Christian Foundations

So far in this series on Personal Spiritual Growth, we have discussed what people mean when they talk about being ‘born again’.  For many people, the change comes slowly while for others, life is greatly and almost instantly changed.  Gone are the desires, compulsions and addictions of the old nature.  Here to stay are new ideas, new concepts and new hopes as the filters fall from their eyes.

The point we need to realise is that change is a natural process of any ‘Jesus Follower’ whether we want or expect it.  Change comes with the new walk and new life with their Creator.

In this post, we shall continue with the theme of change and growth by looking at the new creation.  We see that we are a work in progress, going through a refining process where we can work with or against the Holy Spirit.  However, God so values our free will that He will not force us into anything against that free will.  So our choice – do we work with Him or against Him?

 

A.  GOD EXPEXTS CHANGE AND GROWTH

2 Corinthians 3:18  “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Counseling may be necessary for some people, because they have been very damaged by circumstances.  The Counselor’s job is to apply ‘Band-Aids’, until they are patched up enough to ‘die to Self’, where the real Freedom is (Matthew 10:39).  That’s what growth and change are all about!  Then they need to find the real Way to Life and Growth (John 14:6), through an intimate relationship with Jesus.

 

1.  Christian growth and Change are different from the World’s drive for change

There are multitudes of motivational books and tapes to be found.  We are NOT teaching you growth for our personal comfort or self-improvement or how to be conformed to some religious outer life; nor are we talking about.  As we walk with the King, we are being transformed into ‘new creatures’ in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).

2.  We are all called to become the person God created us to be

When we make our spiritual life in Christ a priority, everything else falls into place, Matthew 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well”.  We need to learn to expect, accept and help create Holy Spirit ‘transformation” in our Christian growth. 

3.  This is an offer for LIFE

Saint Irenaeus talked about “The glory of God is man fully alive!”  Really?  That’s what God intends for us when we come to Jesus?  Really!  Paul describes a whole new way of living that is only possible because of what Jesus Christ has done for us … and what He meant for us to have in the Holy Spirit.  Do we really understand the depth and the power behind God’s intentions for us?  May we have the eyes to see how this could be!

 

B.        BEING ‘BORN AGAIN’ IS ONLY THE START OF WHOLENESS  

1.     The Meaning of ‘Being Saved’:

      a.  ‘Soteria’ is a New Testament Greek word meaning “To be made WHOLE, to be delivered, made safe, preserved from destruction”.  It is a word that both infers completeness and an on-going process. ¹

      b.   We are in need of salvation from the evil world, from ourselves and from the Enemy who wants us destroyed.  It is God’s intention “to make us whole”, in spirit, soul and (future) body.

2.     Why did Creator God plan this process?

The purpose of such a ‘bargain of love’ is that He would have a people of His own, adopted as Sons.  We are to grow into the image of His first born, Jesus.  We are a royal priesthood:  a living, holy building in which God can dwell with us (1 Corinthians 3:16,17,  6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16)

Jesus finished His work when He joined Father God in heaven

Jesus’ redemption work is applied to our PAST.  It is accomplished on the cross of Calvary (Galatians 3:13, Romans 3:24, Ephesians 1:7, 1 Peter 1:18-19).  It is applied to our PRESENT, an ongoing process as we walk with God (Titus 2:14).  It is applied to our FUTURE, to be fully accomplished at the Second Coming of Jesus (Romans 8:22-23, Philippians 3:20-21, 1 Corinthians 15:52).

3.  Legal versus Experiential – paid for yet a process

This salvation and redemption has been legally given to us by what Jesus has done at the Cross.  He has fulfilled all God’s requirements (1 Peter 1:20, Heb. 9:14, John 6:38).  However, just like Israel in the Promised Land, we must ‘claim’ the territory and ‘fight’ for our freedom.  There were some 33,000 promises given to Israel by God.  They would never have prospered if they hadn’t taken that first step into the Land.

