Christ's All - Sufficiency

These are some thoughts I sent to the guys in my small group this morning, maybe there is something here for you.

Good morning brothers,

Here are some follow-up thoughts from our reflections on Matthew 5:27 – 48, with an emphasis on verses 43 -48, underlining verse 48.

The other passages we read were Romans 8:29, Colossians 1:28, Ephesians 4:11 – 13, and John 14:7 – 9.

Our collective reaction to the Matthew passage was, “No one can do this.” But is that true? While, as I said Tuesday, Jesus (and other Biblical writers) uses hyperbole and other literary and communication devices, what I didn’t say is that I don’t think Jesus teaches us anything that He doesn’t expect us to see fulfilled in our lives – and I think that when we think otherwise that we set ourselves up for failure.

To be sure, the purpose of the Law was to reveal our sin by forcing us to realize that we can’t keep the Law. But why can’t we keep the Law? It is because we have no power or ability to keep the Law. However, what is true of the Old Covenant of death is not true under the New Covenant of life – this is a primary distinction between the covenants. In the New Covenant, as new creations in Jesus Christ, the Law of God is written in our hearts and the Holy Spirit lives within us, indeed the Father and the Son live within us, and we are called to learn to live by the Holy Spirit of God – we are called to allow Christ to live in us and through us. (See John 15:1 – 5; Galatians 2:20).

A fundamental question when we look at a passage that challenges us is, “Am I going to look at my insufficiency or at God’s all – sufficiency?” Are we going to read the Bible through the lens of the Bible or through the lens of our natural thinking? In other words, are we going to allow the Bible to interpret itself, and the Holy Spirit to lead us in this process, or is our default going to be what “we” think about passages, what we “feel” about passages? Are we looking to God’s all – sufficiency or at our insufficiency? (See 1 Corinthians 1:18 – 2:16).

Glen has often said to us that, “We need the Holy Spirit.” One of the things this means is that we are to be men who live in the Holy Spirit, and who have the Holy Spirit living in them – by extension this means that we no longer live the way we used to live, and we no longer live as the world lives – because we have the very life of God living within us. The very experiences of the faithful men and women of the Bible are to be our experiences – in fact, the relationship that Jesus  Christ has with the Father is to be the very relationship that we have with the Father through Jesus Christ (see John chapters 13 – 17, especially chapter 17).

I haven’t said it for a long time, but if Satan can’t keep us from an initial experience of salvation, he will do his best to rob us of our identity! If we don’t know who Christ is in us and who we are in Christ, then we’ll always see our insufficiency and miss Christ’s all - sufficiency. As Paul writes, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” This isn’t about our abilities – we have none; it is all about Christ and His glory – and He is glorified when we live as He lives, and we live as He lives when He lives in us.

Jesus Christ expects us to be overcomers (Romans 8:26 – 39; 1 John 4:4; Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26 – 28; 3:5, 12, 21). Christ does not give us commands that, in Him, cannot be fulfilled in us – to think otherwise is to think under the Old Covenant. This is not about us, this is all about Jesus Christ and His glory – it is about us living lives that glorify Jesus Christ. Jesus does not set us up for guilt and failure – He opens a door for abundant living, joyous living, powerful living! (John 10:10).

Let us learn to be “perfect (mature, complete) even as our Father in heaven is perfect”. Let us embrace and respond to this call of Jesus Christ!

This is not about our insufficiency, it is about Christ’s all – sufficiency.

1 John 3:1 – 3.

I love you!

Bob