Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
SPIRITUAL
LIFE
A
Spiritual
Theology
of
the
Chris<an
Life
Trevor
Garre@
Spiritual
Forma<on
1801
MDiv
Cohort
7
September
22,
2010
NOTE
TO
THE
READER
I recognize that this effort has gone far beyond the term paper boundaries of being “no longer than 15
pages.” However, upon seeing the possibility of leveraging this spiritual theology to follow up my most
recent sermon series on The Sermon on the Mount with a series detailing the path of spiritual progress, as
well as providing the basis for training leaders this Fall, I determined to do a more expansive effort
including the full text of numerous scriptures for use in these efforts.
I apologize for the additional material and hope it will not be too onerous to review.
The term paper formatting guidelines do not specify a requirement for either landscape or portrait
orientation so this paper is submitted in landscape format to facilitate on-screen projection for training
purposes.
Table
of
Contents
Introduc*on
...................................................1 4.
The
Means
of
Maturity
.............................25
Method:
The
Redemp<ve
Story
1 The
Individual
25
Measures:
Four
Rela<onships
1 The
Friend
25
Movement:
Progressive
Revela<on
1 The
Small
Group
25
Means:
Four
spaces
1 The
Large
Group
25
Conclusion
2
Conclusion:
Implica*ons
for
Preaching
.........27
1.
The
Method
of
Maturity
.............................3 Preaching
27
Redemp<ve
History
3 Using
All
The
Spaces
28
The
Redemp<ve
Pa@ern
4 Leading
the
Church
28
Method: The Redemp*ve Story from a relationship with God into community as part of the Body of Christ
The method of maturity is rooted in the Christian story, which is framed (building on one’s personal relationship with God), and finally building on
not just an expeditionary adventure story but as fractal––a story that no only spiritual community to move into one’s personal destiny of transformation
spans the scope of history but recurs throughout history and within our lives. into the likeness of Christ and then back into mission in the world.
God’s presence in and through creation; a work of the Son’s saving effort on
Measures:
Four
Rela*onships
the cross, and a work of the Spirit filling the Body of Christ and fulfilling
The measure of maturity is expressed in terms of four key relationships:
God’s mission in the world. These revelations are presented separately for
A person’s relationship with the world, with God, with other people, and
the sake of clarity knowing this is a singular work.
with themselves in terms of their progress towards their destiny. These key
spaces” are identified, each of which lends itself to different roles in the
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the small group and the large group. Each space is proposed as necessary but church, and finally my identification with the “surprising works of God”2 as
Conclusion
Finally, the impact of this spiritual theology is analyzed in terms of
preaching, but also suggests that the larger impact will be on how all the
God spaces work together to advance the disciple, not just the large group
meeting.
But it is also recognizes that the world is complex and diverse1 , and this
1 Simon Chan, Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life (Downer’s Grove, Il: Intervarsity, 2006), 36-38
2 Simon Chan, Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life (Downer’s Grove, Il: Intervarsity, 2006), 38
3 These statements are a response to Chan who presents the formal criteria for a spiritual theology as comprehensiveness, Coherence and evocability, as well as material criteria the global-contextual criterion, the evangelical criterion, and the charistmatic criterion.
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This broader definition of God’s purpose will become important later in
1.
The
Method
of
Maturity
terms of the articulating the destination of the Christian life and properly
My starting point for a life in God is the redemptive story. History and
positioning personal salvation along the total curve of human spiritual
human life can be seen as an unfolding adventure story, a divine narrative
maturity. It is important to keep in mind that the human race was not created
playing out across history but also across and within history and within our
in order to be redeemed. God the Father had a straight-line vision in mind
individual lives. All the elements of a great expeditionary tale are here: An
from the beginning, God the Son saved that vision and the Holy Spirit is
important goal or quest what will require endurance, skill and courage to
fulfilling it. So my emphasis here is not on what humanity is being saved
complete, loyal companions to rely on throughout the journey, facing danger
from but what humanity is being saved for.
and enduring losses together until the ultimate success of the adventure4.
Redemp*ve
History
I take this great adventure and mission of God in the world to include
In the sweep of the cosmic adventure story, five strategic or kairotic
not only the redemptive work of the Son, as mighty as that is, but the whole
points in the narrative are of specific interest here:
scope of the triune mission of Father, Son and Spirit working in concert to
accomplish the divine purpose: 1. Creation, with God speaking forth a race of people capable of
uprising of the enemy and undoing his evil works. That was the
3. Redemption, where Christ’s death and resurrection deals not only
great plan.5
remedially with humanity’s guilt and sinful nature, but is also
4 Diogenes Allen, Spiritual Theology: The Theology of Yesterday for Spiritual Help Today (Cambridge, MA, Cowley Publications) 21.
