith. - Power to Give Generously:
Looking at your retirement or bank balance from the “outside” breeds fear; knowing that God supplies all needs according to His riches in Christ frees your hands to be generous. - Power to Forgive and Drop Offense:
Absorbing the radical forgiveness granted to you in Christ gives you the capacity to release even the deepest wounds. - Power to Pray with Boldness:
You do not approach the Father as an outsider pleading on the doorstep; you pray from within the Beloved, seated in heavenly authority.
Stop trying to walk through life standing merely next to Jesus.
Step into the reality of His resurrection, rest in His complete work, and live from within Him.
Reflection Questions
- Are you relating to Jesus as someone standing next to Him trying your best, or as someone dwelling in Him?
- What past shame, failure, or fear are you still carrying that was actually buried in the tomb with Christ?
- How does realizing you pray from inside Christ change your confidence before God this week?
