Being a Christian means having Christ’s life in us. While this fact in itself is marvelous, it is also mysterious. We receive this life when we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, but this life is not yet complete. In fact, we go through a process of transformation throughout the rest of our lives.
2 Corinthians 3:18-“But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to gory, even as from the Lord Spirit.”
Why are we saved?
To fully understand this concept, it is important to know why we are saved in the first place. God has a desire to build His church and eventually marry His believers.
Revelation 21:2- “And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”
The New Jerusalem may sound like a place, but it is actually a group of believers as the corporate expression of Christ. To eventually achieve this commission, we should realize that the goal of our Christian lives is a person rather than a place. Fully knowing and experiencing this person throughout our ordinary days is God’s intention for us.
1 Timothy 2:4 says that God “desires all men to be saved and come to the full knowledge of the truth.” Ephesians 4:15 says, “that we may grow up into Him in all things.” These verses indicate that we are in need of growth in both knowledge and life. Our salvation isn’t the end; it is just the beginning, and the Lord wants us to be consecrated to Him so we would be able to mature in His life. Following the Lord in this way prepares us “as a bride” for Christ and helps us match Him in life and nature.
How can we match God in life and nature?
Our human spirit, the part of our being that contains God, is automatically filled with Him when we are saved. However, the reason we fail to be expressions of Christ after we experience salvation is because the rest of our being only has a limited amount of Christ. The soul, composed of the mind, emotion and will, is still a product of our flesh and sinful nature. The process of transformation is God’s life spreading into these very natural areas of our lives.
Allowing Christ to replace our natural tendencies and preferences is not easy. According to typology in Exodus, transformation is a slow process. The children of Israel ate manna, or bread from heaven, everyday for 40 years. Manna is a type of Christ and represents the unique heavenly food for God’s people. Eating this manna day by day essentially represents New Testament believers eating Christ each day to gain more of Him for the transformation of their soul. However, the children of Israel didn’t just start to eat this food and automatically change into a corporate expression of God. As they ate it, they complained and wished for their Egyptian or “worldly” food.
Based off this picture, it is clear that the Lord doesn’t expect us to immediately drop our natural life and reflect Him. However, as we continue to eat Christ in our daily lives by praying, reading the Bible, fellowshipping with other believers and just turning to Him, we will slowly start to match Him and become His expression.
What is the “normal” Christian life?
Allowing the Lord to dispense Himself into us and desiring to gain Him more each day isn’t an abnormal idea. Actually, this is a very normal Christian life. Personally, I am still learning how to live in this way and just like with the children of Israel, the process has been slow. One thing I have learned is that the Lord cares for us in all areas of our lives and we can contact Him in every situation because He understands us on a human level. He came down to earth and experienced living as a man so He could empathize with our human situations, allowing us to confide in Him no matter what we go through.
Hebrews 4:15-16-“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet He did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Instead of feeling inferior and despising where we are, we should be thankful for where God has placed us and use our outward situations as opportunities to turn to the Lord and gain Him. The normal Christian life is a life of gaining Christ inwardly in order to become His expression outwardly. Praise the Lord that He gives us these opportunities for growth!
By: Mikaela Cannizzo
- A Normal Christian Life - November 11, 2016
- Where do we find our identity? - October 13, 2016
- God’s Purpose Throughout the Ages - September 15, 2016
“Our salvation isn’t the end; it is just the beginning.” True! This is clear in your presentation and made clear by the word “born” in John 3:3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. Being born of the Spirit in our spirit is the beginning of a wonderful Christian life.