4.  We are a work in progress

“Soteria” is an event!  It was all done at the Cross (John 19:30) but it is also process, a journey as well! (Philippians 2:12)  Paul wrote this in the Greek ‘present continuous tense’.  It’s like a ‘metamorphosis’ a transforming from the inside to the outside.  Like layers of an onion, God peals us back layer at a time, transforming a grub into a butterfly.  Or He takes a hard rock and under the pressures of heat and time, He transforms it into diamond.

5.  We need to grow and change as part of the Refining process 

We need a free will to make healthy, lasting choices.  Our Growth Journey is about being changed into the image of Jesus, and that often involves surrendering our will to His.  In order to grow up, we must first give up. We have to let Him into every area, especially the areas that seem too hard for us to change.

 

The Lord gave a client a picture of a beautiful marble block being chiselled into His image.  There were still imperfections, bits of wood, hay, etc. but the image was being sculptured into something precious.  “Do you want to see the workman I am using in this process?”  Jesus asked her.  With her reply of “Yes”, three people stepped out from behind the statue, her husband, her mother-in-law and her teenage daughter – the three most abrasive, gut-wrenching people in her life.  So what is the Moral of the story?

 6.  God honours our Free Will, Matthew 19:21&22

We are designed with a ‘God shaped’ hole in our heart that only Jesus matches.  We don’t need to try to earn His goodness or try to match His expectation of us in legalistic ways.  It’s not about keeping a law; it is about grace and growth in Him.

Christians do have The Answer to Life’s problems!  God expects us to go through a refining process of growth; it’s the norm not the exception!  It is two-fold: both a legal standing we have with Him and an experiential one in practical living, an everyday process.  Salvation is Father God’s plan of rescuing His creation from the effects of sin and rebellion.

 

C.  WHY DO WE NEED TO GROW AND CHANGE? 

List some points on why you think we need to change:

(…….To be more like Christ, to please and know God more, to gain a better lifestyle, dignity and self-worth, to discover God’s plan for our life, to be released from strongholds, bad habits and painful memories, to integrate our beliefs with our lifestyle, etc……..)

 

D.   BARRIERS TO CHANGE – WHAT CAN STOP OUR GROWTH? 

1.  It’s Often About Motivation!

If you were offered a million dollars to learn to play the guitar, could you?  Would you?  We don’t learn new ways without enough motivation, priority or inspiration.  So why don’t we grow more?

2.  List some points that you think could stop growth from happening:

(……Lack of motivation, procrastination, pride, religious attitudes, judgements, rationalism, spiritual blindness, generational curses, demonic oppression, unbelief, rejection by others (rescuer mind set, co-dependency, unmet needs leading to the addiction for approval, Performance Trap, trying to be perfect, our view of Father God and His judgement, faulty expectations, unrealistic goals, unwilling to be vulnerable in new territory, low toleration for ambiguity, not having role models that inspired change, few skills, fear of failure, etc…….)

 

In our next post, we will look at the process of Personal Growth and how to call our spirit to more growth in Jesus.  Since Jesus is our model for perfect growth, we need to see how conviction must play a part in growth.  Remember you could lock yourself away in a monastery and ‘spit and polish’ yourself perfect and guess what … there would still be work to do.  That’s the part of the old nature that is always going to be there – until Jesus comes.

It isn’t about being perfect!  You do as much or as little as Jesus calls you to do.  Otherwise you are into self-effort and good works to gain His approval.  If we could reach perfection in our own way, we would not have needed Jesus and His work for us.  It’s all about resting in His work and following Him through personal Growth and Change in His leading.

Thanks for joining us, Susanne Fengler, Blog Author

www.christianfoundations.jesus-treeoflife.info

 PS. At some later date, you will find this series in    www.hearinggod.mentorsnotebook.com/blog

Tags: Growth in Christ
Filed under: Foundations of our Faith, Series #1: Being a Jesus Follower