MANIFESTING THE LIFE OF CHRIST
“For we which live are alway[s] delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.” (2 Corinthians 4:11).
From
the beginning of creation it has been in God’s heart to create a race of men
who would bear His own image and likeness: “And
God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness…” (Genesis
1:26). He accomplished this when He
created Adam and Eve: “…in the likeness
of God made He him…” (Genesis 5:1); “So
God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and
female created He them.” (Genesis 1:27).
It wasn’t that God wanted man to look like Him in appearance, for the
LORD doesn’t see as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart (see 1 Samuel 16:7).
It was man’s character that he
was most interested in; it was purity of heart and spirit that He was
after. At first, Adam was that man, but
then the serpent tempted him and his wife into violating God’s one command. After that, Adam and Eve became tarnished by
sin and no longer bore the image of their Creator. This was a great tragedy, but God had a plan
to fix it. It involved a young virgin by
the name of Mary, a man called Joseph who was willing to trust God in the face
of the unthinkable, and a holy child called Jesus Who was conceived by the Holy
Ghost and born to that couple.
Jesus
Christ was born in the “image of the
invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), was “the
brightness of God’s glory”, and was “the
express image of the Father” (Hebrews 1:3).
More than that, He was obedient to the Father’s will – obedient even
unto death. Scripture says that Jesus learned obedience by the things that He
suffered. So must we if we want the life
of Jesus to be manifest in our mortal flesh.
We
have been called to “…put on the new man,
which is renewed in knowledge after
the image of him that created him...” (Colossians 3: 10). We have been predestined “…to be conformed to the
image of His Son, that He [Jesus] might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Romans 8:29). Also, as we behold the face of our Lord, we
are “…changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the
Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18). We only have two options. We can remain as we are and manifest the life
of Adam which is carnal, self-centered, and in bondage to sin; or we can be
born again and manifest the life of Jesus which is spiritual, God-centered, and
free from sin. We can only serve one
master.
Paul
doesn’t pull any punches when he writes of Christ being manifested in the
fragile, earthen vessels of our flesh.
He makes it clear that in order to pull this off we must “ALWAYS”
be delivered to death for Jesus’ sake. Only
then can the resurrection life of Christ begin to flow in and through us. This is a conscious decision on our part to
embrace the difficulties that life presents to us with the full knowledge that
God will use those difficulties to produce patience, experience, hope, and
faith.
Paul
sums it up like this: “We are troubled on
every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the
dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in
our body.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).
Trouble,
perplexity, persecution, failure: these are all part of the human experience
and produce a degree of spiritual death in our flesh, but our sufferings in
this life also provide us with opportunities for the Lord to show His strength
and to manifest His divine life and power in us. The story of King Asa teaches us, among other
things, that “…the eyes of the LORD run
to and fro throughout the whole earth, to
show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.”
(2 Chronicles 16:9). Therefore, though
we may have trouble in our lives, we needn’t be distressed by it for God is
working everything together for good according to His purpose. We may be perplexed at times by circumstances
that are out of our control, and we may not be sure of the path ahead of us,
but there is no need for despair for God will give us direction in His time and
in His way. We may be forced to suffer
persecution, but we should never fear for the Lord has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake
you.” There may even come a time
when we feel that we have been utterly cast down; but be of good cheer, our God
will lift us up again. In all these
things, and in so much more, God will bear us up and will breathe new life into
us through His beloved Son Jesus Christ.
As Paul wrote, “It is a faithful
saying: For if we be dead with Him [Jesus], we shall also live with Him: if we suffer, we shall also reign with
Him...” (2 Timothy 2:11-13).
Jesus
defined the cost of discipleship when He said, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23).
Following Christ always involves denying ourselves and embracing the
crosses of life every day. Crosses may
torture our flesh, but they are the gateway to resurrection life. Writing to the Roman Church, Paul states, “For
if we have been planted together in the likeness of His [Jesus’] death,
we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: knowing this,
that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be
destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” (Romans 6:5, 6).
