Definitions and Spirituality

Spiritual Formation:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8)

The above biblical verse encapsulates the totality of Spiritual Formation. Spiritual Formation is an intentional Christian practice to develop spiritual maturity that leads to Christlikeness. One definition of spiritual Formation found in a World Council of Churches publication states “the intentional processes by which the marks of an authentic Christian spirituality are formed and integrated.”

We need some very concrete spiritual disciplines to help us entirely appropriate and internalize our joys and sorrows and find in them our unique way to spiritual freedom[1]. Spiritual Formation, I believe, is not about steps or stages on the way to perfection; it’s about the movements from the mind to the heart through Prayer in its many forms that reunite us with God, each other, and our most authentic selves[2].

The disciplines focus our eyes on the road we are traveling and help us to move forward, step-by-step, to our goal. We will encounter significant obstacles and splendid views, long, dry deserts, and freshwater lakes surrounded by shadow-rich trees. We will have to fight against those who try to attack and rob us. We also will make terrific friends. We will often wonder if we ever make it, but one day we will see coming to us the One who has been waiting for us from all eternity to welcome us home[3].

Working Definition of Spiritual Formation:

Spiritual Formation is the intentional transformation of the inner person to the character of Christ.

Formation:

The term “formation” is variously defined in different contexts. The Roman Catholic tradition has a sacramental conception of ministry as the priesthood, and Formation takes place by providing programs and resources organized around clear institutional goals. The Roman Catholic seminaries have generally been more interested in spiritual Formation than their Protestant counterparts.

A good outline of the history can be found in John O’Malley’s article Spiritual Formation for Ministry; Some Roman Catholic Traditions – their Past and Present and Optatan Totius of Vatican II is exciting reading. The apostolic exhortation of Pastores Dabo Vobis[4] resulted from a bishop’s synod in 1990, following the period post-Vatican II, which was so disastrous for priestly vocations, at least in the west. Chapter five mainly founds the training of a priest in the Gospel, the life of Christ, and communion and fellowship with Him. Interestingly, it emphasizes personal human Formation as a crucial parallel process to spiritual Formation (a link Lindbeck argued against in 1987).

The exhortation affirms that the seminary’s mission embraces four critical dimensions of Formation: human, intellectual, spiritual, and pastoral. The Fourth edition of the program of priestly Formation (1993) highlighted the need for a new emphasis on priestly identity with the insistence that the priesthood is unique in the Church and, therefore, ought to have its specialized program of learning and Formation.

Forms of Spirituality:

Ten Basic Assumptions to Consider for Spiritual Formation Program:

1. You cannot just tell people to behave themselves; they have to be formed to behave themselves.
2. Human beings are formable, i.e., the longing for the transcendence
3. Formation includes our world and environment.
4. Formation is about paying attention and listening to one’s life
5. Conscious cooperation with what God is doing.
6. God invites us to be changed
7. Formation is not just theological but also experiential
8. Getting to know that we are the beloved of God
9. Formation is a gentle invitation from God. It is not striving to be loved but knowing we are loved
10. Spiritual Formation involves the whole community of faith.

Twelve Types of Spirituality by Kenneth Boa:

1. Relational Spirituality: Loving God completely, ourselves correctly, and others compassionately. God is a very complicated and complex Being. Every language man uses for God is ‘Anthropomorphic’ – human language. God is more than we know Him or we call Him. God belongs to a different order because He is Holy, a transcendent God. Another aspect of God is far away yet near. In God, there is no contradiction, but there are things that are ‘Paradoxes’ but no contradiction. The Trinitarian dimension (Nicene Creed & Athanasius Creed) presents what is known as the ‘Relational’ dimension of God. It is a challenge to love a complicated God, but God broke the barrier himself.
2. Paradigm Spirituality: Cultivating an Eternal versus Temporary Perspective
3. Disciplined Spirituality: Engaging in the Historical Disciplines. This type of Spirituality can be developed in five ways:

