Editor's Note: Regretfully, this series is not complete. The last two "C's" (Commissions and Charismata) are currently unavailable.
Everywhere I go people constantly ask me for a summary of the Christian life, a synthesis and integration of its major emphases. I have written this article in order to help satisfy that request. The essential elements of the Christian life could be outlined and brought together in a variety of ways, and indeed they have, but I have chosen what I like to call, the “Five C’s of Christlikeness.” Everything from our perspective—and God’s too I might add—can be viewed in terms of our enjoying and worshipping Him as well as becoming more and more like Him.
So then, as Christ-ians, Christ is the theme of our lives. As Paul said, “to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21). Is he your passion or is he simply a pastime? Are you praying for his presence in new and exciting ways or are you playing at your relationship with him? I have to be honest; there are times when I would rather not think about those kinds of questions. But to knowingly and willingly offer him less than our full and undivided, Spirit led, scripturally defined adoration and joyful submission is to participate in idolatry. The point is, we will worship someone or something; there’s no getting around it!
With that in mind, we must bear in mind that out of his limitless mercy and profound love he has called us, literally summoned us, to his banquet table and dining hall—a veritable feast prepared for our enjoyment and blessing (Psalm 23). Though he is rich and we poor, and though he lives in a mansion, and we on the street—because of our offenses against him—he has nonetheless sent his Son outside the mansion onto the street to get us, to bring us to the proper address, open the gate, and lead us into the dining hall so that we can take our very own spot at the table. There he awaits our presence and rejoices with tears when we enter. We have been called into communion with the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let the meal begin (cf. Rev 3:20)!
It is not long after we enter into fellowship and communion with our Lord that Spirit-initiated changes start to happen. We begin to think, feel, and act in ways that the biblical Jesus did (and still does). We find ourselves hating what he hates and desiring what he desires, approving what he approves, and shunning what he shuns. We live in his mansion and start to act like one of his sons or daughters. Victory—albeit through struggle—over sinful impulses emerges as a discernible pattern in our experience. Over time real Christ-like character surfaces—a character that is defined by deep seated, holy dispositions to act in ways pleasing to the Father.
Having drawn us to himself in communion, and given us grace for holy character, the Father also puts us into a new community where we find worship, direction, encouragement, wisdom and help along the way. God also commissions us to take the good news of the banquet out onto the streets and through us summons others to the party. Not all will come, but many will. Finally, God has graciously given us certain charismata (i.e., gifts) in order that we might serve him appropriately and with spiritual power.
In summary, then, here are the Five C’s: (1) communion; (2) character; (3) community; (4) commissions; and (5) charismata. Let’s take a deeper look at each one.
Communion or fellowship with a holy God begins with his initiative in summoning us to his side. Our response is to trust, draw close, and live in his presence (cf. James 4:7-8). We are called by the Lord Jesus himself to “abide in him,” and in this life-giving context, to produce fruit pleasing to the Gardener (John 15:1-11).
Jesus’ apostles marveled as they meditated on the calling of all Christians. At times, their words are bridges barely strong enough to carry the weight of God’s truth. Their authoritative writings for the church make the claim that Christians have been personally and individually chosen by grace to know the person that is “personality” with a capital P. While we wandered in our self-made darkness and misery, he shone his light in our hearts and we became, as it were, dumbstruck by the love so freely flowing from his wounded hands, side, and feet. “Come, and see,” he invited them. “Come and see,” he invites us!
Thus, our calling in Christ is first and foremost to a person, not to an event, task, or duty. To be sure, all such activities are wrapped up in the calling, but at its heart, “the calling” is a summons to the Lord himself, to embrace him and more importantly, to be passionately embraced by him. He wants to be our God (Lev 26:12; 2 Cor 6:16-18)! He has justified us, once for all, and has called us into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Cor 1:9). Never lose sight of this personal reality; never let it get buried under the rubble of activities and services you’re providing in Jesus’ name. Never let the good become the enemy of the best (Luke 10:38-42; Phil 1:9-11). Choose what is best! Choose to abide in him (John 15:7-8).
