How do we recognize if our Christianity is the real deal? The Apostle Paul refers to the real deal as the outliving of the indwelling Christ (2 Corinthians 13:5). He refers to it as this ministry (2 Corinthians 4:1), the ministry of the new covenant (2 Corinthians 3:6), the ministry of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:8, 17-18) and the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). This ministry is shared by all those who have personally put their faith in the gospel of the glory of Christ and His perfect work of redemption (2 Corinthians 4:4, 6).

The ministry of Christs life in us is not stagnant! We are being changed by the Spirit of the Lord as a result of beholding Him in the mirror of His Word and having our faith exercised in the rough and tumble of life (our light afflictions; 2 Cor 3:18; 4:17-18). This process of transformation will not be complete until we receive new bodies resembling His glorified body. (1 Corinthians 15:51; 2 Corinthians 5:1-5; 1 John 3:2).

But this ministry also causes us to recognize that there are real enemies that war against our souls. There is an Adversary who blinds the minds of those who believe not (4:4). There is also the weakness of our human nature and bodies. We are born into these fragile jars of clay (2 Corinthians 4:7). We have a tendency to get caught up with the temporal and illusory. The default position of our old nature is to center on ourselves. The default position of the new nature is to focus on Christ and His promises-- to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Our purpose in this age and the age to come is to seek to please Him in all that we do (2 Corinthians 5:9). Is it your ambition to live that way?