• (i)                         Solitude, Silence, and Prayer
• (ii)                      Journaling, Study, and Meditation
• (iii)                   Fasting, Chastity, and Secrecy
• (iv)                    Confession, Submission, and Guidance
• (v)                       Simplicity Stewardship and Sacrifice; and Witness

4. Exchanged life Spirituality: Grasping our True Identity in Christ. Based on believers’ new identity in Christ, who does God says I am? Our old and new Nature; Love & Acceptance; Significance & Identity; Competence & Fulfillment; and Our Response to God’s Plan: Knowing, Reckoning, Yielding, New nature + new power = transformation.
5. Motivated Spirituality: A set of Biblical Incentives. One, Discern the motivational gift God has assigned to you.
6. Devotional Spirituality: Falling in love with God: God’s World, God’s Word, God’s Work, and God’s Ways
7. Holistic Spirituality: Every Component of life under the Lordship of Christ. The foundation for Holistic Spirituality defines ‘Spirituality’ as ‘the natural human connection with the wonder and energy of nature, cosmos, and all existence; and the instinct to explore and understand its meaning.” Celebrating diversity and connection and maintaining Emotional wellness and Personal development.
8. Process Spirituality: Process versus Product, being versus Doing. This Spirituality concerns faithfulness during the ongoing journey rather than living from one product to the next. It also focuses on what it means to abide in Christ and to practice his presence.
9. Spirit-Filled Spirituality: Walking in the Power of the Spirit. This kind of Spirituality seeks infinite Light and eternal Truth.
10. Warfare Spirituality: The World, the Flesh, and the Devil. That includes tearing down the strongholds of the devil. The difference between deliverance and spiritual warfare is that deliverance deals with demonic bondages and getting a person set free. In contrast, spiritual warfare is resisting, overcoming, and defeating the enemy’s lies (in the form of deception, temptations, and accusations) that he sends our way.
11. Nurturing Spirituality: A lifestyle of Evangelism and Discipleship. Christ lived out through the Church and each of us as believers. Total surrender to Christ. Jesus Christ is the Alpha and the Omega of our spiritual nourishment.

12. Corporate Spirituality: Encouragement, Accountability, and Worship. The past decades have seen significant growth in what is called ‘workplace spirituality,’ Spirituality, and Corporate Social Responsibility; Spirituality is a firm basis for Corporate Social responsibility.

Notes:

• [1] Henri J. M. Nouwen, Can You Drink the Cup? (Notre Dame Indiana: Ave Maria Press, 1996), 93
• [2] Henri J. M. Nouwen, Spiritual Formation: Following the Movements of the Spirit
• [3) Nouwen, Can You Drink the Cup? 100-101
• (4) Pastores Dabo Vobis, Apostolic exhortations of his holiness John Paul II on the Formation of priests, (London: Catholic Truth Society, 1992)

Humankind in His Total Concept

The Nature of Man:

The Bible speaks about three kinds of people: The Natural, the Carnal, and the Spiritual.

The Natural Man:

The natural Man may know about God intellectually but has never entered into a personal relationship with God. The natural Man sits on the throne of his own Life. Although Satan rules and controls him, he believes himself to be the master.

 Humankind is born in this condition, 1 Cor. 2:14; the natural Man lives Life from the outside, from the external to the internal. Outward circumstances & worldly philosophies influence his soul. Thus, his mind, will, and emotions are misguided. The natural Man’s decision-making processes are often in error because he makes no allowance for God and has no Holy Spirit to guide his thinking.

The Carnal Man:

The carnal Man knows the Lord but is still trying to govern his Life. He wants Jesus to be the co-pilot, not the Lord of his Life. He makes choices based on his old sinful nature and ends up doing the very thing from which God is trying to deliver him. He makes decisions contrary to God’s Will. 1 Cor. 3:1-4

 The Spiritual Man:

The Spiritual Man is transformed by the Word of God and begins to reflect the very mind of Christ. He learns to allow the Holy Spirit to control the innermost parts of his Life. He dies to himself so that God can live His Life through him, Galatians 2:20. The spiritual Man lives his Life from the inside out, meaning from the internal to the external. The Spirit of God controls his soul and body, allowing him to live out the principles and commands of God. Without the Word, Prayer, and Obedience to God’s commandments, a spiritual man easily slides to the middle chair of carnality.

