Category Archives: Understanding Christ at the focus of God’s glory.

Understanding Christ at the focus of God's glory.

Redeeming church

The church’s power comes from the likeness to Christ, and that alone.

The church is powerful in worship when it is most like Christ in character, in the choices Christians make, and in the love they have for God. The church is commanded to imitate Jesus Christ and to live (“walk”) like Christ lived (1 Corinthians 11:1; Ephesians 5:1, and others).

When the church does not imitate Christ, it fails in its witness and it fails in its worship. When it bears a resemblance to Christ and when it is holy and God-focused, its worship is sublime and the impact it has on the world is far-reaching. It only takes a few who are serious in their worship of God and their love for God to change the world.

Dwight L. Moody said, “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him. By God’s help, I aim to be that man.” Why has the world not yet see that man or woman (in Moody’s day)? Moody was not the only solitary, obedient Christian to ever live. Moody is often quoted as an example of one who would “give his all for Christ” and as an inspiration for people who were not seeking Christ as they ought. But it is not correct to presume that the church has never “seen that man or woman” who is fully consecrated, and that there has never been a man who is completely set on serving and glorifying God. In fact, the New Testament presumes that those kinds of people would be just the sort who make up the Church (in the day that Paul wrote Ephesians).  Moody, I think, with an appreciation for the “lay it all on the line” attitude, is wrong. The church must be a place, an assembly of people who are faithful and consecrated, a “holy people,” or we are not being the Church at all. So the world has seen those kinds of people, people who are fully consecrated to God and totally given for Jesus Christ on lots of occasions throughout history. Perhaps less so today, but that can be corrected.

Redeeming the church is the work of Christ.

The effectiveness of the local church is the sum of the lives of those who live in it. If one is weak and failing, the whole church will be weakened and bear that failing, too. If the church is strong, those who are weak and indecisive will be helped to grow and to become the people that God envisioned when he thought of the church before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1:4a, “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”

The redemption of the Church was accomplished on the Cross and by the Resurrection. Our work of redemption is only to live as those who have been redeemed. To experience the power of God, the Spirit of God, and to know the love of God. We experience these gifts and graces in community.

The vision of the local church is grand. It is people who have been redeemed living their lives for the glory of God. It is people who were sinners, finding full forgiveness and the life of the Spirit of Christ within them, living for him, knowing Christ in their most inner self, and having a part in the eternal work of God here on the Earth. The church is where God most perfectly is worshiped and given glory now in this age. That is our work and in the future, in the age to come, that shall be our work forever.

Walking worthy.

Ephesians 4:1 calls Christians to live “worthy of the calling to which you were called” and then adding, “with all humility” then “with gentleness with patience” and concluding with “bearing with one another in love.”

The foundational relationship of the church is with God. Our mutual relationship, each of us individually and then all of us together, is with God. Our love for God unites us together to be a group of people who love God and serve him both alone and individually and then together as one Body. We experience unity of identity and purpose that is created by the same Spirit who lives within each of us. So we are “eager to maintain unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” We have “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father who is over all, through all, and in all” (Ephesians 4:6).

The apostolic vision of the local church is staggeringly grand. The implications for our lives is transformational. But we who are in the church must live as those who were once dead and are now alive; as those who were lost and are now found; as those who were slaves to our passions and lusts and are now free of them. Christ has set us free.

We have received grace.

We live as those who have received the grace of God in full measure. Ephesians 4:7, “Grace has been given to each one according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” These gifts are tied to the descension of Christ to come to Earth and to live among us and to die as our Substitute and Redeemer. And these gifts are tied to his resurrection from the dead and his ascension back to Heaven. He came to be gracious to us. He rose to announce and publicly declare his work was not only finished but that his perfect sacrifice was acceptable to the Father. His return to Glory and his gift to us of the Spirit is to apply all his graces — all of them — to us and to fill us as his people with the Spirit of Christ (the Holy Spirit of God who dwells in our hearts), so that Christ would live in us who believe. We are truly, each of us, Temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19) and together we are the Body of Christ.

The church is the vessel receiving the gifts of Christ.

Christ gave gifts to the church for “the building up of the Body of Christ. Ephesians 4:11, “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ …” The gifts are (in part) “apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.” Christ fills all things with his many gifts (Ephesians 4:10b), but he fills his Church with his gifts so that it may be “equipped … for the work of ministry.”

