The “how” of living the Christian life

Last time, we learned that the Christian life is a miracle of resurrection – that after we believe in Jesus for eternal life, God is the one (not us) who empowers our mortal bodies to accomplish the good desires He has given us.

And while that truth lifts a great weight off of our shoulders, you may have the same question I had when I was first exposed to this teaching: That’s great to know that I don’t have to muscle through my desire to do good and my inability to consistently do it…but…exactly how does God empower my spiritually dead body?

Fortunately, Paul got real specific about this topic with the group of believers in the city of Corinth. 

2 Corinthians 3:18
We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.

In the preceding verses (2 Corinthians 3:12-16), Paul is clear that the mirror he is referring to is the Scriptures.  While the Old Testament was The Scriptures of Paul’s day, the New Testament describes how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures and the resulting, permanent adjustment He made to our relationship to God.  As such, the same mirror analogy applies to the New Testament Scriptures, and God uses the entirety of the Bible to change us.  As for seeing the glory of the Lord, consider the following verses:

John 1:14
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  We observed His glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:18
No one has ever seen God.  The one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side – He has revealed Him.

The Scriptures – both Old and New Testament – reveal who Jesus is.  We see His excellence, His grace, His kindness, His righteous anger, His love, His tenacity, His creativity, His plan…we see that He is the way, the truth, and the life…and most of all, we see His glory.  Jesus is the glory of the Father.  Jesus is our perfect representation of who God is and what He is like. 

The Scriptures are the mirror for us to see the glory of the Lord…The Scriptures are the mirror for us to see Jesus.  Look at the rebuke Jesus gave to the religious egg-heads of His day:

John 5:39-40
You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, and yet they testify about Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me so that you may have life.

They used the text to justify how good they were before God, how much better they saw themselves as compared to others.  However, they had completely missed the point of reading/studying/memorizing Scripture.  The fulfillment of Scripture was standing right in front of them…and they missed it.  In fact, because they were so wrapped up in their own outward goodness, they were not willing to see Jesus for who He is. 

There were other times Jesus pointed out this fundamental truth – that all Scripture was pointing to Him:

Luke 24:27
Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He [Jesus] interpreted for them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

Luke 24:44-45
He told them, “These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you – that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”  Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

We cannot properly understand the Scriptures until we recognize that they are the reflection of Jesus.  If we go to the Bible for any other reason, we will miss the point.  But…if we approach the Bible with the mindset that they are about Him (and not us)…then we will observe His glory and be transformed by the reflection…transformed to be like Jesus, step by step, and growing from glory to glory throughout our lifetime.

Most Christians, if they look at their Bibles at all, read them because they feel “they have to”, or they feel guilty if they don’t, or they want to find a way to prove themselves right on a certain topic.  Don’t miss this – if we go to the Scriptures to find Jesus, if we spend time there to understand who He is…the reflection of Him in the Scriptures will change us to be like Him. 

That is how Jesus empowers our mortal bodies to live the Christian life – He does it by making us more like Him.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Reflecting love

After all the dysfunction and relationship problems that Onesimus had previously caused Philemon, take a look at Paul’s appeal to Philemon to now accept Onesimus.  Does this sound familiar?

Philemon 17-22
So if you consider me a partner, accept him as you would me.  And if he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.  I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it – not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self.  Yes, brother, may I have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 

Since I am confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.  But meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.

Can you see how Paul is standing in the gap for Onesimus with Philemon, just like Jesus stands in the gap between us and God the Father?

Paul is confident that Philemon will listen to his request and accept Onesimus because Paul is the one making the request.  In order for the reconciliation to happen, Paul is willing to be charged for wrongs that he didn’t commit.  Paul is choosing to spend of himself – both in monetary resources and in relationship capital – to repair the relationship between two people he dearly loves.  Additionally, Paul was confident that Philemon would accept his offer and would do even more than simply tolerating Onesimus – it’s clear from his request that Paul fully believed Philemon would accept Onesimus back into his family.

Similarly, Jesus is confident that God the Father will accept those who trust Him for eternal life because Jesus is the one making the request.  In order for our reconciliation to happen, Jesus was willing to be charged for wrongs that he didn’t commit.  Jesus chose to spend of himself – by leaving behind the glory of Heaven, willing to be separated from the Father, and then to die a horrible death – to repair the relationship between those he dearly loves.  Additionally, Jesus knew that the Father would accept His offering and that the Father would do even more than just tolerate those who believe in Jesus for eternal life.  Jesus knew that because of His sacrifice, the Father would bring us into His family.

Paul’s actions are small-scale reflection of what Jesus did for each of us.  Without Paul’s assistance, it is doubtful that Onesimus could have been reconciled with Philemon.  Without Jesus, there was no way for us to be reconciled with God the Father. 

Great things happen when we imitate Jesus.  Relationships can be restored and lives can be changed – because we are acting like the One who restored our relationship with God the Father.  Our Jesus-changed life will positively affect the lives of others around us and simultaneously point them toward God’s bigger story.  The world doesn’t just need to hear the message of Jesus – they need to see it, too.

Paul was able to stand in the gap for his friends because he knew Jesus well enough to imitate Him.  If we stay close to Jesus, we too can be small-scale reflections of His great love.

Keep Pressing,
Ken