View from the Mount of Beatitudes
Transformation:
l God not only saves us but also invites us and enables us to become
new people in Him.[1]
l While we are in this body, we will experience the pull of the old
beliefs, attitudes, and dispositions, but we must see ourselves as new people,
adopted into God's family, who need not yield to the lures of the flesh (Romans
8:12-17).
l Exchanged life spirituality stresses the in-Christ relationship and
the importance of experiencing and expressing his life in us.
l Scripture declares that in Christ, we have already become saints,
children of light, and citizens of heaven (1 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 5:8;
Philippians 3:20). We must know these truths, acknowledge them by faith to be
true regardless of feelings to the contrary.
l Just as we were justified by grace through faith, so we are
sanctified by grace through faith. Good works are not attained by dependence on
our own fleshly efforts, achievements, or merits; instead, they flow from the
power of the Spirit of Christ who indwells us (Galatians 5:16-25).
l Brokenness, or realizing the bankruptcy of our own resources and
efforts, and unconditional surrender are part of the process of appropriating
Christ as life (Romans 7:14-25; 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10; Galatians 5:24).
l Only Christ himself can live the Christian life, and he does this in
us and through us (John 15:1-8; cf. 2 Corinthians 2:14). As branches of the
true vine, we do not create life, but we receive it through our connection with
the vine.
l It requires "a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the
knowledge of Him" for us to move from a cognitive to a personal and
experiential knowledge of these spiritual truths (Ephesians 1:17-19; Colossians
1:9).[2]
Ministry of the Holy Spirit:[3]
l Convicting: The Spirit convicts
unbelievers of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8-11). Apart from this
ministry, people would never realize their sinful condition and desperate need
for the saving grace of God.
l Regenerating: The Spirit imparts eternal
life through the new birth, and this in turn implants the divine nature in the
child of God (Titus 3:5; 2 Peter 1:4). We who were formerly dead (Ephesians
2:1-3) have become new creatures who are alive to God (2 Corinthians 5:17;
Romans 6:3-11; Ephesians 2:4-6).
l Baptizing: By the Spirit, all believers
in Christ have been "baptized into one body" (1 Corinthians 12:13),
and in this way we have been adopted by the Holy Spirit into the family of God
(Romans 8:9, 15; Ephesians 1:5).
l Sealing: The Holy Spirit of promise is
the pledge of our inheritance, and he seals all who trust in Christ for the day
of redemption (Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:22). The Father gives
us the Spirit as a pledge or a down payment that guarantees the fulfilment of
his promises.
l Indwelling: The Spirit of God permanently
indwells all believers in Christ (John 14:16-17; Romans 8:9), so that our
bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit who is in us (1 Corinthians 6:19).
l Filling: When we are filled by the Holy
Spirit, we are under his control (Ephesians 5:18). The filling of the Spirit
produces the fruit of Christian character and maturity (Acts 6:3, 5; Galatians
5:22-23).
l Empowering: This is another aspect of
the filling of the Spirit, and it relates to his sovereign and surprising power
for ministry in word and deed (Acts 4:8, 31; 13:9-10).
l Assuring: The Spirit testifies to the
truth of our life in Christ and bears witness with our spirits that we are
children of God (Romans 8:16; 1 John 3:24; 5:7-8).
l Illuminating: The Spirit of God who
inspired the Scriptures (2 Peter 1:21) also illuminates the Scriptures "so
that we may know the things freely given to us by God" (1 Corinthians 2:10-16). Because the things of the Spirit are spiritually discerned, the Spirit
gives believers insight into the meaning and application of God's Word.
l Teaching: Jesus promised his disciples
that the Spirit of truth would "guide you into all the truth" and
"disclose to you what is to come" (John 16:13). The divine anointing
teaches us (1 John 2:27), and the Spirit glorifies the Son by making Jesus'
words known to us (John 16:14).
l Praying: Because we do not know how to
pray as we should, "the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings
too deep for words" (Romans 8:26). The Holy Spirit searches our hearts and
speaks to the Father through us (Romans 8:2). When we pray in the Spirit
(Ephesians 6:18), we have access through Christ to the Father (Ephesians 2:18).
l Gifting: The manifold gifts of the Holy
Spirit are given to the community of faith for the mutual edification of all
the members of the body. The gifts are energized and directed by the Spirit as
they are exercised in other-centred love (1 Corinthians 13).
An important reminder for seminary
students:[4]
An important aspect of your College
experience should be an intentional seeking for God, through the Holy Spirit,
to transform your life and character. Throughout your studies and in ministry
situations you will have a choice to make – are you going to just gain
information and knowledge (as good as they are) or will you allow God to shape
your attitudes and behaviours to better reflect Himself? Be aware, that God
will often use hard times, times when we are tempted to fall back into past
unhelpful patterns, to build our character! Building character takes
discipline, accountability and encouragement from our Christian brothers and
sisters.
Transformation through prayer:
l Prayer catapults us onto the frontier of spiritual life. It is
original research in unexplored territory. Real prayer is life creating and
life changing.
l Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are
unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of
our lives. The closer we come to the heart-beat of God the more we see our need
and the more we desire to be conformed to Christ.[5]
l For Jesus, and for us, prayer provides the insight and affirmation
that if we do anything that is worthwhile-teaching, healing, organizing,
reforming, working for good-we can never claim it as our own achievement.
Rather, we can acknowledge it as a gift of God, the result of which is in God's
hands. Prayer is the experience of knowing that God is the source of everything
we claim as our own. To pray is to say with Jesus, "Not my will, but
yours. Not my words, but yours. Not my worth, but yours. Not my glory, but
yours. Not in my name, but in yours."[6]
[1] “Transformational Discipleship Program Foundation Module 1”, 15.
[2] Kenneth
Boa, Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual
Formation (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2001), 102-04.
[4] “Transformational Discipleship Program Foundation Module 1”, 19.
[5] Richard J.
Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, Study
Guide Edition ed. (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1999), 42.
[6] Henri J. M.
Nouwen, Michael J. Christensen, and Rebecca Laird, Spiritual Formation :
Following the Movements of the Spirit, 1st ed. (London: SPCK, 2011), 21.
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