Let’s talk about something that has captivated believers for generations— the Higher Christian Life. This term refers to a life of intimate fellowship with God that goes beyond the ordinary Christian experience. Popularized by 19th-century revival and devotional preachers such as Andrew Murray, Oswald Chambers, and R.A. Torrey, and brought into the Christian mainstream by the Keswick movement, this life is characterized by holiness, surrender, and a depth of relationship with God that taps into His supernatural power in ways seen in Scripture, but seldom experienced in contemporary church.¹
In this article, I want to provide a biblical overview of the Higher Christian Life— what it looks like, how we enter into it, and then answer some common questions that often keep seeking believers from experiencing the “abundant life” Jesus promised (John 10:10), or what has been called the Higher Christian Life. My prayer is this will inspire and equip you to experience the abundant life in Christ that He intends for each of us as believers.
Simply put, the Higher Christian Life is:
A life of holiness, consecration, and victory over sin that is available to every Christian who fully surrenders themselves to Christ’s lordship in faith. It is considered ‘higher” because it transcends the defeat and constant struggle that plagues much of Christian living and reveals a new dimension of faith-filled living in the power of the Spirit.
Some key aspects of the Higher Christian Life include:
• Complete surrender and consecration to Christ: Relinquishing our self-will and ambitions by surrendering every area of your life— your time, relationships, work, and resources — to Christ’s complete control and lordship.
• Death to self and sin through co-crucifixion with Christ: By reckoning or understanding that our old sinful nature was crucified with Christ, we are able to break sin’s mastery in our lives (Rom. 6:6). By faith, we count ourselves dead to sin’s power and alive to God since our old self is crucified and dead and we have new, resurrected life in Christ (Romans 6:11).
• Filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit: By praying for the Holy Spirit to fill us and take full control, and by depending on the Spirit’s power to overcome sin, we then produce Christlike character and are supernaturally equipped for ministry. The results: We are guided, moment-by-moment, and empowered by the Spirit as we yield to Him.
• Victory over sin’s power: Sin’s mastery is broken because by faith, our old self is crucified with Christ, and sin has no dominion in our lives (Rom. 6:14). Though temptations remain, we have Spirit-given power to overcome anything our flesh or the enemy can throw our way.
• Deeper intimacy and fellowship with God: We find our time in God’s Word and prayer becomes sweeter as we relate to God more deeply. We desire to know Christ more as the Spirit reveals His presence and character in ways not known to us before. And, as a result, our walk with Him is characterized by joyful obedience and not legalism.
• Fruitfulness and power for ministry and service: Our energies go toward serving Christ wholeheartedly and caring for others, rather than living selfish, self-consumed lives. We learn to depend on Christ working through us as we trust and abide in Him.
This abundant life liberates us from defeat and brings new joy, passion, and power through our relationship with, and dependency on, Christ. It is the normal Christian life as God designed it.²
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