Christ Formed in You

Excerpt 4 of 22

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The Gift of the Spirit

In his resurrection and exaltation Christ did far morethan return to us our humanity. Even as the Son of Man departed from the earth,he sent us his Spirit. “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all arewitnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and havingreceived from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out thisthat you yourselves are seeing and hearing” (Acts 2:32-33). This was a pivotalevent, unprecedented in the history of God’s saving deeds. As Peter points out,it was also the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy that God would pour his Spiritout in the “last days” (Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:17-21).

True, the Spirit of God was active before the coming ofChrist. Scripture speaks of the Spirit’s involvement in both creation (Gen.1:2) and redemption (Isa. 63:7-14). From Peter and Paul, we know that theSpirit was also the agent of God’s self-revelation through Scripture (2 Pet.1:21; 2 Tim. 3:14-17). But it is especially in the life and ministry of Jesusthat we make our acquaintance with the Holy Spirit. “In the coming of Jesus,the Day of the Spirit had finally dawned.” [i]

The Spirit of the Son

The Holy Spirit was intimately connected with Jesusthroughout his entire life. Prior to Jesus’ virginal conception an angel saidto Mary, “the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most Highwill overshadow you” (Luke 1:35; cf. Matt. 1:18, 20). When Jesus was baptizedby John the Baptist in the Jordan River, the Father anointed him with theSpirit (Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22). Then Jesus was immediately driveninto the wilderness by the Spirit for a season of testing (Matt. 4:1; Mark1:12; Luke 4:1). Luke says that Jesus was “full of the Spirit” when thishappened; he afterward returned to Galilee in “the power of the Spirit” (Luke4:14).

In Jesus’ first sermon, he claimed to fulfill Isaiah’sprophecy of a Spirit-anointed ministry of redemption and restoration to Israel(Luke 4:16-21). Peter’s summary of Christ’s ministry describes “how Godanointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went aboutdoing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was withhim” (Acts 10:38). When skeptical religious leaders accused him of casting outdemons by satanic power, Jesus said, “if it is by the Spirit of God that I castout demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt. 12:28).

In his death, Jesus offered himself as an atoningsacrifice through the Holy Spirit (Heb. 9:14). Paul tells us that Jesus was“declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness byhis resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4). After Jesus’ resurrection hebreathed on his disciples, saying “receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). Thenfollowed Jesus’ ascension and Pentecost, when the Spirit was poured out on thechurch, as the Spirit of Christ.

The New Age of the Spirit

The exaltation of Christ inaugurated the new age of theSpirit. Jesus, the quintessential Spirit-filled one, the Last Adam, has livedand died in our place. He is now exalted in glorified humanity. In this exaltedposition, the Spirit so identifies with the risen Lord Jesus that Paul speaksof Christ as “life-giving Spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45) and the “Lord of the Spirit” [ii](2 Cor. 3:18).

As Sinclair Ferguson writes,

From womb to tomb to throne, theSpirit was the constant companion of the Son. As a result, when he comes toChristians to indwell them, he comes as the Spirit of Christ in such a way thatto possess him is to possess Christ himself, just as to lack him is to lackChrist. [iii]

This is important for us to grasp because the Spirit, as given by our exalted Lord, isthe agent who personally effects our transformation.

When we embrace Christ revealed in the gospel, he givesus his Spirit. The Holy Spirit remakes us after Christ’s likeness, changing usby the sight of his glory into his very image (2 Cor. 3:18). We are dependent onthe Spirit for every inch of progress in our pursuit of holiness andtransformation. As Calvin wrote,

It is the Spirit that inflames ourhearts with the fire of ardent love for God and for our neighbor. Every day hemortifies and every day consumes more and more of the vices of our evil desireor greed, so that, if there are some good deeds in us, these are the fruits andthe virtues of his grace; and without the Spirit there is in us nothing butdarkness of understanding and perversity of heart. [iv]

This is the life-giving ministry of the Spirit in the newcovenant (2 Cor. 3:4-4:6). Writing with rich biblical insight of how “theSpirit’s task is to restore glory to a fallen creation,” Ferguson continues:

As Calvin well says, this world wasmade a theatre for God’s glory. Throughout it he displays visibly theperfections of his invisible nature. Particularly in man and woman, his image,that glory was to be reflected. But they refused to “glorify God (Rom. 1:21);they defiled the reflector (Rom. 1:28) and fell short of his glory (Rom. 3:23).

But now, in Christ who is “the radianceof God’s glory” (Heb. 1:2), that glory is restored. Having become flesh for us,he has now been exalted in our flesh yet in glory. The eschatological goal ofcreation has been consummated in him as its firstfruits. Now he sends hisSpirit, the intimate companion of his entire incarnation, to recover glory inus. So it is that “we, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord’s glory, arebeing transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comesfrom the Lord, who is the Spirit [or, the Lord of the Spirit]” (2 Cor. 3:18).

The purpose for which the Spirit is given is, therefore, nothing less than thereproduction of the image of God, that is transformation into the likeness ofChrist who is himself the image of God. To receive the Spirit is to beinaugurated into the effects of this ongoing ministry. [v]

[i] SinclairB. Ferguson, The Holy Spirit (DownersGrove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996) 33.

[ii] AsFerguson explains, the last phrase of 2 Cor. 3:18, “‘from the Lord, who is theSpirit’ translates three Greek words: apo(from), kyrio (Lord, genitivecase following the preposition apo)and pneumatos (Spirit, also in thegenitive case). The statement is amendable to more than one interpretation: (1)‘from the Spirit of the Lord’. (2) ‘from the Lord who is the Spirit’; (3) ‘fromthe Lord of the Spirit’. The third option may, at first glance, seem to be theleast likely, but it is the most natural rendering and one that is highlyilluminating theologically. Paul is then saying that the Lord Jesus Christ isthe Lord of the Spirit. There is no ontological confusion here, but an economicequivalence; nor is there an ontological subordinationism, but rather acomplete intimacy of relationship between Jesus and the Spirit. In effect, Paulis teaching that through his life and ministry Jesus came into such completepossession of the Spirit, receiving and experiencing him ‘without limit’ (Jn.3:34), that he is now ‘Lord’ of the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18). With respect to hiseconomic ministry to us, the Spirit has been ‘imprinted’ with the character ofJesus.” Ibid., 55.

[iii] Ibid.,37.

[iv] JohnCalvin, Instruction in Faith (1537), PaulT. Fuhrmann, trans., (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1977) 52.

[v] Ferguson, 91-92.