But how do we abide in Christ? How do we enjoy his friendship and give thought while in his presence to our new life with him. The answer, though there are several important elements, is relatively simple: we must live faithfully, rely on God's presence and power (Zech 4:6).
The conviction and experience of relying on God’s power deepens in us the more we recognize two related facts: (1) our own spiritual bankruptcy and moral helplessness, and (2) the beauty of his presence and the overwhelming storehouse of His graciously offered, cross-won, provisions and spiritual supplies. In the heart of the obedient Christian, these two realities are always found together, like a couple deeply in love. Spiritually minded Christians are always conscious of their sinfulness, on the one hand, and His joy and strength, on the other. Unfortunately, however, many Christians today often fail to realize their desperate need and so they live scripturally uninformed and powerless lives. Our culture has done its very best to redirect our attention from the true root of our neediness, i.e., our sinfulness before God and our finiteness as his creatures. It has done its very best to either block out any sense of need or to completely redefine what it means to be needy and how one is to go about the process of meeting those needs. In short, the world cites a different problem for our thirst, and prescribes a different fountain for our refreshment. But as Jeremiah said, their therapeutic cisterns are broken and they simply can’t hold the water they promise.
But let the world be as it may; it neither sees Him nor knows Him. The church, however, has always made the claim to both. Yet, in order for the church to really know something of His power, to experience “real abiding in the vine,” she must come to terms with her own depravity, for sin estranges us from God, clouds our judgment, weakens our heart, and ensnares our will. Nonetheless, it often appears that many Christians are not truly abreast of their condition before a holy God and some even speak against the idea of depravity (for an ancient example of this modern problem, cf. Rev 3:15-19). They claim that it is disparaging to speak of Christians in such a negative manner. But to deny the reality and presence of indwelling sin’s assaults on the Christian soul is to also say something about our lack of need for God’s presence and life giving nourishment. This, of course, is to involve us in error in two crucial, biblical ideas. What I mean is, we err by judging (1) ourselves too highly/the problem too lightly, and (2) God’s solution, in some sense, trivial.
First, let us sober up and get it straight with respect to our own native spiritual abilities: we have none, and if it weren’t for the Spirit of God, Paul says we wouldn’t even care (Rom 3:9-20; Eph 3:1-3). Why do such stark statements shock our sensibilities when the pages of Scripture are crammed with this idea? Are we really and truly that ignorant of God’s word? Let us examine ourselves, then, to see whether we have judged ourselves more competent than we, in fact, are. Jesus said that “apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Therefore our need for him is not partial, it is total. Jeremiah said that the human heart on its own is “desperately wicked and incurable” (Jer 17:9). Another text says that “every inclination of our hearts is only evil all the time” (Gen 6:5). Now this is where I think a lot of contemporary American Christians go wrong. They just don’t realize the extent of their depravity and they consciously or unconsciously miscalculate their own spiritual abilities and needs. They would probably mouth better, but they live as if Christ were simply a self-help, band aid, and not the resurrected, exalted Savior/Deliverer that He is. In short, we are not the spiritual giants we should be and our sin problem is much worse than we probably ever imagined. This leads us to the second point.
The second point worth mentioning is this: since we judge ourselves more spiritually and morally competent than we in truth are, and since we judge the problem much lighter than in truth it is, we therefore judge God’s solution—the incarnation, death, and resurrection of our Lord—trivial. It is very difficult for energetic, corporate minded people to comprehend the ideological, spiritual, and moral weight, enduring greatness, and sheer power of the cross when in their own personal gallop polls they fare so well. But, if we would only stop for a moment, humbly and prayerfully reckon afresh the calling we have received as Christians, i.e., to be just like Christ inside and out, we might realize that God’s demand in this call is hilariously impossible apart from the cross and His “power-to-liberate-and-transform.” It is impossible apart from abiding in the vine. As Karl Barth said, “If Jesus took my place on the cross, then I guess I know what my place is.” How can it be much plainer than that?
