People’s lives are full of challenges and problems i.e.
Dysfunction. Often they look for solutions to solve their troubles, believing
that if they find the right answers, things will be “fixed” or will at least get
better.
Behavioral modification is the
popular belief of our day secular and sacred. The truth is God is not a problem solver, a
“spiritual bellboy” or even the answer! There is no formula, method or Biblical
principle for living the Christian life, there is however a purpose or “function”
for living in Christ as God designed!
What is God’s functional design for man?
Christian living must always
begin with God (our point of reference). We are totally dependent on God and the
only way to experience God is by deriving everything from God. It is impossible for man to “live like God”
and in fact that was the lie that Satan suggested to Adam. “The Being and character” of God is demonstrated
in Christ’s functioning as a man dependent and derivate by the Holy Spirit. Jesus
came to manifest Himself and to function as God, intended man to be or live. To
do so, Jesus, “emptied Himself” (Phil. 2:7) of functioning as God, and
functioned as a man 100% dependent upon the Spirit of God in Him. For thirty-three years Jesus never did His
own initiative (John 5:30; 8:28; John 8:42; 10:18; 14:10) but only did what He
saw the Father doing in Him. Jesus,” was never less than God, but never more
than man and as such the Savior of the world.
Man
needed a savior because man had no life (Romans 8:2; 5:10) and a functional
death (Hebrews 2:14). Salvation is not just deliverance from sin but to be made
safe from the dysfunction of human activity which is a result of man’s
spiritual condition, by birth (John 3:6; Rom. 5:12; 15).
It
is only as man is born anew or born again (John 3:3) that the Saving Life of
Jesus Christ indwells man (Rom. 8:9) and man can then participate with Christ’s
life which makes us safe from dysfunction.
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