In meditations 30, 34 and 45, we saw that God’s Spirit directs the transformation process into Christ-likeness in all God’s reborn children during their walk on earth.
Yet, there are many reasons why God’s Spirit might be hindered in continuing this Christlike transformation in people’s lives. It is even possible that this transformation to Christ-likeness never even starts in some people who have been born again. It is also possible that it stops prematurely.
When Christlike transformation never really starts...
It is possible that I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour and Lord and know that I am God’s child, yet at the same time have no knowledge about being born again by God’s Spirit.
This might be caused by the kind of teaching that I have received. It is possible that the church’s teaching focuses on 'God’s grace' and 'salvation by faith in Jesus’ sacrifice' without ever underlining the work of God’s Spirit in leading a person to rebirth.
Surely, in this case, I am a genuine child of God since saving faith itself is a work of God’s Spirit (see the ‘salvation pictures’ in meditations 38 to 43). However, through a lack of biblical knowledge regarding the Holy Spirit and His work in our lives, the process of Christlike transformation might never really start...
The apostle Paul shows the link between saving faith and the reception of God’s Spirit when he writes to the Ephesian Christians: “You also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit...”
(Ephesians 1:13)
Jesus himself teaches that a real conviction of sin is the work of God’s Spirit in someone’s heart: “When he [God’s Spirit, the Comforter] comes, he will convince the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgement.” (John 16:7)
The apostle Paul is clear about the fact that being God’s child means having God’s Spirit. He writes to the Christians in Rome:
“If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” (Romans 8:9)
Actually, the early church might not have known this problem. As we read the New Testament, it is clear that the followers of Jesus had all received God’s Spirit and knew about His work in their lives. In the same way, God wants us to know about the person of the Holy Spirit and his work in us. The Bible teaches clearly that the Holy Spirit wants to start this Christlike transformation in our hearts right from the day of our salvation!
When the seed of Christlike transformation never really germinates...
We just mentioned that this transformation process is hardly possible if I am not taught about the presence of God’s Spirit in my life from the start of my faith in Christ.
However, it is also possible that I have experienced rebirth by God’s Spirit without ever being taught about the prospect of Christlike transformation.
I might have been taught about the work of God’s Holy Spirit and his gifts to the church. I might have an immense knowledge about all kinds of biblical facts and figures. I might even be a pastor or a Bible teacher. And yet, I might also lack a clear vision about God’s desire to change my life by his Spirit into the likeness of his Son.
In that case a true and genuine transformation into Christ-likeness might hardly germinate. As we mentioned before, the early church in the book of Acts and the letters of the apostles was thoroughly aware about God’s intention to change them into the likeness of Christ. They might not have had this kind of problem.
When Christlike transformation only develops partially...
If I know about 'life through God’s Spirit', but focus on 'spiritual gifts' and 'spiritual experience', I might be in danger of only partially growing into the likeness of Christ.
‘Spiritual pretension’ about what I am and what I possess 'through God’s Spirit' might hinder a genuine transformation into Christ-likeness. I think that this was one of the problems of the church in Corinth.
Speaking about 'the wisdom of God’s Spirit', the apostle Paul says to the christians in Corinth:
“Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn't talk to you as I would to mature Christians.
I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life.
I had to feed you with milk and not with solid food, because you couldn't handle anything stronger.
And you still aren't ready, for you are still controlled by your own sinful desires.” (1 Corinthians 3:1-3a)
Growing into Christ-likeness initially has to do with character building rather than spiritual gifting and experience.
When Christlike transformation is obstructed by disobedience...
I might have started a life with Christ and have enjoyed the Spirit’s work in my heart. I might even have experienced the process of transformation we have spoken about so often – until the moment I opened my heart to sin and gave in to temptation.
The apostle Paul warns the christians in Corinth of such a danger when he writes:
"All these events (of Israel’s history) happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us, who live at the time when this age is drawing to a close.
If you think you are standing strong, be careful, for you, too, may fall into the same sin.
But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience.
And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it.
When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it." (1 Corinthians 10:11-13)
The sorrow I have brought to God’s Spirit by my disobedience will be taken away when I acknowledge my waywardness and commit myself again to being led by God’s Spirit.
The apostle John comforts us by saying: “If we confess our sins to him [God], he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.” (1 John 1:9)
When Christlike transformation is frustrated...
I might have known the Spirit’s transforming work in my life but then might return to a lifestyle of self-righteousness in trying to obey God’s laws in my own strength. In that case I will frustrate the transforming work of God’s Spirit.
Paul alerts the Galatian christians of such a heresy:
“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?
Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?
Are you so foolish?
After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” (Galatians 3:1-3)
In this case I could stifle the work of God’s Spirit in my heart and return to a life of self-reliance and self-righteousness. I would need to learn anew what Christlike transformation is all about and how only God’s Spirit is able to accomplish this.
When Christlike transformation comes to a halt...
If I have known God’s work in my life, but then return to a worldly lifestyle, give up the faith and/or follow false teachings, then I bring the work of God’s Spirit in my heart to a halt. The Bible warns us earnestly about such a ruinous attitude.
Paul writes to his co-worker Timothy: “Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica...”
(2 Timothy 4:10)
The apostle John warns us for such conduct when he writes: “Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love the world, you show that you do not have the love of the Father in you.
For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions. These are not from the Father. They are from this evil world.
And this world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)
The apostle Paul instructs Timothy: “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” (1 Timothy 4:1-2)
We bring joy to God - Father, Son and Spirit – when we entrust ourselves to being led by the Holy Spirit.
As I am God’s reborn child, He wants me to understand that my body is a vehicle [temple] of His Spirit in this world.
The apostle Paul reminds the followers of Jesus in Corinth of the importance of their bodies in the transforming work of God’s Spirit: “Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?
