Formed By the Word Week 7: Indicative

 

Week 7: Indicative

This past week I have been working on a project for a meeting on Saturday where we will go through Colossians 3:1-4 and look at its implications for spiritual formation. So I thought today's word would focus on a pattern found in this passage that is very popular with Paul in his writings.

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." Colossians 3:1-4

Paul has a grammactical pattern that he uses which expresses his theology of sanctification. Paul likes to lay a foundation with indicative statements before he tells us what to do or how to live (imperative statements or commands).  An indicative states a fact or a reality. In the New Testament an indicative states something that God has done, is doing, or will do. Indicatives generally tell us who we are as a result of something God has done, is doing, or will do. So, we could also call these identity statements for those who are in Christ. Paul uses indicatives - telling us who we are -  before he gives us imperatives - telling us what we should do or how we should live. Why this order? Well, if he gave us the imperatives first, then we would be operating out of a works-based gospel. Paul instead communicates with this pattern of indicatives preceding imperatives that doing flows out of being. Another way to say this is, what we do or how we live is a response to who we are in Christ, a response to what He has done or is doing or will do. Who Christ is and what He has done for us is our motivation to live for Him.

We can look at this passage in Colossians 3 and see examples of this. The passage begins with "Since, then" which is another way of saying "If, therefore". This means we need to look at the context. In chapters 1 and 2 of Colossians Paul has written to address false teaching taking place in the Colossian church where they are trying to combine Jewish thought and traditions and Greek  philosophy and wisdom teaching with the teachings of Christ. We call this syncretism, where different forms and practices of different religions are fused together into one. 

So to combat this false teaching, or heresy,  Paul exalts Christ. In the first two chapters of the book Paul describes who Christ is - His deity, His supremacy, His power, His authority - he describes what Christ has done for us - redeeming us, forgiving us our sins, reconciling us to God through His blood - and finally, he describes who we are in Christ - made alive with Christ, holy and without blemish, those who have Christ in us, the hope of glory. Paul lays a foundation that is rooted in the truth of Christ and firmly establishes who we are in Christ.

Then he tells us that since all of this is true, and that we "have been raised with Christ" (indicative #1), then we should "set our hearts on things above (imperative #1), where Christ is seated at the right hand of God".  Also, we should "set our minds on things above, not on earthly things" (imperative #2). Why? Because "you died, and your life is now hidden (secure, kept safe) with Christ in God." (indicatives 2 & 3). He then follows this with a promise. "When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear (indicative #4) with him in glory."

The indicatives in this passage tell us what Christ has done on our behalf - you have been raised with Christ, you died. They tell us what He is doing now - your life is hidden with Him, you are safe and secure in Christ because Christ is in you. And they tell us what He is going to do - you will appear with him in glory. The pattern seen in these indicatives point us to the truth that is foundational to them being true of us - "with Christ/Him". These indicatives are what identify those who are in union or in relationship with Christ through faith in who He is and what He has done to redeem us and to reconcile us with God. Then we are called to live the resurrection life, the way of Christ. We do this by having a heavenly mindset. We are first and foremost citizens of heaven who are guided by "the things above" while we journey through this life on earth. This is how we grow in Christlikeness, and the rest of Colossians goes into how we practically set our hearts and minds above and live as Kingdom people.

So when you see an imperative (a command about how to live or what to do), look for the indicative pointing you to your motivation for doing and living the kingdom way - what Christ has done, is doing, or will do.

I would love to have you to join me in being formed by the Word this year. After reading the above post, do some study on your own. Dig deeper into the verses and passages mentioned and then respond creatively. Share your thoughts and creative responses in the comment section below or on social media with #formedby theword and #wordsartandfaithgroup, and in our private Facebook group for words challenges the Words Art and Faith group.

Formed By the Word Week 6: Imitate

 

Week 6: Imitate

Last week we looked at two passages that showed how we are to have the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus. We looked at what His attitude looks like in Philippians 2:5-8 and then we looked at how Paul modeled the attitude of Christ in Philippians 3:7-9. What becomes clear from these passages is that the way we have the same attitude or mind as Christ is to imitate Him and to imitate those who imitate Him.