To escape carnality, one must be a:

• A disciple who knows who he is – John 15:16
• A disciple who knows why he is here on earth –
• Eph. 1:11, 12
• A disciple who knows what he is to be doing –
• Mat. 28:18-20
• A disciple who is carefully trained to do the work of the Ministry – Mk.6:12-13
• A disciple who the Holy Spirit empowers – Acts 2:1
• A disciple who is willing to die for the objective –
• Acts 7:58-59.

 The Key Thought on the nature of Man: – Genesis 1:26-27

The scripture makes it clear that the original Man was the direct result of God’s creative act. The Man was created in the image and likeness of God as a tripartite being consisting of Spirit, soul, and body. God made us to have a relationship with Him, to be made into His image and likeness, to share in His function of dominion, and to be fruitful and reproduce himself. In beholding the glory of the heavens, the Psalmist asked, “what is man?” – Ps. 8:4, Job 7:17-18. The answers are:

1. Man is a created being – Gen. 1:26, 27, 2:7; Rev. 4:11
2. Man is a dependent being – Acts 17:23-31. Man depends on God for his breath; in God, Man lives, moves, and has his Being.
3. Man is an intelligent being. He has reason, intelligence, imagination, and the ability to express his thoughts in language – Gen. 2:15, 1:26-28, Isa. 1:18, Rom. 1:21.
4. Man is a moral being: God created Man with free will and the ability to choose. It makes Man a moral and responsible creature. God desired a creature that would respond to Him willingly and freely. God placed within a man a conscience, which gives him a moral sense, distinguishing right from wrong. Conscience means knowledge of self concerning a known law of right and wrong. It is a faculty that no animal has. In Man’s upright state at creation, his Conscience was inactive until Man sinned. The moment he sinned, his Conscience began to work, and his thoughts began to accuse him.
5. Man is a Love Being: this shows the very purpose and reason for the creation of Man. God is Love, and Love must not only have an object but must have that which can reciprocate that Love – 1 John 4:16-19. The Man was created by Love for Love to reciprocate Love. Without such LoveLove, Man’s heart remains empty and void. A love relationship with God is more important than any other single factor in your Life, so we must learn to love God more dearly, pray more faithfully, trust God fully, and wait on God with anticipation. Everything in Your Christian Life, Knowing Him and Experiencing Him, and Knowing His Will depends on The Quality of Your Love Relationship with God. To be loved by God is the highest relationship, achievement, and position in Life.
6. Man is a Triune Being consisting of Spirit, Soul, and Body – 1Thess 5:23, Heb. 4:12, 1Cor. 2:14, 3:4. These are the three centers of consciousness within the total personality of Man.

Faculties of the Human Soul:

1. 1. The Will or Volition is the organ of decision, the power to choose; it expresses Man’s willingness to do or not to do – Deut. 21:14, Gen. 24:5, Rom. 6:16
   2. The Mind or Intellect is the seat of learning and the instrument of Man’s thoughts. It manifests Man’s intellectual power. Here lies the seat of Man’s acquired knowledge, human wisdom, and reasoning. When not trained or exercised, it makes a man foolish or dull. When a human’s mind moves, it is called ‘thought .”Thought’ is the mind in motion – Ps 139:14, Jeremiah 29:11. Knowledge, thinking, and thoughts are all activities of Man’s intellect or mind, which emanate from the soul of Man.
   3. Emotion or Feeling is the organ of likes or dislikes, LoveLove or hate. Humans can express LoveLove, hate, joy, and sadness through this faculty. Lack of it will render Man insensitive. Through this faculty, Man expresses affection or LoveLove. Deut. 6:5, 2 Sam 5:8, Deut14:26, 1 Sam. 30:6, John 10:11, 1 Cor. 15:44, Rom. 8:1, 2 Cor. 5:17, Mat. 16:26, Luke 9:25; Heb. 4:12

