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Thursday, January 04, 2007

Boa, K(2001)Conformed to His Image 

In the last few years, I have adapted and used this prayer by St. Richard of

Chichester (1197-1253) in my own quiet times before the Lord: 'Thanks be to thee, 0

Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits which thou hast given us; for all the pains and

insults which thou hast borne for us. 0 most merciful Redeemer, Friend, and Brother,

may we know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, and follow thee more nearly;

for thine own sake."

Loving God completely involves our whole personality-our intellect, emotion, and will. "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30). The better we come to know God ("may we know thee more clearly"), the more we will love him ("love thee more dearly"). And the more we love him, the greater our willingness to trust and obey him in the things he calls us to do ("follow thee more nearly").

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The great prayers in Ephesians 1 and 3, Philippians 1, and Colossians 1 reveal that Paul's deepest desire for his readers was that they grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. The knowledge the apostle had in mind was not merely propositional but personal. He prayed that the Lord would give them a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, that the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened, and that they would know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge (Ephesians 1: 17-18; 3:19). 31

What does it take to know God more clearly? The two essential ingredients are time and obedience. It takes time to cultivate a relationship, and unless we get aside consistent time for disciplines such as solitude, silence, prayer, and the reading of Scripture, we will never become intimate with our Lord. Obedience is the proper response to this communication, since it is our personal expression of trust in the promises of the Person we are coming to know. The more we are impressed by him, the less we will be impressed by people, power, and things.

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But the Scriptures exhort us to look to Christ, not to self, for the solutions we so greatly need. I have come to define the biblical view of self-love in this way: loving ourselves correctly means seeing ourselves as God sees us. This will never happen automatically, because the scriptural vision of human depravity and dignity is countercultural. To genuinely believe and embrace the reality of who we have become as a result of our faith in Christ requires consistent discipline and exposure to the Word of God. It also requires a context of fellowship and encouragement in a community of like-minded believers. Without these, the visible will overcome the invisible, and our understanding of this truth will gradually slip through our fingers.

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WHO DOES GOD SAY 1 AM?

The following biblical affirmations about our identity in Jesus Christ are derived from a few selected passages in the New Testament. These passages teach a portion of the many truths about who we have become through faith in God's Son.

• I am a child of God.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.

John 1:12

• I am a branch of the true vine, and a conduit of Christ's life.

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser... I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and 1 in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."

John 15:1 5

• I am a friend of Jesus.

'No longer do 1 call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you."

John 15:15

• I have been justified and redeemed.

Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.

Rornans 3:24

My old self was crucified with Christ, and I am no longer a slave to sin.

Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.

Romans 6:6

I will not be condemned by God.

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:1

• I have been set free from the law of sin and death.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Romans 8:2

• As a child of God, I am a fellow heir with Christ.

And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Romans 8:17

• I have been accepted by Christ.

Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.

Romans 15:7

• 1 have been called to be a saint.

To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

1 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2

• In Christ Jesus, I have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.

1 Corinthians 1:30

My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in me.

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

1 Corinthians 3:16

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

1 Corinthians 6:19

• I am joined to the Lord and am one spirit with him. But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

1 Corinthians 6:17

• God leads me in the triumph and knowledge of Christ.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.

2 Corinthians 2:14

• The hardening of my mind has been removed in Christ.

But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:14

am a new creature in Christ.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

2 Corinthians 5:17

I have become the righteousness of God in Christ.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

2 Corinthians 5:21

1 have been made one with all who are in Christ Jesus.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave -nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:28

I am no Ion er a slave but a child and an heir. 9

Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son., and if a son, then an heir through God.

Galatians 4:7

1 have been set free in Christ.

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standin g firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

Galatians 5:1

I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

Ephesians 1:3

I am chosen, holy, and blameless before God. just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.

Ephesians 1:4

I am redeemed and forgiven by the grace of Christ. .1 11 1 1

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our fres-

passes, according to the riches of His grace.

Ephesians 1:7

I have been predestined by God to obtain an inheritance.

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will. Ephesians 1: 10- 11

1 have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation -having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.

Ephesians 1:13

Because of God's mercy and love, I have been made alive with Christ.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).

Ephesians 2:4-5

* 1 am seated in the heavenly places with Christ.

And raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:6

* I am God's workmanship created to produce good works.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

* I have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ'

But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 2:13

I am chosen, holy, and blameless before God. just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.

