1 THE DEEPER LIFE 2 Thessalonians 5:23 Lars Wilhelmsson Shallowness, characterized by superficiality, is a disease of our times. Shallow friendships and fragile relationships mark our society. If this were only true of society at large it would be understandable, but it is also characteristic of the church of Jesus Christ. The tragic thing is that when people get tired of the impersonality and shallowness of the world and become desperate enough to seek identity, intimacy and warmth in the church they often do not find it there either. The one institution of society that certainly should be able to provide for the deepest needs of mankind often doesn t. Instead, the church, like the rest of society, offers only surface solutions to deep-rooted problems. She has become a victim of the philosophy of the age. She has been conformed to the pattern of this world system. I am aware that this is not only a twentieth century problem. The church of Jesus day also had the problem of conformity to the world. That is why Paul warned, Don t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold (Ro 12:2 Philips). A church that merely reflects the rest of society has nothing to offer the world! Too often we Christians are guilty of thinking and talking the truths of Christianity without walking them. We have failed to translate our thoughts and words into shoeleather. The atheistic philosopher Nietzche said, "You will have to look more redeemed before I will believe in your Redeemer." The world is not drawn to insipid Christianity! The superficiality and godlessness of the Christian world does not demand the respect of the unbelieving world. People must see, as well as hear, the GOOD NEWS. What the unbeliever needs is less advice and more example! It is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives that makes that example possible. GOD S PROMISE: POWER God's promise is power! The power of a holy life and the power to witness! That witness is to begin at home in Jerusalem and then it is to spread throughout the entire world.
2 It is the power of God that makes us devoted followers and effective witnesses. Paul stated: "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power" (1 Co 4:20). Spiritual depth must be restored individually in the lives of Christians and corporately in the church of Jesus Christ. The solution to shallowness and superficiality is what A. B. Simpson, the founder of our denomination (The Christian and Missionary Alliance), called, The Deeper Life or The Sanctified Life or what the Bible also calls godliness or holiness. God design for His people is that they should live godly lives. Paul put it:... train yourself to be godly (1 Ti 4:7). Godliness does not happen automatically; it requires discipline and training. THE WHOLE PERSON Such holiness or godliness includes the whole person: body and mind. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God which is your spiritual worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God s will is His good, pleasing and perfect will (Ro12:1-2). spirit: The Bible also speaks of holiness in terms of including body and spirit or body, soul and Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God (2 Co 7:1). May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Th 5:23). GOD S PROVISION Then Paul adds in the next verse how this can be accomplished: The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it (1 Th 5:24).
3 The Bible says: His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pe 1:3). God s provision is life and godliness. WHAT IT IS NOT But what is the deeper life or a life of godliness? We shall better understand what it is if we first make it clear what it is not. The danger to godlessness and wickedness is overreaction, extremism. By avoiding one ditch we often find ourselves in the opposite ditch. In curing one problem we often create another problem. When we are trying to stay away from the ditch of godlessness, the natural ditch to fall into is legalism where we measure spirituality by external behavior rules and regulations, dos and don ts. WHAT IT IS The first thing we need to understand about what the deeper life is is that it is Christocentric. A life of holiness is a life in which Christ is central. It is God s purpose that we know Him better. Peter stated it:... through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.... But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen (2 Pe 1:3; 3:18) We know Him better than our knowledge of Him and through our understanding of His grace. The Person of Christ God s secret is a Person Christ Himself :... mystery of God, namely Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:2-3). We need to have our roots planted deeply in Christ:... rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness (v. 7).
Why should we be so focused on Christ? Because of who Christ is! This is Paul s estimate: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross (Col 1:15-20). There are at least nine qualities about Christ that we find here: 4 1. The Image of God (v. 15; 2 Co 4:4) The writer to the Hebrew Christians similarly refers to Christ as the radiance of God s glory (Heb 1:3) in that as the brilliance of the sun is inseparable from the sun itself, so the Son s radiance is inseparable from deity (Jn 1:14,18). The same author also refers to Christ as the exact representation of His being (Heb 1:3) which means that Jesus not only reveals God by making the Invisible visible, but He also reflects God (Jn 1:18; 14:9) by being the absolutely authentic representation of God s being. This goes beyond the idea of similarity, suggesting exact reproduction. Nothing of God is lacking of His Son. Closely related is the Pauline affirmation that Christ was in the form of God (Php 2:6), which has to do with essential being, rather than appearance. 2. The Firstborn (v. 15) Paul describes Jesus as the firstborn over all creation. The word firstborn carries with it the idea of distinction and uniqueness and in this passage the principal emphasis falls on Christ s sovereignty. He is first in the sense of being preeminent. While the statement on the surface seems to make Christ a part of creation we know that such a meaning is not intended since Paul continues by clearly stating that, instead of being created, he was the Creator and was before all things (vv. 16-17). The meaning then is that just as the firstborn son had certain privileges and rights in the biblical world, so also Christ has certain rights in relation to all creation priority, preeminence and sovereignty (vv. 16-18).