It
is not a light thing for us to say to God, “Thy
will be done.” It cost Jesus
everything to embrace that mindset. He
knew, though, that anything less would be insufficient to save the world. Shortly before His betrayal and crucifixion,
Jesus told His disciples that “…unless a
grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies,
it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24). His
life was the grain of wheat that died and was buried in order to bear much
fruit. By His sacrifice Jesus ministered
eternal life to the world. When we deny
ourselves and willingly choose to bear our crosses, we, too, can minister the
divine life of Jesus to those around us.
One
of the most impactful examples of self denial that I witnessed before accepting
Christ as my Savior happened one day at my workplace. A group of us who worked in the same
department had gone to the cafeteria during our lunch break, and all sat down
at a table to eat. Among us was a young
Christian who had recently joined our crew, and who was very open about his
faith. As we were eating, one of the
guys reached over and dumped pepper all over the Christian’s food. I was shocked and thought the act was cruel
and uncalled for, but I didn’t say anything.
Instead, I closely watched the young man to see what his reaction would
be. I wanted to see if his reaction
would agree with his confession. I
wanted to see Jesus manifested in his mortal body. I wanted to see the treasure that was hidden
in the earthen vessel. I was not
disappointed. Rather than get angry or
irritated, the young Christian showed poise and great grace in the face of this
obvious persecution. I don’t know what effect
that this experience had on anyone else at that table, but I know what a strong
impression it made on me. It was one
more way in which God was speaking to me to surrender to Him. The death that was working in this young
Christian was ministering life to me. It
wasn’t long after this that I heeded the call and gave my heart to the Savior.
“But the God of all grace, Who hath
called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a
while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” (1 Peter 5:10). It
should be every child of God’s ambition to be perfected, established,
strengthened and settled in the faith.
This, after all, is God’s purpose for calling us. Peter embeds a key phrase in verse 10,
however, that should arrest our attention.
That phrase is “…after that ye have suffered a while...” The clear implication is that we must suffer
in the flesh before we can be perfected, established, strengthened and settled. And only God knows what “a while” is. Throughout his
first epistle Peter weaves this theme of suffering and renewal. In chapter four he writes, “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for
us in the flesh, arm yourselves
likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh
hath ceased from sin; that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the
flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:1, 2). Also, in verses 12 and 13 he says, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning
the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto
you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are
partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye
may be glad also with exceeding joy.” (1 Peter 4:12, 13). And in verses 15-19 Peter writes, “Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let
him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin
at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them
that obey not the gospel of God? And if
the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner
appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit
the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.”
(1 Peter 4:15-19).
The
story of Joseph is one of the best examples of the manifestation of the life of
Christ. His life provides a pattern for
us to follow if we want Christ’s life to be manifested in us.
In
the beginning of Joseph’s life, he received many blessings. He was beloved by his father who made for him
a beautiful “coat of many colors.” He was proud of his coat because it
represented the special love that his father had for him, and he was not shy
about showing it off to his siblings. Joseph also received dreams from the Lord that
depicted his brothers and with his mother and father bowing down to him and
obeying him. These dreams only produced
resentment and hatred in the hearts of his brothers and led them into doing
evil against Joseph.
Much
like Joseph, we are given many precious promises and assurances, along with
gifts of the Spirit, to encourage us in our faith and confirm God’s great love
for us. These things are meant to give
us hope and a vision of what we can become in Christ, but they must be worked
out in our lives over time. If we are
not careful, we can be lifted up in pride and actually alienate our brothers
and sisters by boasting of what God has given us. Scripture warns us to “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may
exalt you in due time.”
(1 Peter 5:6). Everything has its own
season, and there is a time for every purpose that God intends (Ecclesiastes
3:1). God gives us promises and a vision
of His purpose for us, and then He sets about working all things together for
good in our lives to fulfill that purpose “in due time”. In the mean time, we must remain humble,
understanding that it isn’t our wisdom, our strength, or our resolve that will
fulfill God’s purpose at all: it is God Who is working in us to will and to do
His good pleasure (Philippians
2:13).
