I read recently in a book about sanctification (roughly defined as: the process of becoming what a Christian is declared to be) the following, “All that is true for me in Christ has not yet been accomplished in me by the Spirit” (Sinclair Ferguson; emphasis original). Now that statement is both clear and concise. In its clarity and brevity, the idea is powerfully placed before our souls for consideration.
As a result of the believer being in union with Christ all that is true of Jesus is obtained by faith…and by faith what is true for me will still need to be accomplished in me. Beloved, that is what biblical counseling is all about. Biblical counseling is discipleship. Biblical counseling disciples a believer to become what he or she is declared to be. Here is a truth about Jesus that the believer already has…and yet must be formed in them:
Jesus did not protect Him self, His rights, or His position. Indeed, Jesus lived COMPLETELY for the glory of God the Father. Paul writes:
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil 2:5-8).
I included verse five for a reason…it is a command to us. Everything that Jesus did in verses 6-8 is true for us who believe in Him. Think about that…in Jesus the saints
…have died to self
…have died to asserting self
…have died to protecting self
…have died to defending self
…have died to rights for self
…have made themselves nothing
…have willingly, and joyfully taken on the role of servant
…have humbled themselves in obedience to God’s purposes
…have died
All that is true for me in Jesus must be accomplished in me by the Spirit!
Beloved…all of those glorious realities must become true in real life…with your family…with your spouse…with your friends. Most of us are dying to see those realities formed in those around us…but are we dying (literally to self) to see them formed in us. Are we actually dead to self-aggrandizing, self-kingdom building, self-asserting enterprises?
Most people do not realize that much of what is true for them in Jesus has yet to be accomplished in them by the Spirit until the world (and people) do not give us what we want. For most of us…the second we do not get what we want…NONE of what is true for us in Jesus comes out of us in life. Instead, what comes out is very self-centered.
Enter a biblical counselor…who lovingly shows you a better way. It is better that what is true for us in Jesus is accomplished in us by the Spirit than that we get a paltry kingdom of self on earth.
10,000 Blessings in The Wonderful Counselor
Jim
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