You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”
(1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
Paul urges the christians in Ephesus: “Do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30)
Paul cautions God’s reborn children in Thessalonica not to obstruct the leading of His Spirit in their hearts by taking the reins of life in their own hands again: “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:19)
Finally, to the christians in Rome Paul writes: “Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice-- the kind he will accept.
When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?
Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new [Christlike] person by changing the way you think.
Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.”
(Romans 12:1-2)
Christlike transformation might be prevented or stifled in people’s private lives. However, it also might be hindered or halted in the life of entire churches or other Christian communities. That will be the theme of our next meditation.
The Bible verses Ephesians 1:13, Romans 8:9, Galatians 3:1-3, 2 Timothy 4:10 and 1 Timothy 4:1-2 are quotes of the New International Version. The other texts are quoted from the New Living Translation.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
48. GOD’S MAJOR PROJECT : TRANSFORMING ME AND MY CHURCH INTO THE LIKENESS OF CHRIST ( d )
Here in the West we live in a culture that we could characterise by individualism, hedonism and materialism. Ours is a culture that focuses among other things on experience, well-being and health. It’s a culture of self-improvement with a post-Christian outlook on life. It is a culture that rejects divine authority and is critical to human authority.
Traits of these cultural phenomena have not passed by the doors of our churches and individualism reigns supreme in many of our Christian circles. We see the effect in the way people easily change churches for the latest teaching or experience. We see it in the lack of commitment to church life, especially ‘when the going gets tough’. We see it in the consumer mentality when people expect an ‘inner circle’ in church to do all the work. We see it when Christians abandon churches and spiritual leadership for independence and private piety, etc.
How far-removed this spirit of western culture is from the way God expects his people to live!
God’s church is not like a shopping centre where you take what you like. Nor are God’s people like spectators at a rock concert who only happen to find themselves at the same place because of their common interest.
The apostle Peter writes about commitment when he reminds the followers of Jesus: “God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple.” (1 Peter 2:5)
How different are bricks carefully cemented together in a building from bricks laying uselessly around the place!
The apostle Paul writes about the same theme to God’s reborn children in Corinth: “God's temple is holy, and you Christians are that temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:17)
Also to the messianic community in Ephesus (modern Turkey) Paul writes about the fellowship of believers in Jesus as God’s temple:
“We are his [God’s] house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.
We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
Through him [Jesus] you ... are also joined together as part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:20-22)
To the Christians in Rome, Paul shows that God sees his church as a living organism, not as a loose organisation:
“Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's Body.
We are all parts of his one Body, and each of us has different work to do.
And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.” (Romans 12:4-5)
If you ever made the gruesome discovery of finding a human body part, you would probably immediately ask whose body the part belongs to? Separate body parts simply do not walk around! And this is the same with Christ’s local Body: all reborn children of God belong together in one living and loving organism.
In his first letter to the Corinthians Paul explains that there is no place for rigid individualism in the Body of Christ:
“The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up only one body. So it is with the Body of Christ.
Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles [non-Jews], some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ's Body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit.
Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part.
If the foot says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand," that does not make it any less a part of the body.
And if the ear says, "I am not part of the body because I am only an ear and not an eye," would that make it any less a part of the body?
Suppose the whole body were an eye-- then how would you hear?
Or if your whole body were just one big ear, how could you smell anything?
But God made our bodies with many parts, and he has put each part just where he wants it.
What a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part!
Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.
The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you." The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you."
In fact, some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary.
And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care.
So we carefully protect from the eyes of others those parts that should not be seen, while other parts do not require this special care.
So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity.
This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other equally.
If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
Now all of you together are Christ's Body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-25)
Not only does God want Jesus’ followers to devotedly live together and love each other. In meditation 47 we saw that God’s Spirit also wants every local church to grow into the likeness of Christ.
In that way God the Father answers the prayer of his Son:
“... that they may be one (in the same way) as we are one: I in them and you in me.” (John 17:22b-23a)
And in that way God the Spirit wants to prepare every local expression of Christ’s universal Body for the wedding celebration of the Lamb at the end of the ages.
Meanwhile the apostle Paul urges the church in Philippi and our churches to live Christ’s way in the midst of our God-less society:
“You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people.
Let your lives shine brightly before them. Hold tightly to the Word of life (i.e. the Bible)...” (Philippians 2:15-16a)
All this leaves us with some heart-searching questions concerning our local congregations:
-- Are the members of my church lovingly committed to each other?
-- Is my church conscious of the fact that it is a ‘vehicle’ [temple] of God’s Spirit in our self-centred and God-less society?
-- Does my church hunger for Christlike transformation?
-- In what way do I see God’s Spirit transforming my local congregation into the likeness of Christ?
-- In what ways does my church differ from modern society?
-- In what way does my church reflect modern society?
-- Is my church aware of the fact that God’s Spirit prepares it for the celebration of the wedding feast of the Lamb?
The Bible text John 17:22b-23a is a quote of the New International Version. The other texts are quoted from the New Living Translation.
The next meditation will be published on Friday 25 March 2011.
Traits of these cultural phenomena have not passed by the doors of our churches and individualism reigns supreme in many of our Christian circles. We see the effect in the way people easily change churches for the latest teaching or experience. We see it in the lack of commitment to church life, especially ‘when the going gets tough’. We see it in the consumer mentality when people expect an ‘inner circle’ in church to do all the work. We see it when Christians abandon churches and spiritual leadership for independence and private piety, etc.
How far-removed this spirit of western culture is from the way God expects his people to live!
God’s church is not like a shopping centre where you take what you like. Nor are God’s people like spectators at a rock concert who only happen to find themselves at the same place because of their common interest.
The apostle Peter writes about commitment when he reminds the followers of Jesus: “God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple.” (1 Peter 2:5)
How different are bricks carefully cemented together in a building from bricks laying uselessly around the place!
