The Life of a Mature Christian (2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Once you’ve become a Christian, you must grow, meaning you go from a childlike faith into a mature faith. After a new believer accepts Jesus Christ, they will go to church or have Bible study. If the uniqueness of the gospel doesn’t enter into that person, they’ll just think, “I was lucky so I became Christian,” or they will have a misconception, “Now that I’m Christian, I can’t do a lot of things I used to do.”
There’s a lot of misconceptions, “If I have good faith, I will lose a lot of things.” So, always, this is the reason why unbelievers always say, “Don’t get too deeply into this,” especially among your friends and families. They have this idea that if you fall too deeply into the faith, you’ll have to give up all your possessions and everything, so they’ll say, “Only give to a certain extent.”
We must show these people what the correct gospel is.
1.Salvation
What is salvation?
1)2 Corinthians 5:17 New Creation
It says here that the old is gone, and now we are a new creation. So, we completely change into a different person. But if we don’t know what it means to be a new creation, we just think of our old and new selves as not being different.
2)Past Self
So you must teach them what the “past self” is, very accurately.
(1)Ephesians 2:1 Dead = Spirit
It says here that we are dead in our sins and transgressions. Before accepting Jesus Christ, I am the same person, but I was dead in my sins, and because I’m dead, I cannot know God. I am dead with respect to God. This means I am spiritually dead, so I have no spiritual sense. You must teach this properly.
(2)Ephesians 2:2 Controlled by the ruler of the air
It says you used to follow the ways of the world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air. It may seem like I have the same body and life as I did before, but before I met Christ, I was being dragged around by the ruler of the kingdom of the air. How was I seized by Satan, being dragged around?
(3)Ephesians 2:3 Under the wrath of God
He makes you satisfy the cravings of your flesh and your desires. So, just living the way you want is leading you to being enslaved by Satan, dragged around and spiritually dead. So, fundamentally, we were objects of wrath. When I say “The old ‘me’ has passed,” this is the “me” I’m referring to.
From now on, I’m one who has received life from God, and instead of following after Satan, I follow after the living God. Now, it is not I who live after my own desires and fleshly wishes, but I follow after the things of God. You must absolutely differentiate this for new believers so they know why they must follow the Word, because if you do not tell them this, then even before and after they come to church, they will think nothing has changed. So, they only think of salvation based on going to church or not, so it’s possible that they do not grow spiritually, but we must absolutely must be able to differentiate this for ourselves.
2.Receive Continuous Grace
For those who are a new creation, we have received two graces. This grace is talking about the grace that comes from God. Without grace, you work with diligence? It won’t work and it can’t continue. It’s important that we are within the seat of grace, because mankind cannot transcend time and space, so where is the time and space where I am located? Some people, at a particular time and space, become conned. There are people who make mistakes, not realizing they have made mistakes. To that individual, they think they are making the correct decision, but it’s important for you to be in the time and space where God’s grace comes upon you.
1)Their relationship with God becomes more intimate
We’re talking about your relationship that becomes more deep and intimate with God. Now that I’m a new creation, how much deeper will my relationship with God become?
(1)1 Peter 2:2 Spiritual Milk
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk so that you may grow up in your salvation. Crave that pure spiritual milk, that spiritual food, so that by it, you may grow up in your salvation. As evidence of our salvation, the Holy Spirit is with us, but full salvation happens when we go to heaven. Until then, we must grow in our faith, and that’s why, the more we have a relationship with God, it becomes deeper.
If you have a mental problem, it means that instead of going towards God, you are dragged towards your own direction. What does it mean for you to go towards God’s direction? It means you receive healing. Healing is nothing else, the only way for you to come out of what has seized you is, now that you’ve been saved, how much will you go towards God’s direction?
(2)John 1:12
You begin to enjoy your God-given status and authority. Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave them the right to become children of God, meaning your status is different than before, because now, God is your Father Who takes responsibility over you, and because of that, you have this authority, because the One Who has all authority in heaven and on earth is with me, I have the authority to use that name.