5 Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life trans. by Angus I. Kinnear (Wheaton, Il: Tyndale House Publishers Inc, 1977) p. 208
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humanity so that Christ’s one life it will emerge as many lives, a transcends our lives, but is also a nearby reality to be experienced. We are
level of life beyond the physical life of Adam and Eve had and not just playing a part in the story, the story is being played out in us:
history culminates in a great Creation Sent, Lived Among Us Sent, into The World Eternity!
Relationship Restores Relationship With God Love One Another
marriage celebration. Paradise Teaches The Kingdom Live The Kingdom
Walked with God Equipped His Disciples Make Disciples
The
Redemp*ve
PaPern Multiplication Multiplication Be Fruitful
Dominion Leads Us Leadership
I believe the redemptive story is more Tree of Life Life In All It’s Fullness Fully Alive
The!
Fall!
than merely a macro-description of history. Fulfilling! The
Holy
This story constitutes a redemptive pattern Jesus
Spirit
Holy"
that can be found in the great stories of Adam & Eve Spirit !
scripture, in human events, and in individual Creation!
Cross!
human lives. Like God, this redemptive The
Disciples Body
pattern is both transcendent and immanent: It !
Crisis Redemption !
6 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community (New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1954) 53.
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While we cannot force the movements of God into any rigid formula, different heights of revelation, different intensity of trials, different depths of
this redemptive pattern appears and reappears consistently in God’s moving crisis, and varying deliverance resulting in variety of celebration.
in history and in the lives of people. This pattern can be expressed more
It is this pattern of progressive revelation, trials, crisis, fulfillment and
generally as:
celebration that is the method of spiritual progression.
()*+#
4. Fulfillment, where God meets us in the crisis, often in a surprising
$%&%'
or inexplicable manner; and, !"# 3"#45'6''7%+8#
5. Celebration, we rejoice and worship God in celebration for how He ,"#-./('0#
has met us in the crisis and fulfilled His will7.
This is the story of Abraham, Joseph and Moses, of Jesus, and of us. 1"#2./0/0#
And it is not just the overall story of our times, but of our lives, and the
pattern repeats within our lives. In this sense the redemptive pattern is
7 This redemptive pattern is my own synthesis taken largely from various readings but most notably Blackaby’s work in Experiencing God highlighting that God is always the initiator with his revelation, and Nee’s description in The Normal Christian Life of revelation
and experience as “a wicket gate” and “a narrow path”
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Fractals as a Repeating Pattern. The fractal is created by starting with a triangle and then repeatedly adding a smaller and smaller triangles to each resulting side.
!"#$%#&'
()*)+,-./'
Fractals in Nature. As demonstrated by this fern, fractals are common in nature. Fractals in Theology. The spiritual theology presented here is also fractal, with the redemptive pattern repeating
within itself .
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2.
The
Measures
of
Maturity Relationship with
God
If this redemptive pattern describes the method of spiritual growth and
then are the measures of spiritual growth? In what ways do we mature? Relationship with Relationship with
relationship with our world, and our relationship with ourselves, or our
destiny. These key relationships are different but not independent of each
Relationship with
other. Growth in one area affects the others; failure to grow in one area will
Self/Destiny
limit the growth in other areas.
And not just in nature, but God loves all the unregenerated people that
Rela*onship
With
The
World
are in the world as well:
Every person has a relationship with the world in which we live. God is
revealed directly in creation, as beautifully revealed in Psalm 104: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only
Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have
O Lord, what a variety of things you have made! eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world,
In wisdom you have made them all. but to save the world through him.
The earth is full of your creatures...
God loves the world and never takes his hands off it. So it is important
May the glory of the Lord continue forever!
The Lord takes pleasure in all he has made! to reject any false dualism of “spiritual” things something separate and
(Psalm 104:24, 30 NLT) higher than material earthly concerns. They are inextricably intertwined. To
8 Romans 8:29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
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grow spiritually is to grow in relationship to our world, in engagement with But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love,
both the natural creation and “The World” (kosmon) where we live our daily joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
and self-control. (Galatians 5:22 NLT)
lives and participate in God’s mission.
To grow and mature spiritually is to grow in our individual relationship
Rela*onship
With
God with God, experiencing increasing levels of intimacy and trust, becoming
Through the saving work of Jesus Christ, human beings can relate more and more confident in the unseen reality of God our Father as
directly and personally to God: described by Jesus in His Sermon in the Mount (Matt 5-7), and the Fruit of
But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to the Spirit increasingly evident in our lives.
