We Travail and Labor to Minister Christ to others until Christ is Formed in Them

In Gal. 4:19 Christ is presented as the One who is formed in the believers; Christ is formed in us, for He wants to be expressed through us, and we can cooperate with Him by travailing so that Christ may be formed in others also by ministering Christ to them. Amen!

In the book of Galatians we see that Christ is intimately related to us, for it pleases God the Father to reveal His Son in us, Christ lives in us, and Christ is being formed in us. Praise the Lord!

We need to know Christ not only in an objective way, knowing the truth about Christ and understanding the doctrines related to His work, but know Him in a subjective way.

The most basic truth of God’s economy is that Christ lives in us – it is no longer we who live but it is Christ who lives in us. By faith in Christ, we were joined to Him organically, and now He lives in us.

When we believed into the Lord Jesus, we were cut off from the old source and we were grafted into Christ; now we have one life and one living with Him.

When we live, He lives, and when He lives in us, we also live. We need to see this organic union with the Lord in spirit and live in this organic union today (1 Cor. 6:17).

In the organic union with Christ, we enjoy all that He is and has accomplished, and He has a way to have a reproduction, an extension, and an expression through us.

Sadly, however, many Christians today do not see this most basic truth of God’s economy – no longer I but Christ living in me.

Therefore, they do their best to improve themselves, to fulfill God’s commandments, and to read the Bible and attend Christian meetings in a regular way.

Even more, today with the vast knowledge and the prosperity gospel preachers, many have tuned their ears to hear a good gospel, a gospel that encourages them and tickles their ears, and they do not grow in life.

How much the Lord Jesus needs to become personal and intimate to all His believers! How much He needs to grow in all His believers so that He may be formed in them!

We need to pray for one another, especially pray for all believers in Christ, so that Christ may be formed in them and He would live in them in their daily living.

May we all realize that each one of us has been crucified with Christ and it is no longer we who live but Christ who lives in us.

Furthermore, may we see that the life which we now live in the flesh, we live in faith – the faith of the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself up for us. Hallelujah!

The Gospel is Christ-Centered – Christ is being Formed in us, the Believers in Christ!

In Gal. 4:19 Paul said that he travails again in birth until Christ is formed in the believers. Wow, what a word! He likens himself to a mother who gives birth to a child, suffering the birthpangs, until Christ is formed in the Galatian believers.

He labored in this way initially when he preached the gospel to them, for he brought them forth through the gospel. But now he was toiling again, travailing in birth again, until Christ is formed in them.

This shows us that Paul was not after merely improving the Galatian believers or asking them to change certain things that were not positive; rather, he was focused on Christ.

The gospel Paul preached was Christ-centered, and everything that Paul laboured toward was that Christ would be revealed in the believers, live in them, and be formed in them.

The focus of our gospel is Christ. We do not preach a doctrine or a religious concept; we preach Christ. We do not teach the law in letters nor do we merely teach the law of God; we preach and teach Christ.

In the book of Galatians we see that Christ was crucified (Gal. 3:1) to redeem us out of the curse of the law (v. 13) and rescue us out of the evil religious course of the world (1:4), and He was resurrected from the dead so that He might live in us (2:20) and be formed in us at our maturity (4:19). Hallelujah!

On our side, we have been baptized into Christ, being identified with Him, and we have put Him on, clothing ourselves with Christ (3:27). We believers in Christ are in Christ (v. 28) and have become Him (v. 29; 5:24).

Christ is so subjectively related to us that He has been revealed in us (1:16), He is now living in us (2:20) and He will be formed in us (4:19).

Even in relation to the law, the law given by God to His people was merely a child conductor to lead us to Christ (3:24), and in Christ we are all sons of God (v. 26).

Furthermore, it is in Christ that we inherit God’s promised blessing and enjoy the all-inclusive Spirit as the blessing of the gospel (3:14). Hallelujah!

It is in Christ that we all are one (v. 28). This Christ is rich toward us, intimately related to us, and He is the grace in our spirit (6:18) so that we may live Christ. Hallelujah!

When we believed into the Lord Jesus as a result of hearing the gospel, we received Him into our spirit as our life and our person; this caused us to be regenerated.

