There is but one God and heavenly Father, creator of everything, and we know Him by His name, YAHWEH (Exo 20:2). YAHWEH has but one Son, Jesus Christ, sent to humanity by His Father (Jn 5:37). Father and Son share their essence equally with one Holy Spirit who indwells and seals all who believe in the Son (2Co 1:21-22).
We have access to the Father through the Son by the enablement of the Holy Spirit. In all things, the Father, and the Holy Spirit desire for believers to exalt the Son. For it was God the Father who delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son (Jesus Christ), in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-14). As redeemed and cleansed sinners who now have their identity in Christ, we discover a growing appetite to know and walk with the Son of God because He is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15).
Therefore, it is Christ we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ (Colossians 1:28). Assisting the unsaved in coming to Christ for salvation is just the beginning of our ministry with one another. In Christ, we have an ongoing mutual service together, proactively helping one another to grow towards mature Christlikeness. Abandoning this God-appointed mission should be unthinkable. Therefore, like Paul, we toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within us (Colossians 1:29). This is the ministry of disciple making (Mat 28:19-20), entrusted to us by Jesus for the glory of God and the salvation of lost sinners.
Growing faithful followers of Christ is challenging work. The success of our mission is dependent upon the spiritual working of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through believers committed to one another as they are committed to Christ. From our tool kit of spiritual resources, we take the sanctifying truth of God’s Word (Jn 17:17) and implant it within one another. We then surround that truth with earthly Christian fellowship, support, and faithfulness, as we walk the life-long path of interdependence. In this way, we together grow in beholding the glory of the Lord. Together, with all our inconsistencies and struggles, we recognise that we are being transformed into the same image of Christ, from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Not surprizing, our arch enemy’s tool kit is packed with resources to counter God’s work. Worldliness, fleshly appetites, futile thinking, unfaithfulness to the Lord and His people, disunity, with possibly the most seductive being isolation from the body of Christ, the church. Satan does not hesitate to invisibly unleash as many flaming darts (Eph 6:16) as required to damage and hinder God’s mission through God’s people.
Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm (Ephesians 6:13-18). Walking in obedience to God’s Word, under the controlling Holy Spirit, we are able to destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Today, may we join with the apostle Paul in saying, 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 (Galatians 2:20).
