18 "...but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen."
It's natural, I suppose, to reason out spiritual truths according to our human understanding, particularly on the topic of spiritual growth. After all, we are human beings.
New Christians today are taught about Grace and God's love for us. But those who teach them, more often than not believe these truths to be only "basic" Christianity. Teaching "Law and ho-o-o-oliness is "deep," they say. In fact, the exact opposite is true.
Israel was in her infancy when she was given the law to which the Jewish people were subject for 1500 years. Paul referred to her at that stage as "nepiós" at that time which is Greek for "INFANT. Think of it like being in kindergarten, learning your A-B-C's. One thing is certain: According to Paul, being under law most definitely is NOT spiritual maturity.
The law was GIVEN by Moses; Grace and truth CAME by Jesus Christ. Now, because of Christ's finished work, we are now called "huiós," which in Greek means "mature sons." We are weaned from the baby's milk bottle--THE LAW and able to take solid food: Bread and wine.
The Apostle Paul at one time mercilessly persecuted the church. He even applauding the stoning of Stephen. He is the best example of spiritual growth. After his conversion, he became THE GREATEST APOSTLE OF ALL TIME. Yet in his own estimation he considered himself the least of not only the apostles but of all the saints!
One of his earliest epistles, according to the date of it's writing, in 1 Corinthians 15:9. He says:
9 "For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God."
In Ephesians 3:8, after he had grown a bit more in the Lord, he makes this declaration:
8 "To me, who am LESS THAN THE LEAST OF ALL THE SAINTS, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ."
Sounds to me like his estimation of himself has sunk even lower yetthe estimation of God's grace toward him greatly increased! He not only considers himself least among all the apostles but of the whole church combined. Hmmm.....
In an even later-written epistle, 1 Timothy, when he had grown even more, look what he writes in verse 1:15--
15 "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, OF WHOM I AM CHIEF."
Wow! That's about as low on the totem pole as you can go. The more he grew in the Lord, the less he thought of himself and the more in awe of Grace he became. Even the meaning of his name tells a story. Paul means "humble." He's kinda like the Moses of the New Testament, whom God called "humble."
You and I see our sins, our lack, our failings. God, on the other hand, sees ONLY His Son's perfect work in us. He doesn't look at you to evaluate you; He looks at your PERFECT LAMB, your Glorious High Priest, Jesus, Who is forever righteous!
Don't get me wrong, there is growth, yes. You must increase in the knowledge of how great is the depth, breadth, width and height of God's marvelous love and grace toward you who have received His priceless gift. YOU WERE COMPLETE IN CHRIST THE INSTANT YOU BEGAN YOUR CHRISTIAN WALK.
Israel was in her infancy when she was given the law to which the Jewish people were subject for 1500 years. Paul referred to her at that stage as "nepiós" at that time which is Greek for "INFANT. Think of it like being in kindergarten, learning your A-B-C's. One thing is certain: According to Paul, being under law most definitely is NOT spiritual maturity.
The law was GIVEN by Moses; Grace and truth CAME by Jesus Christ. Now, because of Christ's finished work, we are now called "huiós," which in Greek means "mature sons." We are weaned from the baby's milk bottle--THE LAW and able to take solid food: Bread and wine.
If you, as an adult, went to the home of a friend of yours and that person told you to stay away from the knives because they are sharp or from the stove because it was hot, you would probably be offended. Adults do not need to be warned about such things. They already know.
Children, on the other hand, do need to be protected from such dangers. They need the law, so to speak.
Hebrews 5:13 says, "For everyone who partakes only of milk is UNSKILLED IN THE WORD OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, FOR HE IS A BABE." Such believe that righteousness is an action you perform. It is not. Righteousness is a gift you receive.
We must always go according to the scriptures, not try to use our finite, puny minds to reason out spiritual truths simply because Grace is not logical to us. Try as we might, man cannot make rhyme or reason out of It because it goes against our grain, like something too good to be true. Can God really be that good?
YES, HE CAN! He is always doing what we least expect. He purposely uses the weak things of this world to confound the "wise." He'll anoint the person with no qualifications to do the job at hand so that all the glory goes to Him Who gave it.
We must always go according to the scriptures, not try to use our finite, puny minds to reason out spiritual truths simply because Grace is not logical to us. Try as we might, man cannot make rhyme or reason out of It because it goes against our grain, like something too good to be true. Can God really be that good?
YES, HE CAN! He is always doing what we least expect. He purposely uses the weak things of this world to confound the "wise." He'll anoint the person with no qualifications to do the job at hand so that all the glory goes to Him Who gave it.
The Apostle Paul at one time mercilessly persecuted the church. He even applauding the stoning of Stephen. He is the best example of spiritual growth. After his conversion, he became THE GREATEST APOSTLE OF ALL TIME. Yet in his own estimation he considered himself the least of not only the apostles but of all the saints!
One of his earliest epistles, according to the date of it's writing, in 1 Corinthians 15:9. He says:
9 "For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God."
In Ephesians 3:8, after he had grown a bit more in the Lord, he makes this declaration:
8 "To me, who am LESS THAN THE LEAST OF ALL THE SAINTS, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ."
Sounds to me like his estimation of himself has sunk even lower yetthe estimation of God's grace toward him greatly increased! He not only considers himself least among all the apostles but of the whole church combined. Hmmm.....
In an even later-written epistle, 1 Timothy, when he had grown even more, look what he writes in verse 1:15--
15 "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, OF WHOM I AM CHIEF."
Wow! That's about as low on the totem pole as you can go. The more he grew in the Lord, the less he thought of himself and the more in awe of Grace he became. Even the meaning of his name tells a story. Paul means "humble." He's kinda like the Moses of the New Testament, whom God called "humble."
You and I see our sins, our lack, our failings. God, on the other hand, sees ONLY His Son's perfect work in us. He doesn't look at you to evaluate you; He looks at your PERFECT LAMB, your Glorious High Priest, Jesus, Who is forever righteous!
So don't get all down and discouraged at your own faults and failings. See Jesus. See His grace. God is not being just and righteous to us in forgiving of all our sins. He is righteous and just to His Precious Son Who perfectly finished the work at the cross.
Don't get me wrong, there is growth, yes. You must increase in the knowledge of how great is the depth, breadth, width and height of God's marvelous love and grace toward you who have received His priceless gift. YOU WERE COMPLETE IN CHRIST THE INSTANT YOU BEGAN YOUR CHRISTIAN WALK.
The greater the realization of your completeness and the totality of your righteousness in Him, the more you'll fall in love with Jesus. That's the message of Luke 7:47--"He who is forgiven much will love Him much.
For more on this topic, follow this link: https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2016/04/13/no-one-is-forgiven-little/
HIS GRACE IS GREATER THAN ALL OUR SIN! And that, Church, is spiritual growth according to Paul.
No comments:
Post a Comment