We were regenerated by receiving the word of God through the gospel. Now Christ needs to live in us, for we have been crucified with Christ and now Christ lives in us – we still live, but we live by faith and in faith, and Christ lives in us as we live Christ.

Galatians 4:19 reveals Christ being formed in us, the believers in Christ. Christ is now living in us, and He will be formed in us. This is not just something we hope for; this is our future, our destination, and this will be our reality.

He is not yet formed in us in full, but we are in the process, and many saints are labouring around us and on us, even travailing in birth, until Christ is formed in us.

There’s an inward, metabolic process by which the Lord is eventually formed in us so that He can be expressed. May we open to the Lord and allow Him to be revealed in us, live in us, and be formed in us.

May every day we may become more like Him, being transformed in His image so that Christ may be formed in us. May we focus on Christ, not on improving ourselves, and may we take Him as our life and our everything so that Christ may be formed in us.

Lord Jesus, thank You for coming into us as our life and person. Thank You for living in us today, for we have been crucified with You and we no longer live but Christ lives in us. Amen, Lord, we pray that You may be formed in us! Hallelujah, it is God’s intent and pleasure that His Christ be formed in me! We open to You, dear Lord. Keep us in the organic process through which Christ is formed in us little by little, day by day. We want to focus only on You, not on anything else apart from You. We give up our striving and struggling. We put aside all our efforts to improve ourselves. We simply give You the ground in our being for You to be formed in us. Hallelujah, we have been baptized into Christ, we have put on Christ, and He is in us and we are in Him! Amen, Lord, we want to enjoy You as grace with our spirit so that Christ may be formed in us! May others see You in us. Transform us inwardly until even outwardly we are conformed to Your glorious image!

Travailing so that Christ might be Formed in the Believers by Ministering Christ to them

In Gal. 4:19 Paul didn’t say that he prayed for Christ to be formed in the believers; rather, he said that he was travailing in birth until Christ was formed in them. Paul was travailing so that Christ might be formed in the believers for their full sonship (vv. 5, 19).

He was one with the Lord to not only labour but also travail, being in much toil and pain, until Christ is formed in the believers.

When young mothers deliver their child, there’s a process of travailing, suffering; there is a joyous outcome when the child is born, but the process is very painful. However, every mother looks to the joy set before her, a man being brought into the world.

Similarly, Paul was toiling, labouring, and even travailing in birth until Christ was formed in the believers. Paul was a pattern to us; we should emulate his burden and follow in his steps (1 Cor. 4:15; Philem. 1:10).

We need to be one with the Lord so that we may travail again in birth for our fellow believers to have Christ formed in them.

For example, we may see some new ones in the meeting, and we may notice that some saints may be quite dormant, not being active or growing in the Lord.

We need to not merely do a Christian work outwardly to recover the dormant saints or shepherd the new ones but even more, do an inward work, even a work of labouring and travailing in birth, until Christ is formed in the believers.

It is one thing to do a Christian work outwardly and minister Christ to others for them to have Christ formed in them. Our burden in caring for others should be that Christ may be formed in them.

This was Paul’s burden. He travailed in birth so that the Galatian believers may receive the Lord and be born of God. Now he realized that they have been deceived, so Christ has not yet grown in them nor was He formed in them.

So Paul laboured again, just like a mother labours in giving birth, for Christ to be formed in the Galatian believers. The way he laboured and travailed was by ministering Christ.

He ministered Christ to them. He didn’t just give them teachings or doctrines; he ministered Christ to them.

To minister Christ is not easy; ministering Christ often requires suffering and struggle.

It is easy to check on others’ situations and have a chat with them, and we may be quite burdened for them to grow in life and have Christ formed in them. But it is not that easy for us to minister Christ to them.

The goal of our service in the church and in the ministry must be to minister Christ into others for Christ to be formed in them.

We may preach the gospel, care for the new ones, and do practical things in the meetings of the church; our goal in our service should be to minister Christ to others.

It may be quite easy to do a Christian work to preach the gospel, help with practical matters, and even to open our homes for the meetings of the church, but it is not that easy for us to minister Christ to others.