Faculties of Human Spirit:

1. The Conscience is like God’s own policeman. It is the discerning organ that distinguishes right and wrong. It is not controlled through human senses or guided by stored-up or acquired knowledge. It acts spontaneously by direct intuitive knowledge or judgment. It is that faculty by which Man apprehends the will of God. The work of the Conscience is independent of human reasoning. It is not influenced by outside opinion or reasoning. If a man should do wrong, his Conscience will condemn him or raise a voice of accusation as that designed by God to govern humans’ lives – 1 John 3:19- 20, Rom. 2:15, 1 John 3:21-22, John 9:31. The relationship between Conscience and intuition is that Conscience judges according to intuition.
2. The Intuition – God speaks to man by intuition; Intuitive knowledge is that revelation knowledge from God; Mark 2:8, 1 Cor. 2:11
3. Communion is the faculty of worship. Man worships God through the organ of communion; John 4:23, 1 Cor. 6:17, Rom.1:8, 9

 Man, On Three Realms of Life:

In the New Testament, three different words are employed in Greek to designate the three kinds of Life – spiritual, soulical, and physical.

1. BIOS: The Physical Life

Physical Life is the basest or lowest kind of Life. It is the general Life of all living things, including plants and animals. It is used in the scriptures in three aspects:

a. Denoting the duration of Life, notably the Life of the flesh – 1Peter4:3; 2Tim. 2:4; Luke 8:14.

b. The manner of Life: Life regarding its moral conduct. Paul exhorts Timothy – 1 Timothy 2:1,2; John speaks on this kind of Life – 1 John 2:16.

c. The means of Life; regarding livelihood, maintenance, living or existence; Jesus said of the widow – Mark 12:44; of the woman with the issue of blood – Luke 8:43; Jesus used it to refer to worldly possessions – 1 John 3:17

2. PSUCHE – Soulical Life:

Psuche refers to natural or soul life. The Bible uses this term to describe the natural Life of the fallen Man. Besides its meaning as mind or soul, it denotes the Life of the fallen Man; it is also used in four other respects

a. The breath of Life, or the natural Life. God speaks to Joseph – Matt. 2:20; Jesus speaks – Mark 10:45; God told the children of Israel

– Leviticus 17:11

b. The seat of personality: Jesus says – Luke 9:24, 25

c. The seat of the sentinent element in Man, by which he perceives, reflects, feels, desires, etc. Jesus says – Matt. 11:29

d. The seat of Will and Purpose – Matt. 22:37

The soul is the Man himself, the seat of Man’s personality with organs of volition, emotions, and intellect. In James 5:20, saving a soul is considered to mean saving a sinner (Luke 12:19). Jesus confirms that the soul of Man is Man himself in two different gospels – Matt. 16:26; Luke 9:25

3. ZOE Spiritual Life

At new birth, Man receives the very Life of God called “Eternal” or “Everlasting life .”It is called “Zoe” in Greek. In the NT, Zoe is used to Living Life in the absolute sense. It is Life as God has it; that which the father has in Himself, and which He gave to the Incarnate son to have in Himself – John 5:26.

 That is the Life the son manifested in the world – 1 John 1:2,3; John 3:15, Col.3:4, John 6:35. Eternal Life is the present actual possession of the believer because of his relationship with Christ. Jesus says in John 5:24, 1 John 3:14, 2 Cor.5:4, 1 Cor. 2:14, and John 3:3. Zoe is Life intensive; Bios is Life extensive. In Scripture, Zoe is a great word. The nobler word expresses as it continually does all of the highest and best, which the saints possess in God; Life in the absolute sense. The work of regeneration begins with God and ends with God – Ezekiel 36:25-28, John 1:12,13; John 15:3, Eph. 5:25- 27; Heb. 9:22,28; 10:1-4; Heb. 10:5-10, 23. A new spirit requires a new heart – Matt. 9:17, 1Pet. 1:22-25, John 6:63, 1Pet. 2:1-3, Ezekiel 36:27

The New Spirit Needs Training

God promised to put his Spirit beside the Spirit of Man to enable him:

– Walk in the statues of God

– Keep Hisjudgment

– Do His Will and Live in obedience – John 14:16-18; 14:26; 16:13-14

 The Spirit Needs Guidance

The Spirit will also guard the children of God against sin unto righteousness and away from judgment. John 16:8-11; Romans 8:1

The Spirit of God leads all Children of God – Romans 8:14-16; 8:26-27; 1 Cor.

