HOW TO BE USEFUL TO THE LORD
CHAPTER FOUR
WEEK 2 - MONDAY
Bible Reading: Mt 13:24, 30, 38, 43, 16:24; 7:13-14; Mk 8:34-35; 1 Co 15:45b; Gal 2:20, 4:19; Eph 3:17, 4:13; Col 2:19b, 3:4a
Read and Pray: "My children, for whom I again suffer labor pains until Christ is formed in you;" (Gal 4:19)
THE CONDITION OF GOD'S CHILDREN TODAY
Today, many of God's children do not enjoy the Lord or God's salvation, even though they are truly saved, have the Lord's life in them, and also have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. They may attend meetings, listen to messages, and occasionally pray and read the Word, but in their daily living and walk, they remain themselves, and the Lord remains the Lord. They and the Lord have not been blended to become one. They have not allowed the Lord to enter their daily life in a practical way. They do and say whatever they please. They simply forget about the Lord and set Him aside. Even though they have the Lord, they do not enjoy Him. They are like misers who have a lot of money but do not use it.
These are saved ones who have the Lord's life and presence but do not enjoy Him. They live for themselves according to the lusts of the flesh, following the course of this world. They are like unsaved people, living in the world in an ordinary way. The only difference is that they confess there is a God, while the unsaved do not. They believe in the Lord, while the unsaved do not. They believe in eternal life, while the unsaved do not. Additionally, at times, when their hearts are touched by the Lord’s grace, they become grateful to God, whereas the unsaved do not have such experiences.
Christians of this kind differ from the unsaved in their beliefs, but in their daily walk, they are the same. Just as the unsaved love the world, live for the world, and struggle for fame and wealth, so do these saved ones. Just as the unsaved live for themselves in the flesh and in their natural being, without being under God's law or the authority of the kingdom, so do these saved ones. They already have God's life within them, but they do not live according to it. To them, God is merely an object of belief. This is the abnormal condition of many of God's children today.
THE EMPHASIS OF PAUL’S EPISTLES
However, the four Gospels show that God's salvation is not like this. Luke and John show us that by believing in the Lord, we receive the forgiveness of sins and the life of God. Matthew and Mark show us that from the day we are saved, we who have been forgiven of our sins and have received God's life must follow the Lord and take Him as our life and living. We must live according to the Lord's life. For this reason, we must pay a price, forsake all we have, deny ourselves, and take up the cross to follow the Lord. This is the salvation of God as seen in the four Gospels.
In the epistles, we see that the Galatians undoubtedly believed in the Lord. Their sins were forgiven, and they received God's life, yet they lived for themselves, trusting much more in themselves than in Christ’s life. The apostle Paul told them, "My children, for whom I again suffer labor pains" (Gal 4:19). Why did he suffer labor pains for them again? Was it so they could be saved once more? No. Was it so their sins could be forgiven again? No. Was it so they could receive God’s life again? No! Then what was it for? It was so that Christ would be formed in them. Being saved is one thing; having Christ formed in us is another.
The sole goal of divine salvation is for God to enter into us and be mingled with us. He desires to enter into us to be our life (Col 3:4a) and grow in us (2:19b). Although the goal of salvation includes the blessing of entering the kingdom, it is not limited to that. Rather, the ultimate goal of salvation is that we, the saved ones, would be mingled with God so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith (Eph 3:17), as our life, and that we would grow into maturity (4:13).
Unfortunately, due to false teachings, there is a mistaken concept in traditional Christianity that the saved, those who believe in the Lord and whose sins are forgiven, will go to heaven when they die. According to this concept, if a Christian has a heart that fears the Lord and, in daily life, reads the Bible, prays to the Lord, attends meetings, helps others, and pleases the Lord, then the Lord will grant them many blessings. As a result, they will be able to glorify the Lord and have peace in their hearts.
According to the concept in Christianity, this is the highest privilege of being a Christian. This is the traditional religious concept, but it is not the goal of God's salvation. The goal of God's salvation is that Christians would gradually grow and mature in life until they are exactly like Christ.
How does God carry out this salvation? First, He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins. Thus, in Christ and as the Spirit (1 Co 15:45b), He enters into us to live in us as our life. Christ not only lives in us (Gal 2:20), but He also grows in us. He intends to grow, be formed, and mature in us (Eph 4:13). This is how God saves. What does it mean to grow into maturity? It means that Christ lives in us as our life and continually grows until He is formed in us. When He is fully formed in us, we will be mature in His life.
If we read the entire Bible, we will not find a single statement saying that those who believe in Jesus will go to heaven after they die. Such a concept did not exist in the first two centuries. It was generally a concept created by a degraded Catholicism. Instead, the Bible says that after a person believes in the Lord, the Lord enters into them to be their life and to grow, be formed, and mature in them. This is God’s salvation as revealed in the Scriptures. It is very different from the traditional, yet erroneous, concept of going to heaven.
THE PARABLE OF THE HARVEST
The Bible also says that after being saved and receiving the Lord’s life, a person becomes part of the harvest in the Lord’s field (Rev 14:15-16). Would the Lord harvest and gather into His barn something that is not yet ripe? Of course not. Revelation 14 says that among Christians, a small number of overcomers will be raptured to the heavens before the harvest. They are the firstfruits, the fruits that ripened first.
In the same way, when a person who belongs to the Lord is newly saved, they go through a very pleasant period. However, unless they continue paying the price, being dealt with, and experiencing the exposure to the sun, they will not be able to grow and mature.
Enjoy more: Hymn 488
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