Jesus gave us clues to the need to imitate His life throughout the gospels:

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." Matthew 16:24

Jesus is very clear about the cost of following Him. It requires a life of discipleship, where we cease to make ourself the object of our life and actions, instead becoming totally committed to Christ and to His way of life. The cross is the symbol of total commitment to Christ for us. When we "take up our cross" we imitate Christ who denied His own rights for our sake and who made himself nothing. (Philippians 2:6-7). We sacrifice our rights in order to serve others as Christ did. This is the cost of discipleship.

"Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me." Matthew 10:38

"I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." John 13:15

"Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." John 13:17

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock." Matthew 7:24

"Take my Yoke upon you and learn feom me..." Matthew 11:29

Jesus was clear that following Him meant imitating Him.

Paul, then, took the words of Jesus to heart, and continued His message in his writings.

"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." 1 Corinthians 11:1

"Therefore I urge you to imitate me." 1 Corinthians 4:16

"Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4:9

"You became imitators of us and of the Lord..." 1 Thessalonians 1:6

"Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 5:1-2

The way of imitating Christ is to love and to sacrifice through service to others.

Peter and John take up the same call in their writings:

"Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." 1 Peter 2:21

"Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did." 1 John 2:6

My art for today is something I actually made back in September for a different post (check it out here.) but it fit so well here that I didn't see a reason to make a new page.

My focus this year in being "Formed By the Word" is to explore what the Bible says about spiritual formation in Christ. More and more as I study, I'm struck by how much our spiritual formation in Christ is focused on how we view and serve and relate to others. A thread we will need to continue to explore.

I would love to have you to join me in being formed by the Word this year. After reading the above post, do some study on your own. Dig deeper into the verses and passages mentioned and then respond creatively. Share your thoughts and creative responses in the comment section below or on social media with #formedby theword and #wordsartandfaithgroup, and in our private Facebook group for words challenges the Words Art and Faith group.

Formed by the Word Week 5: Attitude

Week 5: Attitude

Spiritual formation is often on my mind. I often ponder what it means and looks like to grow in Christ's likeness, for this is the calling - the purpose - of everyone who professes to be in Christ. Every one of us is called to this. I started reading a book by a French pastor, Michel Bouttier, called "Christianity According to Paul". In the opening pages of this book, Bouttier points out something in the book of Philippians that I had not noticed before, even though I have studied Philippians numerous times. In chapter 2 of Philippians Paul shows that conducting oneself in "a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ" (Phil 1:27) will manifest itself in a life of love and humility (Phil 2:1-4). In Christ we have the supreme example of this type of life, and so, Paul calls us to have the same attitude as Christ, which he shows in 2 Philippians 2:5-8. But here is the thing I did not notice before. While Paul gives us Christ's example, he goes on in Chapter 3 to show us his own example of having the same attitude as that of Christ. Paul lives out his admonition to "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1), and in doing so shows us how to live in a way so as to have the same attitude of Christ.

First, let's look at Jesus' attitude revealed to us in Philippians 2:5-8.

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with

God something to be grasped,

but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to death -

even death on a cross!"

Jesus Christ was in his very nature, God. He had God's divine privilege and position and status. Yet, he did not consider - regard or view - his equality with God as something to be grasped - held onto, clung to selfishly, used for his own advantage - or, in American terms, he did not exert his right to his equality with God.  The New Living Translation (NLT) translates verse 6 with this tone: "Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God."

Instead, verse 7 tells us, he made himself nothing. The word "made" implies that this was a vouluntary action on Jesus' part. He voluntarily made himself nothing - in other words, he emptied himself of his privileges and rights and poured himself out. How? By "taking on the nature of a servant, being made in human likeness."

Jesus said to his disciples, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:28. A servant is submissive to the will or needs of someone else. They voluntarily put others needs before their own (Phil 2:3-4). The cross is our example of Jesus putting our needs before His own and being a submissive servant to the will of the Father. How might we put others first and serve them as the Father wills it?

Paul goes on describing Jesus' example in verse 8: "And being found in appeatrence as a man," - taking on man's characteristics and weaknesses, becoming just like us - "He humbled himself". How did he humble himself? "He became obedient to death - even death on a cross!" His obedience and humility were shown most gloriously on the cross. In Jesus' time death on a cross was the lowest and most disgraceful form of death. Yet for the sake of others - for us - and to be obedient to the Father, Jesus willingly went to His death on the cross. He humbled himself for our sake in order to redeem us from the power of sin and death.

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." 2 Corinthians 8:9

So, now we look at Paul's example of having the attitude of Christ in Philippians 3:7-9.

