Via Christa: Via Christa Life: Appendices: The Christ Within

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The Christ Within

The Christ within (or sometimes Within) is a family of related theological terms emphasized in a number of Christian-oriented religious traditions. On the Via Christa we view the Christ within as “the mind of Christ Jesus,” as in these scriptures: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”–Philippians 2:5, and “We have the mind of Christ.”–1 Corinthians 2:16”
The first use of the phrase “the Christ within” may be “[to be] closely united with Christ within you” in Imitation of Christ, generally attributed to Thomas à Kempis (died 1471).
The idea is especially associated with the Religious Society of Friends (largely in English-speaking countries, arising about 1650), where it is often equated with the Inner Light.
The American denomination Church of the Truth, which emphasized “empower[ing] all people to awaken the Christ within,” was founded in 1913.
Alfred H. Ackley composed the hymn “He Lives” in 1933, including the lyric “He [Jesus Christ] lives within my heart.”
Paramahansa Yogananda, who created his Self-Realization Fellowship in 1920, used the term thus: “…The Resurrection of the Christ Within You…,” which appears in the title of a work attributed to him and first published, posthumously, in 2004.

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