Month: January 2022

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works… Ephesians 2:10.

The word in the Greek for “workmanship” in the quote above refers to a work of art. The New Living Translation renders it “masterpiece.”

Recently, I heard a talk by a landscape photographer. He spoke about going out “in the field,” as he described it, to take photographs. He called them “assets.” These are digital image files. Then he spoke about taking those assets and processing them to create a finished product, a work of art. The processing step includes minor changes such as cropping and tonal adjustments, and major changes such as removal of distracting objects.

He pointed out the need for both acquiring assets and processing them. There is no way of making art without assets, but the assets don’t become art without putting extra work into them.

Hearing this made me think about my experience as a Christian. I can acquire spiritual assets in a variety of ways—paying attention to the circumstances of my life, reading scripture, praying, listening to spiritually mature brothers and sisters in Christ, and reading materials such as this blog, to name a few. 

All of these are good and even necessary. And having His life indwelling my spirit makes them attractive to me. But it isn’t until Christ Jesus processes them that they augment His life within me, allowing Him to permeate not only my spirit but also my soul. 

This is transformation. It can’t happen unless we acquire the assets that He places in our path. Neither can it happen unless we cooperate as He does His work in our inner lives. Ultimately, He gets the masterpiece He always wanted.

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I don’t remember how I came across the website of Clayton Gibbs, but I bookmarked a page from it entitled “A House for God.” It was instructive for me. (As an aside, he borrows liberally from Frank Viola’s book, From Eternity to Here.) Toward the end of the page there is a list of habitats, metaphorically speaking, in which Christians can find themselves. These habitats, although they may have been needed for a time, do not support spiritual flourishing.

I shared this with my wife, who challenged me in return with some fundamental questions:

• Where have you been and where are you now?
• What are you seeking (John 1:38)?
• Who is guiding you?
• Why are you uncertain, hesitant, or afraid?
• How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him (Luke 11:13)?

For my own part, I have had my experiences with Egypt and Babylon (again, speaking metaphorically). Now I’m in the wilderness. I’m walking the trail of transformation. Although I look forward to living in a habitat where my wife and I can thrive spiritually, good things are happening out here. I am learning to experience the blessings of Heaven to the extent I can as an individual. I am re-examining many teachings of the past, to get God’s perspective on them. Also, I am continually looking for the leading of the Holy Spirit, so that I don’t remain in the wilderness any longer than necessary.

My object is to know Jesus Christ, not just facts about him. John the Baptist directed two of his disciples to Jesus. As they approached him, he met them with the second question in the list above. “And they said to him, ‘Teacher, where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and you will see.’” They saw where he was staying. Later they discovered that he himself was the earthly dwelling place of the Father. Jesus took what they were seeking and used it to reveal the reality of himself.

One day Jesus met a Samaritan woman at a well. She had come seeking water. He revealed himself as the source of living water. “Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14). Jesus took what she was seeking and used it to reveal the reality of himself. When I began to believe in Jesus, I was seeking eternal life for myself. Later I discovered that he himself is eternal life and that I had become his dwelling place.

The process of making these discoveries is difficult for many reasons. One difficulty that becomes more acute as time goes on is the many people within earshot, across all media, who have something to say about Jesus Christ. Who can we depend on for guidance? The problem is not whether the message presents correct doctrine. The issue is: is it the Word? Does it point me in the direction of spiritual maturity? Is it about building up a house for God, or any other aspect of God’s eternal purpose? As Peter remarked to Jesus, on behalf of all the disciples, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Separating the Word of Life from all the other words takes discernment. I pray that Jesus who lives in me and every believer will be my discernment and yours.

There is no reason for hesitancy, uncertainty, or fear. We have insurmountable forces on our side. Not only does Jesus Christ dwell within each of us, each of us also dwells in Him. Jesus prayed to the Father that all who would believe in him through the word of his messengers would be united to him (John 17:20-21). After the birth of the Church, the apostle Paul told the Corinthians, “And because of him [the Father] you are in Christ Jesus…” (1 Corinthians 1:30). The Father has placed us in Christ, His Son. In the letter known as Ephesians, Paul goes further. He declares that the Father “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing.” The Father is behind us 100%. He has withheld from us nothing that would be to our benefit. It was always His desire to have a house for Himself, a bride for His Son, and a family. He has adopted us into that family. He has spared and will spare nothing to bring us up from the wilderness and into the glorious reality of His house.

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