Christ is within you. Christ is not sitting on a golden throne next to his Heavenly Father in some distant heaven where he rules over the world. This traditional language of Christian theology is true in a spiritual sense but not literally. Heaven is not in the sky or outer space. The ancient geography of the heavens describes the inner landscape of the soul.
Christ is within. That idea is regularly voiced in popular Christianity, especially the evangelical variety. Evangelicals talk about inviting Christ into our hearts, and it is assumed that Christ accepts the invitation. We find this idea of an inner Christ confirmed in the New Testament. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit points to the same reality. It is commonly understood by Christians that the Spirit of God dwells within us.
It is a well-established doctrine of Christianity that God – as Christ or the Holy Spirit or both – dwells within us. So I am not proposing something foreign to Christianity when I refer to the Christ Within. But my awareness of Christ within is certainly very different than what I hear in popular Christianity.
The Christ I hear commonly preached sounds like an imaginary Friend. That would fit right into the traditional theistic conception of God, who is likewise an imaginary character. Freud correctly observed that the traditional theistic deity is an illusory Father figure projected unto the backdrop of the universe. We create this God in our own image to fulfill our need for a Divine Parent, who will protect us, tell us what to do and love us.
That pop God is make-believe. Nothing more than an oversized mascot for our manmade religion. That type of Christ is nothing more than a glorified BFF whom we invite into your hearts for a sleepover. The Christ I know is not anyone’s buddy. That is a theological fabrication that has nothing to do with Reality.
These words - like Christ and the Holy Spirit and God and a thousand others - are pointers that direct us to the inner Reality of our lives that is very real, which more real than we are. The Christ Within is our Innermost Reality.
Buddhists talk about the Buddha Nature. We Christians could similarly talk about the Christ Nature, but it is easier just to talk about the Christ. They are the same thing, just using the vocabulary of different religious traditions.
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