To put it simply, because the North American church is, in large measure, out of touch with her depravity and worldliness, she parades the square of public opinion with a puny god, lives at half throttle, and convinces few people of her claims to true life, liberty, and happiness. A high view of ourselves has ushered in a low view of God; the One who hovered sovereignly over the waters at creation rests inconsequentially upon his new creation, the church. There are many people in the evangelical church today who have been driven to God in prayer over the weak and sickly state of their Master’s body. Praise God for them, yet the church as a whole remains largely “in ruins.” Many of us are weeping over her mountain’s worth of resources, yet her molehill’s worth of strength, holiness, intellectual vigor, and love for others. Where are Abraham, Moses, David, and Paul when you need them?
So why spend so much time discussing depravity? Certainly, I run the risk of discouraging some by hammering away on this point. But discouragement is not my goal or intention. In that case perhaps it would have been better not to have talked about it. Surely it’s not just so that we can all feel bad! The real answer is: because we need to see the problem for what it really is, if we are going to appreciate what it means to abide in the vine, to experience God's deliverance. We simply will not commune with Christ if we do not see him as attractive and beautiful, and his attractiveness diminishes when false and lofty ideas about our spiritual competencies attach themselves to our hearts. The law of God, while completely unable to do anything about our condition, is nonetheless designed by God and applied by his Spirit, to show us like an x-ray where the broken parts are. We dare not trust ourselves to figure this out on our own. Sin is deceitful. God’s word, illumined by His Spirit, received in humility, and lived out in the community, is our only sure guide. Let us turn to the Lord and cry out for understanding. As the Psalmist says: “Reveal your light and your faithfulness! They will lead me; they will escort me back to your holy hill and to the place where you live” (Ps 43:3). My friends, let’s go home.
So then, since we see our need for him, let us foster that dependence by prayerfully reading scripture daily, listening vigilantly for his voice through the voice of his spokespeople. Let us meditate on Scripture, humbly ready to receive, digest, and act on what we’re shown (James 1:19-27). Then we will abide in the vine. Obedience to his word leads to answered prayer, deeper abiding, and increasing fruitfulness (John 15:7). When we abide in the vine, energized by His power and strengthened by him to remain there, godly wisdom will begin to supplant carnal thinking, gentleness, harshness, desires to glorify Christ, self-seeking. To abide in the vine means two things: (1) to relinquish and turn from all private as well as overt attachments to sin—sin as defined by the holy law of God; and (2) to turn to Christ in faith—loving him by obeying his commandments, which in their underlying direction and fulfillment entail love for others (John 15:10; Rom 13:8-10).
The fruit of close communion with Christ begins, first of all, with joy—a rich, Spirit-inspired emotion of peace and exultation. It is the very joy that God has in himself! As the Chronicler says: “majestic splendor emanates from him, he is the source of strength and joy” (1 Chron 16:27). Indeed, there is great joy in God’s presence and he loves to give it to us (Psalm 21:6; 30:11). The joy of the Lord comes with repentant, worshipful reading of His Word and leads to strength for joyful and invigorating obedience. This is Nehemiah’s point when he asks the people to rejoice as Ezra reads the Law (cf. Neh 8). There is an integral link between real progress in the Christian life and our experience of joy as we move along (see Phil 1:25).
Second, and closely related, communion with Christ leads to the experience of God’s “power-to-liberate-and-transform,” what Peter refers to as divine power (2 Peter 1:3-4). As we daily renounce sin, turning instead to the Lord and His Word, we experience God’s almighty presence-to-us in strengthening grace, that is, grace to continually abide in his presence (where there is life), to overcome sin and death, to work Christ-like righteousness in our hearts and lives (even in the face of opposition), and to draw even closer to him in worship, love, and godly obedience (Titus 2:11-12). God is working in us what is pleasing in his sight (Heb 13:20-21). Since he is for us, who can be against us (Rom 8:31)? His divine power, which we experience in faithful communion with him, gives us everything we need for life and godliness and is in keeping with the power he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead (Eph 1:19-20).