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. “essentially relational without ceasing to be particular9 ”. Our relationship
And just as he raised Christ from the dead, he will give life to your with God cannot be separated from our relationship with other people as
mortal body by this same Spirit living within you. (Rom 8:11 NLT)
clearly shown in James 2 and pointedly illustrated in Jesus’ description of
This life in the spirit is something different and higher than mere human the final judgement in Matthew 25:
life:
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one
Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to
new life from heaven. (John 3:6 NLT) me!’ (Matthew 25:40 NLT)
It is the Holy Spirit that produces the fruit of the Spirit in us, a sure sign “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help
the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help
of spiritual maturity:
me.’ (Matthew 25:45 NLT)
9 Simon Chan, Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life (Downer’s Grove, Il: Intervarsity, 2006), 53
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It is vital to emphasize that the ultimate expression of God’s presence
in this age is not the individual, but The Body, the ἐκκλησία, a community
All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of
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it. (1 Cor 12:27)
/#001(')2&
“ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your Human love is directed to the other person for his own sake,
soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest spiritual love loves him for Christ’s sake. 10
commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your
It is maturing in this kind of love that proves to the world that we are
neighbour as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the
Christ’s disciples.
prophets are based on these two commandments.”
(Matthew 22:37-40 NLT)
10 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community (New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1954), 34
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Rela*onship
With
Self/Des*ny It is important to note here that I am using the widest understanding of
Within the context of relationship and community, the individual spiritual calling to include, as the Reformers did, that any vocation or
appropriates a deeper self-awareness and self-knowledge, a deeper activity and not just specifically religious vocations, that “socially useful
understanding of personal calling, mission and purpose. This personal occupations were fully spiritual vocations. 12” The pinnacle of personal
calling is not individual and separate from spiritual community but is purpose is not, in what I will describe here, to become a religious
directly related to it: professional like a Pastor or a Missionary or to go into “full time ministry.”
The goal is to fully mature as a disciple of Christ, living out the fullness of
Now all of you together are Christ's body, and each one of you is a
what God has purposed in us in whichever sphere of life we are called.
separate and necessary part of it. (1 Cor 12.27 NLT)
11 Destiny |ˈdestinē| From the Old French destinee, from Latin destinata, feminine past participle of destinare ‘to make firm, establish.’
12 Diogenes Allen, Spiritual Theology: The Theology of Yesterday for Spiritual Help Today, (Cambridge, MA, Cowley Publications, 2002), 11
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to move into their destiny, not leaving the world, God, and the spiritual
3.
The
Movement
to
Maturity
community behind, but building on each of these, creating what I will
With the redemptive pattern of revelation, trials, crisis, fulfillment and
describe here as an expeditionary adventure up a mountain.
celebration established as the method of spiritual growth, and with our
relationship with God, people, our destiny and our world established as the And so as a Pastor and church planter, in the process of creating a
measures of our growth and maturity, we can now consider our movement disciple-making and disciple-maturing spiritual community near one of the
along the trajectory of spiritual growth. largest metropolitan areas in North America, this section documents the key
into a relationship with God, then moves from an individual relationship While these revelations cannot be said to be strictly serial, they are
with God into spiritual community, then from spiritual community into their progressive: For example, claiming that Jesus Christ is Lord (a revelation of
destiny, and from their destiny back out into the world in mission. Clearly the Son), without believing in God (a revelation of The Father) would be
this movement is not a case of moving entirely out of one relationship and curious if not suspect. Claiming to have a revelation of the Holy Spirit
into the next, but a case of each progression building on and related to the without a revelation of Christ would similarly raise suspicion. These are
others. A person moves into relationship with God but does not, strictly obvious examples. But also a person who has not had a revelation of
speaking, move out of the world. It is now quite common to find Christians Lordship will be subsequently limited in their ability to give, share and
who have a personal relationship with God and carry on with their submit to authority in spiritual community. Or someone claiming to have a
relationship with God in isolation, unaware of the necessity of moving into revelation of their calling, especially a call to leadership, when they don’t
spiritual community in order to deepen their relationship with God. It is also have a revelation about authority and accountability can be dangerous.