Excerpt 3 of 22

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....To summarize, Christ died for our sins and in ourplace. In his substitutionary work on the cross, Jesus saved us from theconsequences of our sins.

· Through propitiation, he became our curse andbore the wrath we deserved.

· In redeeming us, he paid the ransom that set usfree from slavery.

· He also rescued us from the darkness of thispresent evil age.

· Through reconciliation, he removed the hostilityseparating us from God.

· And he triumphed over our enemies: sin, Satan,and death.

These glorious achievements of the cross show why it liesat the heart of the gospel.

The Power of Christ’s Resurrection

Jesus, of course, did not remain on the cross or stay inthe grave. The Christian message would not be good news if there were nothingto report beyond Good Friday. But there isa report. “He was raised on the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures”(1 Cor. 15:4). The news is good because Jesus is alive!

What did Paul mean when he claimed that Christ wasraised? Did he simply mean the spirit of Jesus had gone to heaven after hedied? That Jesus had passed into life-after-death? Did he mean that he andothers had seen visions of Jesus or had been visited by the spirit of Christ orhad a sense of his abiding presence with them? If asked, as one hymn does, “Youask me how I know he lives?” would Paul have answered, “He lives within myheart”? What does resurrection mean?

The Resurrection is Physical

First, Paul meant that the physical body of Jesus ofNazareth—the same body that was killed through crucifixion, wrapped in linens,and laid in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb—was raised out of death into glorious, physical life. In 1 Corinthians 15:5-8,Paul named some of the many eyewitnesses of the risen Christ (includinghimself) as proof. When he wrote these words, many of those witnesses werestill alive.

In one appearance, Jesus ate fish with his disciples,proving the tangibility and physicality of his resurrection body (Luke24:33-43). As Luke says, Jesus “presented himself alive after his suffering bymany proofs, appearing to [the apostles] during forty days and speaking aboutthe kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).

The resurrection means that the body of Jesus emergedfrom death in glorious triumph!

The Resurrection is Eschatological

The resurrection of Christ is not only physical; it iseschatological. This means it belongs to, and effectively inaugurates, the ageto come. This is why Paul draws the connection between the resurrection ofChrist in the past and the resurrection of believers in the future.

But in fact Christ has been raised fromthe dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man camedeath, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam alldie, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order:Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Thencomes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroyingevery rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has putall his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1Cor. 15:20-26)

Notice that Paul calls the resurrection of Christ “thefirstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (v. 20). This agricultural termderives its significance from the Old Testament, where worshipers brought their“firstfruits” sacrifices each year at the beginning of the spring harvest(Exod. 23:19; Lev. 23:10-11). The firstfruits offering was not only the firstand best offering, it represented the entire harvest.[i]

His resurrection is not an isolatedevent in the past. Rather, in its undeniably full-bodied, past historicity, itbelongs, in a manner of speaking, to the future. It can be said to be from thefuture and to have entered the past and to be controlling the present from thatfuture. In Christ’s resurrection . . . the age-to-come has begun, the newcreation has actually dawned, eschatology has been inaugurated.[ii]

As C. S. Lewis observes,

The New Testament writers speak asif Christ’s achievement in rising from the dead was the first event of its kindin the whole history of the universe. He is the “first fruits,” the “pioneer oflife.” He has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of thefirst man. He has met, fought, and beaten the King of Death. Everything isdifferent because He has done so. This is the beginning of the New Creation: anew chapter in cosmic history has been opened.[iii]

[i] Richard B. Gaffin Jr., By Faith, Not by Sight: Paul and the Order of Salvation (Waynesboro, GA: Paternoster Press, 2006),59.

[ii] Ibid.,60-61.

[iii] C. S.Lewis, Miracles (New York, NY:HarperCollins, 1947) 236-237.

Excerpt 2 of 22

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Today, we live in the interval between the inauguration of thenew creation and its consummation and completion when Jesus comes again. Inthis gap between what has already begun and what is yet to come, we taste thejoy of living under God’s gracious reign as citizens of the new creation…evenas we groan with the tension of living as residents in the world as it now is.We are truly new, but not completely new. The renovation hasbegun, but it is not finished. This is why Paul groaned in the anguish ofchildbirth until Christ was formed in his fellow believers (Gal. 4:19).

Our transformation into the image of the Lord is progressive— it happens in stages (2Cor. 3:18). And though spiritual change is a divine work of God’s Spirit in ourhearts and lives, it demands our participation.We must refuse to be shaped by this present age and instead be transformed bythe renewal of our minds (Rom. 12:2) as we put sin to death and live inrighteousness (Eph. 4:25-32; Col. 3:5-14). This dynamic process lies at theheart of the Christian call to holiness.

The essence of this holiness is likeness to Jesus Christ—what some theologians call“Christiformity.”[i] When webecome like Jesus, our lives reflect God’s glory and we live in rightrelationship to God, other people, and the world. This is the goal God destinedus for, the vocation he has called us to. This is why we are redeemed.

This also explains why Scripture calls us to imitate Christ.In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul says, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” InEphesians 5:1-2, he writes, “Therefore be imitators of God, as belovedchildren. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, afragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” And in Philippians 2:5-11 he urges usto have the mind of Christ, expressed in humility and selfless service to others.The Apostle John also exhorts us to follow Christ’s example, walking as hewalked (1 Jn. 2:6), practicing righteousness as he is righteous (1 Jn. 2:29,3:7), purifying ourselves as he is pure (1 Jn. 3:3), and loving others as heloved (1 Jn. 3:16-18, 4:16-17).

Charles Wesley captured the heart of Christlikeness in theseprayerful words:

O for a heart to praise my God,
A heart from sin set free,
A heart that always feels Thy blood
So freely shed for me.

A heart resigned, submissive, meek,
My great Redeemer’s throne,
Where only Christ is heard to speak,
Where Jesus reigns alone.

A humble, lowly, contrite, heart,
Believing, true and clean,
Which neither life nor death can part
From Christ who dwells within.

A heart in every thought renewed
And full of love divine,
Perfect and right and pure and good,
A copy, Lord, of Thine. [ii]

This is a book about spiritual formation, the “grace-drivendevelopmental process in which the soul grows in conformity to the image ofChrist.” [iii] Theacid test of all spiritual formation is this: are you becoming more like Jesus? Are the contours of yourcharacter being shaped by his image, formed in his likeness? Do you increasinglyhate sin and love righteousness, as he already does perfectly? Are you growingin humility and self-giving, which he has practiced flawlessly? Are you makingprogress in loving and serving others, as he has always done in perfection?

