Paul describes his apostolic calling as the unveiling of a mystery hidden throughout the ages — that Christ would dwell not only among a people but within them, both Jew and Gentile. The indwelling of Christ is not a spiritual metaphor but the actual presence of the risen Lord inside every believer.

From the writers we read together

George MacDonald

Scottish Author and Theologian, 19th Century

MacDonald wrote of the indwelling Christ with rare intimacy — an indwelling that is not passive cohabitation but active transformation. 'Christ in you' is not a theological label stamped on the believer from outside; it is the living Son of God making His home within, slowly remaking the interior landscape to match His own nature. This is Paul's mystery: God did not choose to remain above or beside His people but within them.

The phrase 'hope of glory' looks forward: the Christ who dwells within now is the same Christ who will manifest fully at the consummation. The glory is not distant; it is incipient. It has already begun in the One who lives in you. MacDonald would say: open the door every morning to the One who wants to dwell more fully. Are you cooperating with Christ's indwelling work, or simply allowing it as a theological fact while living from the same old interior scripts?