But, there are certain misconceptions floating around regarding the meaning of God’s power. So let me take a minute to explain further what Scripture means when it refers to God’s power in connection with the Christian life. The power of God is not, as many suppose, some uncontrollable, ecstatic explosion of divine dynamite. Though we get our English word “dynamite” from the Greek word for “power,” please do not, on that basis, make the silly (yet common) linguistic mistake of equating God’s power with a stick of TNT! Not to mention the error of semantic anachronism, God’s power simply does not function like that, for his power is his uncontested ability to think and act in certain wise, loving, and holy ways. This is true whether we are talking about his power in creating, sustaining, redeeming, or judging. Further, it is always his power we are talking about, not just power itself. It is always the power of a Person, not a thing; it is an attribute of a holy, wise, and loving God, not a thing to be manipulated. His power comes with him and not by itself. And further, it comes in the seasons he wishes to grace us with his presence-in-power. To long for your King, that is, to desire him and his presence, is to simultaneously invite his strength and power for his purposes.
So then, God has a specific purpose or goal in the bestowal of his power upon the elect. That purpose involves godliness and witness. It is not simply an erratic explosion of mystical might. Positively, God exercises his sanctifying power in us in order to lovingly and with much tenderness draw us close to his heart. At the same time he is fostering holy virtues in us, i.e., his power, operative according to his grand design in our salvation (see Romans 8:29), transforming us into the image of Christ so that we in turn might share in his holiness and happiness (Heb 12:14). Negatively, he uses his power daily, as a concerned father often does, to discipline, thwart, chasten, and frustrate us when we walk in sin and disobedience. There are even times when He exercises his power by permitting us to walk in the bitterness of our sins for a season so that we might learn that life in Canaan, though not without its conflicts and battles, is far superior to hopeless drudgery in Egypt (cf. Jer 2:19).
God also works powerfully through us in the preaching of the gospel. The early disciples and we too, were promised power when the Holy Spirit came so that we might carry the good news of our Savior to the end of the earth (Acts1:8). It is through him and relying on his power that we can faithfully share the gospel to those who do not yet know God’s great offer.
The bottom line is that we need to think of God’s power in connection with his purpose of transforming us into the image of Christ. To relegate it solely or even mostly to mystical experiences, dreams, visions, and the like, is reductionistic and unhelpful. Though God may give us dreams and visions (with no canonical status intended), these are generally few and far between and are not regularly to be sought after. In many quarters our curiosity with them has honestly become a great distraction, leading us away from clear biblical commands to pursue godliness (cf. 2 Cor 7:1; 1 Peter 1:15-16). To think of his power, then, in any way apart from holiness, beyond holiness, or in contradiction to holiness (as defined by Christlikeness and Christ-like service and witness), is to miss the mark. The Father chose us, the Son died for us, and the Spirit applied the benefits of the Son’s death to us for the purpose of our reconciliation to God and the recreation of the image of Christ within us (Rom 8:29-30; Col 3:9-10). Having justified us, and placed our feet on a solid rock, our Trinitarian God continues to powerfully and with enormous patience and love work his plan of redemption in and through us.
We said above that the first “C” of Christlikeness is communion. Now the fruit of prolonged communion with Christ is first of all joy and then power. There is wild joy in his presence and he bestows unlimited power for godliness or Christlikeness and witness. Again, as we outlined above, God’s power is really his almighty, holy presence-to-us for Christlikeness and Christ-like service. Let’s explore the idea of Christ-like character now in a little more depth. Let’s talk about its root, the One who produces it, its real nature, and the need for perseverance so that it might be produced.
We need to say right up front that when we’re talking about growing as Christians or developing Christ-like character, we’re not talking about how we can earn God’s approval. We are no longer orphans attempting to secure a Father, since as those who have repented from sin and turned to Christ, God is already our Father. We have been forgiven, adopted as his children, and dearly loved. We cannot diminish this reality nor can we add to it; God’s love toward us cannot be blunted for it is grounded in his eternal pleasure and the cross-work of his son (Rom 5:8).