Ongoing transformation is possible for you. You can become more and more like JesusChrist. But only one way: through your increasing understanding and applicationof the gospel.

[i] “In aword, for the New Testament, sanctification or holiness, is Christlikeness or,as various theologians throughout the history of the church have described it, ‘Christiformity’.Set within the context of justification is the growth of the seed ofregeneration and the outworking of union with Jesus Christ. Man was made as theimage of God and bore his likeness (Gn. 1:26-27). He was called to express itin every aspect of his being. But he fell from that high estate. Salvation, andits outworking in sanctification, consequently have in view the restoration ofman as the image of God.” Ferguson, 139.

[ii] CharlesWesley, “O for a Heart to Praise my God,” 1742. The final verse says, “Thynature, gracious Lord, impart / Come quickly from above / Write Thy new nameupon my heart / Thy new, best name of Love.”

[iii] Kenneth Boa, Conformed to His Image:Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation (Grand Rapids, MI:Zondervan, 2001) 515. Dallas Willard similarly defines spiritual formation as“the Spirit-driven process of forming the inner world of the human self in sucha way that it becomes like the inner being of Christ himself.” Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart: Putting on theCharacter of Christ (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2002) 22. I’m usingthe term synonymously with transformation.

Excerpt 1 of 22

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By the time David Garrett was eight years old he was studyingviolin with the world’s finest teachers, practicing seven hours a day, and makingsolo appearances with legendary orchestras, including the London Philharmonic.As an adolescent, he studied at the Juilliard School in New York City.

In 2003, for the price of one million dollars, Garrettpurchased a Guadagnini, a rare 236-year-old violin made by a student ofStradivarius. But on December 27, 2007, after a brilliant performance at theBarbican in London, David Garrett tripped, fell down a flight of stairs, andlanded on the valuable instrument. Though still in its case, the violin was smashed,sustaining damage to the body, neck, and soundpost. Restoration was predictedto take eight months and cost more than $120,000. Experts doubted the finelycrafted instrument would ever sound the same.

Garrett’s unfortunate accident and crushed violin recall adarker tragedy—the Fall of Man and the devastation that followed. We live inthe rubble of the world’s resulting brokenness. Pain, sickness, suffering, sin,crime, violence, war, alienation from God, shattered relationships, disease,natural disaster, and death are on every side, the ruins of our broken world.Can it all be made right? Is restoration possible?

Scripture teaches that restoration is not only possible, buta certain reality, secured by God himself through the redeeming death andresurrection of his Son and realized in our lives by the power of his Spirit.The gospel is about nothing less than the redemption of fallen human beings andthe perfect, complete restoration of our broken world. As Christ himself saysin the closing pages of Scripture, “Behold I am making all things new” (Rev.21:5).

Restoration through the gospel is the hope of all Christians.But the practicality of the good news for personal transformation here and now sometimes escapes us. Someday, everything that is wrong withthe world will be made right forever. God will wipe away every tear from oureyes; mourning, crying, pain, and death will be no more (Rev. 21:4). But isgenuine change in my life possible now? And if so, how does it happen?

I believe transformation is possible. This goal of this bookis to explain how. More than that, I hope to bring together various aspects ofthe Christian life in a way that is somewhat unusual in Christian books. As Imentioned in the Introduction, many books do a wonderful job of clearlypresenting the content of the gospelso that we might clearly understand what Christ did for us, or helping us graspthe practical significance of thegospel for daily life, or offering us freshmotivation for the Christian life in God’s purpose to glorify himself and satisfyour souls, or teaching us to embrace the various means of grace—such as spiritual disciplines, suffering, andcommunity—by which God matures us in the faith. This book attempts to bring allthese approaches together, presenting a single, unified vision for how tochange.

To best understand and fully experience the transformingpower of the gospel, we must begin with the end in mind. What is God’s ultimategoal in saving and changing us? To answer this we need to grasp why God createdus in the first place, what has been lost by human sin, and what God throughChrist and the Spirit has done and is doing about it. In other words, we needto frame our concerns about personal change in the larger story of God’s savingwork: the story of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.

See the complete Table of Contents, or the author's Introduction.

Excerpt 22 of 22

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Transformation is a Community Project

Having sketched a biblical portrait of the church, let’s nowask: How does God use relationshipswithin the body of Christ to help us become more like Jesus? If we areconvinced that “grace is conveyed through the body of Christ along horizontalchannels as well as through the vertical relationship of each believer to God,”[i]and if we can see how this happens, wewill be better equipped to cooperate with God in receiving this grace andextending it to others.

In Ephesians 4, Paul spells out the implications of oneof the dominant metaphors for the church, that of a body. He tells us that justas a victorious king dispenses the spoils of war to his people, so has theascended Christ granted gifts to his people (Eph. 4:7-10). The purpose of thesegifts is to build up the body of Christ (v. 11-12a). And the goal of “body-building”is to help us attain to “mature manhood” and “the measure of the stature of thefullness of Christ” (v. 13). Without the body-building ministry, we will remainimmature children, as susceptible to false teaching as boats are to storms atsea (v. 14).

Then Paul gives us the key for how we can together grow intoChrist’s image.

Speakingthe truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head,into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every jointwith which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the bodygrow so that it builds itself up in love. (Eph. 4:15-16)

Speaking the truth in love! That’s it. To understand whatPaul is saying here is to grasp the key to mutual spiritual growth within localchurches. As it turns out, however, “‘Speaking the truth in love’ is not thebest rendering of his expression, for the Greek verb makes no reference to ourspeech. Literally, it means ‘truthing . . . in love’, and includes the notionsof ‘maintaining,’ ‘living’ and ‘doing’ the truth.”[ii]

We might say, therefore, that spiritual maturity is theresult of a mutual, loving, truth-oriented ministry. This is “perhaps the mostimportant ethical guideline in the New Testament, one that summarizes whatChristian living is about: truth, love, and continual growth into Christ ineverything.”[iii]

This balance of truth-plus-love is crucial. As TimChester writes, “Love without truth is like doing heart surgery with a wetfish. But truth without love is like doing heart surgery with a hammer.”[iv] Wemust embody truth, not just express it. So truth, fused with love, isincarnated in our lives as we live it out with one another. Tripp and Laneconcur: “God transforms people’s lives as people bring his Word to others . . .. The combination of powerful truth wrapped in self-sacrificing love is whatGod uses to transform people.”[v]

This is all well and good, and absolutely true. But let’sstep back from the theory for a moment to make a practical point: We cannot grow up through “truthing in love”if we are not together. The body builds itself up in love as its variousparts are “joined and held together.”A dismembered body does not grow.

