Because Of Him
In the Marvel Superhero comic and movie series, Iron Man is a superhero created by scientist Tony Stark. It is a super high-tech metal and mechanical suit that the scientist gets in, enabling him to do extraordinary things. In the suit, he can fly, has superhuman strength, can shoot rockets and flares, and has a super high-tech onboard computer AI friend named Jarvis, giving him real-time information and fulfilling commands. Outside the suit, he is just Tony Stark, a scientist and multi-billionaire. He’d lose a fight fairly easily, But he becomes invincible in the suit. It makes for a good fiction storyline entertaining for young and old alike.
But there’s something in this storyline that, as believers, we should take note of. You see, without Christ, we are just whoever we are with whatever talents and abilities we have been blessed to possess, and some come out below average, some right at it, and others a little above it, and so on. But no matter where we land on the scales of human achievement, the glory is fleeting, and the ability to stay in that place is temporary.
You can choose to be remembered for your natural achievements in this life and enjoy the accolades for them, or you can set your goal for the accolades of heaven and eternity by determining you will put on Christ and stand in His accomplishments as opposed to your own.
1Corinthians 1:27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”
Unlike Ironman, Jesus, the supernatural Lord and Savior who reigns over all and has been given all authority in heaven and here on earth, steps into our human suit and performs miraculous things throughout our lives. Because of Christ, we become something that never existed on this earth until He came and made it possible. Now, we who believe have been made into something supernatural, a new species, a new creation equipped to house the all-powerful person of the Holy Spirit and to be a dwelling for Christ Himself so He might work through us to accomplish His purposes here on this earth.
We who were nothing ordinary human beings like everyone else at one point in time have now been brought near and made new by Jesus Christ and the work of His blood at the cross, and we are now something and someone extraordinary because of Him. So, it is not something we can boast about, as though we did something to attain it on our own. It is purely a gift, and all glorying belongs to Him.
I love how it says in the passage, Jesus became for us, wisdom from God-and righteousness and sanctification and redemption! Because of Him, I am holy! Because of Him, I am accepted! Because of Him, I am a new creation! Because of Him, I have the Holy Spirit living in me and filling me with His power. Because of Him, I can do all things! Because of Him, I already have everything pertaining to life and godliness! Because of Him, I can make a positive difference in the lives of others. Because of Him, I have peace, joy, love, and a sound mind.
It might appear that on the human scale of things, you are nothing, but when someone comes to Jesus and is born again, they become a new creation fitted for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit who empowers them to become who God says they are and to do all that God desires for them to do. Why? So that Jesus may receive glory for His great accomplishment at the cross, raising from the dead, and ascending on high triumphantly over all His enemies. It is all because of Him! Let Him make you into who He says He wants you to be so that all your boasting is in Him and because of Him.