Ephesians 1:4

I am redeemed and forgiven by the grace of Christ. .1 11 1 1

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our fres-

passes, according to the riches of His grace.

Ephesians 1:7

I have been predestined by God to obtain an inheritance.

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will. Ephesians 1: 10- 11

1 have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation -having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.

Ephesians 1:13

Because of God's mercy and love, I have been made alive with Christ.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).

Ephesians 2:4-5

* 1 am seated in the heavenly places with Christ.

And raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:6

* I am God's workmanship created to produce good works.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

* I have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ'

But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 2:13

• My life is hidden with Christ in God.

For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 3:3

• Christ is my life, and I will be revealed with him in glory.

When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with

Him in glory.

Colossians 3:4

• I have been chosen of God, and I am holy and beloved.

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a

heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Colossians 3:12

• God loves me and has chosen me.

Knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you.

1 Thessalonians 1:4

I recommend reviewing frequently this powerful inventory, since it reminds us of truths we quickly forget amid the worries and cares of this world. The more we embrace these affirmations from Scripture, the more stable, grateful, and fully assured we will be in the course of our lives.

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Jesus derived his identity from his relationship with his Father and not from the opinions of his family and peers. Consider these passages:

T

Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46).

'Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners'?" (Mark 2:16). Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?" And they took offense at Him (Mark 6:3).

'The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a glut-' tonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!"' (Matthew 11: 19).

If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." For not even His brothers were believing in Him (John 7:4-5).

They said to Him, 'We were not born of fornication" (John 8:4 1).

The Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?" (John 8:48).

When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to question Him closely on many subjects, plotting against Him to catch Him in something He might say (Luke 11:53-54).

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Let me offer two questions that can help you assess where you are in this spiritual

journey. Do you love God more for himself than for his gifts and benefits? Are you more

motivated to seek his glory and honor than you are to seek your own? These questions

are pivotal, not trivial, and 1 encourage you to make them a matter of prayerful reflec-

tion rather than casual notice. If you cannot honestly answer yes to either of them, do

not be disheartened, but ask yourself a third question: Do you want your answer to be

yes? If so, offer this intention to the Lord as the desire of your heart, for with such offer-

ings he is pleased. But a fourth question follows hard on the heels of the third: Since

this level of commitment always costs, are you willing to pay the price? 136

As A. W Tozer put it, "Every Christian will become at last what his desires have made him. We are the sum total of our hungers. The g-reat saints have all had thirsting hearts. Their cry has been, 'My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall 1 come and appear before God?' Their longing after God all but consumed them; it propelled them onward and upward to heights toward which less ardent Christians look with languid eye and entertain no hope of reaching." 140

C. S. Lewis argued in The Weight of Glory that our problem is not that our desires are too strong but that they are too weak. 'We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." 141

In The Love of God, Bernard of Clairvaux distinguishes four degrees of love. In the first, we love ourselves for our own sake, and in the second, we love God for our own blessing. In the third degree of love, we love God for God's own sake. Few sustain this blessed degree of love that is unsullied by self-interest in which we love those things that belong to Jesus Christ "even as Christ sought our interests, or rather sought us, and never looked after His own." But Bernard goes on to say, 'Slessed is the man who can attain the fourth degree of love. Then he will love himself only in God!" To be possessed by this degree of divine love can only be a gift that is marked by the fragrance of heaven, not of earth.

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The pursuit of God (quaerere Deum) heightens our awareness of being exiles, pilgrims, and sojourners who increasingly long to be "at home" with him (2 Corinthians 5:2-9; Philippians 1:23; 3:20). Because we are gradually conformed to what we desire, we should pray for the grace of holy desire.

Soren Kierkegaard put it, purity of heart is to will one thing; an undivided heart is integrated, harmonized, and simplified. Simplicity in this sense is the opposite of the duplicity that is caused by a heart that is sundered by inordinate attachment to a multiplicity of finite things. A life lived in accordance with the gospel becomes more centered on the one thing necessary, the good part that will not be taken away (Luke 10:42). The undivided heart loves in all things God's will rather than the things themselves. This purity of communion with God is never attained quickly or fully; it is the fruit of the grace of God and decades of stumbling pursuit. In the mystery of divine love, the more we find God, the harder we pursue him. Pp170

We must stop measuring the quality of our times of prayer and meditation by how well we feel during them, since difficult and apparently fruitless times of prayer may contribute more to our development than times of consolation and enthusiasm.