We are not talking about self-made character either. We made the point above that apart from Christ we can do nothing, i.e., we can nothing to become like Christ. We do not want to water our depravity and helplessness lest we move beyond the truth scripture sets for us regarding our native spiritual abilities (cf. Eph 2:1). Paul said, there is nothing good that lives in me, that is, in my flesh (cf. Rom 7:18). And even though we are no longer under the dominion of the flesh, we still struggle with the remainders of indwelling sin (Rom 7:21-23). As far as the gospel is concerned, self-made Christ-like character is not just an oxymoron, it’s a myth and repugnant to God.
The truth is, we are to work out our own salvation, not to work for our own salvation (Phil 2:12). We have already been saved by grace, not works (Eph 2:8-9). But, in the process of living out our faith, there are three things that we must always keep in mind. First, we have been declared righteous by God and permanently forgiven for all our sin—past, present, and future (Romans 4:1-5:2). We stand in a position of unshakeable grace, with the very righteousness of Christ imputed to us (2 Cor 5:21). This is precisely how God sees our account in respect to his holy law. We are no longer in a state of guilt before him as transgressors of his holiness; in our case the demands of the law have been totally met through Christ (Rom 8:4). Though we often experience the condition of guilt due to our lapses into sin, this in no way tarnishes or minimizes the justification declared over us. When we sin, God will deal with us as a wise Father, but this does not include casting us off (Heb 12:1-12; John 10:28-30). This, he has promised never to do. Second, we must always remember that all our good works, while pleasing to the Lord for a number of different reasons, are never perfect; there is never any room for boasting, only thanksgiving. Third, we must know and rely on the fact that God is always at work in us not only to help us in the willing of the good, but also in the doing of it (Phil 2:13). You are not alone; that which he demands, he graciously supplies!
So, in short, we are justified sinners, who cannot boast in any advances in holy character, for it is God who is at work in us to this very end. Left to our own devices…well, you know the outcome. The sure foundation of our relationship with God and pursuit of holiness is justification. Therefore, let us boast in the cross!
So the issue of our standing and guilt before God’s holy and unbending law has been permanently taken care of in the atonement. Through Christ’s work on the cross in our place, God freely justifies the ungodly by faith; he declares us righteous in his sight through our faith in Jesus.
But now he must “break the power of cancelled sin” in our daily experience if our lives are ever to please him. He does this by uniting us with Christ in his death to sin and his resurrection to new life. It is through our union with him that we are dead to sin and recipients of resurrection power and life: “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the father we may walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:4). The root of our advances in holiness is our eternal union with the resurrected Christ. The goal of our union with Christ is so that we would no longer be slaves of sin, but rather alive to God and slaves of righteousness (Rom 6:6, 18). Now the end result of enslavement to righteousness—and make no mistake about it, everyone is a slave to whatever has mastered him/her—is holiness (and therefore real and lasting happiness [Rom 6:19]).
The Holy Spirit is the third, majestic member of the holy Trinity, possessing divine glory, infinite majesty, and unbounded splendor. In short, He possesses all the attributes of deity and is to be worshipped as God. He was involved in creation, now upholds the universe, and is intimately working out the Trinitarian plan of redemption/consummation in concert with the Father and the Son. He is our Life-giver whose sole, humble mission is to glorify the Father through glorifying the Son.
The Holy Spirit is the comforter/counselor who has come at the request of the Father and the Son to ensure that those whom the Father has chosen are not left as orphans. He makes the presence of Christ known to those who are His by taking from what belongs to Christ and making it known to them (John 16:13-14). He begins this revelational process by first bringing about spiritual renewal in the hearts of those to whom the Father directs Him. In other words, God saves us according to His mercy through the renewing ministry of His Spirit (Titus 3:5). The Spirit re-generates us; He brings light where there was darkness, peace where there was guilt, and hope where despair once dominated. Further, He convinces us of our adoption/sonship by enabling us to cry out, “Abba Father” (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6). He carries on an indefatigable ministry of testifying directly to our hearts concerning our sonship, i.e., that God loves us deeply and has brought us into his family forever.