Instead
of setting about immediately to fulfill the dreams that God had given him,
Joseph found himself being sold to slave traders by his brothers and carried
into Egypt to be sold into servitude.
Joseph needed to be perfected, established, strengthened and settled;
but he also needed to learn that he had to suffer for awhile first. Like precious metal in the refiner’s crucible
is purified, like iron on the blacksmith’s anvil is crafted, and like marble
under the sculptor’s hammer and chisel is shaped, in the same way we are molded
into the image of our Maker by the things that we suffer.
Joseph
spent many years in servitude and then in prison, but the whole time God was
with him and was perfecting His character in him. Joseph never forgot his dreams or his
calling, but learned patience and maintained his integrity through all of his
trials.
In
the end of Joseph’s story we see a man that truly manifests the character of
the Son of God. Rather than being
swallowed up by resentment, hatred, and vengeance, Joseph showed love, mercy,
and understanding toward those who had wronged him so cruelly. God exalted Joseph in due time because he was
willing to be obedient to Him “even unto
death”. It was because Joseph
believed and trusted God that his sufferings didn’t destroy him, but, instead,
made him better. He had learned the
valuable lesson that what man intends for evil, God is able to use for good.
“The Spirit itself beareth witness
with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs;
heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if
so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together. For
I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature
waiteth for the manifestation of the
sons of God.” (Romans
8:16-19). We are promised in John 1 that
all those who receive Christ Jesus will also be given the power to become sons
of God (John 1:12). We are, therefore, “becoming” and all of creation is “waiting” for our maturity in Christ.
In
Romans 12 Paul writes, “I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans
12:1 NKJV). In light of the unlimited
mercy that God has bestowed upon us, it is only reasonable that we should offer
ourselves in service to Him. As we empty
ourselves of our self will, we make more room for Him to fill us. We decrease, and He increases. As we have said, it is impossible to serve
two masters at the same time: we will not be effective in pleasing either one
in the end.
Paul
continues in Romans, “And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
(Romans 12:2). Just as the caterpillar
one day decides to weave itself into a cocoon and be transformed into something
altogether different from what it was before, we, too, must decide to present
our bodies as a living sacrifice to God so that we may be transformed into the
likeness of Jesus. This is not something
that we can accomplish on our own: it is a walk of faith. Abraham and Sarah could not have children by
their own efforts, but God promised them a son.
Not just any son, but one that would produce more sons and would one day
grow into a great nation of millions of souls.
God waited till they were both about 100 years old and their bodies were
dead to such a possibility before he sent them Isaac. This was to show that it was not by human
might or human power, but by the Spirit of almighty God that His divine will
and purpose is accomplished in you and me.
As Peter says, “…His divine power hath given unto us all
things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of
the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust.” (2 Peter 1:3, 4).
We
have a tendency to think that, as Christians, we are going to be spared from
difficulties and from suffering. This
couldn’t be further from the truth nor from what scripture clearly teaches us,
but yet we persist in believing it. St.
Paul had an infirmity of the flesh that plagued him during his ministry. He called it “a thorn in his flesh” and “the
messenger of Satan” (See 2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Three separate times Paul prayed for healing
and deliverance, but received none. God
finally answered Paul with these words: “My
grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” After that Paul said, “Most gladly therefore will I
rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may
rest upon me.”
Let
me just say that God is still a miracle-working God. He still heals and delivers in wondrous
ways. If we find ourselves in the midst
of some sickness or adversity, our first response should always be to take it
to God and believe God for the miraculous.
Again and again I have seen God do what is impossible for man to do for
the sake of His dear children. If God
doesn’t answer in that way, however, than we must assume that He is wanting to
perfect His strength through our weakness.
The end goal should not be that we always get what we want, but that God’s will is done while the power of Christ
rests on us and is manifested in us.
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