Travailing until Christ is richly formed in the church

The Spotless Agenda: 012


Travailing until Christ is richly formed in the church


We are in a generation where many Christians have been brainwashed to think that conforming to Christ is too much work. Teachings about becoming more completely like Christ are subtly attracting labels as being legalistic. 

You know, some Bible critics - sadly, a lot of them are in the church - wish that the Bible could be re-written. The discipline of attuning oneself to scriptural truth and enlightenment of the Spirit is waning down. Scriptural truth with enlightenment of the Spirit is being replaced with intuitive, mysterious and apocalyptic teaching. 

In his days, Paul wrote to the Christians in Galatia and said to them, "My children, I feel really like a mother who is giving birth to you again. I feel pain on your behalf until you become more completely like Christ." (Gal 4:19 Easy English).

Like Paul, I feel the pain of a woman in labour on behalf of many Christians until they become more completely like Christ. 

Conforming to Christ is a call - to church members and church leaders alike - a call to tune our minds to becoming more completely like Christ so that many more unbelievers may see our glory and desire to become the children of our Father. 

Conforming to Christ is a call - to church members and church leaders alike - a call to stand, kneel or lie on the floor to travail until Christ is richly formed in Christians so that there will be a clear-cut difference between the children of light and the children of darkness. 

Any heart in which Christ is not richly formed is a mission field. Any place where Christ is not dominating by the gospel is a mission field. Any people whose culture and values are not like those of the Kingdom is a mission field. Every heart and space needs Christ!

Christians becoming more completely like Christ calls for much travail and much teaching in the church. The style of teaching must be like that of Christ, that is, demonstration. Demonstration involves doing the truth and teaching others to do and teach likewise. 

To become more completely like Christ, you must be eating the word like real food and drinking from the Spirit like real water. Jesus is the Word. As you eat the Word, and drink from the Spirit, you get totally filled with the riches of Christ. This way, Christ will be richly formed in you and you will become more completely like him. 

Keep enjoying his riches in order to become more completely like him. 

#TowardsASpotlessChurch

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE DOCTRINE OF SPIRITUAL COVERING: TRUTH OR INVENTION?

  " As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message" (Galatians 2:6 NIV).  Modern Christianity is orienting the Christian away from the belief that the Bible is the highest authority for faith and doctrine toward a belief that a spiritual father is the highest authority for faith and doctrine.  What is the basis for the belief that a father is a covering for the Christian? Is this belief based on the Bible or is it based on a doctrine that a father in the ministry advanced? Some fathers in the ministry have died from gory road accident. Others have died in a plane crush. Still others have lost biological children, sons and daughters in the ministry, in a most painful way. The popular televangelist and healing minister, A. A. Allen, is said to have died after a heavy drinking binge. Autopsy report showed that he died of kidney failure resulting from excessive alcohol intak...
Read more

LIVING BY THE SPIRIT (III)

 The Gifts of the Holy Spirit  Ephesians 4:11-12 NIV [11] So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, [12] to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. The Holy Spirit is a gift from God to those whom he loves. Why is the Holy Spirit a gift? A gift refers to a provision freely made, a person freely given, or an item freely supplied to meet another person's peculiar needs. Anything that is given to solve your peculiar need free of charge is a gift. Our talents are natural gifts given by God to enable us meet peculiar needs such as our need for a job. Our extraordinary or supernatural abilities are spiritual gifts given by God to enable us do extraordinary works on his behalf. A gift may be in the form of an arrangement made, a person given, or an item supplied to meet the peculiar needs of another person free of charge. From a giver, gift reaches a recipient. The Holy Spirit is God's comp...
Read more

PILLARS OF A GLORIOUS CHURCH

"The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John." (Revelation 1:1 NIV) Every church, no matter the denomination or doctrine, must look so much the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the head and the church is his body. The two parts must be identical in nature and behaviour.   Nature wise, the church is created in the image of Christ, but behaviour wise, the church must learn to live like Christ. Just as a newborn baby, fully possessing the genetic and systemic abilities of a human being, must learn to behave as a human being, so the Christian, created in the image of Christ, must learn to behave like Christ.  We ought to place much emphasis on the revelation of Jesus Christ in the book of Revelations. This is because, in the book, the glorified Christ reveals himself to the church in his full glory as Lord, so that we would see what his glory looks like, and eventually, ...
Read more