The Holy Spirit transfers us out of the realm of Adam, law, sin, death, and condemnation and definitively ushers us into the realm of Christ, grace, righteousness, life, and freedom (Rom 8:1-11). So, to be without the Spirit of God is to be without Christ, to be in Adam, and to remain under the total dominion and darkness of sin (Rom 8:9). But Christians are now in the realm of the Spirit, brought about by the Spirit indwelling them, where Christ reigns and where love and holiness predominate. This is not something we did to ourselves, but something that has been done to us as believers in Christ. We operate in a new realm of existence, unknown to the world, for it is currently hidden from their sight, i.e., its complete glory is yet to be revealed (Rom 8:19; Col 3:1-2). In short, we are the temple of the living God, collectively (1 Cor 3:16) and individually (1 Cor 6:19-20).
In this new realm of existence, also known as the kingdom of God, we are indwelt, encouraged, lead, taught, gifted, and strengthened by the Spirit of God. We are enabled by the Holy Spirit in three distinct, yet related areas. First, He orients, empowers, and leads us in our relationship with God. Without Him we would continue to stumble aimlessly in thickest blackness, without a redeeming clue as to who God really is. Here the Spirit works in us to bring about deep love for God, profound enjoyment of Him, willing obedience to Him, and a faithful walk with Him. In short, he admits us access into the exhilarating presence of Almighty God. He also alerts us and equips us for battle against and victory over the spiritual forces of darkness. He has designed that we triumph over them through our Spirit orchestrated union with the resurrected and all-victorious Christ (Rom 16:20; James 4:8)!
Second, the Holy Spirit baptizes us (i.e., fellow Christians) at conversion into one spiritual body and strengthens us in our relationships with each other. He promotes unity in God’s family, in the midst of God-honoring diversity, always seeking to create churches where worship, holiness, love, wisdom and service reign. Thus He is forever about His work of transforming us from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor 3:18). For our part we are to cooperate with this great work and by the help of the Spirit, to seek the fruit of Spirit, all the while putting sin to death (Rom 8:13; Gal 5:23; 6:7-8). Having been declared righteous, we have to be made righteous so that we might truly enjoy our new Father and life in his family (cf. Heb 12:14).
In the loving and care-giving ambience of our local churches, we are to let the gifts—manifestations of the Spirit—flourish for the common good (1 Cor 12-14). When exercised in Spirit sponsored love and affection, spiritual gifts are an enormous source of strength to others in God’s family, revealing as they do, the encouraging nearness, multifaceted glory, and magnificent power of the Spirit. This is all for the one grand purpose that the Father be glorified and His children know and enjoy Him.
Third, the Spirit also helps us in our relationships in the world. He teaches us to walk circumspectly in the world, day by day enabling us to love people and hate sin and systems that stand opposed to God and his redemptive purposes. He freely gives us power to walk in honorable paths and to appropriately announce the good news of Christ to those around us. He creates powerful desires in us to go the extra mile in an effort to see our family members or friends come to know Christ as Savior and Lord. He moves us along to pray without ceasing for the furtherance of the gospel—prayer which we gladly do for we know that wherever the gospel is received in power and understanding all people in that society/culture are blessed.
We said above that the Spirit of God is constantly leading us into deeper personal and corporate holiness and love. In other words, he is developing Christlikeness in His people. The only meaningful expression of Spirit wrought power is worship, holy and loving lives, meaningful witness, and works/miracles done in Christ’s name. Christians seeking ecstatic experiences, simply for the experience, are immature and misdirected. They need to return to a wholehearted, scripturally oriented devotion to Christ, willingly cooperating with the Holy Spirit who seeks to draw them into deeper fellowship with the Father and to simultaneously engender spiritual wisdom, power, love, and purity in their lives. Listen carefully; our culture has no hermeneutic for the gospel except the church from whom she hears and sees it. Therefore, do not violate the fruit of the Spirit to share His message, lest the message be reduced to garble along the way! Miracles are useless if not accompanied by a faithful interpretation of God’s intended meaning, which can only be had if the gospel is rightly believed, preached, and lived. Remember what happened in Acts 2! God came among the people in power and with visible signs, yet many concluded that the people were drunk.