2:14-16; Prov. 20:27; John 10:50b; Mat. 6:33

 The laws of the Spirit:

1. The weight of the Spirit – Spirit should be kept in a very free condition and constantly be light as though soaring in the air; –The weight of the Spirit is from Satan, and the sole purpose is to cause believers to suffer; Satan uses the weight to suppress believers.
2. The Blockage of the Spirit – once a believer’s Spirit is blocked, he loses his vigor; when he reads the Bible, he does not seem to have any words to say; when he preaches, he does not sense any result and feels that he is only going through the motions;
3. The poisoning of the Spirit – a believer’s Spirit can become poisoned by evil spirits – sometimes Satan causes our Spirit to become hard, stubborn, narrow, selfish, wild, and disobedient. Consequently, the Spirit is not able to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and carry out God’s Will;
4. The Depression of the Spirit – Believers become depressed in their Spirit mostly when they turn inward to look at themselves;
5. The Burden of the Spirit: the burden of the Spirit is from God; its purpose is to make known God’s will and secure the believers’ cooperation;
6. The Ebbing of the Spirit means that God’s Life and power can ebb away in the believers’ Spirit like the ebbing away of the tide. Once a believer feels that his spiritual Life appears to be ebbing away, he should find out where it is blocked;
7. The Negligence of Responsibility of the Spirit – The human Spirit is like an electric light. When the Spirit deviates from its normal condition, it becomes isolated from the Holy Spirit and loses its light. If the Spirit is troubled by outward circumstances, it immediately becomes useless and unable to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. Once the Spirit has neglected its responsibility, victory becomes impossible.

Some common misunderstandings in the work of the Holy Spirit are as follows:

1. Waiting for the Holy Spirit – indeed, the Lord Jesus commanded the disciple to wait for the Holy Spirit to be upon them. Still, after Pentecost, we do not find anywhere in the Acts or the Epistles where the Apostles commanded the believers to ‘wait’ to receive the Holy Spirit. After Pentecost, ‘receive’ is used instead of ‘wait’ (Acts 19:2). The Holy Spirit cannot be called on directly, neither does He come through our beseeching because He is a gift of God (John 14: 16);
2. Obeying the Holy Spirit – once a person goes a little beyond the Bible, he faces many dangers; and
3. The Holy Spirit Being the Master – the best expression is that the Holy Spirit works within us, making us obey God.

 Some aspects of Spiritual living include:

1. Conversation;
2. Guidance;
3. Memory – John 14: 26
4. Love – the LoveLove of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit;
5. Humility; and
6. God’s order

 

The Light of God (A Seminar Talk)

 Background Scriptures:

OT: Genesis 1:1-3, 26-28; Ezekiel 28:12-16; Isaiah 14:12-17; Genesis 5:1-3

NT: John 1:1-5, 14-15; John 8:12; Matthew 11:28-29, 31; John 14:21; 1 Jn 2:3-11

Golden Verse: When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” – John 8:12

Central Truth: The Image of God is Light

Intro:

God made man in His image, in His likeness, and gave man dominion over all He created. The Old Testament (OT) and New Testament (NT) reveal and accentuate only two crucial words and kingdoms – ‘LIGHT & DARKNESS.’ These are the Light of God and the darkness of Satan. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1). At this point, in the beginning, the earth was formless and empty; darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters – And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was Light.

