The Ministry of Transformation
.... The Holy Spirit’s ministry is to conform us to the image of Christ, which He is said to accomplish through ‘fire’ (Matthew 3:11). This means that as we pass through the fire of life’s trials, He will constantly point us to Jesus in an effort to explore His Divine character in the same situations, basically showing us: "This is the heart and mind of Christ, in speaking to the sort of circumstance you are now facing."
.... "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me."
(John 15:26)
.... The Holy Spirit will show you the mind of Christ by bringing to your remembrance the things Jesus taught us:
.... "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."
(John 14:26)
.... Finally, the Holy Spirit will ‘fine tune’ the application of these Scriptures by comparing them with other pertinent Scriptures (1 Corinthians 2:13). This will foster an impression very deeply within your own spirit. These impressions are more spiritual in nature than mere head knowledge (though both play a part) and may be mulled, pondered and searched from deeply within ourselves:
.... "These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual."
(1 Corinthans 2:13)
.... Through this process, a trans- formation in your own spirit will begin. The trial has provided an opportunity for seeing Jesus' character in a very applicable way, and has offered a living 'furnace' for refining you, to remake you in His image. Under these circumstances, the lesson will be wrought so deeply in your understanding that it will have the power to reshape you from within. Remaining true to His character throughout your fierly trial will ingrain a little more of His character into your own.
.... Through this whole process you'll come to a true, heartfelt understanding of Jesus’ divine subjectivity; and soon the process will be repeated in additional areas of your life, as you are transformed into His image from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).
.... In this manner, as you are remade into His image, Jesus Himself, formed within you, will become your fruit to eternal life:
.... "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."
(John 6:27)
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Daily Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 15
posted by loren at 12:02 AM
2 Comments:
The things we learn through the Holy Spirit’s ministry will make us more like Jesus individually; but we should never lose track of the larger picture, in which He is performing the same ministry among the other members of the church. Thus the church, as a whole, is experiencing a corporate growth into Jesus’ image:
“. . . till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-- Christ– from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
(Eph 4:13-16)
By
loren, at 11/29/2005 9:57 PM
Great post, Loren. It is amazing to me how far I've come since His Spirit abides in me, but what is even more amazing is that one day I am really going to be like Him.
By
Rose~, at 11/30/2005 11:04 PM
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