The following review was taken from The Radical Resurgence website.
The One Thing: Christ in You, The Hope of Glory by Milt Rodriguez – A Review
Today, people who are into “house church” emphasize and focus on things like mutual edification, encouraging one another, exercising spiritual gifts, praying for one another, and gathering in a living room.
That’s all outward, external, and structure-form-related. What’s missing is Jesus Christ. His indwelling. God’s eternal purpose in Him. The kingdom of God.
This is where this new book comes in. Drawing heavily on the works of T. Austin-Sparks, Watchman Nee, Frank Viola, and Jon Zens–voices who have written extensively and rigorously on the themes of the centrality of Christ, the indwelling life of Christ, the kingdom of God, and God’s eternal purpose, Milt Rodriguez explores essential aspects of believers living with Jesus as their foundation, offering readers a focused meditation on one of Christianity’s most profound mysteries.
Drawing from Colossians 1:27, this book centers on the transformative truth that Christ dwells within every believer—a concept that revolutionizes how Christians understand their faith and daily walk.
Rodriguez’s approach is refreshingly singular in focus. Rather than overwhelming readers with multiple themes, he zeroes in on this one central truth: the indwelling presence of Christ.
This narrow focus allows for deeper exploration of what it means to live not from external religious performance, but from an internal spiritual reality. The author suggests that grasping this truth helps believers avoid many common misunderstandings that plague Christian living.
The book serves as both theological exposition and practical guide. Rodriguez doesn’t merely present doctrine; he invites readers to reckon with how Christ’s presence within them changes everything—from their identity and purpose to their approach to daily challenges. This makes the book valuable for both new believers seeking to understand their faith and seasoned Christians desiring to move beyond superficial religiosity.
What distinguishes this work is its insistence that the Christian faith isn’t about striving to reach God or becoming holy through effort. Instead, it’s about awakening to the reality that holiness already dwells within through Christ’s presence. This paradigm shift—from doing to being—offers genuine freedom to those trapped in performance-based faith.
Milt echoes what many others have spoken and written, yet it’s a point that is lost on many proponents of “house church.” That point is that a “house church” isn’t the same as an organic church. House churches are all about the location, organic churches are all about the life of Christ.
The purpose of the church is to reveal and express Him, not to follow an outward pattern. It’s not even about relationships, sharing, praying, fellowship, singing, eating together, etc. A church can have all those things without Jesus and God’s eternal purpose being the center, focus, goal, and reason for meeting.
“The One Thing” is a concise yet profound invitation to experience church as it was meant to be: not as distant belief or ritual observance, but as intimate relationship with the living Christ who makes his home in the heart of those who follow Him.
A related message is Epic Jesus: The Christ You Never Knew – the meaning and definition of an organic expression of the church.
– Donald Park
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