Because I have status, I am able to have this power, and everywhere I go, the forces of darkness flee, and that’s the kind of power I have. Why? Because my status is a child of God, I am with God, because He is with me, and angels are moving. Everywhere I go, the forces of darkness and curses and disasters will flee. So, where I am is where the Light is. It’s not because of anything I do, but it is because of my status and authority.
So, the church, knowing this, gathers together to shine the Light into the world, then that means that all of hell’s curses and disasters and the forces of darkness will continue to be bound. Because this is a spiritual thing, you must enjoy this in faith. Because I’m a child of God, will I receive something or not? Just work hard and those things will come, but before that, you must enjoy the blessing, “The Triune God is with me, and I can enjoy the blessings of the Throne of heaven.” This is my right, so everywhere I go, the forces of darkness are bound and curses and disasters fall. If I have Christ, then of course, the three problems will crumble. How much of a blessing has God given us?
(3)2 Peter 1:4 Grace, Love
Here, it says they continued to receive this spiritual grace from God. Through these, He has given us these very great and precious promises so that through them, we pay participate in His divine nature and escape the corruption of the world. By following the promises of God, it’s a covenant of having been changed into a new creation. It’s not something we did, but it is God’s grace and promise. So, it’s important that we keep receiving His grace.
You have to receive grace for devotion, evangelism, and missions to be possible. Grace means I’m not someone who was supposed to receive it, but I did. In actuality, I should have been enslaved and dragged around, but instead, because of this grace, I’ve been changed so that I can enjoy being a child of God, meaning you have to receive God’s love.
Of course, there will be a difference between a child who received a lot of love versus one who didn’t while they grew up. It’s not that the loved child will succeed, and I’m not saying the unloved child will fail, but if you receive a lot of love, then you are able to give a lot of love. If you receive a lot of love, you won’t have so many scars, meaning you unilaterally receive a lot of grace from your parents. What’s going to happen if we receive God’s grace and love continuously? Because if it’s grace, it means we receive it through no merit of our own. Only when you receive God’s grace and love, the twisted things of your heart and scars will be healed.
What is the characteristic of people who grew up without love and grace from their parents? They are fundamentally different. Because they don’t have parents, they think they have to survive on their own, so their posture is different. But if a child receives grace and love from their parents before they’re married, it’s different; they will be able to do the same for their children. What are we talking about? The more grace and love we receive from God, the more we are able to give that same grace and love to other people.
2) Relationship with other people will become more blessed
If I continue to receive God’s grace, I can make relationships with other people that are more blessed. This is actually everything. There are people who, after receiving God’s grace, will have their relationships more blessed, or they will break apart other relationships. What’s important is, how can you pull your relationships into the direction of being more blessed? Look at all the people in the Bible. They all maintained and pulled their relationships into blessing people rather than breaking the relationships apart.
Look at Potiphar, he and his wife were pulled towards a blessed relationship, why? Because he was accused unjustly. If it were us, we would have reported them or done something about it, but at this point, Joseph was a slave, so he probably couldn’t do very much. Even though his relationship became very unfair, he was continuously able to make it into a happy one. It was the same even when he went to prison, he had relationships with the prison warden and they were blessed as well as all the prisoners because God brought Joseph before all the people of Egypt. It’s only possible for you to make blessed relationships with others if you receive God’s grace.
There are some people, who, no matter where they go, they keep breaking relationships with other people. The people who are focused on themselves tend to break relationships with other people. Look at David, Saul was his complete enemy, but until the very end, he maintained a blessed relationship with Saul. This is the characteristic of those who succeed. There is no enemy. Even those who seem like enemies can become blessed through their relationship. Look at Joseph, he had enemies but he transformed them into blessed relationships. Being with someone like this is a blessing.