"But whatever was to my profit" - Paul had listed some of the credentials that allowed him privilege, position, and status in Philippians 3:4-6. Of the people of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, a persecutor, legally righteous, faultless. In his day and culture his Jewish roots and his position placed him far up the hierarchy affording him rights and privileges others did not have.

But, he goes on, "I now consider loss." He willingly gave up all that he had. Why? (Vs8) "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared with the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ."

Paul's sole purpose was "to gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness that comes from the law [i.e., earned by status, position, nationality, deeds, or rights] but that which comes through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith." (Vs 9)

Paul lived his life for Christ, imitating Christ's attitude of service, humility, and obedience to the Father's will. It is because he had the attitude of Christ that he could then call others to "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1) 

Our call from God is to to spend our lives, for whatever length of time we have, growing in Christlikeness (Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18). Having Christ's attitude, living His ways, imitating Him. It can be hard to figure out what that looks like in our culture today. Our call is not to have the attitude of the world, the culture, our nationality or ethnicity, or of celebrities, politicians, authors, or political parties, or even of our families or parents. Our call is first and foremost, as children of God, to have the same attitude of Christ. To have His mind. So, like Christ, and Paul, we are called to live in ways where we yield our rights, our privileges, our position for the sake of Christ to serve others humbly, voluntarily, and sacrificially in obedience to the father's will.

As I pray about how to be Formed By the Word this year, this is the direction in which I am exploring. How to live out the ways of Christ; how to have His attitude; how to grow in Christlikeness. Praise God that He has given us His Word to guide us and to show us what Christlikeness looks like.

"Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." Titus 2:14

I would love to have you to join me in being formed by the Word this year. After reading the above post, do some study on your own. Dig deeper into the verses and passages mentioned and then respond creatively. Share your thoughts and creative responses in the comment section below or on social media with #formedby theword and #wordsartandfaithgroup, and in our private Facebook group for words challenges the Words Art and Faith group.

Formed By the Word: Week 4 ~ Perspective: Eternal Eyesight

 

Week 4 ~ Perspective: Eternal Eyesight

Today is the final part in a series of Words challenge posts looking at Chapters 3-5 of 2 Corinthians. These chapters contain a lot of "perspective" words. Words such as seen/unseen, light, reveal, veiled/unveiled, display, show, reflect, sight, see, look, eteranl/temporary, blinded, regard, view, eyes. Paul's theology in his letters is that the right perspective is God's perspective. In these chapters in 2 Corinthians he shows that godly perspective impacts how we live, how we see others, how we view trials and suffering and the circumstances of life, and how we view eternity. So we will break these down and dig into them:

• Week One ~ Perspective: Behold Christ.
• Week Two ~ Perspective: Eyes Wide Open
• Week Three ~ Perspective: Godly Perception
• Week Four ~ Perspective: Eternal Eyesight

Eternal Eyesight

The last thing I noticed about having God’s perspective in chapters 3-5 of 2 Corinthians is that with His help we grow to see suffering and trials and the circumstances of life from His point of view. With our eyes focused on the “eternal glory” that far outweighs anything we experience in this life (4:17), we are able to “live [walk] by faith, not by sight” (5:7). We can recognize that the bodies we live in and the lives we live are simply God’s treasure in frail clay jars meant to reveal His glory and power (4:7). The trials and suffering, despair, and persecution, all help to build our faith in God and reveal the death and resurrection life of Jesus in us (4:8-11). These things enable others to see Jesus in us! God’s eternal perspective enables us to be renewed inwardly day by day, because in view of eternity they are “light and momentary”. “So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen [the trials, the suffering and despair, the circumstances of life] but on what is unseen [the eternal glory of God] since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (4:16-18). Eternal eyesight keeps us from “losing heart”, from giving into doubt and fear, because we know Whose we are and what His purpose is for those who are in Christ. “We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to Himself” (4:14). We have an eternal house in heaven (5:1) and “the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (5:5).

“So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body [in this present age] or away from it [in the age to come – eternity]. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done in the body [in this present age], whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:9-10

Eternal eyesight keeps us from losing heart: it produces endurance.