The apostle Paul writes about the same theme to God’s reborn children in Corinth: “God's temple is holy, and you Christians are that temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:17)
Also to the messianic community in Ephesus (modern Turkey) Paul writes about the fellowship of believers in Jesus as God’s temple:
“We are his [God’s] house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.
We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
Through him [Jesus] you ... are also joined together as part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:20-22)
To the Christians in Rome, Paul shows that God sees his church as a living organism, not as a loose organisation:
“Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's Body.
We are all parts of his one Body, and each of us has different work to do.
And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.” (Romans 12:4-5)
If you ever made the gruesome discovery of finding a human body part, you would probably immediately ask whose body the part belongs to? Separate body parts simply do not walk around! And this is the same with Christ’s local Body: all reborn children of God belong together in one living and loving organism.
In his first letter to the Corinthians Paul explains that there is no place for rigid individualism in the Body of Christ:
“The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up only one body. So it is with the Body of Christ.
Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles [non-Jews], some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ's Body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit.
Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part.
If the foot says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand," that does not make it any less a part of the body.
And if the ear says, "I am not part of the body because I am only an ear and not an eye," would that make it any less a part of the body?
Suppose the whole body were an eye-- then how would you hear?
Or if your whole body were just one big ear, how could you smell anything?
But God made our bodies with many parts, and he has put each part just where he wants it.
What a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part!
Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.
The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you." The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you."
In fact, some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary.
And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care.
So we carefully protect from the eyes of others those parts that should not be seen, while other parts do not require this special care.
So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity.
This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other equally.
If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
Now all of you together are Christ's Body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-25)
Not only does God want Jesus’ followers to devotedly live together and love each other. In meditation 47 we saw that God’s Spirit also wants every local church to grow into the likeness of Christ.
In that way God the Father answers the prayer of his Son:
“... that they may be one (in the same way) as we are one: I in them and you in me.” (John 17:22b-23a)
And in that way God the Spirit wants to prepare every local expression of Christ’s universal Body for the wedding celebration of the Lamb at the end of the ages.
Meanwhile the apostle Paul urges the church in Philippi and our churches to live Christ’s way in the midst of our God-less society:
“You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people.
Let your lives shine brightly before them. Hold tightly to the Word of life (i.e. the Bible)...” (Philippians 2:15-16a)
All this leaves us with some heart-searching questions concerning our local congregations:
-- Are the members of my church lovingly committed to each other?
-- Is my church conscious of the fact that it is a ‘vehicle’ [temple] of God’s Spirit in our self-centred and God-less society?
-- Does my church hunger for Christlike transformation?
-- In what way do I see God’s Spirit transforming my local congregation into the likeness of Christ?
-- In what ways does my church differ from modern society?
-- In what way does my church reflect modern society?
-- Is my church aware of the fact that God’s Spirit prepares it for the celebration of the wedding feast of the Lamb?
The Bible text John 17:22b-23a is a quote of the New International Version. The other texts are quoted from the New Living Translation.
The next meditation will be published on Friday 25 March 2011.
Friday, March 11, 2011
47. GOD’S MAJOR PROJECT: TRANSFORMING ME AND MY CHURCH INTO THE LIKENESS OF CHRIST ( c )
In meditation 46 we discovered that God aims at preparing Christ’s Body for ‘the wedding feast of the Lamb’ and for being with Jesus forever.
That raises the question: how will God prepare Christ’s universal Body for that divine wedding celebration at the end of the ages?
In the following texts we will see that God - Father, Son and Spirit - prepares Christ’s universal church for that glorious end-of-time wedding celebration of the Lamb. We will note that He does that on a minute scale: one local church at a time within its own geographical and cultural setting!
That is truly, breathtakingly divine!
God has an eye for universal perspectives as well as for the local situation of the smallest church at any time and in any geographical situation. Jesus even said: "Where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them." (Matthew 18:20)
The apostle Paul writes to the followers of Jesus in Ephesus (modern Turkey) that Jesus Messiah wants to transform their local Christian community into his likeness to prepare it for the future universal wedding celebration of the Lamb:
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word (i.e. the Bible), and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."
(Ephesians 5:25-27)
To the messianic community in Corinth (Greece) Paul discloses the reason for his commitment to their church. He wants to prepare them for that future wedding celebration of the Lamb:
“I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. For I promised you as a pure bride to one husband, Christ.”
(2 Corinthians 11:2)
The apostle Paul shows the churches in Galatia (modern Turkey) that his passion to see them transformed into Christ-likeness actually drives him, as he labours for their well-being:
“My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you...” (Galatians 4:19)
Paul commits a crucial part of his letter to the Christians in Ephesus to the theme of local communal transformation into Christ-likeness.
In chapter 4 he mentions the task Jesus himself gives to the (Christlike) leaders of the churches whom he himself appoints:
“He [Jesus Christ] is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.
Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his [God's] work...” (Ephesians 4:11-12a)
In the following verses Paul explains what this work consists of: “... to build up the church, the Body of Christ, until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:12b-13)
The apostle continues to explain this transformation process in Christ-likeness:
“Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly.
As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16)
Furthermore, Paul makes clear from what kind of traits a church breaks free when it grows in Christ-likeness:
“Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth.” (Ephesians 4:14)
Earlier in the same letter, the apostle shows how God’s Spirit directs the process of Christlike transformation within the messianic community, i.e. the local Body of Christ:
“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he [God the Father] will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.
And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him.
May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love.
And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.
Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (Ephesians 3:16-19)
By now we understand that not only the universal Body of Christ, but also every local community of Jesus’ followers, is birthed by God’s Spirit.
It is also God’s Spirit who directs the ongoing transformation process into Christlikeness, so that Christ’s entire Body, spanning all ages, will be prepared for the glorious celebration of the wedding of the Lamb.