In the church, it’s the relationship between the congregation members and the pastor. We’re all people, so why wouldn’t we lack something? But there are people who turn those things into blessings, then, that person being in that church is a spiritual blessing. But the people who are selfish, self-centered, they will break down other people to get what they want. Even when they go into their families, it’s the same thing.
It’s the same thing when they go out into the world. Anyone can be like that, but the people who receive God’s grace and love can turn those situations into blessings. “Oh, what can i do?” With our skills, it’s difficult to maintain relationships. Why? Because it’s conditional, because people are centered on themselves, it’s hard to transform something that is disadvantageous to us into a blessing, so we need people like this.
(1)1 John 3:1 Love
What creates a blessed relationship? It says we will love. It means that, “Oh, have you received salvation? How can you tell?” It’s based on your love. If you look in 1 John 3:14, it says, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death,” why? Because I’ve received salvation, I continue to receive God’s love. It means that, if I’ve received love, I can forgive other people. We use the word “forgiveness” a lot. Before you come to worship, be sure you’ve forgiven your brother, because if
you don’t, you’ll have spiritual problems. Even if that person was the wrongdoer, if you do not forgive this then I’m going to have resentment and spiritual problems. Let’s say someone unfairly accuses you, so if you look in Ephesians, you have resentments continue to come up.
If I did something wrong and they accuse me, then it’s rightful and there’s no resentment. I mean, it’s possible that we may resent it if that person overly accuses you or does something bad in retaliation, but if you cannot forgive other people, then you can’t receive forgiveness, and you’ll be caught up in your resentment
What is the characteristic of spiritual problems between people? They cannot forgive each other, “I cannot forgive,” why? Because I have not received forgiveness. Even though I received forgiveness from the cross, that’s natural, but I cannot forgive others. So, how many unjust things might happen? The things that happen because you don’t know, and all these things are within us. So, all this resentment and anger are hidden.
Forgive them. Why? What’s the evidence of forgiveness? Jesus forgave me, and as evidence that God’s grace and love is with me, I’m able to forgive the other person. What happens if you’re unable to do this? Then you have division and fighting, and within the family, there’s division and fighting, everywhere you go, and you even go to church. It’s rightful if you go to church and you don’t see that, but there’s fighting in church. We say, “They’re not mature in their faith yet,” but to unbelievers, it’s not like that.
“I thought you were an elder in the church, how could you fight in front of the pulpit?” Unbelievers can tell. Believers might be able to let it pass because they say, “Anyone can be like that,” but unbelievers will criticize, “I thought you were a pastor.” Mankind has strange habits. I haven’t experienced this much, but they say, “How can you be a pastor and be so legalistic?” But are pastors not allowed to be like that? Unbelievers will say, “With what evidence can you become like that?” The pastor can respond, “Pastors can’t be like that?” They will flip out because it’s inconceivable.
How should a pastor be? The Christian image, according to unbelievers, is that they must be pure and humble in everything, so they ask, “How could you be like this as an unbeliever?” They expect so many good things that come from religion, so there are instances when they say, “It’s okay if I do this because I don’t believe anything, but because you’re religious, you should know better.” Of course, there are good things to religion, but on the opposite side, people will say, “Why are you like this, aren’t you supposed to be a pastor?” However, in the workplace and the world, you cannot evangelize like this.
Let’s say, what about my personality? What if it’s really good? Can I evangelize with that? More so than that, it’s the thing that comes out of me because I have so much of God’s grace that will influence other people, because the greatness of your personality and characteristics have limitations, but your facial expressions and peaceful demeanor that you have because God is within you, that cannot be faked.
(2) 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 New Duty of Commision
We have received a new role, a duty, a commission. Now, we are with God, so what kind of new duty have we received? It’s so that other people can also be with God. In verse 20, it says, “Therefore, as Christ’s ambassadors, God is making His appeal through us.” So, we have become the ambassadors of Christ, so now we have this mission. Christ should have done this, but we have this new mission, and we do the work of allowing people to be with God.