Enemies of Spiritual Passion

Unresolved areas of disobedience. Resisting the prodding of God in an area of your life may seem subtle, but it can be a more serious grievance to the heart of God than we suppose. It is good to invite the Holy Spirit to reveal any barriers in our relationship with God or people that have been erected by sinful attitudes and actions. When these become evident, deal with them quickly and trust in the power of God's forgiveness through the blood of Christ.

Complacency. Without holy desire we will succumb to the sin of spiritual acedia,' or indifference, apathy, and boredom. People who lose the sharp edge of intention and calling can slip into a morass of listlessness and feelings of failure. We must often ask God for the grace of acute desire so that we will hunger and thirst for him.

Erosion in spiritual disciplines. Complacency can cause or be caused by a failure to train and remain disciplined in the spiritual life. Several biblical figures, including King Asa (2 Chronicles 14-16), illustrate the problem of starting well in the first half of life and finishing poorly in the last half. When spiritual disciplines begin to erode, spiritual passion declines as well.

External obedience. Many people are more concerned about conformity to rules, moral behavior, and duty than they are about loving Jesus. External obedience without inward affection falls short of the biblical vision of obeying God from the heart (Jeremiah 31:33; Romans 6:17; Ephesians 6:6).

Loving truth more than Christ. Some students of the Word have come to love the content of truth in the Bible more than the Source of that truth. Biblical theology and systematic theology are worthy pursuits, but not when they become substitutes for the pursuit of knowing and becoming like Jesus.

Elevating service and ministry above Christ. It is easier to define ourselves by what we accomplish than by our new identity in Christ. For some people, the Christian life consists more of fellowship, service to those in need, witnessing, and worship than of becoming intimate with Jesus. This leads to the problem of ministry without the manifest presence of God.

Greater commitment to institutions than to Christ. It is easy for churches, denominations, or other organizations to occupy more of our time and attention than does devotion to Jesus. There is a constant danger of getting more passionate about causes than about Christ.

A merely functional relationship. Many people are more interested in what Jesus can do for them than in who he is. We may initially come to him hoping that he will help us with our career, marriage, children, or health, but if we do not grow beyond this gifts-above-the-Giver mentality, we will never develop spiritual passion.

Our love for God can be threatened by these enemies, but other attitudes and actions can stimulate or renew a sense of devotion and intimacy.

Sources of Spiritual Passion

Growing awareness of God as a person. God is an intensely Personal and relational Being, and it is an insult for us to treat him as though he were a power or a principle. Some of us find it easier to be comfortable with abstract principles and ideas than with people and intimacy. As we have seen, good things like the Bible, theology, ministry, and church can become substitutes for loving him. As a countermeasure, it is good to

ask God for the grace of increased passion for his Son so that, by the power of the Spirit, we will come to love him as the Father loves him.

Sitting at Jesus'feet. When we make consistent time for reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation, we place ourselves at the feet of Jesus and enjoy his presence. By making ourselves available and receptive to him, we learn the wisdom of spending more time being a friend of Jesus than a friend of others.

1 1 Imitating the Master Our identification with Jesus in his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension has made us new creatures before God (2 Corinthians 5:17). This divinely wrought identification makes it possible for us to imitate Jesus and "follow in His steps" (1 Peter 2:2 1). If we love the Master, we will want to be like him in his character, humility, compassion, love, joy, peace, and dependence on the Father's will.

Cultivating spiritual affections. Regardless of our natural temperaments, it is important for us to develop true affections (desire, longing, zeal, craving, hunger) for God. The rich emotional life of the psalmists (see Psalm 27:4; 42:1-3; 63:1-8; 145:1-21) reveals a desire for God above all else and a willingness to cling to him during times of aridity. Like them, we must aspire to a love that is beyond'us (Ephesians 3:17-19).

Increasing appreciation for the goodness of God. The distractions of the world make it difficult for us to develop a growing appreciation for our relationship with God. We forget that we can enjoy communion with Someone who is infinitely better than the objects of our most powerful natural desires. We must pray for the grace of gratitude and amazement at the unqualified goodness of God's "kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:7).

