Spiritual Formation Part 1

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Welcoming:

I welcome everyone to a class on spiritual formation. As we all know, we are simply following the roadmap of our Lord Jesus Christ, and at this point in his agenda, he wants me to discuss with us the subject of spiritual formation.

Our Bible Text is:

gala
Galatians 2:15–21 ESV
15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. 17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
Galatians 2:15–20 ESV
15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. 17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
gal 2:15-20
Our anchor scripture the next few weeks from this passage is verse 20
Galatians 2:20 KJV 1900
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20 The Living Bible
20 I have been crucified with Christ: and I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the real life I now have within this body is a result of my trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Please copy these two translations and on daily basis meditate on it for at least 5 minutes. (that is your first assignment.
Read through the book of Ephesians at least 6 times this month.

opening statements:

in the natural realm, nobody is born as an adult we all began our life’s journey as infants. The same is true for our spiritual life, none of us is born an adult, we all began our journey as infants - meaning that we all have equal opportunities to labour in the word of God until we become fully matured.
in gal 4:19 Paul said:
Galatians 4:19 ESV
19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!
Paul said: “until Christ be formed in you”
Galatians 4:19 NLT
19 Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives.
Paul :
paul said: “ i will continue to travail until Christ becomes fully developed in the lives of the believers at galatia…
Just like Paul in the next few weeks, I will travail both in the spirit and in clear uncompromised teaching to set us on a jouney, or to further fuel the journey that some of us had already began.... I will travail until Christ be formed in you.

The style of the teaching:

come to church with some questions that are bordering your heart regarding your relationship with God, and we will manage to answer as many as we can.
do not expect any formal teaching during these sections.

Today: I will a foundation for this study and start building on it.

Galatians 2:20 The Living Bible
20 I have been crucified with Christ: and I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the real life I now have within this body is a result of my trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
There are certain things that we can clearly seen from this verse as subtopics for spiritual transformation:
I have been crucified with Christ: the crucified life
in other words, paul was speaking about a life laid down
Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but christ liveth in me: the exchanges life
This is symbolic of the new life in Christ, the transformed life
And the life which i now live in the flesh i live by faith: the trusting live.
I can also recapture this simply as ‘a life of faith’
There are two deaths mentioned in the verse, both has to do with the Cross:
I have been crucified: who was crucified
I am
i live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me: who was crucified again here?
the son of God.
therefore, the a spiritually transformed life, is simply a life that emulates the life of our lord Jesus Christ.
it is a life that seeks to attain unto the whole measure of the fulness of the stature of Christ:
Ephesians 4:11 ESV
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
Ephesians 4:11–14 ESV
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

We are going to start from the Crucified life: Why?

Believers must experience the cross before they can find the resurrection life. Baker’s Encyclopedia.
Jesus said:
John 12:24–25 NLT
24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. 25 Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.
john 12 24
death to self is what opened the door to a new kind of life.
- The crucified life is a metaphor to the death of self
The crucified life is a metaphor to the death of self
Romans 6:6 NLT
6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.
rom 6:
the crucified life:
The Body of sin is destroyed
you are no longer enslave to sin.
Romans 6:7 NLT
7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.
death is the only cure for the Adamic nature that longs for sin in us. “our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin” ().
“our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin” ().
It is the death of the old way of life that ushered in, the new way of living - , the believer participates in the death and resurrection of Christ, so that the “old has passed away, behold the new has come” (5:17).
Paul interpreted the Christian’s identification with Christ’s death to mean that “our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin” ().
2 Corinthians 5:14–17 ESV
14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 cor
As further developed in , the believer participates in the death and resurrection of Christ, so that the “old has passed away, behold the new has come” (5:17).
The death of self, also mean that “the flesh with its passions and desires” is “crucified” ();
“the flesh with its passions and desires” is “crucified” ();
what are the passions and the desires of the flesh?
Galatians 5:24 NIV
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
1 John 2:15–16 NLT
15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.
1 john 2:15-16
A craving for physical pleasure
A craving to have more
a pride in ones achievements and possessions
this was demonstrated in that rich fool:
Luke 12:13–21 ESV
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
luke 12:13-21
The crucified life is a life that demonstrated humility in his abundance just like christ - he is the Lord of all, but he lived with us like a beggar; he is the Lord of Glory but laid down his glory to take up the form of a sinful human nature. Christ died to all that he had in heaven before he became the worthy lamb that was slain for our redemption, and in his death on the cross many sons gained eternal life.
his life no longer matter, what matters to him was the purpose of God for his life, though he was rich, the bible says he became poor so that we can through his poverty become rich, he was a king, but for our sake he became a servant; he was the commander of the hosts, but yet for our sake he became the commanded… in all of these, although it seemed to us all as the most despicable point for any man to be in, yet he was rich towards God.
Paul demonstrated to us all, how to die to self and become crucified with Christ:
Galatians 6:14 ESV
14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
now let us see how he practically demonstrated it to us:
and “far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” ().
Philippians 3:1–11 ESV
1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. 2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Philippians 3:7–11 The Living Bible
7 But all these things that I once thought very worthwhile—now I’ve thrown them all away so that I can put my trust and hope in Christ alone. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have put aside all else, counting it worth less than nothing, in order that I can have Christ, 9 and become one with him, no longer counting on being saved by being good enough or by obeying God’s laws, but by trusting Christ to save me; for God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith—counting on Christ alone. 10 Now I have given up everything else—I have found it to be the only way to really know Christ and to experience the mighty power that brought him back to life again, and to find out what it means to suffer and to die with him. 11 So whatever it takes, I will be one who lives in the fresh newness of life of those who are alive from the dead.
phil 3:1-
philp 3:7-11
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