9127-18, 5th February 2012
This is an extract from our new book Zoelology
This book is an attempt to document the revelations and experiences of one church over a few years. It is up to the reader to decide whether these are of more general interest and application, but we believe that God has revealed some universal truths in new and surprising ways, and in particular he has led us to see that Jesus is everything.
- * Jesus’ death and resurrection made everything possible
- * Jesus’ life on earth is the complete model for the Christian life
- * Jesus lives within us and gives us his life
- * The church is his body and his bride
- Jesus’ death and resurrection made everything possible
In many ways this is the least surprising conclusion – it has been at the heart of the gospel from the beginning:
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Yet God has brought us back again and again to the events in Jerusalem that are the centre of human history. He has showed us the importance of realising that, if I have received Jesus and put faith in his name, then I died with him on the cross. He died for me means he experienced the agony of separation from his Father so that I don’t have to, yet it has happened for me and to me. I have already been raised to new life. I am now a new creation.
Jesus’ life on earth is the complete model for the Christian life
We have explored this understanding at some depth, but I know it takes a little while to sink in. We have seen that every part of Jesus’ 33 years here on planet Earth has meaning and purpose for the way we live our lives. This leads us to the inescapable conclusion that nothing else is necessary – no spiritual exercises, no formalised moral codes, just knowing Jesus in his life on earth and in the here and now is all that is needed.
Jesus lives within us and gives us his life
The understanding that Jesus’ life is a template for our lives could easily lead us towards the ‘What would Jesus do?’ formula. This relies on us trying to predict what Jesus’ response would be to any real world situation, something that is totally impossible. As we have seen, the Gospels show us that he was totally unpredictable, because, being born of the Spirit, he always allowed the Father to lead him. The key to living as Jesus did is to allow him to live his life through us. More than thirty times, the New Testament assures believers that Christ is in us and that it is his zoe life that we are living. This ongoing union of Jesus and each of us is the normal Christian life.
The church is his body and his bride
Church leaders tend to think that the area that they have authority over is what goes on in the church – in worship, in teaching, in fellowship, in ministries, etc. But Jesus said he would build his church. The wonderful picture drawn in Ephesians 5:22-33 of the church as the body and the bride of Christ makes it absolutely clear that Jesus wants to lead his church directly, and we need to do everything we can to make that possible. Churches need apostolic leaders who will emulate the first Apostles and:
- * Encourage every member of the church to listen and to respond to revelation
- * Teach all to recognise revelation however God speaks to them
- * Work to make the church a place where Jesus is honoured and is ‘at home’
- * Follow Jesus as he leads his body
- * Have Jesus’ heart for his people and the world he created.
- John 1:29-31 The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!… the reason I came baptising with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
- John the Baptist knew the purpose of his ministry to the people around him – he was there to make Jesus known to them. This is true for us too, John the Baptist could point at the physical body of Jesus and say “Look”, we should be able to point to the church, the body of Christ, and say the same thing.
HTBV Conference: Written by the Spirit, 11th and 12th May
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HTBV - Holy Trinity Church, Belle Vue, Shrewsbury