quite common to have people who have a relationship with God and who are
Accordingly, the following is a series of progressive revelations of a
committed to a church, but are passive consumers of ministry never
maturing disciple. The associated trials, crises, fulfilling and celebrations
producing any ministry or spiritual live from themselves. These people need
associated with each revelation are implied and will not be discussed within
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the scope of this paper. And I recognize that the possible revelations of God CREATION
are manifold and endless. What follows is merely what I have experienced For as the waters fill the sea, the earth will be filled with an
as the critical path. awareness of the glory of the Lord. (Hab 2:14 NLT)
They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to
World
Revela*ons them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the
If a person is “in the world” or does not not yet seem to have a earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see
revelation of Christ or of God or even of things spiritual, I watch for, expect, his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they
have no excuse for not knowing God. (Rom 1:19-20)
and dialogue about the following revelations:
There is a certain level of revelation of God that is possible simply from
WORLDVIEW
observation of the natural order. Nature is the first, easiest, undeniable clue
Does the person realize that they have a worldview, that they see things
that there is something else going on behind the scenes. Willard observes13:
a certain way, that their worldview was handed to them or created around
them and aspects of it may or may not be true? Do they have any framework Paul himself explains that all human beings remain responsible,
no matter how far they fall, because of the clear way in which God
for spiritual or unseen realities? Are they open for discussion about
stands forth in natural reality. “Since the creation of the world” he
possibilities? This is in accordance with Jesus’ continual asking if there is says, “Gods’ invisible nature is clearly present to their
“Anyone with ears to hear…” (Matt 13:9 NLT) understanding through what has been made” (Rom 1:19-20)
This revelation can continue to increase even in Christians who have FALL
gotten trapped in having all the answers, or have a knowledge of the Gospel All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths
to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
that may be incomplete, biased, or unbalanced.
(Isa 53:6 NLT)
Does the person have a revelation that something has gone terribly
wrong in the world, that there is a human condition and the lust, greed,
13 Dallas Willard. The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering our Hidden Life in God. (San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins, 1998), 327
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anger and selfishness which, if unmitigated, naturally takes hold of human Salvation is often expressed in terms of “believing in Jesus” as if it were
beings and ultimately destroys them? And do they understand that the solely a work of the Son. I have chosen to express salvation as triune, a
problems are not just with “those people, out there, the ones who are revelation of the Father, the Son and the Spirit. This is important because it
interfering with me and my life” but that the problem is in them as well? Do is possible to have a revelation of the Father without having a revelation of
they have a revelation of their personal need? The Son. A great many people “believe in God” without in the least
who often fail to understand the segment of redemptive history in which we And even with Christians this revelation can be expanded until we
currently live: Not the Garden and not Eternity––we live in a fallen world, know, as Jesus knew and explained in Matthew 6 and 7 as part of His
and despite its ongoing redemption, one should adjust expectations Sermon on the Mount, what the Father is really like as a statement about
accordingly about how people are going to naturally behave, particularly reality, particularly the truth about unseen reality.
THE FATHER this is an objective and not a subjective reality, is important because
“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in realizing that this is True constitutes a worldview change. And if the
God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned worldview doesn’t change people will put on or take off their relationship
for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
with God as it suits them. But if something is believed to be true, it is much
(John 5:24 NLT)
harder to put aside.
If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is.
From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” God
Revela*ons
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
The next revelations have to do with someone who is a Christian, who
Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet
you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen is “In Christ” rather than “In The World”
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THE
SON The scope of someone’s revelation of The Son is a key indicator of their
“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in progress on the journey: Have they made a personal decision or have they
God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned just grown up in the church? What is their concept of salvation? Is it
for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
oriented around the afterlife or a whole-life commitment to becoming a
(John 5:24 NLT)
student of Jesus?
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be A key sacrament that recognizes a visible sign of this commitment, and
saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right needs to be mentioned here, is baptism.
with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are
saved. (Rom 10:9-10 NLT) THE
SPIRIT
This is the revelation that is commonly held to be salvation, or “getting They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said,
“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending
saved,” the moment of crossing over from death to life or “making a
you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy
decision for God,” typically in the form of confessing personal sin and Spirit. (John 20:20b-22 NLT)
shortcoming and inviting Christ into one’s heart as Saviour and Lord. This is
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria
the traditional gospel message which recognizes that salvation is essentially had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. As
personal, and that what it means to be a Christian is to have a personal soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive
relationship with Christ. Often here the focus is on forgiveness of personal the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of
them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord
sins, but in light of our highly individualistic culture it is important to avoid
Jesus. Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers,
the kind of “revivalism” where being a Christian is solely identified with a and they received the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:14-17)
conversion experience. 14
14 Diogenes Allen. Spiritual Theology: The Theology of Yesterday for Spiritual Help Today (Cambridge, MA: Cowley Publications, 2002), 15
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emphasized by each: The Father in creation, The Son in redemption and The And so, the extent of someone’s revelation becomes important: What is
Spirit in fulfilling. the role of the Holy Spirit in their spiritual life? Is it merely to bring
follows by Chan: Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you
how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and
Pentecostal spirituality is characterized by an awareness of and an followed him. (Matt 4:19-20 NLT)
openness to the “surprising work of God.” It seeks the intimate
After the threefold revelation of the Father, the Son and the Spirit, that
presence of God, which usually involves an initial “baptism in the
Spirit.” This baptism represents a sort of quantum leap in spiritual there is a God, Our Father in the Heavens, and by grace alone Jesus has
consciousness, evidenced by, among other things, glossolalia and made a way for us to live under His Kingdom reign, transforming us into the
a new boldness and urgency to engage in the mission of God. 15
likeness of the Son, what comes next is the revelation of discipleship: The
Being filled with the spirit in this way represents a crisis of separation. invitation to be a full-time apprentice to Christ in how to live life.