[i] Lovelace, 168.

[ii] John R. W. Stott, TheMessage of Ephesians: God’s New Society (Downers Grove, IL.: Inter-VarsityPress, 1979) 172.

[iii] KlyneSnodgrass, The NIV ApplicationCommentary: Ephesians (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996) 206.

[iv] TimChester, You Can Change (Nottingham,England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2008) 158.

[v] Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands, 21.

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At various points in this book we have discussed how, on theindividual level, sins such as pride, selfishness, and fear incline us toisolate ourselves from one another spiritually and psychologically. In thisclosing chapter I want to look at obstacles to community on the cultural level.

Every culture and every age has its unique challenges tocommunity. Let’s briefly consider four of the most common phenomena in modernWestern society that work against biblical community. These are individualism,compartmentalization, busyness, and misleading expectations.

1. Individualism...

2. Compartmentalization...

3. Busyness...

4. Misleading Expectations

Have you ever imagined what the ideal church would looklike? We would all love to take the best people and the best moments of ourChristian experience (isolated, of course, from all the other moments and all those otherpeople) and bring them together in one warm and loving place…where seldom isheard a discouraging word and the skies are not cloudy all day.

Of course, that’s nothing but fantasy. The ideal churchdoesn’t exist. How could it? We don’t live in an ideal world, and there are noideal people. We live in the real world, where real people are sinners andrelationships are inherently messy and difficult.

The reason relationships are so difficult is because noneof us are yet fully conformed to the image of Jesus. Sin remains within us. Theprocess of change has only begun. Though we are saved by grace, the church onthis side of glory is still a society of sinners. The failure to realize thissets us up for huge disappointments. If you are easily disillusioned with thechurch, perhaps you have lost sight of this. But that reality check, even if wehave to go through it again and again, is vital to both our own spiritualmaturity and the growth of others. If God is going to use us in one another’slives, we must be part of the church that truly exists, not the church we wishwould exist. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said,

The serious Christian, set down forthe first time in a Christian community, is likely to bring with him a verydefinite idea of what Christian life together should be and to try to realizeit. But God’s grace speedily shatters such dreams . . . Every human wish dreamthat is injected into the Christian community is a hindrance to genuinecommunity and must be banished if genuine community is to survive. He who loveshis dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes adestroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever sohonest and earnest and sacrificial.[vi]

So, no one in your church is perfect. But they are “instruments in the Redeemer’s hands– people in need of change helping people in need of change.”[vii]They can help you, and you can help them. After all, spiritual transformationis inescapably a community project, a shared task. We need each other. Godplanned it that way.

[vi] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: TheClassic Exploration of Faith in Community (San Francisco, CA.:HarperSanFrancisco, 1954) 26-27. Similarly, Jean Vanier wrote, “There is noideal community. Community is made up of people with all their richness, butalso with their weakness and poverty, of people who accept and forgive eachother, who are vulnerable with each other. Humility and trust are more at thefoundation of community than perfection” (Quoted in Ortberg, 48).

[vii] Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2002).

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Lots of things were on my mind that morning in the cafe. Thelast thing I wanted was some cheerful stranger invading my privacy.

Along with several men from our church, I was out of townattending a conference. I had gotten up early and slipped away to a pleasantcafé to read Scripture, eat breakfast, and catch up with e-mail. The whirlwindof the conference would resume shortly. Then there would be the long drive homeand my return to a life wonderfully blessed by God, yet busier than I had onceimagined adulthood could be. Looming especially large was the sermon I was setto give on Sunday, a message focusing on community, relationships, and theimportance of small groups.

So when a man strolled up to my table and asked if he couldjoin me—taking a seat before the words were even out of his mouth—I washonestly a bit annoyed. I faked a smile and tried to be friendly. We exchangednames (his was Kevin) and began talking. He learned that I was a pastor and Idiscovered that he was a Christian, a businessman, a poet, and close friendswith an author whose work had significantly affected me several years before.But while it turned out to be an interesting conversation, I was still irked bythe loss of solitude. After all, I was trying to do my devotions! I reallydidn’t have time for interruptions.

That’s when God sent me a message through this brother inChrist. As I was describing our church, I mentioned that we put a high value oncommunity. Then Kevin, who knew nothing about the sermon incubating in my mind,looked at me and said, “The next time you are standing before yourcongregation, remember that people are hungry to be less selfish than they are,to be more connected to others than they are, to have deeper relationships thanthey have, and to feel less isolated than they feel – and they’re not going to get any of it if they are looking at you allthe time.”

It was exactly what I needed to hear. It was exactly theattitude I needed to take to the pulpit the following Sunday. And it wasexactly the gentle rebuke I needed from God regarding my bad attitude aboutthis violation of my precious agenda.

Sometimes God sends us messages when we least expect it.Often he does it through others. Both whatKevin said, and the fact that anotherperson said it, illustrate the important truth we will focus on in thisfinal chapter.

Transformation is a community project.

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Tailor-made Trials

The problem is that suffering usually seems so random. Itappears to be without purpose. It feels harmful to us, not helpful. While wewant to thank God for the good things, we sometimes forget that his providenceembraces bad things, too.[i] Weoften talk about how God's timing is perfect with respect to blessings, butsomehow we don’t see our trials that way. But it's really all one package, onepurpose, with all things pointing in one direction: God is at work to conformus to the image of his Son.

Of course, discerning the loving purposes of God in theafflictions of someone else often seems easy! (Although we are as often wrongas we are right in our diagnosis – remember Job’s friends?) But it is not soeasy to trust the Lord when the heat is on in our own lives. Our own trialsalways seem unusually difficult. Why is this?

Because God tailor-makes our sufferings. Gene Edwardswrites,

What kind of person can best enduresuffering? Quite frankly, once suffering takes up residence, it seems none ofus are qualified. Why? Suffering that comes from the hand of God seems to be soselected, so tailored for the one to whom it is sent. The thing you mightshoulder the easiest may never come to you; but that one weakness you werenever prepared for, that one hidden portion of your life you probably didn’teven know about – there is where theblow will fall . . . What kind of Christian can best endure suffering? Hedoesn’t exist. I could handle your problems easily. You could handle mine witha yawn. But it didn’t happen that way. I got the ones I couldn’t handle; so did you.[ii]

I find this helpful. It reminds me that the tough stuffin my life doesn’t just happen. No,my circumstances are sifted through the fingers of a wise and loving Father. Asa master artisan who designs to restore his image within me, he knows whichtools to use in my life, precisely where to use them, and exactly how muchpressure to apply.