Gen. 1:2. As far as heaven was concerned, there was no problem. God and Angelic Beings dwell in heaven. Heaven was and is still peaceful and paradisiacal.

Heaven was in a state of utter perfection and happiness. Because the Devil had been thrown out of heaven and cast into the earth. God is Light, and Satan is darkness. Satan was already cast out of heaven into the earth. And the earth was in a state of utter depravity. Heaven radiates only the Light of God – Luke 10:18; Rev. 12:7- 12; Ezekiel 28:16- 17; Isaiah 14:12-15.The pervasive darkness on earth made the earth formless, empty, and void. “But the earth was in disarray, and empty, and spiritual darkness was upon the face of the demonic realm.” We have had about the “Gap Theory,” a concept first proposed by Thomas Chalmers in 1814, based on a Hebrew reinterpretation of Genesis 1:2.

The “Gap Theory” suggests the angels were created “in the beginning” (Gen. 1:1). Rather than during or after the creation week, and that Satan and his angelic (demonic) followers fell before Gen. 1:2. “Without form and void” has been translated from the Hebrew phrase “tohu vav bohu,” also found in Isaiah 34:11, which is interpreted differently. “tohu” can also mean “confused,” and “bohu” mean ’empty.’ This means the earth was in disarray, and empty. Jeremiah 4:23-26 also uses the phrase “tohu vav bohu,” as follows: “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form (tohu), and void (bohu); and the heavens, and they had no light.

I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens fled. I beheld, and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness. And all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger.1″ The word choshek has been interpreted as “darkness”; this word is also used in Ex. 10:21 to describe the darkness The Lord brought upon Egypt, which was so dark it could be felt. The Light of God is not like a bulb or sunlight. God’s Word is Light; Yeshua, the word of God, is the Light. The Light is Phos, the only type of Light that emanates from God. In John 1:1-4, v. 1 says,” In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” God spoke, and the word produced Light. Remember, Satan was already cast on earth, causing darkness all over the earth.

The Light of God was now brought forth, and God sees it was good. Jesus reveals Himself in the Gospel of John as the Bread of Life (6:35), the Light of the World (8:12), the Gate for the sheep (10:7), the Good Shepherd (10:11, 14), the resurrection and the life (11:250); the way, the truth, and the Life (14:6) and the True Vine (15:1). A disciple of Jesus Christ is a branch of the Vine that is thoroughly pruned by Christ to bear fruit. The life of Christ is in the disciples; hence they have become the Light of the world.

Exposition:

Every Christian is a branch attached to the Vine (our Lord Jesus Christ). Your company determines your conduct. Your behavior determines your character, and your character determines your destiny. The power of the branch is its unbroken attachment to the Vine. God sent His Word, the Light in the flesh to the world of darkness. Jesus came to the world he created, and the world knew him not, but He shone His Light into the darkness of the world and brought a new lease of life for those that believe in Him. Jesus’ disciples must follow the ‘Master’ and become the Light of the world. It is when one abides in Jesus that one can bear fruit and become the Light of the world. Then the Light of God will not only shine on the person but also in him. The image of God that we are created is the Light of God. Adam & Eve were created with the Light of God in them. That was why Satan came to tempt them to draw them into his dark world of darkness.

So, every man born since then from Cain, Abel & Seth has the darkness of Satan in them until such a person intentionally decides to permit the Light of God to shine in him through repentance and transformation. The transformation is the inflow of Light in a person that decides for Christ. The conformity to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ is a flow of the perfect lifestyle in exchange for the old lifestyle. The old lifestyle will cave in for the new. The light of God inside those who believe in Jesus Christ is evident in their character, deeds, speech, and living lifestyle. When the Light of Christ shines in man, the first thing it deals with is the darkness of sin.

Departing from iniquity is a critical foundational walk with God (2 Tim. 2:19). Jesus died on the cross, breaking the power of sin so that we can be free. God needs men to do His work but only uses people “whom he had formed.”