In meditations 45 to 47, we saw that God’s Spirit aims at changing our individual lives as well as our communal life into Christ-likeness.
As ‘maturing in Christ-likeness’ is the theme of our meditations, we need to focus in the future on both tracks: our individual lives as followers of Jesus and our communal life as the local Body of Christ.
So, join me as we start to follow both tracks.
The Bible verses Ephesians 5:25-27 and Galatians 4:19 are quotes of the New International Version. The other texts are quoted from the New Living Translation.
That raises the question: how will God prepare Christ’s universal Body for that divine wedding celebration at the end of the ages?
In the following texts we will see that God - Father, Son and Spirit - prepares Christ’s universal church for that glorious end-of-time wedding celebration of the Lamb. We will note that He does that on a minute scale: one local church at a time within its own geographical and cultural setting!
That is truly, breathtakingly divine!
God has an eye for universal perspectives as well as for the local situation of the smallest church at any time and in any geographical situation. Jesus even said: "Where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them." (Matthew 18:20)
The apostle Paul writes to the followers of Jesus in Ephesus (modern Turkey) that Jesus Messiah wants to transform their local Christian community into his likeness to prepare it for the future universal wedding celebration of the Lamb:
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word (i.e. the Bible), and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."
(Ephesians 5:25-27)
To the messianic community in Corinth (Greece) Paul discloses the reason for his commitment to their church. He wants to prepare them for that future wedding celebration of the Lamb:
“I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. For I promised you as a pure bride to one husband, Christ.”
(2 Corinthians 11:2)
The apostle Paul shows the churches in Galatia (modern Turkey) that his passion to see them transformed into Christ-likeness actually drives him, as he labours for their well-being:
“My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you...” (Galatians 4:19)
Paul commits a crucial part of his letter to the Christians in Ephesus to the theme of local communal transformation into Christ-likeness.
In chapter 4 he mentions the task Jesus himself gives to the (Christlike) leaders of the churches whom he himself appoints:
“He [Jesus Christ] is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.
Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his [God's] work...” (Ephesians 4:11-12a)
In the following verses Paul explains what this work consists of: “... to build up the church, the Body of Christ, until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:12b-13)
The apostle continues to explain this transformation process in Christ-likeness:
“Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly.
As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16)
Furthermore, Paul makes clear from what kind of traits a church breaks free when it grows in Christ-likeness:
“Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth.” (Ephesians 4:14)
Earlier in the same letter, the apostle shows how God’s Spirit directs the process of Christlike transformation within the messianic community, i.e. the local Body of Christ:
“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he [God the Father] will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.
And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him.
May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love.
And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.
Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (Ephesians 3:16-19)
By now we understand that not only the universal Body of Christ, but also every local community of Jesus’ followers, is birthed by God’s Spirit.
It is also God’s Spirit who directs the ongoing transformation process into Christlikeness, so that Christ’s entire Body, spanning all ages, will be prepared for the glorious celebration of the wedding of the Lamb.
In meditations 45 to 47, we saw that God’s Spirit aims at changing our individual lives as well as our communal life into Christ-likeness.
As ‘maturing in Christ-likeness’ is the theme of our meditations, we need to focus in the future on both tracks: our individual lives as followers of Jesus and our communal life as the local Body of Christ.
So, join me as we start to follow both tracks.
The Bible verses Ephesians 5:25-27 and Galatians 4:19 are quotes of the New International Version. The other texts are quoted from the New Living Translation.
Friday, February 25, 2011
46. GOD’S MAJOR PROJECT: TRANSFORMING ME AND MY CHURCH INTO THE LIKENESS OF CHRIST ( b )
In the last meditation we saw that the Holy Spirit not only causes our rebirth, but also directs our transformation process into Christ-, or God-likeness during our walk on earth. We also discovered that this transformation process finds its completion when we will be with Christ forever.
Today we want to ask ourselves: does God’s transformation process only deal with his reborn children individually, or does God also aim at transforming his entire church into the likeness of Christ?
In meditation 29 we read that with our rebirth by the Spirit of God, he incorporates us into the messianic community, the Body of Christ.
The apostle Paul reminds the reborn children of God in Corinth of the start of their Christian life and of their incorporation into the messianic community: “Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ's Body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:13)
In his letter to the followers of Jesus in Ephesus (modern Turkey), Paul explains that Christ-likeness is the distinctive character of the messianic community: “God placed all things under his [Jesus’] feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his Body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” (Ephesians 1: 22-23)
From the book of Acts we know that the Body of Christ was born of the (Christlike) Spirit of God. Luke writes about that sensational beginning of the messianic community in Acts 2.
Yet, God’s major project did not stop with the birth of the Body of Christ on that day of Pentecost 2,000 years ago. That was only the minute start of a miraculous and universal ‘divine enterprise’.
However crucial it is, this divine, multi-century project is not only about increasing the numbers of people saved by Christ’s sacrifice; God equally aims at growing the Body of Christ into his likeness!
In the last book of the Bible, the apostle John paints in colourful pictures what God’s final objective is for the universal church, the Body of the Messiah. He describes her as ‘a holy city’, as ‘the new Jerusalem’, as ‘a beautiful bride’ and as ‘God's people’:
“I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride prepared for her husband.
I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.” (Revelation 21:2-3)
John continues to portray the church as ‘the wife of the Lamb’ [Jesus the Messiah], filled with the glory of God:
"Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls containing the seven last plagues came and said to me, 'Come with me! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.'
So he took me in spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. It was filled with the glory of God and sparkled like a precious gem, crystal clear like jasper." (Revelation 21:9-11)
In his second letter to the Christians in Corinth, the apostle Paul uses the expressions ‘the glory of Christ’, ‘the glory of God’ and ‘the likeness of Christ’ as synonyms:
"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. ... For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made us understand that this light is the brightness of the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:4.6)
Furthermore, the apostle John adds image to image when he speaks about the God- or Christ-likeness of the finished Body of Christ at the end of the ages:
“No temple could be seen in the city [the new Jerusalem], for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light...