These surprising works of God have a high chance of being perceived as
Within the revelation of spiritual discipleship is the revelation of
weird, irrational or unacceptable in a culture where rationality and intellect
spiritual disciplines––the activities of a disciple. Since we cannot simply
and the values of the enlightenment are held sacred. And there is the
“make ourselves like Christ” and produce the fruit directly, we do other
potential for significant marginalization not just within Western secular
things like pray, study, read, intercede, worship, fast and spend time in
society but even within the Christian community.
silence and solitude which produce the fruit of the spirit indirectly. The
15 Simon Chan, Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life (Downer’s Grove, Il: Intervarsity, 2006), 38
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in his presence is the ongoing transformation of our character into the So the question will arise regarding someone on the path to spiritual
likeness of Christ as evidenced by the fruit of the spirit in our lives: maturity: Do they consider themselves a disciple? A full-time apprentice to
revelation or is it their opinion? Have these efforts produced the fruit of the
In the gospel of grace this is where effort finds its place. Since we
spirit in their lives? What is the state of their character? Do they demonstrate
cannot produce the fruit of the spirit directly in our lives we produce it
virtue?
indirectly by applying the disciplines. This is part of what it means to be a
disciple. The distinction between being a disciple and being a Christian is LORDSHIP
important because in our culture it is possible to be a Christian without being Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your
a disciple: heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ (Matt 22:37)
those who maintain a consumer, or client, relationship to the Him if so required? Have they given over the whole of their life to Christ?
church has now been an accepted reality for over fifteen hundred Their time? Their talent? Their treasure? Their attention? Their energy? This
years. 16
16 Dallas Willard. The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering our Hidden Life in God. (San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins, 1998), 301
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is the natural result of being with Jesus. What evidence is there of lordship? COMMUNITY
In what ways has this been tested? All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of
it. (1 Cor 12:27 NLT)
The natural result of this lordship decision is worship.
Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special
function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one
People
Revela*ons
body, and we all belong to each other. (Rom 12:4-5 NLT)
The next set of revelations deal with interpersonal relationships and
being in community as part of the Body of Christ. While salvation is He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does
its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the
personal in nature, “spiritual life is essentially relational without ceasing to
whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
be particular.”17 It is here that we recognize, in a culture of deep (Eph 4:16 NLT)
individualism, that God’s expression in this age is not the individual but the
Despite the reality of the Body of Christ, within our highly
Body:
individualistic society it is possible to be a Christian and decide not to
The vessel through which the Lord Jesus can reveal himself in this participate in any corporate life or spiritual community. However this kind
generation is not the individual but the Body. True, “God hath of approach is prone to failure:
dealt to each man a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3), but alone in
isolation man can never fulfill God’s purpose. It requires a It can become too individualistic and can be turned into a system
complete Body to attain the stature of Christ and display his to support self-indulgence. The corporate life could become a
glory. 18
purely voluntary and dispensable matter. The all-important issue is
“my own personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” All other
relationships become secondary. 19
17 Simon Chan, Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life (Downer’s Grove, Il: Intervarsity, 2006), 53
18 Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life trans. by Angus I. Kinnear (Wheaton, Il: Tyndale House Publishers Inc, 1977), 216
19 Simon Chan, Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life (Downer’s Grove, Il: Intervarsity, 2006), 47
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Accordingly, in a society of consumer Christians, church shoppers and Central to the maturity of a disciple is the attitude of a servant: The
church hoppers, key questions about maturity arise around a person’s ability to apply their gifts, talents and capabilities to the needs of others in
revelation of community: Have they committed to a particular fellowship of community. Specifically here is a revelation of spiritual gifts as a gift to the
believers? What is there level of commitment? Are they known in that body and not for personal gain.