Spiritual growth. Love for one another. Obedience to the Lord and Head of the Church. Doctrinal fidelity and faithfulness. Holiness. Truth-speaking. Building up the Body in love. These are the lofty evidences that the church is God-focused and that it is filled with the Spirit of Christ.

How could the Spirit of Christ indwell the hearts of dozens, hundreds of people and not shape them into the likeness of Christ? How could the Spirit of God give gifts to the church and not have the church brought to maturity where those who are a part of it are “no longer children tossed around by every wind of doctrine” or tricked by “human cunning” or corrupted by the “craftiness in deceitful schemes” of men (see Ephesians 4:14)? The Spirit of God, who is called the Spirit of Christ, he forms the believer into the likeness of the Savior in very specific and definitive ways.

Believers are made holy by Christ’s atonement as Christ is holy. They are obedient to God the Father, as Christ was obedient to the will of the Father. We will never be perfectly obedient in this life, but obedience must be present in the church — even the Lord’s prayer asks, “may your kingdom come and your will be done on Earth and it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Is that prayer not answered in the lives of God’s children who trust in Christ? See Romans 1:5 and 16:26 where the “obedience of faith” is mentioned as the goal of the apostolic ministry and as essential witness to the validity of one’s faith in Christ. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

The church is the focus of the glory of God in the world today.

Our destiny is to “attain the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). Our faith unites us. The knowledge of the Son of God redeems and sanctifies us. We are brought to maturity in our faith and in our lives and labors, no longer being children — dependent, unknowing, unsure, easily misled, controlled, or confused, but moving toward maturity. We are mature, stable, solid in commitments, clear about what is important, focused on the glory of God in all things, laboring diligently with the days we have on Earth to see that Christ is worshiped and glorified as he ought to be worshiped and given glory. Ephesians 3:21, “to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” That is the purpose of the Church.

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Understanding Christ at the focus of God's glory.

Worship or entertainment?

NOTE: Interacting with John Owen on worship. Owen wrote a short study on the purpose and practice of worship. It contained a short catechism (a set of questions and answers). It brought into focus the issue of entertainment that is driving many worship experiences today and the need for the church to seek something higher and far better in our worship of God.

Worship has a specific and glorious purpose. But we may be absolutely certain that our entertainment was never conceived, nor was it ever in the mind of God that it should become in the least or smallest degree included in, or substituted for, the true and purposeful worship of Almighty God.

Entertainment is not the worship of God in any sense. It is the worship of man.

Here is Owen’s quotation:
“That we may profitably and comfortably, unto the glory of God and our own edification, be exercised in the observation of the institutions and worship of God, we are always to consider what are the ends for which God hath appointed them and commanded our attendance unto them, that so our observance of them may be the obedience of faith. For, what end soever God hath appointed them unto, for that end are they useful and effectual, and to no other.

If we come to them for any other end, if we use them for any other purpose or with any other design, if we look for any thing in them or by them, but what God hath appointed them to communicate unto us, we dishonor God and deceive our own souls.”

Owen, John (2012-10-02). Brief Instruction in the Worship of God (John Owen Collection) (Kindle Locations 204-209). Prisbrary Publishing. Kindle Edition.

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Glory of God, Understanding Christ at the focus of God's glory.

Making distinctions regarding the local church.

What does the local church look like and what does it do? Churches function according to their central core beliefs. They always do what they accept to be their mission and purpose. A church may have been founded to be a center for worship for local Christians, but over time it chose to become a center of recreation, a school, and a place to serve the needs of the poor. And the founding principles were lost.

The YMCA is the often-used example of an organization that was founded to “make disciples of young men” and it became a gym. Most fraternities were founded to be “little churches” on the campuses of colleges, where men learned to live the Christian faith, where prayer and study of God’s Word were essential to the fraternity’s values, and where Jesus Christ was exalted in their pledges and covenants. Today, of course, they are social clubs that have nothing to do with the Gospel of Christ at all.

Here are some distinctions between the Biblical Local Church and what we see almost universally in the local churches of our day. No church is perfect. But today, so many churches have become something different, something essentially alien to the Biblical model, that we hope to recover the Glorious Local Church, for the salvation of men and women, and supremely for the glory of God. Here are some distinctions. This is short-hand, and much more could be said about each of these. These are intended to spur your own thinking and reflection.