Nothing evil will be allowed to enter-- no one who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty-- but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.” (Revelation 21: 22.23.27)
In Revelation 19:7-8 John speaks about the process of Christ-like transformation when he points out that the universal Body of Christ has prepared itself over the centuries as a bride for the messianic wedding feast. Then she will be with Jesus Messiah for ever:
"Let us be glad and rejoice and honor him [God]. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She is permitted to wear the finest white linen. (Fine linen represents the good deeds done by the people of God.)" (Revelation 19:7-8)
In his letter to the followers of Jesus in Ephesus (modern Turkey) the apostle Paul compares the consummation of love between bride groom and bride with Jesus Messiah and his people, the Body of Christ:
"After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church-- for we are members of his body. ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ (Genesis 2:24). This is a profound mystery-- but I am talking about Christ and the church." (Ephesians 5:29-32)
In a final picture the apostle John depicts the bride of God’s Son as ‘priests’, ransomed by his blood from their rebellious and God-less way of life:
“... you [Jesus] were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."
(Revelation 5: 9-10)
In this meditation we saw that God aims at preparing the universal Body of Christ for being with Jesus forever. That will be the eagerly anticipated ‘celebration of the wedding feast of the Lamb’ at the end of the ages!
Yet, how does the church’s preparation for that glorious, divine wedding celebration take place in everyday life?
That will be the theme of the next meditation.
The Bible verses Ephesians 1:22-23, Ephesians 5:29-32 and Revelation 5:9-10 are quotes of the New International Version. The other texts are quoted from the New Living Translation.
Today we want to ask ourselves: does God’s transformation process only deal with his reborn children individually, or does God also aim at transforming his entire church into the likeness of Christ?
In meditation 29 we read that with our rebirth by the Spirit of God, he incorporates us into the messianic community, the Body of Christ.
The apostle Paul reminds the reborn children of God in Corinth of the start of their Christian life and of their incorporation into the messianic community: “Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ's Body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:13)
In his letter to the followers of Jesus in Ephesus (modern Turkey), Paul explains that Christ-likeness is the distinctive character of the messianic community: “God placed all things under his [Jesus’] feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his Body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” (Ephesians 1: 22-23)
From the book of Acts we know that the Body of Christ was born of the (Christlike) Spirit of God. Luke writes about that sensational beginning of the messianic community in Acts 2.
Yet, God’s major project did not stop with the birth of the Body of Christ on that day of Pentecost 2,000 years ago. That was only the minute start of a miraculous and universal ‘divine enterprise’.
However crucial it is, this divine, multi-century project is not only about increasing the numbers of people saved by Christ’s sacrifice; God equally aims at growing the Body of Christ into his likeness!
In the last book of the Bible, the apostle John paints in colourful pictures what God’s final objective is for the universal church, the Body of the Messiah. He describes her as ‘a holy city’, as ‘the new Jerusalem’, as ‘a beautiful bride’ and as ‘God's people’:
“I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride prepared for her husband.
I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.” (Revelation 21:2-3)
John continues to portray the church as ‘the wife of the Lamb’ [Jesus the Messiah], filled with the glory of God:
"Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls containing the seven last plagues came and said to me, 'Come with me! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.'
So he took me in spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. It was filled with the glory of God and sparkled like a precious gem, crystal clear like jasper." (Revelation 21:9-11)
In his second letter to the Christians in Corinth, the apostle Paul uses the expressions ‘the glory of Christ’, ‘the glory of God’ and ‘the likeness of Christ’ as synonyms:
"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. ... For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made us understand that this light is the brightness of the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:4.6)
Furthermore, the apostle John adds image to image when he speaks about the God- or Christ-likeness of the finished Body of Christ at the end of the ages:
“No temple could be seen in the city [the new Jerusalem], for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light...
Nothing evil will be allowed to enter-- no one who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty-- but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.” (Revelation 21: 22.23.27)
In Revelation 19:7-8 John speaks about the process of Christ-like transformation when he points out that the universal Body of Christ has prepared itself over the centuries as a bride for the messianic wedding feast. Then she will be with Jesus Messiah for ever:
"Let us be glad and rejoice and honor him [God]. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She is permitted to wear the finest white linen. (Fine linen represents the good deeds done by the people of God.)" (Revelation 19:7-8)
In his letter to the followers of Jesus in Ephesus (modern Turkey) the apostle Paul compares the consummation of love between bride groom and bride with Jesus Messiah and his people, the Body of Christ:
"After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church-- for we are members of his body. ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ (Genesis 2:24). This is a profound mystery-- but I am talking about Christ and the church." (Ephesians 5:29-32)
In a final picture the apostle John depicts the bride of God’s Son as ‘priests’, ransomed by his blood from their rebellious and God-less way of life:
“... you [Jesus] were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."
(Revelation 5: 9-10)
In this meditation we saw that God aims at preparing the universal Body of Christ for being with Jesus forever. That will be the eagerly anticipated ‘celebration of the wedding feast of the Lamb’ at the end of the ages!
Yet, how does the church’s preparation for that glorious, divine wedding celebration take place in everyday life?
That will be the theme of the next meditation.
The Bible verses Ephesians 1:22-23, Ephesians 5:29-32 and Revelation 5:9-10 are quotes of the New International Version. The other texts are quoted from the New Living Translation.
Friday, February 18, 2011
45. GOD’S MAJOR PROJECT: TRANSFORMING ME AND MY CHURCH INTO THE LIKENESS OF CHRIST ( a )
In the last meditation, we saw that we become children of God through ‘rebirth’ by God’s Spirit.
Today we want to pause to consider what are God’s further purposes for us after we have received his Spirit?