In the same vein, for any individual to accomplish God’s call in his life, he has to be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ through discipleship. Men like Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and many others had a personal relationship with the Lord in discipleship. The Light of God causes a transformation in man. Transformation means change, alteration, mutation, conversion, metamorphosis, and transfiguration. As we wait before God’s presence, His glory will reflect and shine on us so we may progress in the transformation process. It is only a man who stays long under the incubation of Christ that can release Christ’s life through which he shines the Light.

Conclusion:

Jesus Christ, the Word of God, the Light of God is our Motivator, so we must allow the Light to flow in us. You cannot straddle between the two Kingdoms of Light and Darkness– Matt. 6:10. Obedience is a keyword in the kingdom of Light. Kingdom obedience stems from love; not fear, 1 John 4:18. Only the message of Jesus Christ can bring Light to, man.

The Light of God is also the Love of God. Koinonia is the fullest possible partnership and fellowship with God and with others. Koinonia with God only comes from a real personal encounter with the living Christ and surrender to Him as the absolute Lord of life. Koinonia is the complete expression of love (agape) and fellowship with God. You cannot be in fellowship with God and His Son (Jesus Christ) and not walk in godly fellowship with one another. Koinonia with God is an experience of his presence with His Light shining in us. Koinonia with God is the fundamental element of Salvation and eternal life.

Five Things to take Note:

1. When the warm south wind with its soothing and balmy breezes brings showers of blessing2; Jesus Christ is the Light, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” – James 1:17
2. When the cold north wind of trial and testing sweeps down upon you, Jesus is the – 1Cor. 10:13
3. When the west wind blows hard upon you with its punishing intent. Jesus is the Light; “Whom the Lord loves He chastens” – Hebrews 12:6
4. When the east wind threatens to sweep away all that you have, Jesus is the Light. God shall supply all your need according to His riches in Glory – Philippians 4:19
5. The light of God is what makes a man to be wise.

Go Light Your World – written by Rice, Christopher M.

There is a candle in every soul. Some brightly burning, some dark and cold. There is a spirit who brings a fire; Ignites a candle and makes His home Chorus:

So, carry your candle, run to the darkness Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn Hold out your candle for all to see it

Take your candle and go light your world Take your candle and go light your word

Because we are a family whose hearts are blazing

So, let’s raise our candles and light up the sky Praying to our Father in the name of Jesus

Make us a beacon in the darkest times.

 

 

 

 

 

When Creed was written, there was severe persecution of Christians. The Christians were burnt on sticks and beheaded to uphold the Christian Faith. So this last line of the Apostles’ Creed was to give them ‘Hope’ of a future after death. Humanity has a present Hope in a future Home.’ It is to reassure Christians that despite pains and circumstances, there is hope in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.

In 1 Cor. 15:51,52, Paul wrote to the Corinthians to give them this type of ‘Hope.’ Matt. 6:9- 30 explains the present Kingdom and the future. The Kingdom of God means the domain over which God exercises rule as King. Therefore, God’s declared purpose is that His people, His holy nation, His peculiar treasure, should be the domain over which He would rule as King, and ultimately all the earth, all things, and every creature. The Lord’s greatest dominion at this time is in the lives of His elect, the chosen ones.

Jesus Christ has extended the dominion of His Kingdom to our hearts and lives. Ladd defines “kingdom” in the following way: “The primary meaning of both the Hebrew word Malkuth in the Old Testament and of the Greek word basileia in the New Testament is the rank, authority, and sovereignty exercised by a king. The Kingdom of God was established when Christ, the King, initiated His rule. Ladd’s approach to interpreting the Kingdom of God is synthetic, and he used inaugurated eschatology as the key idea for this interpretation of the “Kingdom of God.”

 Ladd’s dynamic interpretation is couched in already and yet to come ages. Two ages underline Ladd’s thought; the present reality of evil age is corroborated in Gal 1:4; Rom. 12:2; 1 Cor. 20; 2: 6-8; 2 Cor 4: 4 and the age to come in Ephesians 1:21. Ladd stipulated that the age to come has become present already in Christ and the Spirit – 1 Cor 10:11, 2 Cor. 5:17, Gal. 6:15 (pointing to Isaiah 65-66). The true Sons of the Kingdom are believers already in union with Christ. They have died and have been raised with Christ (Rom 6:3-11) and seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:4-7, Col. 2:12).