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Finally, when we can see trials and suffering and the circumstances of life as God does, we will see these things as opportunities. God uses what we go through so that we, like Him, have compassion on others, and we, then, comfort them as we ourselves have received comfort from God. Most likely the comfort God gives came about through other people He used to bring us His comfort. God's purposes serve to enable us to praise Him and focus on and serve others. We reach back to the first chapter of 2 Corinthians to see this.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort." 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

A few months ago I did the page below, but it fits with today's study as well.

In being formed by the Word of God we gain God's perspective. We see Him clearly as we behold Christ through the Gospel. As we grow in Christlikeness our eyes are wide open to see ourselves as God's ministers, living godly lives. We gain Godly perception to see others, believers and unbelievers, as He does, through the lens of the Gospel. And we grow in the ability to see suffering, trials, and the curcumstances of life clearly with eternal eyesight. 

Thank you for joining me as I have explored and dug into these perspective words in 2 Corinthians chapters 3-5.

* * * * *

I would love to have you to join me in being formed by the Word this year. After reading the above post, do some study on your own. Dig deeper into the verses and passages mentioned and then respond creatively. Share your thoughts and creative responses in the comment section below or on social media with #formedby theword and #wordsartandfaithgroup, and in our private Facebook group for words challenges the Words Art and Faith group.

Formed By the Word: Week 3 ~ Perspective: Godly Perception

 

Week 3 ~ Perspective: Godly Perception

Today is part three in a series of Words challenge posts looking at Chapters 3-5 of 2 Corinthians. These chapters contain a lot of "perspective" words. Words such as seen/unseen, light, reveal, veiled/unveiled, display, show, reflect, sight, see, look, eteranl/temporary, blinded, regard, view, eyes. Paul's theology in his letters is that the right perspective is God's perspective. In these chapters in 2 Corinthians he shows that godly perspective impacts how we live, how we see others, how we view trials and suffering and the circumstances of life, and how we view eternity. So we will break these down and dig into them:

• Week One ~ Perspective: Behold Christ.
• Week Two ~ Perspective: Eyes Wide Open
• Week Three ~ Perspective: Godly Perception
• Week Four ~ Perspective: Eternal Eyesight

Godly Perception

When we have God’s perspective, we see others as He does, both unbelievers and believers alike. Our perception of others is seen through the lens of the gospel. In 5:16-17 Paul says,

“So from now on we regard [view, see, consider] no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded [saw, viewed, considered] Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

I used verse 17 (new creation) in earlier posts regarding our position in Christ, and it is true, those who are in Christ are new creations. But the context shows us another way to view this verse. Let me break it down. It starts with “so from now on”. From when? We must look back at the previous verses. From the point when we were compelled by the love of Christ, recognizing that He died for all and we thus began a new life, we had our eyes opened that our lives now are to be lived for Christ (5:14-15). Before then we lived for ourselves by the world’s standards or point of view. That is, we lived with ourselves at the center of the universe. Our needs, our rights, our wants, etc. were more important than others, and even more important than God’s. This is what Paul means when he says that we once regarded Christ in this way (5:16) – we made no room for Him in our lives because we did not see Him in the right light – in God’s light.

But now that we are living as unveiled people in Christ, we live to please God (5:9) and are called to live by the standards, or point of view, that God calls us to, for we see His glory clearly now. Not only that, but Paul says, “we regard no one from a worldly point of view”, not anyone. This means we don’t even see unbelievers from a worldly point of view. We cannot hold them to God’s standards for living because they live with their minds dull, their hearts veiled, and their eyes unable to see spiritual things. We see them as they really are, as those in need of reconciliation with God, who need the opportunity to have their eyes opened to the freedom that comes form the Lord (3:17) by being freed from the burden of sin.

But for those who are in Christ we need to see them as who they really are as well. They are a new creation in Christ. Everything that the Bible says is true of the identity of God’s children is already true of them – even if they don’t yet believe it or live up to it. They are a new creation! The old has gone, but still will need to be dealt with as we grow and mature and are transformed into the image of Christ in ever-increasing glory (3:18). So, we live as living epistles of Christ in order to help those who live veiled lives be reconciled to God, and to encourage those who are in Christ to fully live as transformed new creations in Christ’s image.

I would love to have you to join me in being formed by the Word this year. After reading the above post, do some study on your own. Dig deeper into the verses and passages mentioned and then respond creatively. Share your thoughts and creative responses in the comment section below or on social media with #formedby theword and #wordsartandfaithgroup, and in our private Facebook group for words challenges the Words Art and Faith group.