Actually, it is God’s plan to transform his reborn children into the likeness of Christ. We saw before, that Paul stresses this point in various letters:
To the Christians in Rome he writes: “God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters.” (Romans 8:29)
To the followers of Jesus in Corinth (Greece) he assures: “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his [Jesus Christ’] likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
(2 Corinthians 3:18)
He reminds God’s reborn children in Ephesus (modern Turkey) that “we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10)
Naturally, the apostle Paul interchanges the notion ‘Christlikeness’ and ‘God-likeness’ as Jesus Christ is the exact likeness of God: “They [those who don’t believe] don't understand the message we preach about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)
Therefore, we read in his letter to the Ephesian Christians:
“You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God's likeness-- righteous, holy, and true.”
(Ephesians 4:24)
To the followers of Jesus in Colosse (modern Turkey), Paul writes: “...(you) have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (Colossians 3:10)
Actually, as God’s Spirit transforms me into the likeness of Christ, he restores my rebellious heart into the (Christlike) image of God. Did not Genesis 1:26-27 tell us that God made man originally in his likeness?
“Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness ... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
(Genesis 1:26-27)
The apostle Paul explains to the Christians in Corinth that God will fully restore ‘his image’ in us which was broken by the rebellion of Adam, the first man (see Genesis 3).
In his first letter to the followers of Jesus in Corinth, Paul points out that God will achieve that restoration by transforming us into the likeness of his Son, Jesus Christ:
“...The first man [Adam] was of the dust of the earth, the second man [Jesus] from heaven.
As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth [mankind]; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven [God’s reborn children].
And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.”
(1 Corinthians 15:47-49)
As we have seen, that process of restoration into God’s or Christ’s likeness starts with our rebirth as God’s children on the day we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord (see meditations 26, 27, 30, 34-37 and 44).
Yet, when will that transformation into Christ-, or God-likeness, be completed?
The apostle John answers that question as he writes to the followers of Jesus: “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he [Jesus Christ] appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
The apostle Paul says the same thing when he urges on God’s reborn children in Colosse: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4)
By now we realise that the Holy Spirit causes not only our rebirth, but also directs the transformation process into Christ-, or God-likeness during our walk on earth.
And as we just saw, the apostles John and Paul want us to know that this transformation process finds its completion when we will be with Christ forever.
Many questions remain to ponder in the coming meditations:
--- How does this transformation process take place?
--- Don’t all God’s reborn children have the option to sin as long as they live on this earth?
--- By sinning, don’t they obstruct the process of transformation into Christlikeness?
--- Does God’s transformation process only deal with his reborn children individually or does God also aim at transforming the entire local church [i.e. the local messianic community or the local Body of Christ] into the likeness of Christ?
We will reflect upon that last question next time.
The Bible verses 2 Corinthians 3:18, Colossians 3:10, Genesis 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 15:47-49, 1 John 3:2, Colossians 3:1-4 are quotes of the New International Version. The other texts are quoted from the New Living Translation.
For further study on Christ-, or God-likeness see meditations 13, 18, 29, 30, 34 and 37.
Today we want to pause to consider what are God’s further purposes for us after we have received his Spirit?
Actually, it is God’s plan to transform his reborn children into the likeness of Christ. We saw before, that Paul stresses this point in various letters:
To the Christians in Rome he writes: “God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters.” (Romans 8:29)
To the followers of Jesus in Corinth (Greece) he assures: “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his [Jesus Christ’] likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
(2 Corinthians 3:18)
He reminds God’s reborn children in Ephesus (modern Turkey) that “we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10)
Naturally, the apostle Paul interchanges the notion ‘Christlikeness’ and ‘God-likeness’ as Jesus Christ is the exact likeness of God: “They [those who don’t believe] don't understand the message we preach about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)
Therefore, we read in his letter to the Ephesian Christians:
“You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God's likeness-- righteous, holy, and true.”
(Ephesians 4:24)
To the followers of Jesus in Colosse (modern Turkey), Paul writes: “...(you) have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (Colossians 3:10)
Actually, as God’s Spirit transforms me into the likeness of Christ, he restores my rebellious heart into the (Christlike) image of God. Did not Genesis 1:26-27 tell us that God made man originally in his likeness?
“Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness ... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
(Genesis 1:26-27)
The apostle Paul explains to the Christians in Corinth that God will fully restore ‘his image’ in us which was broken by the rebellion of Adam, the first man (see Genesis 3).
In his first letter to the followers of Jesus in Corinth, Paul points out that God will achieve that restoration by transforming us into the likeness of his Son, Jesus Christ:
“...The first man [Adam] was of the dust of the earth, the second man [Jesus] from heaven.
As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth [mankind]; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven [God’s reborn children].
And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.”
(1 Corinthians 15:47-49)
As we have seen, that process of restoration into God’s or Christ’s likeness starts with our rebirth as God’s children on the day we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord (see meditations 26, 27, 30, 34-37 and 44).
Yet, when will that transformation into Christ-, or God-likeness, be completed?
The apostle John answers that question as he writes to the followers of Jesus: “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he [Jesus Christ] appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
The apostle Paul says the same thing when he urges on God’s reborn children in Colosse: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4)
By now we realise that the Holy Spirit causes not only our rebirth, but also directs the transformation process into Christ-, or God-likeness during our walk on earth.
And as we just saw, the apostles John and Paul want us to know that this transformation process finds its completion when we will be with Christ forever.
Many questions remain to ponder in the coming meditations:
--- How does this transformation process take place?
--- Don’t all God’s reborn children have the option to sin as long as they live on this earth?
--- By sinning, don’t they obstruct the process of transformation into Christlikeness?
--- Does God’s transformation process only deal with his reborn children individually or does God also aim at transforming the entire local church [i.e. the local messianic community or the local Body of Christ] into the likeness of Christ?
