Are We All Called to Be Mystics? What Does It Mean to Live in Christ?
Are you a mystic? For many Christians, the immediate answer would be, Absolutely not. The word mystic can conjure images of medieval monasteries, strange visions and ecstatic saints—or perhaps something vaguely New Age that seems far removed from ordinary Christianity.
But before dismissing the word, let’s ask a simpler question: What is a mystic?
Merriam-Webster defines mysticism as “the experience of mystical union or direct communion with ultimate reality reported by mystics.” It also defines it as the belief that direct knowledge of God or spiritual truth can be attained through subjective experience such as intuition or insight.
Its simpler definition of a mystic is wonderfully straightforward: “a person who seeks direct knowledge of God through meditation and prayer.”
Put aside the cultural baggage surrounding the word for a moment.
Does direct knowledge and communion with God really sound foreign to Christianity—or strangely familiar?
Christianity Already Makes an Astonishing Mystical Claim
Most Christians believe that Jesus Christ doesn’t merely exist somewhere outside of them. Christ actually dwells within them.
Paul called this a mystery hidden for generations and then revealed:
“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
— Colossians 1:27
He made an even more extraordinary statement:
“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”
— Galatians 2:20
And Jesus told His disciples:
“In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”
— John 14:20
We have heard these Scriptures so often that it’s possible to miss how radical they are. Christ in us. We in Christ. The Holy Spirit dwelling within us. The Father and Son making their home with us. Peter even says that through God’s promises we become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).
Christianity doesn’t merely claim that human beings can know things about God. It makes the astonishing claim that God has chosen to dwell in human beings.
That is already a profoundly mystical proposition.
Believing It Is One Thing. Experiencing It Is Another.
There is an important distinction here. Simply agreeing with the doctrine that “Christ lives in me” doesn’t necessarily make someone a mystic in the historical sense of the word.
But it raises an unavoidable question: If Christ really lives within us, are we supposed merely to believe that—or are we supposed to experience communion with Him?
Jesus’ language strongly suggests something more than intellectual agreement:
“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
— John 17:3
Christianity begins with knowing God, not merely knowing about Him. Relationship, presence, participation, indwelling and union are woven throughout the New Testament’s description of life in Christ.
You May Already Be More Mystical Than You Think
Have you ever said, “The Lord spoke to my heart”? Have you sensed God’s presence or experienced the Holy Spirit directing you? Have you been reading Scripture when suddenly something seemed illuminated from within?
Perhaps worship has sometimes become something more than singing words. Perhaps you’ve experienced a peace that made no logical sense, or prayed and simply known God was near.
If so, you’ve already moved beyond merely thinking about God. You believe God can be personally experienced.
That is mystical territory in the ordinary historical sense. It doesn’t require visions, trances, monasteries or extraordinary supernatural phenomena.
It begins with taking seriously an astonishing claim at the center of Christianity: God has chosen to dwell in us.
But Aren’t Mystics Unusual Christians?
That’s how we usually think about them. History gives certain people a special label: the mystics. They experienced visions, wrote about union with God and described overwhelming encounters with divine Love. Some became celebrated saints; others made the religious institutions around them uncomfortable.
We tend to regard these mystics as interesting but unusual Christians—sometimes even slightly dangerous ones. But what if we have the question backwards?
What if they weren’t unusual because they expected to experience God? What if much of modern Christianity became unusual because we learned how to believe in an indwelling God without expecting to encounter Him?
That is a much more challenging possibility.
What If the Mystics Weren’t the Exception?
Jesus didn’t pray that a handful of unusually spiritual people would experience union with God. He prayed:
“That they all may be one; as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You…I in them, and You in Me.”
— John 17:21–23
Paul didn’t write “Christ in you, the hope of glory” only to monks or contemplatives. Peter didn’t reserve becoming “partakers of the divine nature” for medieval saints. Paul asked ordinary believers: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).
Maybe the question isn’t why the mystics experienced so much.
Maybe the better question is why so many modern day Christians have expected so little.
WATCH: Is Every Christian Called to Be a Mystic?
