Image Bearers Ministries - Christian Spirituality

Christian Spirituality

“Most people in most centuries have believed in the existence of God or gods. It may well be, in fact, that human beings in aggregate and through the centuries have given more attention and concern to divinity than to all the other concerns put together—food, clothing, pleasure, work, family, whatever.” ¹

In the 21st century numerous seek answers to life’s questions about how we got here and why we are here. As a result spirituality is on the rise. Christian spirituality begins with the gospel announcement “...that God is here right now, and on our side, actively seeking to help us in the way we most need help. For as common as belief in God is, there is also an enormous amount of guesswork and gossip surrounding the subject, which results in runaway superstition, anxiety, and exploitation.” ²

Christianity has developed many expressions since its inception in the first century; however, its founder, Jesus Christ, who proclaimed a kingdom that was readily present and himself as king, can best define Christian spirituality. As king he made available what he called the New Covenant—a new arrangement between God and mankind whereby he would rule in the heart, souls, minds, and bodies of mankind after having become one Spirit ³ with them. Jesus claimed that everything mankind needed and desired was made available through this “new arrangement.” ⁴ Through this “new arrangement” mankind can, in turn, understand that he was created by God for the glory of God and find his deepest needs and desires met. No other world religion promises anything close to this offer. All other world religions practice spirituality that requires working to please their god for a reward, while at the same time receiving no assistance from that deity.

Christian spirituality is the work of God. It rests fully upon God coming to mankind offering the gift of salvation—God cleansing mankind from sins, God recreating mankind through the work of regeneration,⁵ God giving mankind a new heart and a new spirit, and God causing mankind to know him and to walk in his ways. ⁶

While Christian spirituality is the work of God, it is developed in conjunction with the disciple’s (follower’s) life choices. This God who created mankind in his likeness and image ⁷ is autonomous and created mankind with an autonomy under his. Since only God is self-sufficient, mankind must have a means or a source from which he can live out his autonomy under God’s. Again, Christian spirituality recognizes the design of mankind for relationship with the creator God whereby through an ongoing dependent relationship mankind finds everything he needs in God:

Direction from the wisest being.
Nourishment for a needy soul from the most desirable of beings.
Empowerment to live the character of this most righteous of beings.

Christian spirituality has its obstacles. Man’s autonomy to trust God as a sufficient source of the resources he needs to live life is threatened because, in spite of God’s regenerating work, mankind faces an internal battle against an evil power called sin ⁸ and an old independent disposition called flesh . One of the great pioneers of Christianity spirituality, the Apostle Paul, described this struggle as the battle between flesh and Spirit. ⁹ This is why Jesus described the present availability of his kingdom (his rule) as the solution. The regenerating life of Jesus Christ is present in the person by the third member of the triune God, the Holy Spirit. It is he who rules in the hearts of the children of God. He rules more powerfully, more desirably, more wisely than either the evil power of sin or the old independent disposition of flesh . However, every person born of God faces daily decisions as to which source will guide, sustain and empower her life.

While entering the kingdom of God is a simple matter of faith in the Son of God (Jesus Christ) who gave his life as the payment for the sins of mankind and while God is the author of this salvation that saves the disciple completely and while this salvation includes a inward transformation that includes purity, regeneration, God’s disposition, and God’s power, it requires the disciple’s vision and intention for that change to manifest itself outwardly . In other words, the Spiritual transformation that has already occurred (God working in) must be worked out by the disciple.¹⁰

Since the new person in Christ possesses the disposition of God; she wants everything that God wants, however, the disciple must keep that vision before herself otherwise the rivaling disposition, flesh (self-absorption), will take precedence. Secondly, the disciple must have intent to live in opposition to the flesh , otherwise she will fall victim to the desires of the flesh . This does constitute effort but it is not opposed to the grace ¹¹ of God that made this great salvation possible in either the past or present. This effort is necessary in order to resist the world, the flesh and God’s archenemy the devil ¹² but grace invokes both the vision and intent to live godly.

The transforming work of God is most evident in the life of the follower when he sees these changes in life perspective:

No longer trying to manage life to make it work out a according to one’s desires but trusting God to meet his desires.
No longer striving to become adequate in order to manage life better to meet one’s desires but trusting God’s adequacy on his behalf.
No longer seeking deepest fulfillment in this life even in legitimate desires but recognizing that God is our deepest desire and we can’t know him fully until heaven, so we live in hope of that day.

That kind of transformation requires three things:

The action of the Holy Spirit – manifesting the life of God that humans can not produce on their own. This supernatural expression is in both gifts and fruit.
Trials – because they produce patience, endurance, godliness and hope.
Spiritual Disciplines – activities such as solitude and study, service and secrecy, fasting and worship to name a few that enable me to do what I cannot do by direct effort. In other words, by practicing these disciplines I can both put to death my flesh and at the same time make room for God to work as he chooses. ¹³

To summarize, there is necessary the action caused and performed by God, the action caused either by God or others in the form of circumstances, and the action caused by the follower; the combination of which will bring about this spiritual transformation in one’s actions that are already true in one’s identity.
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¹ Eugene Peterson, The Message – Introduction to Mark, NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO, p. 1808.

² Ibid.

³ 1 Corinthians 6.12

⁴ Read the gospel of John in the Bible, where 7 times Jesus described himself as “I am,” the one who would both meet your needs and satisfy your souls.

⁵ The word means to have a new beginning as used in Titus 3.5. This new beginning is due to the life of God join to one in spirit to the person.

⁶ Ezekiel 36

⁷ Gen. 1.2-28

⁸ Rom. 7.19, 21

⁹ Gal. 5.16ff

¹⁰ Phil. 2.12-13

¹¹ The love of God whereby he gives a very valuable gift (his forgiveness for sins and his powerful life) to his enemies in spite of our deserving eternal punishment for our faults that fall very short of his glorious, righteousness.

¹² 1 John 2.15