Godis too wise to be mistaken.
God is too good to be unkind.
So when you don’t understand,
when you don’t see His plan,
When you can’t trace His hand,

TrustHis heart.[iii]

A Gospel-Shaped Perspective on Trials

But how do we know we can trust God’s heart? Because ofthe gospel. The promise of Romans 8:28-29 isn’t built on sand, but on the rockwho is Christ. The cross and empty tomb of Jesus are the ultimate unveiling ofGod’s love for us. God has shown his love in giving us his Son, and he hasshown his infinite power in raising Jesus from the dead. That is why we canrest with confidence in God’s goodwill toward us.

The language immediately following Romans 8:28-29 islavishly embedded with promises that are ours in the gospel. Consider these:

• Godhas not only predestined us to become like Jesus, he has called, justified, andglorified us (v. 30).

• Godis for us (v. 31). He is in our side!

• Godhas demonstrated his love for us by not sparing his Son, but giving him up forus. Since he has already given his greatest gift, we know he will graciouslygive us everything else we need (v. 32).

• Nocharge can be brought against us, for we are justified. The verdict of thejudge is in. We are declared not guilty (v. 33)

• Noone can condemn us, for Christ has died and was raised on our behalf (v.34a).

• Morethan that, he is our advocate at God’s right hand, pleading our case (v. 34b).

• Thereforeadversity should never threaten us, for nothing can separate us from the loveof God revealed in Christ (v. 35-39).

We cannot always readily perceive the love and goodness ofGod in our circumstances. But the gospel invites us to look beyond oursituation to the sacrificial love of our saving Lord. As one author discovered:

More than anything else I could everdo, the gospel enables me to embrace my tribulations and thereby positionmyself to gain full benefit from them. For the gospel is the one greatpermanent circumstance in which I live and move; and every hardship in my lifeis allowed by God only because it serves His gospel purposes in me. When I viewmy circumstances in this light, I realize that the gospel is not just one pieceof good news that fits into my life somewhere among all the bad. I realizeinstead that the gospel makes genuinely good news out of every other aspect ofmy life, including my severest trials. The good news about my trials is thatGod is forcing them to bow to His gospel purposes and do good unto me byimproving my character and making me conformed to the image of Christ.[iv]

How God Uses Suffering

So the cross and resurrection are the ultimate answer tosuffering. And we really can trust the good purposes of God in using sufferingto make us more like Jesus. But it is still helpful to inquire further into thespecific ways God uses trials in our lives. Understanding God’s variouspurposes will help us better cooperate with him in our responses.

Let’s explore Scripture to discover six ways God utilizessuffering in our lives, understanding that each of these uses serve God’sultimate purpose of glorifying himself by restoring his image within us....

[i] Jerry Bridges notes two errors we often make when wetalk about the Providence of God. First, “we almost always use the expression‘the providence of God’ in connection with apparently ‘good’ events . . . Butyou almost never hear anyone say something such as, ‘In the providence of God Ihad an accident and was paralyzed from my waist down’. . . The second problemwith our popular use of the expression ‘the providence of God’ is that weeither unconsciously or deliberately imply that God intervenes at specificpoints in our lives but is largely only an uninterested spectator most of thetime.” Jerry Bridges, Trusting God: EvenWhen Life Hurts (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1994) 24-25.

[ii] GeneEdwards, The Inward Journey: A Story ofGod’s Transforming Love (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1993)61-62.

[iii] Babbie Mason and EddieCarswell, “Trust His Heart,” 1989 Dayspring Music, LLC (a div. of Word MusicGroup, Inc.).

[iv] MiltonVincent, A Gospel Primer for Christians:Learning to See the Glories of God’s Love (Bemidji, MN: Focus Publishing,2008) 31-32.

Excerpt 18 of 22

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Hope in Suffering

The pathways of our lives are far more often paved withadversity than strewn with flowers. The older I get, the clearer this becomes.Though I have so far been spared much physical suffering, I have felt the dullache of disappointment, the sharp sting of criticism and betrayal, and therelentless weight of burdensome circumstances. As a pastor, I have often had afront-row seat to suffering. Couples looking for a shred of hope in a failingmarriage; parents anxious about the choices of wayward children; saintsgrieving the loss of loved ones through death. I’ve now been in the ministrylong enough to have buried quite a few people, sometimes after watching theirbodies waste away over weeks or months.

From near and far, we have all seen people endure trialsof every sort:

• Financial(poverty, debt, bankruptcy)
• Vocational(unemployment, unremitting stress, business-related lawsuits)
• Relational(strained friendships, communication struggles, recurring conflict, waywardchildren, infidelity, divorce)
• Emotional(guilt, fear, disillusionment, discouragement, depression)
• Physical(chronic pain, terminal disease, suicide, death)

In most lives, of course, suffering is not so neatlycompartmentalized. Financial pressures may be due to unemployment and caneasily bleed over into emotional distress, marital conflict, and healthproblems. Emotional suffering is almost always tied to other situations inlife, as either cause or effect. Marriage difficulties take a huge emotionaltoll and always affect other relationships. Persecution can happen in any orall of these ways.

But none of us are mere observers. We are allparticipants in pain. Even as I write this, there are three situations in mylife I would change in a minute if given the option. Life is hard. Foreveryone.

All this adversity, affliction, pain, and death stemsfrom one basic cause: the world is fallen. Since the moment of man’s initialrebellion against God we have lived under a curse (Gen. 2:17; 3:16-19). Thoughunwillingly subjected to futility, even the material creation groans as itawaits eventual rebirth (Rom. 8:20-22). But for the present, as Bob Dylan’sballad captures well, “Everything is broken.”[i]

Yet there is good news in the middle of this mess. God’sanswer to the brokenness of our world was not to abandon and give up on it, butto redeem it. By sending his Son to bear the dreadful curse of our sin (Gal.3:13), and then raising him from the dead, God has inaugurated the new creation(1 Cor. 15:20-28).