So how does the Spirit of God produce holiness and love in the people of God? The primary way involves powerfully attracting our hearts away from sin to a vision of the beauty and love of Christ. In other words, he nurtures strong desires in us for God and then fulfills them by bringing us into God’s presence! This is what he did for Abraham, Moses, David, prophets like Isaiah, Jesus (though he was sinless), Paul, and what he still does for us today. He accomplishes this most powerfully in Spirit-filled, corporate gatherings, where people are rooted in love for one another and where the Living and Ever-present Christ is being highly exalted through heartfelt praise, adoration, scripturally anchored preaching/testimony, songs sung directly to Him (not just about Him), and where genuine repentance and faith are highly valued. He also accomplishes this during our private devotions and daily walk with the Lord—a walk that prepares us to receive from the Lord during our corporate gatherings.
We are to continue or persevere in the word of Christ to show ourselves true disciples. But, obedience to Christ’s word does not save us, rather, obedience flows from a saving relationship with Him (John 8:31-32). In other words, we are saved through faith in Christ apart from works, but not a faith that produces no works. Such a faith cannot save anyone and is only mental assent (James 2:14-26). Like a body without the spirit is dead and a tree without fruit is dead, so faith without works is dead; it cannot save.
But in all our persevering, and sowing to please the Spirit (Gal 6:7-8) it is necessary to know that the Holy Spirit is firstly persevering with and in us. In fact, Paul says that He will perfect His good work in us until the day of Christ (Phil 1:6). To be even more specific, it is He and not we ourselves, who produces the desire to obey. Indeed, the Spirit not only gives us the desire to obey, He also brings that desire to fruition in actual acts obedience (Phil 2:12-13). God has predestined us to glory and has sent His Spirit to indwell us in order to continually strengthen our faith and bring us safely to His heavenly kingdom:
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, 8:29 because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 8:30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.
We said above that the first “C” of Christlikeness is “Communion” and that the second “C” of Christlikeness is “Character”—character that flows from our union and communion with Christ. But there’s another source and context for character change, namely, the third “C” of Christlikeness: “Community.”
The church is the new Community of God ushered into existence according to His plan, through the redeeming work of His Son, by the power and personal ministry of His Spirit. The church is God’s first, post-cross redemptive act in the recreation of His fallen world. This one, holy, catholic, and apostolic community was created by God and is loved by Him.
The church is our Trinitarian God’s unique and dynamic presence, activity, and life in the world through a specially redeemed, human community—a community that is created, indwelt, empowered, and missionaly directed by His Spirit. Thus the Spirit of God has created and shaped a new people of God, having transferred them out of the dominion of darkness so that they might declare His praises, love one another, and represent the Father’s interests until the Son returns.
Though the church exists throughout the world, in a variety of cultural, sociological, and political contexts, it is really only one church. Christ has only one body, not many! Every member of the church has been baptized into the body of Christ and made to drink of the same Spirit (1 Cor 12:13). Though there are millions of local churches around the world, our oneness is positional, secure, rooted in God’s saving work, and unites each local expression with all the others..
Now the positional oneness we share as believers in union with Christ ought to lead to oneness in experience and practice. We ought to humbly strive for unity and a spirit of cooperation with other believers. We ought to protect and promote our unity and celebrate our diversity. In short, while the doctrine of the church’s oneness does not mean “sameness” among all the members, it does entail persistent seeking for practical unity and the strengthening of the bonds of peace. There is no need for a particular community to give up certain doctrines they feel God has revealed through scripture, but it must be remembered that He did not reveal such truth so that one element of his body could despise another. In my experience, most division has little to do with deviation on major doctrines and more to do with broken relationships, hurt, and unresolved bitterness.