greater good of the group? In a Christian community everything depends upon whether each
individual is an indispensable link in a chain. Only when even the
The natural result of the revelation of community is membership and the smallest link is securely interlocked is the chain unbreakable. A
sacrament of communion as the ongoing sign of this relationship. community which allows unemployed members to exist within it
will perish because of them.20
SERVING
Questions include: Does the person demonstrate the attitude of a
But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader
servant? Are they passive or active in their serving? Do they passively wait
among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first
among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man until asked or do they actively look for ways they can contribute? When
came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a there’s problems in the community do they hold back and critique or jump
ransom for many.” (Matt 20:26-28 NLT) in and help sort it out? Are they able to regularly lay down their own agenda
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the to serve the agendas of others? Or do they come with their opinions,
source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we preferences and their own vision of how things should be? Can they serve
serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the
outside of their known gifts when required? Have they experienced the
same God who does the work in all of us.
A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. empowerment of the Holy Spirit to serve in ways that are outside their
20 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community (New York: Harper & Row, 1954), 94
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SHARING for the creation of individual kingdoms and personal cocooning that leaves
And all the believers met together in one place and shared the individual undisturbed in the midst of extensive personal preferences.
everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and The side-effect of this is tremendous isolation and loneliness as we live
shared the money with those in need. (Acts 2:44-45 NLT)
more technologically connected but without real community and authentic
Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or relationships. We ignore those around us and their needs at our peril:
clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm
and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or The exclusion of the weak and insignificant, the seemingly useless
clothing. What good does that do? (James 2:15-16 NLT) people, from a Christian community may actually mean the
exclusion of Christ; in the poor brother Christ is knocking at the
But even as a person serves and helps, there remains the question: Are
door. 21
they open to a common life with other people? Do they share their life with
AUTHORITY
others in the community? What do they share? Are they over-protective of
Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought
their own time/money/assets/leisure/comforts/life? How do they practice
against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle,
boundaries? Where are they strict on their boundaries and where are they and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great
loose? Are they strict with church but loose with work? Do they distance dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one
deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all
themselves from members of spiritual community but dedicate themselves
his angels. (Rev 12:7-9 NLT)
unreservedly to other unhealthy relationships?
I know this because I am under the authority of my superior
This idea of being together can be daunting in our culture. It means officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say,
sharing our lives and opening oneself to others who may ask for something ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my
slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
we have, who might impose on us, perhaps repeatedly, who might infringe
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were
on our much-treasured personal wants and freedoms. The previously
following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith
unknown levels of private wealth we enjoy have created the the opportunity like this in all Israel! (Matt 8:9-10 NLT)
21 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community (New York: Harper & Row, 1954), 38
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Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like
who love me. (John 14:21 NLT) children. (Eph 4:11-14a NLT)
and serves and shares in that spiritual community, there is a question of their “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending
you.” (John 20:21b NLT)
heart and attitude that is a pre-requisite to any sort of leadership or
responsibility: How do they respond to authority? Can they be lead? Are But Jesus said, “You feed them.” (Luke 9:13 NLT)
they open to correction? Are they open to correction from an imperfect The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them
leader or Pastor? Has this ever been tested in a meaningful way? How did ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit.
they respond to that correction? These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the
workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the
Des*ny
Revela*ons harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.
(Luke 10:1-2 NLT)
Movement here is movement into one’s individual destiny, but as we
have pointed out, one’s individual destiny is not isolated from the whole but Serving, giving and and successfully coming under the authority of
emerges as part of the collective destiny of the Body of Christ together another leader begins to qualify the disciple for a vision and responsibility of
fulfilling God’s mission in the world. It is here that the disciple’s ministry their own. Increasing levels of responsibility are a key aspect of maturity.
begins to shift to equipping and possibly into the various levels of We expect children to grow and take responsibility first for themselves, then
leadership: for their assigned work, and then perhaps ever-increasing circles of
responsibility as they are capable. The same applies to the disciple: Are they
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the
willing to take ownership and responsibility for some task or call? Are they
prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their
responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up able to cross over from “just helping out” to taking ownership for the work
the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come that needs to be done to fulfill the vision? It should be emphasized here that
to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will God’s call is not limited to strictly religious activities, like taking ownership
be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete
of the Children’s ministry at church or taking responsibility for the vision
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for a new building project. Maturity develops as we embrace and take REPRODUCTION
responsibility for whatever God has called us to in the church or in the “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same
world. works I have done, and even greater works…” (John 14:12a NLT)
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority
FRUITFULNESS
in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the
When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and
brings great glory to my Father. (John 15:8 NLT) the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the
commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you
A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad
fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:18-20 NLT)
produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit As reproduction is a natural outcome of maturity and intimacy in the
is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can
physical realm, so it is spiritually. The next question facing the mature and
identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their
fruitful disciple is whether they produce that fruit in and through others and
actions. (Matt 7:17-20 NLT)
not just in themselves. Can they pass it on? Can they raise up other fruitful
As the disciple takes responsibility for something, whether it is a call, a
disciples? Other fruitful leaders? Can they train and equip other people who
need, a project or a ministry, the question emerges: Are they fruitful in that
do what they do and be what they are? Do they mentor people? Do they
task? If so, what kind of fruit and to what degree? In many cases the
invest themselves in the lives of others? If so, what is the extent and quality
disciple moving into his or her destiny will have a great passion or desire to
of the reproduction?