If we would bear the burden with a sincere heart to minister Christ to others, we will discover what labor and suffering it requires.

We will be like a mother giving birth, being in pain and suffering until Christ is formed in others (Phil. 2:5-6).

What is our attitude toward one another? How do we feel toward the saints and toward the new ones? Do we have such a burden for them to have Christ formed in them? Or do we just want them to be in the meetings of the church and to read the Bible?

Even in the church life it is easy for us to fall into religion, that is, to fall into doing a Christian work but not ministering Christ to others.

We may be burdened for raising up of local churches and for strengthening the churches; however, are we burdened to minister Christ to the saints?

To preach the gospel and to raise up churches is one thing, but to bear the burden to minister Christ into the saints is another. Oh Lord!

Bearing the burden to minister Christ to the saints for Christ to be formed in them involves much prayer, patience, and love, and it comes with suffering and pain.

Thank the Lord that our brother Paul did not take the easy way of merely preaching the gospel, visiting the saints, establishing the churches, and doing practical things in the church life but he took the lead to minister Christ to the saints so that Christ may be formed in them (Col. 4:12).

May we enter into this burden and experience today. May we be those who are travailing in birth until Christ is formed in them by ministering Christ to them.

May we enjoy Christ not just for ourselves but also to gain an extra portion of Christ to minister to others according to their need. May we be willing to labour and struggle, even be in travail for others, so that Christ may be formed in them.

Lord Jesus, we want to enter into the burden and experience of travailing in birth until Christ is formed in the saints. May Christ be formed in us and may Christ be formed in the saints! Amen, Lord, we don’t want to merely carry out a Christian work as we preach the gospel, care for the new ones, strengthen the churches, and do many practical things in the church life. May the goal of our work in the church and our ministry be to minister Christ to others so that Christ may be formed in them. Oh Lord Jesus, save us from taking the easy way of just doing things outwardly; may we labor inwardly, being fully one with You, so that Christ may be formed in others! We give ourselves to You, Lord, and we take You as our patience, love, and endurance as we labor to minister Christ to others so that Christ may be formed in them. May all the saints enter into this burden and experience so that Christ may be formed in the saints! Amen, Lord, gain Your image in us and among us. May You be expressed through us in the church life!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ray Mulligan in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Galatians, msg. 22 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (2) (2024 December Training), week 19 (msg. 7), The One Who Is Formed in the Believers.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – Christ being formed in us, a portion from, The Crucified Christ, Chapter 2, by Witness Lee.
  – Christ Being Formed in Us, via, Living to Him.
  – Christ formed in us – the Triune God in us, a portion from, Concerning the Lord’s Recovery, Chapter 4, by Witness Lee.
  – Loving the Lord’s Appearing, via, CSOC UT Austin: Christian Students on Campus youtube channel.
  – What is the New Man? More via, Hearing of Faith.
  – Galatians (Program #23) – The Need for Christ To Be Formed, via, Bible study radio.
  – Is Christ being formed in you? More via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – What Does It Mean to Be Saved “Much More” in Romans 5:10? More via, Bibles for America blog.
  – The function of the law of life, a portion from, Life-Study of Hebrews, Chapter 69.
  – Transformed to the Expression of God, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – Life-study of Ephesians, Message 25: The Two Created into One New Man, via, LSM Youtube.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Oh, what a joy! Oh, what a rest! / Christ now is being formed in me. / His very nature and life divine / In my whole being inwrought shall be. / All that I am came to an end, / And all of Christ is all to me. (Hymns #499 stanza 2)
  – It is God’s intent and pleasure / That His Christ be formed in me; / Not the outward forms to follow, / But Christ growing inwardly. / It is God’s intent and pleasure / That His Christ be wrought in me; / Nothing outwardly performing, / But His Christ my all to be. (Hymns #538 stanza 3 and chorus)
  – By this Person being formed in me, / I’ll a member of His Body be, / No more acting individually, / But with the saints. / More and more our Person He must be; / That our natural personality / Be eliminated thoroughly / Till Christ is all. (Hymns #1180 stanza 2)