Focused intention. What do you want (or want to want) more than anything else? God is pleased when we pursue him with a heart that is intent on knowing and loving him. He "begins His influence by working in us that we may have the will, and He completes it by working with us when we have the will," wrote Augustine in On Grace and Free Will. As our wills become more simplified and centered on becoming like Jesus, our love for him will grow.

Willingness to let God break our outward self "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal" (John 12:2425). The alabaster vial of the self-life must be broken (Mark 14:3) to release the perfume of the new self in Christ. If we wish to manifest the fragrance of Christ, we must allow God to bring us, in his time and way, to the painful place of brokenness on the cross of self-abandonment to him. This theme resonates in spiritual literature, and one of the clearest expressions is in Watchman Nee's The Release of the Spirit.

Desiring to please God more than impress people. If we want to be like Christ, we must embrace his governing goal to be pleasing to the Father (John 8:29; Hebrews 10:7). The enemy of this glorious goal is the competing quest for human approval (John 5:41, 44; 12:43; Galatians 1: 10). We cannot have it both ways; we will either play to an Audience of one or to an audience of many. But in the end, only God's opinion will matter.

Treasuring God. Dallas Willard observes in The Divine Conspiracy that God "treasures those whom he has created, planned for, longed for, sorrowed over, redeemed, and befriended." just as God has treasured us, so he wants us to respond by treasuring him above all else. 'We love, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). The more we realize how God loved and valued us, the greater our capacity to love and value him. In Beginning to Pray, Anthony Bloom suggests that one way to treasure God is to find a personal name or expression for God that flows out of our relationship with him, like David's "You, my Joy!"

Maturing in trust. As believers, we trust Christ for our eternal destiny, but most of us find it difficult to trust him in our daily practice. As long as we pursue sinful strategies of seeking satisfaction on our own terms, our confidence will be misplaced. We must learn to trust Jesus enough to place our confidence in his power, not our performance.

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The way of discipleship and sanctification is not based upon a list of things we don't do. That is the way of control, measurement, comparison, criticism, and arrogance. Instead, the way of discipleship is a single-minded pursuit of the Holy One so that we are set apart for his service and surrendered to his purposes in every facet of life. it is allowing ourselves to be possessed by God in such a way that his indwelling Holy Spirit is free to reorient our hearts, values, and behaviors in each sphere of engagement. Having entered into a relationship with the personal Creator of the universe, our highest calling is to know him in a deeper and richer way. This was the apostle Paul's ambition: "that 1 may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings... phil 3:10

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Sanctification is both an event (we were sanctified when we gave ourselves to Christ [ 1 Corinthians 6:111) and a process (we are being sanctified [Romans 12:2; Philippians 2-3; 1 John 2:281). Spiritual formation is the lifelong process of becoming in our character and actions the new creations we already are in Christ (2 Corinthians 5: 17); it is the working out of what God has already worked in us (Philippians 2:12-13). 257

Note the process imagery in Scripture that stresses an ongoing awareness of the presence of Christ: abide in Jesus and let his words abide in you (John 15:4-7); set your mind on the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5-6); walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 25); keep seeking the things above where Christ is (Colossians 3:1--2); rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18); run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2). The spiritual life is not a measurable product but a dynamic process.

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Holiness is never achieved by acting ourselves into a new way of being. Instead, it is a gift that God graciously implants within the core of those who have trusted in Christ. All holiness is the holiness of God within us-the indwelling life of Christ. Thus the process of sanctification is the gradual diffusion of this life from the inside (being) to the outside (doing), so that we become in action what we are in essence. 277

Words and works col 4:5-6 (evangelism)

The Christian life is the life of Christ in us; without a moment-by-moment reliance on the Holy Spirit, this level of living is impossible. Sanctification is both a state and a process; when we come to Jesus, we are set apart to God by the Spirit's application of the work of Christ in our lives. We are called to realize this state of sanctification (God's inworking [Philipplans 2:131) in a progressive way by obedient conformity to the character of the indwelling Christ (our outworking [Philippians 2:121). This is accomplished as we keep in step with the Spirit; If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25). To be sanctified is to be possessed by God's Spirit. to respond to his transforming purposes in obedient faith, to bear the fruit of the Spirit by abiding in Christ (Galatians 5:22-23), and to pursue the process of maturation in holiness in our relationships with God, his people, and the people of the world.

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