Our God is a Suffering God

Any discussion of human suffering rightly begins with atwo-part recognition. First, suffering is an alien invasion into God’s goodcreation that results from human rebellion and sin. Second, suffering isaddressed by our saving God in the cross and empty tomb of Jesus. This second realityasserts something remarkable: when God allowed sin to enter this world, even hewas affected. It is not only humanity that has suffered as a result of sin. Godhimself chose to suffer both with us and for us, in order to rescue and redeemthe good world he created. As D. A.Carson thoughtfully writes:

When Christians think seriously aboutevil and suffering, one of the paramount reasons we are so sure that God is tobe trusted is because he sent his Son to suffer cruelly on our behalf. JesusChrist, the Son who is to be worshiped as God, God’s own agent in creation(John 1:2-3), suffered an excruciatingly odious and ignominious death. The Godon whom we rely knows what suffering is all about, not merely in the way thatGod knows everything, but by experience.[ii]

The ultimate answer to human suffering, then, is in thesuffering of God himself through the cross. The letter of Hebrews says thatJesus was “crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, sothat by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9). God,the eternal one, the source of all life, suffered the taste of death; his planfor bringing many sons to glory was only accomplished by making “the founder of[our] salvation perfect through suffering” (Heb. 2:10; cf. 5:10). This meansJesus is a high priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses, since “in everyrespect [he] has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15; cf. 2:18).Jesus knows our pain.

Our God, revealed in Jesus Christ, is unique among thereligions of the world. He alone has entered into the reality of our suffering.

[ii] D. A.Carson, How Long, O Lord? Reflections onSuffering and Evil (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2^ndEdition, 2006) 159.

Excerpt 17 of 22

2011-07-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

Banks Vaults and Movie Heroes

From his home the man had an unobstructed view of the newconstruction site. It appeared to be a commercial building of some kind. Andthough the work had begun normally enough, the man’s curiosity was soon arousedby something odd. With the help of a crane, a silver box was maneuvered intothe center of the slab. It was the size of a large living room, and taller thanany of the men. In the days that followed, as the crew began to frame thebuilding and add drywall, the huge, glistening box was gradually hidden fromview. Still curious, the man decided to walk over and ask what it was.

He learned that the building was to be a bank, and thesilver box was its vault. The vault was not only large in size, it was centralto everything the bank stood for. The building was therefore being constructedaround it. The vault lay at the heart of the bank, defining its purpose, givingit value, and making it distinct from every other building in the area.

Discipleship is about building our lives around Jesus. Heis our treasure and great reward. And like the construction of a bank aroundits vault, all the various parts of our lives should be built around Christ andthe certain hope of eternal, unfading riches that are ours in him.

Why is it, then, that we who claim to follow Jesus sooften fail to organize our lives around him? If he really holds the center ofgravity in our souls, then our thoughts, habits, schedules, and routines shouldorbit around him. The spiritual disciplines enable us to center our lives onJesus, becoming like him in his self-giving love. The disciplines are not theend themselves. They are practices that help us remember the gospel and applyit to our lives as we develop our relationship with God. They are also ourfocus of this chapter.

A Rocky Wannabe

As a boy, I had a powerful attachment to the Rocky movies. Sylvester Stallone’scharacter may have been an unlikely role model for a scrawny twelve-year-oldkid living on a dusty farm in West Texas, but that didn’t stop me from makinghim an idol. I owned a scratchy tape recording of the first Rocky soundtrack, and I listened to itfor inspiration as I did push-ups, strained through sit-ups, and sweatedthrough jumping rope and lifting weights.

Why in the world was I doing this? Being twelve, I nevergot far enough in my thinking to have a clearly defined goal. If you had asked,I probably would have said, “I want to look like Rocky,” or, “I want to be theheavyweight champion of the world.” Needless to say, I never achieved either.Why? Probably lots of good reasons. But for our immediate purposes, I want tofocus on just one: Apparently, two weeks isn’t long enough to transform askinny weakling into a stallion, and that’s about as long as I stuck to myvague plan. I never became Rocky because I didn’t keep up the exercise routine.

Too often the same could be said of our spiritual lives. Youhear a sermon, attend a conference, are inspired by a missionary, or read astirring book. An image forms in your mind of who you could become. Youenvision yourself as a genuinely Christ-like person, a spiritual giant, markedby the depth of your love, the maturity of your faith, and your unruffled joyand peace. As the music rises in your soul, you resolve to get disciplined:read through the Bible in a year, memorize a verse of Scripture each day, praythirty minutes every morning, fast every Thursday, increase your giving by 10percent.

But before long, like a twelve-year-old briefly obsessedwith body-building, you quickly lose steam and your new routines sputter to ahalt. Consequently, you never become the spiritual giant you envisioned. Soundfamiliar?

If talk about spiritual disciplines is more intimidatingthan inviting, I understand.

Yet there is also something inside me that findsdiscipline attractive. I respect disciplined people who eat nutritious mealsand exercise regularly. I also admire people who practice these calisthenicsfor the soul called spiritual disciplines – and I’ve slowly discovered howimportant these practices are to my ongoing spiritual transformation.

Training vs. Trying

Suppose you were to ask me to run with you in a marathonnext week. I could say yes, and have every intention of doing so. But I wouldnever make the finish line. My good intentions couldn’t possibly compensate forthe lack of training. Now if you asked to me to run a marathon that is tenmonths away, I could do it – if I spent adequate time in training. But tryingharder simply wouldn’t work because, as John Ortberg observes, “There is animmense difference between training to do something and trying to dosomething.”[i]

Respecting the distinction betweentraining and merely trying is the key to transformation in every aspect oflife. People sometimes think that learning how to play Bach at the keyboard byspending years practicing scales and chord progressions is the “hard” way. Thetruth is the other way around. Spending years practicing scales is the easy wayto learn to play Bach. Imagine sitting down at a grand piano in front of a packedconcert hall and having never practiced a moment in your life. That’s the hardway.[ii]

Living the Christian life is about training, not trying.But we often forget this. We try to be patient with our children, to show loveto people who irritate us, to refrain from lust when confronted withsensuality, and to not feel anxious about difficult circumstances. But try aswe will, we won’t succeed if we haven’t strengthened and shaped our soulsthrough spiritual training.

Listen. You’ll never become like Christ by simplyexerting more effort in trying harder to be a better person. You have todevelop new capacities in your character. And that requires the power of theSpirit in forming your soul through disciplines. Spiritual disciplines, “thosepersonal and corporate disciplines that promote spiritual growth,”[iii] are the means God has given us for training to live as Jesus lived. Thesepractices are called disciplinesbecause they involve our deliberate participation in training for the purposeof godliness. They are called spiritualdisciplines because their effectiveness depends on the gracious work of theSpirit of God.