Ladd affirmed that those who respond to Jesus and accept His word (M. 13:38), those who receive and depend entirely on the proclamation of Jesus as LORD of the Kingdom in this present age are children of the Kingdom. The age to come, according to Ladd, is the final and total destruction of the devil and his angels (Mt. 25: 41), the formation of a redeemed society with evil and perfect fellowship with God at the Messianic feast. (Ref: Mt. 13:36-43, Luke 13: 28-29). Although the church reflects the rule of God in the world, the “kingdom” cannot be precisely paralleled with the “church.” Old Testament kingdom passages confirm that the rule of God existed before the coming of Christ, the ultimate King, and the establishment of the church.

Neither can the Kingdom be strictly equated with some cosmic event to occur when Christ returns. Although the consummation of the Kingdom will occur at the end of time, the Kingdom of God is a continuing historical reality. The real purpose for which God sent Jesus into the world was to ESTABLISH ON EARTH HIS KINGDOM; His ultimate purpose is that the kingdoms of this world shall experientially become the Kingdom of our God and His Christ. The light of the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and revelation is shed with its quickening and illuminating rays upon our understanding, dispelling the mists, dividing the light from the darkness, that all the elect Children of God may find an abundant entrance into the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is THE RULE OF GOD.

 Jesus came with just that message, the revelation of the RULE OF GOD within the hearts of men and through men over the whole world. The Kingdom of God is heavenly in its King; that King is the Son of God, Jesus Christ our LORD and Redeemer. The Kingdom of God is heavenly in its subjects; those subjects are the children of God. The Kingdom of God is heavenly in nature; that nature is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom of God is heavenly in its entrance; that gateway is not by human birth, or of the will of the flesh, or the will of man, but by being born of the Holy Spirit.

The Kingdom of God is heavenly in its laws; those laws are not ordinances, rules, or regulations; they are spiritual principles. The Kingdom of God is heavenly in its method; that method is not by might, power, or the enticing words of man’s wisdom but by the Spirit of the living God. The Kingdom of God is heavenly in its prerogatives; those prerogatives are for the Children of God to be the salt of the earth, the light of the world, a kingdom of priests after the order of Melchizedek, saviors on mount Zion. The Kingdom of God is heavenly in its privileges; those privileges are to be heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ to the inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, and cannot fade away.

In summary, the Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of Heaven. It is the Kingdom of Heaven because it is the Kingdom or dominion of the GOD OF HEAVEN. In its simplest definition, the Kingdom of God means that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD! He must be Lord in you, and He must be Lord through you. That is the mark and seal of Christ to make you a child of God. That is the power of the Kingdom. Jesus was declared by the Father to be the Son of God with power because of His resurrection from the dead. We see the initial victory in Christ’s incarnation, life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension.

 Through Jesus’ disciples during the dispensation of the church’s trial, we see His continuing and increasing victory. And in the manifestation of the sons of God, we see His ultimate victory. The Kingdom spans all generations and ages, from the advent of the firstborn Son into the world to the manifestation of the sons of God. Final victory shall be achieved at Christ second coming. Then shall the Kingdom be delivered up to God, even the Father, “that God may be all in all” (I Cor. 15:28).

The Apostle’s Creed teaches us to choose Jesus as the center of our relationship. The entire point of the Apostles’ Creed is to unite the believers in Truth, bringing them all closer to Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection of our body and soul, our life, and our Creed in the flesh. This Creed teaches ‘Hope’ in future Homes for those terminally sick. Suffering is a result of living in a sin-cursed world. But the next life in the future Home is different and without pains.

 Q: How does the Apostle Creed ground and shape your walk with Jesus Christ?

 The answer to the question is personal. Ruminate and Meditate on your personal answer. Have a lovely week with Christ as the Center.