CONNECTING THE DOTS OF HOLINESS

The more we immerse ourselves in the Word, the more we connect the dots and make remarkable discoveries.  The big picture comes into view. A passage here informs and clarifies another there.  Light from this passage sheds light on another.  Jesus said the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth (John 16:13). Immersion is not merely reading a few verses and dashing out the door.  It includes pondering, memorizing, sharing scripture with others as it becomes part of us.  As a result, the Holy Spirit shines light on the nature of God, God’s nature in us, and the dynamic, synergistic relationship we have in him.  Here’s an example of how passages of the word connect and reveal otherwise fragmented and hidden truths:

The Apostle Paul writes – “Work out your own salvation (Philippians 2:12)” by the means of which God makes available (Acts 2:42), what John Wesley calls the means of grace (scripture, prayer, Biblical teaching, fellowship of other Christ followers).

OK!  I can work it out, because “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).  And how does that happen?  Paul goes on to say, “for it is God who works in you to will and to do according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13). 

There it is:  our will aligned with God’s will and his desire becomes our desire to “will and to do according to his good purpose (desire) for us.  And what is that?   We read in Ephesians 3:19, “. . . that we be filled with the measure of the fullness of God (holiness, likeness, purity of heart) so that we continue to will and to do things which are unimaginable (Ephesians 3:20) as acts of piety and mercy (service) to God’s glory (Ephesians 3:21).  In this intimate synergism with God we come to grasp the magnitude of God’s love for us and for the world (Ephesians 3:18) such that  “The love of Christ compels us” (2 Corinthians 5:14) in all we do in response to God’s grace.

The deeper we get into the Word, the more the big picture comes into focus, the deeper our understanding, the more God transforms us into his likeness, the more we participate in his nature (2 Peter 1:4), the more we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the more we give glory to him both now and forever (2 Peter 3:18).  Amen!  In the words of Salvation Army commissioner James Knaggs, then, “Be holy and get to work!” . . . working out our own salvation by devoting more time in the Word and letting God do a remarkable work in and through us.  Glory to God!