5 3. The Creator (v. 16) In relation to creation Jesus was not brought into being but He stands above it as its Maker. In Him the creation finds its source and explanation. Likewise, through Him all things were created, for He was the instrument by which the universe was brought into being. Furthermore Paul states that all things were created for Him. Such a statement should silence any claims that Christ as the firstborn is less than God. For if creation has its goal in Him, then He must be absolutely and without qualification true and eternal deity. 4. The Preexistent One (v. 17) Christ naturally antedated all that He brought into being. Paul put it, He is before all things (v. 17). Notice that Paul did not say, He was before all things. Similarly, as Jesus was very conscious in the days of His earthly existence of His preincarnate state, He could make the staggering claim, Before Abraham was, I am (Jn 8:58). 5. The Sustainer (v. 17) Paul put it, By Him all things hold together. The universe is definitely personal in that it is Christ s power which upholds and guides what His hands have made. Without Him the whole world would fall apart. Christ is the principle of cohesion in the cosmos in that all the elements of the universe cohere in Him. The universe, then, is caused by Christ, centered in Christ and controlled by Christ (Jn 1:3; Heb 1:3). 6. The Head (v. 18) Paul describes Jesus as being the Head of the body, the church. The term head denotes both superiority and authority. The fact that Jesus is the Head of the church and the Creator of the world means that the Lord has dual headship, taking in both the creation and the church. Just as Christ is sovereign over the cosmos, so He is sovereign over the church. This means there is no sharp separation in the mind of Christ between the natural order and the spiritual, for He is responsible for both. As His people we can be at home in both. Control over the creation belongs to Christ, for He made it; and control over the church is His because of the redemption He has achieved by His death (v. 20), of which His resurrection is a testimony and ground of assurance (v. 18). 7. The Resurrected Lord (v. 18) Here Jesus is described as the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead. The dominant thought is supremacy over the realm of death. He left the dead when he came forth from their midst in the power of His resurrection. And by His resurrection our Lord attained the place of preeminence over all things for the resurrection was a tremendous demonstration of God s power (Ro 1:4; Eph 1:19-23), followed as it was by His ascension. While it is true that He has not yet extended His rule over all things, He does have the authority to do so as He awaits the appropriate time.
6 8. Fully God (v. 19) The expression, For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him means that Christ is divine and thus preeminent since all of God s divine nature dwelt in Him. No angelic beings rank with Him, and for this reason none deserve to share in that fullness. They are entirely subordinate to Him. The term dwell is a strong term which means to abide permanently. 9. The Reconciler (v. 20) Paul says that God reconciled (brought back) to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross. All this was accomplished through Him, that is, Christ. The situation was such that only God could provide in Himself, that is, within the Godhead, the solution to the tragedy of a lost and estranged creation. The mention of peace (v. 20) implies a state of enmity for which the blood of Christ was the solution. The phrase all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven shows that God s reconciling work is as far-reaching as His creative activity. This means that heavenly (good angels who have been placed beyond the possibility of defection in the future) as well as earthly beings are embraced in the scope of reconciliation. As we look at these nine characteristics of Christ, is it any wonder that A. B. Simpson wrote a song entitled, Jesus Only to capture the truth that Jesus is our all in all? Jesus, and only Jesus, is everything! Then Paul speaks of Christ rescuing the believers living in Colosse: Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now He has reconciled you by Christ s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation (Col 2:21-22). We have been rescued, reconciled to God, in order to be holy, without blemish and free from accusation! This holiness, like our rescue and reconciliation, is found only in Christ. He must be our focus. ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNERS As we approach this subject of the deeper life it is crucial that we commit ourselves to accountability. It is one thing to commit to God, but it is another to commit to another human being and then to be accountable to that person. If this were not true, why do we do things in God s presence that we would not do in the presence of another human being?
7 Accountability means you Meet on a regular basis (weekly or biweekly, less often would be unproductive) Be thoroughly honest with each other as to how we are progressing in our attempt to experience the deeper life God intends for us. This means we give each other freedom to ask tough questions and with the expectation to get honest and forthright answers. Be sensitive to the feelings of the other person and that we are quick to comfort and encourage. Be a good listener and a faithful prayer partner and that we challenge each other to move forward in faith as we seek to follow God in greater depth and intimacy. It is vital that we pray that we will find the right accountability partner the person of God s choice to help us in experiencing the deeper life.
8
9