Overview of Growing up into Christ chapter
By faith you became Christ’s. Those who are just converted to Christ are as new-born babes.
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. 1 Peter 2:2.
So, you grow in Christ the same way you received Him at first.
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. Colossians 2:6.
But, spiritual life is begotten in the heart of any individual by the grace of God through His beloved Son.
Thus unless the person is born from above, one cannot become a partaker of the life which Christ came to give.
I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:3.
For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. John 6:33, 35
You depend on Jesus to live a holy life as a branch depends on the parent stock for growth and fruitfulness.
So, apart from Him you have no spiritual life.
Abide in me, and I in you. The branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abides in the vine; No more can ye, except ye abide in me.
I am the vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; For without me ye can do nothing. John 15:4, 5.
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Transformation into Christ’s likeness
With peaceful trust abiding in Him your weakness is united to His strength and ignorance to His wisdom.
Let the mind dwell upon Christ’s:
- Love, beauty and perfection of character.
- His purity and holiness, self-denial and humiliation.
It is by loving, beholding and depending wholly upon Him, that you are to be transformed into His likeness.
Renouncing self-seeking
It is Christ that has begun the good work in you and it is Christ that must finish it. You must trust Him wholly. He will never err.
If not – all increasing knowledge and privileges will result in self-trust and self-righteousness.
For example:
- The glorification of self was the object of the Pharisees’ lives. It led them to misapply the Scriptures and blinded them to the purpose of Christ’s mission. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayer. Matthew 23:14.
- In the same manner, it prompted the strife among the disciples as to who would be the greatest. Thus it made them slow to comprehend the self-sacrifice mystery of redemption. Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me. Luke 9:46-48.
- Today, the desire to exalt self motivates our service to God and communion with one another.
But, the faith in Jesus destroys self-seeking and pretense. It leads us to seek God’s glory and not our own.
Father, glorify Thy name was the key-note of Jesus’ life.
If we follow Christ this will be the key-note of our life.
Keep your eyes upon Jesus
As constantly beholding Christ, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18.
His prayer for His followers today is the same He prayed for His early disciples:
Neither pray I for these alone; but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. John 17:20.
Jesus prayed that we might be one with Him, even as He is one with the Father.
When Christ dwells in our hearts, He will work in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Philippians 2:13.
Through the Spirit, Christ was to abide continually in the hearts of his children.
Thus loving and abiding in Him, we’ll grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. Ephesians 4:15.
In conclusion
The child of God can grow up to the full stature of a man and woman in Christ. With God’s grace, there is no limit to their improvement.
So remember HIs promise:
Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Matthew 28:20.
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The Work and the Life
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