135. HOW TO OVERCOME THE POWER OF SIN IN MY CHURCH? – Interruption (b) – For a church to ‘grow strong in the Lord’, it needs to grow strong in imitating God.

In the current meditations we reflect on the question: is the full armour of God of which Paul talks in Ephesians 6:10-17 only meant for individual Christians or also for the local church as a whole? Does God’s armour only protect Christ’s life in us personally against Satan’s assaults? Does it equally protect Christ’s life within the local church which is the Body of Christ? So far we have seen that Jesus wants to manifest His life in our churches through our passionate love for God and for each other. We have realized that God’s Spirit is well able to produce this Christlike love in our hearts and in our congregations. However, the question remains: how do we protect Jesus’ life in our churches against Satan’s attacks?

The apostle Paul encourages the church in Ephesus (Turkey) to “be (or: grow, become) strong in the Lord...” (Ephesians 6:10**). In the upcoming meditations we want to ask ourselves: how does a church that wants to grow strong ‘in the Lord’ practically look like?

Perhaps we should start with Paul’s instruction:

“Be imitators (or: followers) of God ..... as dearly loved children.” (Ephesians 5:1**).

An imitator is someone who follows another’s example. The apostle Paul wants us to imitate God. Yet, how can we imitate God, if we cannot see Him?

We can learn a lot about God when we read His Word, the Bible. It summons us to imitate God by obeying His commands. Here are some examples:

-- God charges His people Israel: “I am the LORD who brought you (His people Israel) up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:45**)

-- Jesus instructs His Jewish fellowmen: “I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:44-48**)

-- According to the parallel text in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says: “Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:35-36**)

Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God

In all these verses people are called to imitate God’s character and actions. However, in spite of all we read about God in His Word, it is not easy to get a clear picture of the invisible Creator and Ruler of the universe. That’s why the coming of Jesus is such an unprecedented happening. We are not left to guess who God is! Here are some texts to prove that:

-- The apostle John starts his Gospel by telling us: “No-one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made Him (fully) known.” (John 1:18**)

-- Jesus says to one of His disciples: “Philip, don't you even yet know who I am, even after all the time I have been with you? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father! So why are you asking to see Him?” (John 14:9*)

-- The apostle Paul explains to the church in Corinth:  “Satan, the god of this evil world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe, so they are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News that is shining upon them. They don't understand the message we preach about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4*)

-- Paul writes to the church in Colosse (Turkey): “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation.” (Colossians 1:15*)

-- The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews exclaims: “The Son (Jesus) is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.” (Hebrews 1:3**)

Imitating Jesus is imitating God

So, knowing Jesus is knowing God, because Jesus reveals the character of our Triune God (Father, Son and Spirit)! Therefore, we are called to imitate Jesus and in doing so we will imitate God the Father:

-- Paul encourages the church in Philippi (Greece) with the words: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus...” (Philippians 2:5**)

-- The apostle Peter explains to persecuted Christians: “This suffering is all part of what God has called you to. Christ, who suffered for you, is your example. Follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2:21*)

-- The apostle John makes it very clear when he writes about the importance of imitating God the Father and God the Son: “Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did.” (1 John 2:6*)

Churches should learn to imitate Jesus

Imitating our Triune God is not only a private matter for God’s reborn children, but also a directive for any church that wants to grow strong ‘in the Lord’:

-- The apostle Paul writes to the church in Rome: “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you (plural) a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus.” (Romans 15:5**)

-- Paul encourages the church in Corinth to follow his example: “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1***) or as the New International Version translates: “Follow (plural) my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1**)

Already earlier in this letter Paul summoned the Corinthian church: “I urge you (plural) to imitate me. For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.” (1 Corinthians 4:16-17**)

-- The apostle praises the church in Thessaloniki for following Jesus’ example and his own when he writes: “You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 1:6**)

-- Paul also encourages the church in Philippi to follow his example as he follows Jesus. In doing so, God will fill them with His peace: “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:9**)

-- The apostle already wrote to the church in Philippi that they should join other churches in following his example as he followed Christ’s. Paul teaches churches to model Jesus’ way of life:

“Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.” (Philippians 3:17**)

-- Paul urges the church in Ephesus: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32**) The same he writes to the church in Colosse: “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13**)

Churches should aim at becoming a ‘Christlike model’ to other churches

-- The apostle Paul praises the church in Thessaloniki for being a ‘Christlike model’ to other churches: “You became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia--your faith in God has become known everywhere. (1 Thessalonians 1:7-8**).

-- Previously the Thessalonian church had modelled itself on the Judean churches: “You, brothers, became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews.” (1 Thessalonians 2:14**)

Churches should imitate their Christlike leaders

The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews urges the church(es) to copy the Christlike life of their leaders: “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” (Hebrews 13:7**)

Imitation of our Triune God is only possible through the work of God’s Spirit in our churches!

From Meditation 134 and many earlier meditations we know that only through the power of God’s Spirit in our lives and in our churches we are able to imitate our Triune God. I think of the following three texts:

-- Before we were saved by Christ’s redeeming work, we were enemies of God and lost in our sinfulness. Paul reminds Christians of their former life without God and their new life in union with Jesus Christ: “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” (Ephesians 5:8**)

-- The apostle Paul shows that our lives as redeemed children of God have actually started with the gift of God’s Spirit. Consequently, we have been intertwined as members of the Body of Christ: “In one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink.” (1 Corinthians 12:13, Berean Study Bible).

-- In his second letter to the church in Corinth Paul explains: “As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more.” (2 Corinthians 3:18*)

Without the transforming power of God’s Spirit, trying to imitate Christ becomes a legalistic exercise!

Where do we go from here?

Now we are one step closer to the practical question: how does a church that wants to grow strong ‘in the Lord’ practically look like? Answer: it should learn to model itself on its Leader Jesus Christ by the power of God’s Spirit.

In the following meditations we want to see what such corporate Christlike modelling contains and how it takes place.  

Some questions to ponder

1. Is my church a gathering of believing individuals or does it see itself as a ‘corporate personality’, i.e. the Body of Christ?

2. Does my church have a biblical vision for imitating Jesus Christ?

3. Does my church have Christlike leaders who model Christ to my congregation?

4. Does my church learn from other churches how to model Christ?

5. Does my church model Christ to other churches?

Translations: * New Living Translation; ** New International Version; *** New King James Version

About: "God's major project: transforming me and my church into the likeness of Christ", see Meditations 45-48.

About “The Church as a ‘Corporate Personality’, see Meditations 63-65.

About “The Church as a new (messianic) community, consisting of all the followers of Jesus”, see Meditation 29.
About “The Holy Spirit and His ministry”, see Meditations 27-34.

About “The two Tracks of Maturing in Christlikeness”, see Meditation 100.