This short video makes a provocative claim: mystical union with God isn’t intended only for a handful of extraordinary saints. While the speaker approaches the subject from a Catholic perspective, the underlying question reaches much further:
Is experiential communion with God reserved for a special category of Christians—or is intimate union with Christ part of normal Christian life?
You don’t have to adopt the speaker’s denominational framework or agree with every conclusion. For now, just consider the question.
This Isn’t About “Becoming Catholic”
That distinction matters. Many of the best-known Western Christian mystics lived within what we now call the Catholic tradition, but the Christian pursuit of communion and participation in God is much older than the later Catholic-Protestant divide.
Long before Christianity divided into the traditions we know today, Christians were wrestling with contemplation, transformation, participation in divine life and union with God.
An important word eventually became associated with this ancient Christian understanding:
Theosis
In simple terms, theosis means participation in the life of God—sometimes called deification or divinization. It does not mean that human beings become God the Creator or cease being human. It refers to human beings participating by grace in God’s divine life and being transformed through communion with Him.
Peter’s language provides an obvious biblical connection:
“Partakers of the divine nature.”
— 2 Peter 1:4
This opens a door into a part of Christian history many believers have never explored. Behind that door are many fascinating people.
Three Christians You May Be Hearing More About
Meister Eckhart
Meister Eckhart (c. 1260–1328) was a German Dominican theologian and preacher who spoke provocatively about the birth of the Word in the soul. The theme is genuinely central to Eckhart’s thought, although his meaning is more complex than a modern slogan such as “Christ within” might suggest.
His language nevertheless raises an intriguing question alongside Paul’s longing:
“Until Christ is formed in you.”
— Galatians 4:19
What does it actually mean for Christ to be formed in us?
Julian of Norwich
Julian of Norwich (c. 1343–after 1416) was an English Christian contemplative whose visions, or “showings,” occurred during a severe illness. She became convinced of the astonishing depth and faithfulness of divine Love.
She is remembered especially for the assurance:
“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”
Julian did not arrive at this by ignoring evil or suffering. Her writings wrestle directly with sin, suffering, Christ’s Passion and the question of how God’s goodness ultimately triumphs.
Teresa of Ávila
Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582) described the soul using one of Christianity’s most memorable images: an Interior Castle containing many mansions, with a mansion at the soul’s center reserved for God Himself.
Her writings describe progressive prayer, transformation and increasingly profound union with God. The imagery becomes particularly interesting alongside Paul’s insistence that we are God’s temple and His Spirit dwells within us.
Three different people. Three different centuries. Three different ways of describing encounter with God. None should be accepted uncritically, but the questions they asked sound surprisingly relevant today.
Why Are These Questions Reappearing?
Contemporary voices such as C. Baxter Kruger, John Crowder and Justin Paul Abraham approach these subjects differently. Yet some of their language has striking echoes in Christians who lived hundreds of years ago.
Across parts of Christianity today, believers are once again talking about union with Christ, theosis, participation in divine life, the indwelling Kingdom, Christ formed within us, and union rather than separation. There is also renewed interest in experiencing Father, Son and Holy Spirit rather than merely developing better theology about Them.
That doesn’t mean they are all teaching the same thing. They aren’t, and those differences will matter as we go deeper.
But the intersections are too interesting to ignore.
Maybe Mysticism Isn’t a Side Road
Perhaps healthy Christian mysticism isn’t fundamentally about extraordinary people having extraordinary experiences. Perhaps it begins when ordinary believers take extraordinary biblical promises seriously:
“You in Me, and I in you.” — John 14:20
“Christ in you.” — Colossians 1:27
“Partakers of the divine nature.” — 2 Peter 1:4
“That they all may be one.” — John 17:21
Maybe the mystics simply kept asking a question that every generation of Christians needs to ask:
What if This is Actually Real?
And perhaps that is a question worth asking again.
“In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”
— John 14:20
What if He meant for us to actually know it and live in that reality now?
Your Turn to Talk!
Let us know what you think.
Had you ever considered that the word “mystic” might describe something God intends for every believer — not just a spiritual elite? What does that stir up in you?
Have you ever had a moment of genuine experiential communion with God — not just believing about Him, but actually sensing His presence? What was that like?
Of the three figures — Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, and Teresa of Ávila — which one’s experience or language resonates most with where you are in your own journey with God?
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