do or accomplish something for God. There can be many motivations for
this, seen and unseen. Unbeknownst to them they may be motivated by a SACRIFICE
past wound, a desire for attention, or some other inner need that God may Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say
want to meet another way. As people move into their authentic destiny we good-bye to my family.” But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a
hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of
can expect fruitfulness. If there is no fruit this is cause to step back, re-
God.” (Luke 9:61-62 NLT)
assess, pray and seek God for insight and direction.
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“If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are happiness, the question needs to be asked: What has our apprenticeship to
not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more Jesus cost us? What sacrifices have we made? In what ways have we
than me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you refuse to take up
suffered for the sake of the Kingdom and our call? Life is measured not in
your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you
cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for what we have accomplished, amassed or achieved, but in what ways we
me, you will find it. (Matt 10:37-39 NLT) have given of ourselves in love.
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I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never kind of person have we become? Have we passed through our various deaths
die!” (John 8:51 NLT) into an eternal kind of life?
At the end of the day, the mission will take everything we have. “No
Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be
one is getting out of this alive” as the old saying goes. We honour the raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were
martyrs for valuing God more highly even than their physical life. But death crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives.
as expressed here is nothing like what is commonly meant by death, not We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we
were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ,
“ceasing to exist” or “The End” but merely the door to a different level of
we know we will also live with him. (Rom 6:5-9 NLT)
life. We experience all sorts of of deaths in our lives, losses, changes, all
generating grief and requiring mourning. But these too are doors to a
different level of life that help shape us into the image of Jesus. The
who, as Jesus explained in Luke 19:17 and Matthew 25:21, is the kind of
person who is the “good and faithful servant” transformed and equipped to
LIFE
Death is not our end. That is the great and fractally repeating message
of the story. There is life on the other side. It is not Jesus’ death that is our
And so we must ask ourselves these questions: Have we given our lives
for the mission? Have we valued God more highly than anything? And what
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problems the dynamic is entirely different than our personal devotional time
4.
The
Means
of
Maturity
with God. This is the ideal space to practice fellowship, accountability and
While the scope of this paper prohibits extensive discussion, some
confession as well as prayer and study.
mention needs to be made of the means of maturity, as this has direct
relevance to how we structure our spiritual communities and church planting Jesus highlights the unique dynamics and potential of this space in
efforts. I see four “God Spaces” that are essential for facilitating the Matthew 18:
The
Friend
The
Large
Group
An important part of our maturity and development is the need to
Larger groups naturally become more gift-based and when the Body of
process the specifics of what we are learning in our lives. When we meet
Christ gathers in larger groups it gives rise to a different experience, as the
with a spiritual friend for mutual encouragement and to discuss our
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larger group creates the opportunity to exercise spiritual gifts that pertain to
being part of something much larger than ourselves. These large group
22 Donald Goertz, Toward A Missional Theology of Worship (Toronto, ON: Tyndale Seminary, 2009), 3
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Second, I think there’s going to have to be some clear communication,
Conclusion:
Implica<ons
for
Preaching
not once but ongoing, about the nature of spiritual progression and the role
This view of the method, measures, movement and means of maturity
of effort in the spiritual life. It has been my experience that a good portion of
has direct implications for preaching and also how the church is organized
evangelical community is constantly on the lookout for heresy in general
and mobilized.
and anything they perceive might undermine salvation by faith in particular.