So, the key word is train.As Paul says to Timothy, “Disciplineyourself for the purpose of godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7, NASB). The Greek word for “discipline”is gumnazo (our words gymnastics andgymnasium derive from its root). Translated “train” (ESV, NIV), “exercise” (KJV), and “discipline” (NASB), gumnazo was used to describe the intensediscipline of athletes in first century Greco-Roman culture. Competitors in theOlympic or Isthmian games were so relentless in pursuit of a champion’s wreaththat they trained in the nude, part of a strict environment that eliminated allnon-essentials.

The New Testament urges us to adopt a similarly radicalregimen in the spiritual life. We are called to discipline our bodies, keepingthem under control as we pursue an imperishable crown (1 Cor. 9:24-27). We muststrip off “every weight” and the “sin which clings so closely” and run the raceset before us (Heb. 12:1). We should forget what is behind and strain forwardto what lies ahead as we “press toward the goal for the prize of the upwardcall of God in Christ Jesus” (Philip. 3:13-14). As we have learned, God’sultimate goal is to glorify himself through transformed human beings. Wefurther that goal as we deliberately engage in practices that train us forgodliness. If we’re serious about this pursuit we will train with intensity,like an Olympic athlete.

[i] JohnOrtberg, The Life You’ve Always Wanted:Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,2002) 43. All of my thinking on training vs. trying, including the marathonillustration, is dependent on Ortberg. His book is a helpful and accessibleintroduction to spiritual disciplines.

[ii] Ibid.,44.

[iii] DonaldS. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for theChristian Life (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1991) 15.

Excerpt 16 of 22

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Fighting Sin with the Promises of God

So, the desire for happiness is the motivation for pursuingholiness. God’s promises of satisfaction in Christ appeal to this motive overand again. But this doesn’t imply that you can somehow become immune totemptation or completely freed from the battle against sin. No, understandingthe motivation for holiness relocates thebattle. It reminds us that the life-long battle for holiness is a battlefor our affections fought on the terrain of our hearts. Holiness is not justthe quest for joy; it is the fight for joy.

How, then, does this work on a practical level? How do God’spromises help us in the actual battle against specific sins? Let’s see howGod’s promises – what John Piper calls “future grace” – empower us for battleagainst three common sins.[i]

Greed

How do God’s promises effectively combat the seductive powerof greed? The Psalmist fought covetousness by praying that God would turn hisheart toward the Word. “Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not toselfish gain!” (Psa. 119:36) Notice that this is a battle for right desires andinclinations, fought on the battle ground of the heart.

Consider Jesus’ words and notice how he points us to thepromise of God’s pleasure in giving us the kingdom.

Fear not, little flock, for it is yourFather’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and giveto the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with atreasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and nomoth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Luke12:32-34)

Similarly, the writer to the Hebrews countered covetousnesswith the wonderful promise of our Lord’s presence: “Keep your life free fromlove of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will neverleave you nor forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5). We can be free from love of money and contentwith what we have because the Lord promises his abiding presence. The presenceand faithfulness of Christ is more satisfying than money!

In contrast, ponder the sad life of Guy De Maupassant, the19^th century French author and a father of the modern short story. DeMaupassant was famous and affluent. His stories were widely read and he lived onan extravagant yacht. Having rejected religion as a young man, however (hepurposely got himself expelled from seminary), he became increasingly fearfulof death. He also suffered from syphilis – a sexually transmitted disease whichleft untreated can unravel the mind. By age 41 De Maupassant was considered insane.He died two years later. In spite of his wealth and success, his own wordsbecame his epitaph: “I have coveted everything and taken pleasure in nothing.”[ii]

Anxiety...

Lust...

[i] JohnPiper’s Future Grace contains nearly450 pages of extensive meditation and application on how God’s promises severthe promises of sin. Most of what I have written in this chapter I firstlearned from Piper. The theological debt I owe to him is incalculable. I hopemy readers will savor the rich feast of both Desiring God and Future Gracefor themselves. For more on how to fight specific sins with the promises ofGod, see also Piper’s Battling Unbelief:Defeating Sin with Superior Pleasure (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Books, 2007),an abridgement of Future Grace which teacheshow to battle the unbelief of anxiety, pride, misplaced shame, impatience,covetousness, bitterness, despondency, and lust.

[ii] For ashort biographical sketch see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_de_Maupassant. Accessed March 25, 2008.

Excerpt 15 of 22

2011-07-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

Pursuing Joy

How good is your grip on the doctrine of sin? If you've madeit this far in this book, you probably recognize and accept that you are asinner. You acknowledge, along with Paul, that despite your underlying desireto be holy you still want some things you should not want, think some thingsyou should not think, like some things you should not like, say some things youshould not say, and do some things you should not do. All this sinful thinkingand acting is bound up with your desire for some kind of satisfaction, sometaste of happiness. Me, too. You and I sin because we believe it will make ushappier, even if only for a moment.

You could easily then conclude that there must be somethingwrong with happiness. You might even think that wanting to be happy, or seekingsatisfaction for yourself, are suspicious, questionable activities—flirtationswith the unholy, self-indulgence run amok. How can you have a heart that racesafter joy without also racing after sin? Holiness, after all, requiresself-denial, doesn’t it?

Yes, it does. But consider this. Have you ever heard awell-intentioned Christian leader say, “God is more concerned with yourholiness than your happiness”? In a sense, this is true. God certainly places ahigh premium on holiness. But the problem lies in what this statement implies.The balanced, biblical reality is that the pursuit of holiness and the questfor joy are not at odds. The two goals are really one.

The Holy Pursuit of Joy

So, everyone longs for happiness. And believers in Jesusthirst for holiness. But holiness and happiness are not mutually exclusive. Godis not a cosmic killjoy who is indifferent to the joy of his children! Tosuggest that God doesn’t want us to be happy rips the heart out of biblicalstatements like, “Blessed [happy] arethose who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6, emphasis added).