Churches don’t provide services for people. We serve God.
Churches are not commanded to have programs. We worship God.
Churches in Scripture did not advertise or sell services. The Glorious Local Church is captured by the Christian Gospel and we give all to advance the spread of Christianity in every way we can, even at the price of our fortunes and our lives.
Churches don’t convince or convert anyone. God redeems. God gives faith. God makes dead men and women alive. God gives grace. Jesus said, “I have come to seek and to save those who are lost” Luke 19:10.
Churches don’t seek members to join them. We gather those who are saved for instruction, for worship, and for ministry and mission.
Membership is not about the local church. Membership in the Church of Jesus Christ is governed by God. Men have nothing to do with it, other than to test the faith of those claiming to believe, so that the local church is kept as pure as possible.
The church is for believers not for those in need, not for the lost, not for those needing a class or an intervention.
The church may minister to those in need as God commands, but “confessing the good confession” 1 Timothy 6:12, is the standard for entry into the local church.
We must not confuse the local church with the Church of Jesus Christ. One is a human, broken, failing institution. But it is to come as close as possible to the Glorious Body of Christ as we can. We are the eternal Bride of Christ, the assembly of the victorious, the fellowship of the redeemed.
Churches do not entertain or provide performances in the name of worship. We are Christians that, as a gathering of the redeemed, worship God. We do not relegate worship to a few people standing up front.
Worship is the passion of our lives, the undergirding strength for facing every trial, our great joy, and our astonishing privilege. We will not delegate it to others, even if they sing better than we.

The Biblical Local Church grows not by programs or by structures. It doesn’t expand through marketing campaigns and targeting segments of the population. We grow by the faith and beauty of the lives of those who make up the worshiping assembly. People are changed by true worship. Our lives are enriched by coming together and all of us worshiping God together. Our minds are instructed. We learn about God. We hear his Word. We love one another as God loves us.

Churches can’t repair peoples’ lives. God alone can. We must decide what is first (the Worship of God) and what else should be done in obedience to God’s commands and instructions in his Word. We must never lose sight of our first duty to God: To worship and praise — to Give Glory to God in worship, in our lives, in prayer, in obedience, in service, in sacrifice, and in holiness.

True worship is the wonderful gathering of Christians, in which all believers stand before God personally praising, saying the content of our faith, listening to the Word of God, singing praise to our Redeemer, joining our song and confessions with others who love God and who have been transformed by his amazing grace, too. Worship involves everyone in the room. Christians must worship God alone. But we worship him together.

The essential point is this:

Churches are for believers. What we do in worship may be shared with friends and family who visit, but everything we do is focused on the Church coming before our Loving Redeemer God in worship, growing unto maturity so we can serve him, and living lives that bring honor to God and praise to Jesus Christ.

The highest and most glorious commitment of the Local Church must be the glory of God. When that is in focus, everything else becomes clear as to what we are to do, and how we are to do it. God is to be glorious among his people.

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Glory of God, Understanding Christ at the focus of God's glory.

Trinitarian glory.

From Jonathan Edwards, A History of the Work of Redemption, 1774.

“It was his design that the Son should thus be glorified and should glorify the Father by what should be accomplished by the Spirit to the glory of the Spirit, that the whole Trinity, conjointly, and each person singly, might be exceedingly glorified. The work that was the appointed means of this was begun immediately after the Fall and is carried on until, and finished at, the end of the world, when all this intended glory shall be fully accomplished in all things.”

We are not, in this age of texting and uncomplicated paragraphs, as able as earlier readers were, to be able to follow such tight and weighty language from Edward’s pen. But this little paragraph contains some of the loftiest and most important information about God’s heart, what matters to him, and what he will do to ensure his glory is displayed and vindicated. This is the work of the Trinity. Edwards was saying that each Person in the Godhead, Father, Son, and Spirit would be working both for the glory of each other member of the Trinity and that they would each also be working for their own glory. There is nothing more important to the mind of God than his glory.

His glory will be fully displayed in all things that have been made and in all events and occurrences that have ever happened in the past or ever will take place in the future. This involves our lives, our choices, and our future eternity.

But this is the work of God to glorify God fully and absolutely. There is no higher purpose in God’s being than the defense and display of his glory. He is God and he would not be glorious as God if he did not defend and propound his virtues. How unlike people God is!

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Understanding Christ at the focus of God's glory.

The power of godliness in the glorious church.