Christianity is about love and unity, why? Because we have been united with God. Before, we were separated from God, our spirits were dead and we were under the authority of hell, living however we wanted, but now we are united with God and have been changed into people who can live. What is the evidence of that? We receive God’s grace and love continuously, then how must we live? With a mission.
Mission
A mission shouldn’t be a heavy obligation, but this mission is the reason for my existence, the reason for my life is my mission. If I don’t have a mission, I don’t have a reason to be alive. If you’re a child of God who has received salvation, why do you live? That’s your mission. Without that mission, you don’t have a reason to exist. So, you’re a person who lives, enslaved to physical things. So, without fail, I hope everyone is able to find their mission, what is that? It is to live as one who is united with God.
That’s the reason why you received this role, why you live right now; it’s the reason why you raise kids; this is the reason you live and breathe. If you take this out, then after having received salvation, you will still live as a slave to the world. So, the ones who are united with God and receive God’s grace can forgive others and strengthen others. Now, you live with someone who has this role and mission of uniting other people with God. What is the result?
(3)1 John 1:3-4 Life with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ (fullness of joy)
Our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. That is our joy. In English it says fellowship, but in Korean it says joy, so we have fellowship and joy with the Father and the Son. If you’re hanging out with the president, you enjoy it because his power becomes your power. On your own, the security guard would never come and follow after you, but if I was with the president, then they will always follow me. If I’m with the president, I can go to restaurants where I would normally not be able to go. This is an analogy if you look at physical things, but you’re not at the level of the world anymore; you’re at the level of heaven.
So, you make your joy complete. The fellowship you have with God comes to you as complete joy. Prayer has to be joyful. Your walk of faith has to be joyful, why? Because if you just have a walk of faith without joy, it becomes work, an obligation, so you have to continue to enjoy this fellowship. You have to realistically enjoy this fellowship with Him. You’re not having a mechanical fellowship with Him, but you know His personality. If you have a mechanical relationship, that’s not fellowship. Personality to personality, you have to have fellowship with God, then that joy will come upon you.
3. Resolution and Motive
(1)2 Corinthians 5:14
We’re talking about the correct resolution and the motive. What kind of motive is developed? In 2 Corinthians 5:14, it says Christ’s love compels us, it means that Christ’s love is compelling us. This is our life, then what is at the center of our hearts?
(2) 2 Corinthians 5:15
2 Corinthians 5:15, we have the center of our hearts where we no longer live for ourselves, but for Him Who died for us, because this is the core of the gospel. Before this, what does it say? I have died on the cross with Christ, the past self that used to live based on my fleshly desires and greed are dead now. Why did you live like that before? You lived however you wanted because your spirit was dead and you were enslaved by Satan. But now you don’t live for yourself or the physical things, but you live for Christ Who lives within you and your motive changes like this.
Heart, Motive
Your motive is very important because if it doesn’t change from your own to Christ, then your walk of faith will become corrupt. Things will occur and you’ll be tested. Why? Because even when you devote to the church with your motives, you’ll get upset at people, because you live according to the past self that’s supposed to be dead. But instead of going towards God’s blessings, you’re going towards another direction. Now, whatever you’re doing, you’re doing it for Christ who died for you, you’re becoming His tool, and you must confirm this always, because if you do not confirm this, you will continuously turn back to yourself and you’ll work hard or you’ll become very lazy, and because it’s not helpful for you, you become very lazy. Because something motivates you, you work hard but because you’re not fulfilled through your will you’ll be disappointed.
The grace has to come upon you so that you realize, “My motive is actually for myself,” but you point your finger at other people, and that’s the inner state of people. When they first sinned, Adam pointed his finger at Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. They never said, “I sinned before God.” We can’t become a church full of blame and resentment, and the family is always blaming each other, and that’s why they fight. The kids blame their parents, and the parents bring suffering upon the children, and couples start fighting, “It’s because you did something wrong.”
