Category: Spiritual Theology

The theology of spiritual growth & sanctification

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Motivated By Our Future Perfection

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What motivates you to holy living? When you are tempted by something that others think is okay but you know it is unholy, what do you think about in order to strengthen your will and resist temptation? Scripture mentions several different motivations but one of them is the promise of being thoroughly holy and perfect one day. This might not seem logical at first. If God is going to perfect us anyway, why should we make a lot of sacrifice now in order to be holy? Why would the promise of future holiness motivate me to be more holy now? We can learn about this from John: “But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” I Jn. 3:3 (NIV) Here God is motivating us to Continue Reading →

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How Can I Be Filled With God?

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We want to be full of God’s goodness and be one with Him, but we find that we are distracted by the demands and values of the world. So how do we overcome these pressures? One of the biggest themes in the New Testament is that having a view of God’s tremendous love and future blessings for us will empower us to let go of worldliness and participate in God’s fullness. We see this in one of the most famous prayers of the New Testament – the Apostle Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-19: 14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every familyc in heaven and on earth is named, 16that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being Continue Reading →

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Jesus Makes Us Into New Adams

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Do you ever think about how wonderful it would be if you could be like Adam or Eve before they fell? Wouldn’t it be fantastic to live in perfect harmony with God and others? During the holy week when our hearts are so focused on Jesus and the end of his life it is helpful to remember why he came: so God could restore our Adamic nature and our Adamic relationship with God. In fact, Jesus does this and more! Remember that the old arrangement, or Mosaic covenant, that God had with his people did not succeed in producing a nation of people who loved God and followed his ways. The people could not produce a new garden on earth where everyone lived in harmony and prosperity. This was all rooted in the fact that they could not eliminate the corruption from their nature. The condemnation from the Garden remained. Continue Reading →

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What Is It Like To Live In Full Intimacy With God?

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We often hear about being intimate with God. We all want to be closer to God although it may be unclear to us what that really means. Today we will taste some of that life, and I suspect that this taste will fire our hearts and bring us closer to complete loving surrender to God. And if you are wondering how to motivate people to pursue Jesus then consider beginning with this kind of material. Once people see the treasure then they will be more willing to “sell all they have” in order to get the treasure. When people understand what God wants to do for them then they are much more willing to embrace your leading. John of the Cross was a 16th century Spaniard who pursued and loved God as much as anyone ever did. We are blessed that he was also a great writer and could express Continue Reading →

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Our Future Perfect Community

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Do you long for the perfect community where humans live in complete harmony and mutual support? One of the most fascinating passages in Scripture is Revelation 21:1 -22:5 where our destiny is explained. One part of this destiny is the idea that we will live in a city, the New Jerusalem. This will be our future community. God will dwell with us in this city: “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” Rev. 22:3b-4. And Rev. 21:3 emphasizes this by stating it three times! The New Jerusalem is also the Bride of Christ (Rev. 21:9). Thus, we have the mysterious description of the New Jerusalem as both the Bride and the dwelling place of the Bride and God! Perhaps these are two different ways of Continue Reading →