God is concerned with both our holiness and our joy. On onehand, God knows we can never find true and lasting happiness apart fromholiness, because holiness is the pure oxygen that happiness breathes. Withoutholiness, joy suffocates, withers, and dies. Sin kills joy. But when we cherishrighteousness and detest sin, joy will flourish and grow. As Scripture says ofJesus, “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, yourGod, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions” (Heb.1:9). In the words of Thomas Brooks, an English pastor in the seventeenthcentury, “Holiness differs nothing from happiness but in name. Holiness ishappiness in the bud, and happiness is holiness at the full. Happiness isnothing but the quintessence of holiness.”[i]

On the other hand, the quest for joy is one of the primarymotivations for pursuing holiness. Over and over, Scripture appeals to ourdesire for joy and satisfaction by promising blessing for those who seekChrist. And Scripture repeatedly warns that misery will come to those whorefuse Christ and choose sin instead. Seeking satisfaction outside of arelationship with God simply won’t work. As C. S. Lewis wrote,

God made us: invented us as a maninvents a machine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not runproperly on anything else. Now God designed the human race to run on Himself. HeHimself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spiritswere designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no goodasking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion.God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is notthere. There is no such thing.[ii]

Only as we seek our satisfaction in God will we begin tobreak free from the gravitational pull of sin’s lower pleasures. In the wordsof Matthew Henry, “The joy of the Lord will arm us against the assaults of ourspiritual enemies and put our mouths out of taste for those pleasures withwhich the tempter baits his hooks.”[iii]

[i] ThomasBrooks, The Crown and Glory ofChristianity, or Holiness the Only Way to Happiness, in Alexander B.Grosart, ed., The Works of Thomas Brooks,vol. 4 (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2002 reprint of 1861-67edition) 37.

[ii] C. S.Lewis, Mere Christianity (SanFrancisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 1952) 50.

[iii] Quotedin John Piper Desiring God: The Meditations of a Christian Hedonist (Sisters,Oregon: Multnomah Books, Third Edition, 2003) 12.

Excerpt 14 of 22

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Five Characteristics of Spiritual Growth

The mystery of the Christian life, then, is the mysteryof how God’s Spirit works in us and through us. His role is to regenerate us,cleanse us, renew us, fill us, transform us, and strengthen us.[i]Our role is to keep in step with him. “If we live by the Spirit, let us alsowalk by the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25). The following passage and its surrounding contextprovide a clear picture of what walking by the Spirit looks like and suggestsseveral important insights about the nature of spiritual growth.

For you were called to freedom,brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, butthrough love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word:“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour oneanother, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you willnot gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are againstthe Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these areopposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But ifyou are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of theflesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy,fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies,and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who dosuch things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit islove, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong toChrist Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we liveby the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited,provoking one another, envying one another. (Gal. 5:13-26)

My purpose isn’t to give a detailed explanation of thesetwo lists (the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit), but to brieflydiscuss five characteristics of spiritual growth.[ii]

1. Spiritual Growth is Relational

First, spiritualgrowth always happens in a relational context. Did you notice how thispassage is framed with “one another” commands? Paul commands us to serve oneanother through love (v. 13) and warns us to not devour one another or becomeconceited, provoking and envying one another (v. 15, 26). Many of the virtueshe lists as fruit of the Spirit have a strong relational dimension – love,patience, kindness, goodness, and gentleness. “Spiritual growth is notsomething that is normally expected to take place in isolation from otherbelievers.”[iii] Sohow are your relationships with others? Are you serving others in love? Do youdemonstrate patience and gentleness to your spouse and children? Are you kindto strangers? Genuine transformation will always affect how we treat others.

2. Spiritual Growth Involves Conflict

On the other hand, we also learn that spiritual growth involves conflict. Itnever happens in ideal conditions. Expect a fierce contest between the Spiritand the flesh (v. 16-17)! Conflict is normal in Christian experience. No onewalks in the Spirit without waging warfare against unruly passions and desires(cf. 1 Pet. 2:11). The flesh with its passions and desires must be nailed tothe cross (v. 24). The Spirit leads us to put sin to death (Rom. 8:13-14).Though the mortification of sin isn’t the same as positive growth in grace, wewill never outgrow our need for it this side of glory.

3. Spiritual Growth is Inside-Out...

4. Spiritual Growth is Symmetrical

5. Spiritual Growth is Supernatural...

[i] It wouldbe difficult to overstate the significance Scripture gives to the Spirit andhis role in our lives. Meditate for a moment on the Spirit’s work.

· Christ bore our curse and died in our place sowe could receive the promised Spirit through faith (Gal. 3:2-3, 5, 14).

· Jesus teaches that we must be born of the Spiritin order to see and enter the kingdom of God (Jn. 3:1-8).

· The Spirit gives us understanding of the gospeland makes it effective in our lives (1 Cor. 2:4, 12; 1 Thess. 1:4-5).

· The ministry of the new covenant is a ministryof the life-giving Spirit who brings freedom and transformation (2 Cor.3:5-18).

· The Spirit is the agent of our sanctification,spiritual cleansing, and renewal (2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Cor. 6:11; Titus 3:5).

· The kingdom of God consists of life and joy inthe Spirit (Rom. 14:17), and the Spirit causes us to abound in hope (Rom.15:13).

· Our access to God is in the Spirit (Eph. 2:18);in the Spirit we worship God (Philip. 3:3) and pray (Eph. 6:18; Jude 20).

· We are joined to the body of Christ by theSpirit (1 Cor. 12:13) and God inhabits us as his new temple through theSpirit’s indwelling of the church (1 Cor. 3:16; Eph. 2:22).

· We know that we abide in God and God in us,because he has given us his Spirit (1 Jn. 3:24; 4:13).

· The Spirit secures our salvation by sealing usfor the future day of redemption (Eph. 1:13, 4:30; 2 Cor. 1:22).

· God gives his Spirit as the down-payment andguarantee of our inheritance in Christ. The Spirit assures us that all of God’spromises will be fulfilled (Eph. 1:13-14; 2 Cor. 1:19-22; 2 Cor. 5:5).

· God pours his love into our hearts through hisSpirit (Rom. 5:5), and gives us assurance of our sonship by causing us to cry,“Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15-16; Gal. 4:6).

· The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hasset us free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).

· We now serve God not under the old written codeof the law, but in the new life of the Spirit (Rom. 7:6).

· We walk in the Spirit and set our minds on thethings of the Spirit (Rom. 8:4-6).

· God’s glorious Spirit rests on us when we sufferfor Christ (1 Pet. 4:14).

· The Spirit opens the eyes of our hearts to knowGod better (Eph. 1:16-19), strengthens us in our inner being (Eph. 3:14-16),and fills us with the fullness of God (Eph. 3:17-21; 5:18).

· The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the deaddwells in our hearts and enables us to put sin to death, promising to give lifeto our mortal bodies (Rom. 8:9-14).

[ii] Myunderstanding and explanation of this passage was shaped by a helpful sermon byTim Keller on Galatians 5:16-18, 23-25 called “How to Change.” This sermon isavailable for download at http://download.redeemer.com/rpcsermons/storesamplesermons/How_to_Change.mp3.Accessed 3 September 2008.

[iii] David Peterson, Possessed by God: A New Testament Theology of Sanctification and Holiness (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995) 135.