(3) What kind of motive do you have(Colossians 3:1-3)
Motive is very important. What kind of motive must you have? Colossians 3:1, it says to set your heart on the things above, meaning you should look for spiritual things. You’re not doing things for worldly motives, then what will happen? You can work hard, but what will happen later? You’ll be disappointed; it’s not something that can continue. They are motivated to move thinking it’s beneficial to them, and that’s why you should set your motivation on things that are spiritual. It is the walk of faith that connects you to God. It is the walk of faith where you can center your direction on receiving God’s grace and love. It’s the walk of faith where you can love and forgive your brothers and sisters.
Because I have a role of being an ambassador who unites other people with God, this is my goal. This is the characteristic of a disciple. It’s not that God won’t give you those things, but worldly things can’t be your motivation. If you do everything for the Lord, He will bless you of course, but that can’t be your motivation. That can’t be your goal. Your goal must be to save and love other people, only then can you have this walk of faith until the very end.
Because if you have the things of the world be your goal, you’ll find yourself coming to Early Morning worship and not going to be able to continue because you didn’t revive your answer. I’m only giving this as an example because there are other aspects to our walk of faith, but I bring this up because some people just start early morning service and they just stop, there’s two reasons, usually. They receive the answer of the physical thing they want, it means their problem is solved, or their problem isn’t solved, then of course they’ll stop because their goal is something they can see. I said this today, too, but it’s the goal of me doing it for physical things.
Not even 10% of the church can do Early Morning Worship, so if you can, it means your spiritual state is strong, but I’m talking about the ones who suddenly come from out of nowhere. There are people who, at that point, can receive grace and start at that point, but we must have the spiritual motive and spiritual goal. Even prayer has to be your goal; evangelism must be your goal, because if you have something else that’s physical mixed within there, you cannot continue. You might be able to do it a bit with your hard work because your motivation is mixed inside, but eventually, you’ll be cut off from God’s grace and love, and you’ll get caught up in relationships with other people and you’ll fall.
You have to be able to forgive others with the grace you’ve received, but it doesn’t always go accordingly and there are a lot of unfair things. There are times when you don’t want to disadvantage other people, but you end up hurting other people. So, if I am unable to receive God’s grace and love, I cannot turn the relationship with people into blessed ones.
In conclusion, what is the Word you must realize in times of need, discouragement, need, frustration, and suffering? In 1 Peter 5:7, it says to cast all your anxiety on the Lord, why? Because He is my Master. I’m His child, His servant, so I can cast all of that on Him. The “slavery” we talk about isn’t a worldly slavery, but in this is freedom. If we’re truly slaves of the Lord, we receive true freedom, but the slave of the world completely has no freedom, so a slave does what the master tells him, and he never takes responsibility for himself, why?
But because I’ve given everything over to the Lord, He will take care of my life. Romans 8:28, all things work for the good of those who love Him, what does that mean? God works through all things for the goal of saving. When we say, “good things,” it’s not the Buddhist idea of living kindly , because the Bibledoes not tell us to live kindly, but the person who interprets it that way is stuck in Confucianism or some other religion. The greatest good for God is the cross, it’s saving other people. The greatest good for God is to save other people.
Is there division? Choose the greatest good. Don’t kill someone, but take a step back and do the work of saving that person. Because if you’re fighting with someone, then that in itself means you’re trying to kill them, and God is someone like that. When we sinned against God, He didn’t ask anything of us but gave us salvation. All our past failures, experiences, and scars are used by God to save other people, so it doesn’t matter. “This and that happened in my past,” but they will be used to save people in the future.
Have your children run away? Tell them it doesn’t matter, because if the covenant is really within them, God will continue to pull them along. We can’t do our walk of faith well because we do something well, but God’s grace and love pulls us in that direction, and that’s why we pray, that the filling of the Holy Spirit. We’ll talk about that in the Friday Night Service.
Prayer
Father God, we thank You. Allow the healing evangelists to rise up during the healing evangelism school. May the mature Christians be used for saving lives and their fields, rising as the disciples. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray, amen.