Recognizing the truth that our lives all flow from the saving activity of the One God, we ought to take pains to encourage brothers and sisters within our local communities and outside as well. We ought to encourage unity and participation with other churches in our neighborhoods as well as around the world. With such things God is pleased. Many churches are already doing this and they are to be commended for their efforts. Others are slow to respond for a variety of reasons, but in many cases it’s simply due to pride and indifference, not to disputes over major doctrinal issues. Again, in most cases, there is no need to throw away doctrinal differences.
The church is both holy and human. It is holy in that it is a creation of God in which He dwells by His Spirit. But the church is also a human organism in that it is composed of redeemed human beings—redeemed, I say, but nonetheless, human. Thus, as a genuinely human institution, the church will need to assume certain structures, organizations, and methods of operation in any culture in which it exists.
The recognition of what the church is should lead to greater discernment and clarity in terms of the posture we are to adopt in relation to our culture and its beliefs and practices. Knowing that we are a creation of God should caution us in the West against an over reliance on technology, media, pop methods, etc. in the living of our corporate life or in the promulgation of the gospel. We may certainly use elements from these realities, but we must be careful of what beliefs are driving these choices and how those Christians who come after us will relate to these cultural practices. In short, the church needs to be constantly updating its theology of cultural engagement. We do this not because truth changes, but our understanding of it most certainly does; each generation has new challenges not always anticipated by earlier thinking and practices and thus fresh reflection on biblical truth is required. On the other hand, we must be critical of those who argue that since we are all priests, the church needs no structures and no visible leadership. Not only does this deny different giftings (e.g., the gift of leadership), it also ignores the reality that we are still human beings who need, and therefore, create structures in which to live, move, and have our being. Even the anti-structuralists always advocate some kind of structure.1
Now in this new community created and loved by God, gifted for service, and living wisely in this fallen world, there is an uncompromising ethic of love in relationships. The church values loving, admonishing, and nurturing relationships. Genuine, heartfelt worship is enjoined and the truth of Scripture is proclaimed, not to make us smarter sinners, but to draw us unto deeper fellowship with the Master and with each other. Where there are broken relationships, forgiveness is to be sought and restoration aimed for. Deeper and more satisfying relationships are enjoined between husbands and wives, parents and children, families and families, etc. in any local church. This is all to be done to the glory of God, our flourishing, and asa testimony to the world (John 17:21-22)!
This means that any church that does not create structures where people can experience real community is falling short of what the Spirit desires. We are to be rooted and grounded in love, not just truth and not just our own experiences. There are churches that meet only once a week and everyone sits and listens to one man/woman teach. In this model there are a lot of wasted gifts (and relationships) sitting in the pews. On the other hand, there are churches that meet in small groups each week, particularly many cell-based churches, but have no value for corporate worship and even less value for more broad based gifts such as teaching and preaching.
Finally, the church is God’s presence in the world in a unique and redemptive way. The Holy Spirit rests in power upon a humble and seeking community of believers and will use them in the defense, dissemination, and blessing of the gospel. Often, entire neighborhoods are transformed for Christ through men and women of like mind who repentantly set out to cleanse themselves from all known sin, to worship God in truth, and to reach out to their friends with the good news of Jesus Christ (2 Tim 2:20-21). The church is a witnessing community, firstly, by her presence in a fallen world (since God lives in her). Secondly, as she walks in the power of the Spirit, she is able to stand against the darkness wherever it is found and to boldly, with love and sensitivity, preach the resurrection and life eternal.
As a witnessing community, then, we must forge credible pathways into the world, and into the lives of our neighbors and friends. Have your church ask itself what group of people God would have you reach. Begin praying for these people and then initiate with relevant activities. Love people where they’re at. Accept and love them as God himself does. Do not communicate that these non-Christians must clean up their lives before they could ever become a Christian. They do need to repent and believe in Jesus, but Jesus will take them where they’re at.