We will reflect upon that last question next time.
The Bible verses 2 Corinthians 3:18, Colossians 3:10, Genesis 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 15:47-49, 1 John 3:2, Colossians 3:1-4 are quotes of the New International Version. The other texts are quoted from the New Living Translation.
For further study on Christ-, or God-likeness see meditations 13, 18, 29, 30, 34 and 37.
Friday, February 11, 2011
44. REBIRTH IS THE FRUIT OF GOD’S LOVE
In the meditations so far, and especially in the meditations on ‘salvation pictures’ (38-43), we have often dwelled on the subject of God’s love for us. In fact, the apostle John captures the character of God in one short phrase: “God is love.” (1 John 4:16)
We can read everywhere in the Bible that God loves his rebellious world and wants to save it. Here is the most famous example from John’s Gospel: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
Speaking about God’s love, John writes in his first letter: “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10)
The apostle Paul reminds the Christians in Rome of the fact that “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8)
Furthermore, we often read in the Bible about Jesus’ passion to save us from our rebellious ways. Here are some words from Jesus himself, written in the Gospel of Luke: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:10)
Finally, we have seen that our remorseful repentance and our faith in Jesus’ atoning sacrifice for our sins leads to our salvation, i.e. our rebirth into eternal life. John writes: “To all who believed him [Jesus the Messiah] and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan - this rebirth comes from God." (John 1:12-13)
The apostle Paul reminds his co-worker Titus: “When the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:4-5)
If you are reborn by the Spirit of God, you know how dearly you are loved by God, your heavenly Father and by Jesus, his beloved Son.
The apostle John delights in God’s love for all who are reborn by God’s Spirit when he writes: “See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are!” (1 John 3:1)
In the same letter John writes: “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in him.” (1 John 4:16)
The apostle Paul prays for the followers of Jesus in Ephesus (modern Turkey): “May you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.” (Ephesians 3:18-19)
For the followers of Jesus in Thessalonica (Greece) Paul prays: “May the Lord bring you into an ever deeper understanding of the love of God.” (2 Thessalonians 3:5)
As we just have seen, the Bible wants us to know how much God loves our lost world and especially his reborn children [i.e., the true followers of Jesus]. Yet, the question remains, how do God’s reborn children experience God’s love for them?
The apostle Paul explains this to the followers of Jesus in Rome when he writes: “We know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” (Romans 5:5)
We thank God for the fact that he made it so clear in the Bible that everyone who welcomes Jesus as their personal Saviour, receives the Holy Spirit as a gift from God the Father and God the Son.
(For further study on the gift of the Holy Spirit see meditations 27-34, 37-43).
Yet, however much God’s reborn children might rejoice in the experience of God’s Spirit, we might wonder what God’s purposes are for us receiving his Spirit and renewing our lives? This will be the theme of the next meditations.
The Bible verses Luke 19:10, Titus 3:4-5 and 1 John 4:9-10 are quotes of the New International Version. All other texts are quoted from the New Living Translation.
We can read everywhere in the Bible that God loves his rebellious world and wants to save it. Here is the most famous example from John’s Gospel: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
Speaking about God’s love, John writes in his first letter: “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10)
The apostle Paul reminds the Christians in Rome of the fact that “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8)
Furthermore, we often read in the Bible about Jesus’ passion to save us from our rebellious ways. Here are some words from Jesus himself, written in the Gospel of Luke: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:10)
Finally, we have seen that our remorseful repentance and our faith in Jesus’ atoning sacrifice for our sins leads to our salvation, i.e. our rebirth into eternal life. John writes: “To all who believed him [Jesus the Messiah] and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan - this rebirth comes from God." (John 1:12-13)
The apostle Paul reminds his co-worker Titus: “When the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:4-5)
If you are reborn by the Spirit of God, you know how dearly you are loved by God, your heavenly Father and by Jesus, his beloved Son.
The apostle John delights in God’s love for all who are reborn by God’s Spirit when he writes: “See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are!” (1 John 3:1)
In the same letter John writes: “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in him.” (1 John 4:16)
The apostle Paul prays for the followers of Jesus in Ephesus (modern Turkey): “May you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.” (Ephesians 3:18-19)
For the followers of Jesus in Thessalonica (Greece) Paul prays: “May the Lord bring you into an ever deeper understanding of the love of God.” (2 Thessalonians 3:5)
As we just have seen, the Bible wants us to know how much God loves our lost world and especially his reborn children [i.e., the true followers of Jesus]. Yet, the question remains, how do God’s reborn children experience God’s love for them?
The apostle Paul explains this to the followers of Jesus in Rome when he writes: “We know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” (Romans 5:5)
We thank God for the fact that he made it so clear in the Bible that everyone who welcomes Jesus as their personal Saviour, receives the Holy Spirit as a gift from God the Father and God the Son.
(For further study on the gift of the Holy Spirit see meditations 27-34, 37-43).
Yet, however much God’s reborn children might rejoice in the experience of God’s Spirit, we might wonder what God’s purposes are for us receiving his Spirit and renewing our lives? This will be the theme of the next meditations.
The Bible verses Luke 19:10, Titus 3:4-5 and 1 John 4:9-10 are quotes of the New International Version. All other texts are quoted from the New Living Translation.