Preaching The great worry being that they might fall into some sort of salvation by
The first thing that needs to be recognized in light of everything written works. From what I can tell there is little or no actual danger of people
here is that preaching will have to be less like putting gas in everyone’s tank trying too hard in their spiritual progression, but the concern runs deep. A
every week so they can keep on going as they always have, and more like solid and communicable linkage between effort and spiritual progression
inspiring and motivating people to move on from where they already are under the Gospel of Grace will need to be held at the ready.
into further stages of spiritual maturity. Third and perhaps most challenging is recognizing the heterogeneous
First, the people will need to be clear on what the bargain is. There are nature of the maturity of the congregation. Spiritual maturity varies widely.
all sorts of conceptions of what church and preaching should be, what they Somehow the message is going to have to move everyone: Educating them
want, and what they expect when they turn up at church. Being clear about about the path, encouraging them along the way without presuming any
this will sidestep confusion when, for example, you try to hold someone specific level of revelation, and without putting anyone above anyone else.
accountable for their actions only to realize they have not agreed to be held In my current congregation there is typically a widespread revelation of the
accountable and don’t recognize you as any sort of accountability-holding Son, but even then we often have visitors who may not have that revelation.
authority. There must be agreement on what is going to happen. We will Perhaps the secret is to have something for everyone, always having some
need to be clear about the revelation, trials, crisis, fulfillment and celebration elements of the basic gospel for those that are in the world, discipleship and
that we expect. lordship elements for those who are in God but not in the church, and then
missional and leadership challenges for those moving into their destiny.
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What is important to consider is the question, “Where are these people at?” cater to their own interests and spirituality, self-focus, isolation and
and go from there. cliquishness can occur to the detriment of the mission.
Using All The Spaces The role of preaching then is to cast vision for the adventure, engage
Nevertheless it seems clear that preaching will not nearly be enough. people on the journey, motivate them, and encourage them by highlighting
It’s unreasonable to expect to meet everyone where they are at and move the progress of their peers and betters. In this way the large meeting
them to their own next level all in one big meeting with one message. For becomes the hub which provides access to all the other opportunities and
sure the large group meeting has the atmosphere and opportunity for relationships required for progression.
revelation and celebration, but the trials, crisis and fulfilling rarely occur in a
Leading
the
Church
church service. For these the other God spaces are required: Personal
The impact of thinking of the spiritual life in terms of progression and
disciplines being practiced in individual lives; a spiritual friend or two to
maturity will have a significant impact on the overall leading and managing
lean on, to talk through the trials and to take the phone call in the crisis of
of the church, as the question changes from how we produce services and
faith; and a small group to support in the crisis, to come around and pray
programs to how we move people into increasing maturity as disciples.
through to fulfillment.
As shown in the diagram on the following page, everything the church
Leveraging the personal, friend and small group spaces also helps
does can be geared to moving disciples forward in their maturity, whether in
manage the heterogeneous nature of the congregation’s spiritual maturity.
big or small groups, in relationships or in individual lives. Measures can be
Rather than 100 people together in a service, 10 groups of 10 people creates
applied to the the different stages of maturity and our efforts to move and
the opportunity for customization based on where people are at, to split up
mature people who are in the world, in God, in community or moving into
for example, into a seeker group, a new Christians cell, a ministry team, and
their destiny.
a leadership team. My one concern here is that when the the Christians who
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sheets, clear overlays for tracing routes, and notched pages for capturing
APPENDIX:
stories, places, legends, names, faces, encounters, art, books, movies, wines,
such a way that the traveller finds their own route through the city and
While spiritual progress has been presented here a linear, we know that accumulates their own experiences.
It was this thought that I came across a certain Moleskine product. different zones, with different goals, perhaps taking different routes,
Moleskine is a manufacturer of the type of journal used by Vincent Van capturing stories, places, faces names, encounters, books, revelations, trials,
Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway, characterized by an elasticized crises, fulfillments and celebrations as they go.
closure and an inner pocket. More recently Moleskine has marketed what
As a subsequent effort it would be interesting to express the revelation
they describe as a “City Notebook”: A journal that is designed around a
and relationships described in this spiritual theology non-linearly as a city to
certain city (for example Venice or Paris), and is made up of journal pages
be explored, and perhaps even create an interactive Moleskine journal to
interspersed with city maps, subway guides, zone indexes, detachable
help guide people in their exploration.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Allen, Diogenes. Spiritual Theology: The Theology of Yesterday for Spiritual Help Today. Cambridge, MA, Cowley Publications, 2002
Blackaby, Henry, Blackaby, Richard, and King, Claude. Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God. Nashville, TN: B&H 2009
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1954
Chan, Simon. Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life. Downer’s Grove, Il: Intervarsity, 2006
Goertz, Donald. Toward A Missional Theology of Worship. Toronto, ON: Tyndale Seminary, 2009
Nee, Watchman. The Normal Christian Life. Translated by Angus I. Kinnear. Wheaton, Il: Tyndale House Publishers Inc, 1977
Willard, Dallas. The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering our Hidden Life in God. San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins, 1998
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