… having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

2 Timothy 3:5

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True godliness claims nothing for itself. If God is seen living in the life of a believer, that Christian is just amazed that God is doing something so wonderful in them, and they give God the glory. They take no credit for it. They are as amazed as the other person who saw God living in them. True godliness has an honest, truthful view of the human heart. The godly know their heart is wicked and deceitful. They fake no one about their sin. In fact, the most godly will be the most aware and the most broken over their sin. But they will be the most assured of forgiveness and the most comforted by the Gospel of Christ. True godliness grieves when sin gets in the way of God’s glory or his Gospel. It claims the Gospel and is restored quickly and often to walk again with God. They are not crushed by sin. They put sin to death.

False godliness denies God’s power. It doesn’t need God’s power. It doesn’t want the restrictions that God’s power places upon the soul. It creates false measures of goodness, holiness, and obedience to God. And it proudly claims godliness where there is none. They may fool the young and the newly converted, but they will not fool the man or woman of God who has fought against sin for decades. The falsely godly live differently from the truly godly. There is no comparison. One has no power. There is self-serving and pride overflowing, and they are blind to their sin. The truly godly is filled with the power of God, is self-emptying, and quick to repent.

True godliness means that we seek God from the heart, not for show or for position or praise. It demands that our life and our faith hold the same values and the same virtues. True godliness is quick to confess sin, eager to seek reconciliation between brothers and sisters, and it is tender to the leading of God’s Holy Spirit. It doesn’t delay to do what is right. It treats people with real love and understanding. It has integrity, authenticity, and consistency.

False godliness may bring about great things in the work of the Kingdom of God. But if God had had nothing to do with their plans and their schemes, they wouldn’t have noticed any difference. They do bold and grand things, even in God’s name, but they don’t have the Spirit of Christ, the spirit of servanthood, of self-sacrifice, and they are not friends with humility. They have grand visions and poor living. They invariably fail morally or are blind to some great sin. They have great power over people, but they do not build them up or bring them to maturity. They use people and they love things. They deny the power of godliness.

Godly people are tenderhearted. They are quick to forgive. They are able to measure everything by the standard of God’s Word. They are teachable and they are able to be led by others. They do not demand others follow them. They are distinguished as leaders because they are first and foremost, servants. People follow them because they are living with such beauty and integrity that people want to be with them. As people see the godly life of a believer, they too become more honest, more truthful, more prayerful, more diligent in the Word of God, and more fruitful. Godly people are students of the Word of God, not just for the factual content of it. They live and apply the Word of God in their daily walk with God. They are “living epistles” of God’s Word. The power of godliness is that it captures the whole person and leaves nothing untouched. True godliness is not perfection. But it is human beings living in the presence of God, more and more, closer and closer, growing and learning, following and obeying with greater diligence and success over time. Never perfectly godly. Never completely holy. But true godliness is that one qualifying aspect of their life that is more defining of them than anything else. The power of godliness captures the way they think, the way they talk, and the way they care about others. Their godliness impacts the way they love God. There is no compartmentalization of faith and life. They are wholly God’s. There is no decision where God’s will and God’s life in them is not taken into account. They speak the truth to themselves, and they surround themselves with others who are also truly, wonderfully, godly.

The falsely godly have few truly godly associates and friends. They could not stand the comparison.

Avoid such people.

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“We must understand first what is to be done in the course of one’s life, and second, that is to be done just when one comes to prayer.”

Jeremiah Burroughs, Gospel Worship, 290.

Celebration of the birth of Christ would not be complete without a season of prayer to the One who came to save.

God in focus demands words of praise given in prayer for all he has made. And much more, prayer and praise must be offered for all he has done by Jesus Christ in the salvation of those who love him. Praying to the Giver of every perfect gift must be part of a glorious Christmas.

Understanding Christ at the focus of God's glory.

Celebration of the birth of Christ would not be complete without a season of prayer to the One who came to save.

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“The promise of glory is the promise, almost incredible and only possible by the work of Christ, that some of us … shall actually survive that examination, shall find approval, shall please God. To please God … to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness … to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son — it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain. But so it is.”

C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, 10.

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Understanding Christ at the focus of God's glory.

The promise of glory comes only by the work of Christ

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Understanding Christ at the focus of God's glory.

Glory overshadows and makes clear.

“It is in Christ alone that we have a clear idea of the glory of God. The Father appointed him to be the true representation of his glory (see John 1:18; 14:7-10; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; Ephesians 3:4-10; and Hebrews 1:3). That glory is wonderfully displayed in both his wisdom and his love.”

John Owen, The Glory of Christ, 17.

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