Friday, February 4, 2011
43. RESURRECTION LIFE OR WHAT ? ( f )
In meditations 38 to 42 we searched through the Gospels, the book of Acts, Paul's letter and ‘the Letter to the Hebrews’ to see how they depict ‘divine salvation’. Today we will comb through the letters of James, Peter and John for ‘salvation pictures’. As we already said before, we will not repeat the pictures which we have already found in the New Testament, although many of them are repeated time and again:
‘Divine Salvation’ is pictured as:
• Being made holy by the Holy Spirit of God
“God the Father chose you long ago, and the Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed Jesus Christ and are cleansed by his blood. May you have more and more of God's special favor and wonderful peace.” 1 Peter 1:2
• Being shielded by God’s power
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-- kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5
• Being a foreigner on earth
“Remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as foreigners here on earth.” 1 Peter 1:17
• Being a holy priest of God
“...and now God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple. What's more, you are God's holy priests, who offer the spiritual sacrifices that please him because of Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 2:5
• Sharing in God’s divine nature
“By that same mighty power, he [God] has given us all of his rich and wonderful promises. He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in his divine nature.” 2 Peter 1:4
• Being like Jesus
“Yes, dear friends, we are already God's children, and we can't even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.” 1 John 3:2
• Having the testimony of God in your heart
“Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:10-12
• Having fellowship with God the Father and God the Son
“If you wander beyond the teaching of Christ, you will not have fellowship with God. But if you continue in the teaching of Christ, you will have fellowship with both the Father and the Son.”
2 John 1:9
• Living in the love of God the Father and in the care of Jesus his Son
“This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. I am writing to all who are called to live in the love of God the Father and the care of Jesus Christ.” Jude 1:1
• Seeing Jesus’ face and having his Name written on your forehead
“No longer will anything be cursed. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there [in the new Jerusalem], and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.” Revelation 22:3-4
• For ever reigning with the Messiah over his Kingdom
“There will be no night there [New Jerusalem]-- no need for lamps or sun-- for the Lord God will shine on them. And they [Jesus’ servants] will reign forever and ever.” Revelation 22:5
“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: ‘The whole world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.’" Revelation 11:15
• Having the right to eat the fruit from the tree of life
(see Genesis 2:9 and 3:22-24)
“Blessed are those who wash their robes so they can enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life.” Revelation 22:14
If you are like me, you might be overwhelmed by the 82 present and future ‘salvation pictures’ we have collected from the New Testament. Actually, our list is not even exhaustive, and as we said before, many of the salvation pictures are used frequently throughout the Gospels and the Epistles!
As specific circumstances and spiritual interests change over the years, our attraction to a particular ‘salvation picture’ might give way more than once to another picture. As a new follower of Jesus in a ‘free country’ you might momentarily be fascinated by a different kind of picture than those who live in countries where Christians are persecuted and imprisoned for their faith. Thank God for the fact that the great diversity of pictures is able to enrich our lives in every circumstance and in every stage of our spiritual journey.
It is time to start looking at some of those ‘salvation pictures’ in a more detailed way. Because of the character of our meditations, we are specifically interested in those pictures that deal with the Christian walk of life from its ‘rebirth experience’ until the stage of Christlike maturity.
So, let’s begin at the beginning...
The Bible verses 1 Peter 1:3-5 and 1 John 5:10-12 are quotes of the New International Version. All other texts are quoted from the New Living Translation.
‘Divine Salvation’ is pictured as:
• Being made holy by the Holy Spirit of God
“God the Father chose you long ago, and the Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed Jesus Christ and are cleansed by his blood. May you have more and more of God's special favor and wonderful peace.” 1 Peter 1:2
• Being shielded by God’s power
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-- kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5
• Being a foreigner on earth
“Remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as foreigners here on earth.” 1 Peter 1:17
• Being a holy priest of God
“...and now God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple. What's more, you are God's holy priests, who offer the spiritual sacrifices that please him because of Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 2:5
• Sharing in God’s divine nature
“By that same mighty power, he [God] has given us all of his rich and wonderful promises. He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in his divine nature.” 2 Peter 1:4
• Being like Jesus
“Yes, dear friends, we are already God's children, and we can't even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.” 1 John 3:2
• Having the testimony of God in your heart
“Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:10-12
• Having fellowship with God the Father and God the Son
“If you wander beyond the teaching of Christ, you will not have fellowship with God. But if you continue in the teaching of Christ, you will have fellowship with both the Father and the Son.”
2 John 1:9
• Living in the love of God the Father and in the care of Jesus his Son
“This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. I am writing to all who are called to live in the love of God the Father and the care of Jesus Christ.” Jude 1:1
• Seeing Jesus’ face and having his Name written on your forehead
“No longer will anything be cursed. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there [in the new Jerusalem], and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.” Revelation 22:3-4
• For ever reigning with the Messiah over his Kingdom
“There will be no night there [New Jerusalem]-- no need for lamps or sun-- for the Lord God will shine on them. And they [Jesus’ servants] will reign forever and ever.” Revelation 22:5
“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: ‘The whole world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.’" Revelation 11:15
• Having the right to eat the fruit from the tree of life
(see Genesis 2:9 and 3:22-24)
“Blessed are those who wash their robes so they can enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life.” Revelation 22:14
If you are like me, you might be overwhelmed by the 82 present and future ‘salvation pictures’ we have collected from the New Testament. Actually, our list is not even exhaustive, and as we said before, many of the salvation pictures are used frequently throughout the Gospels and the Epistles!
As specific circumstances and spiritual interests change over the years, our attraction to a particular ‘salvation picture’ might give way more than once to another picture. As a new follower of Jesus in a ‘free country’ you might momentarily be fascinated by a different kind of picture than those who live in countries where Christians are persecuted and imprisoned for their faith. Thank God for the fact that the great diversity of pictures is able to enrich our lives in every circumstance and in every stage of our spiritual journey.
It is time to start looking at some of those ‘salvation pictures’ in a more detailed way. Because of the character of our meditations, we are specifically interested in those pictures that deal with the Christian walk of life from its ‘rebirth experience’ until the stage of Christlike maturity.
So, let’s begin at the beginning...
The Bible verses 1 Peter 1:3-5 and 1 John 5:10-12 are quotes of the New International Version. All other texts are quoted from the New Living Translation.
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