Have you ever asked that question, asked, "What exactly is God doing in my life?" I don’t so much mean specifically, as to the outcome of this or that situation. I mean what is this life all about anyways – the Christian life? What the goal?

Some Christian folks think that the entire goal of life is to get saved. In other words, folks say that the goal is to get to heaven. But while you aren’t even started towards the goal until you are saved, the goal isn’t to get saved, or to get to heaven. It isn’t even, as some teach, to get others saved – although we do want to do that. The goal and purpose of the Christian life is a little more long-term.

There are a number of ways in which we could state the purpose of the Christian life. But in a nutshell, the purpose of the Christian life is to prepare to live and fellowship with God forever. When everything is said and done, it all comes back to that.

Now, within that purpose we see that we must be conformed to the image of Christ. We see that we must grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. We see that we must experience God through sufferings, blessings, and just normal life. But in the end, if you are saved, you are going to heaven – but what are you going to do when you get there? Live and fellowship with God – forever. And this life is supposed to prepare us for that.

The Biblical revelation is that we are being prepared NOW, for life with God THEN. That, and only that, could possibly make what is going on down here worth it. Thus, everything in the life of a Christian is unto THAT purpose.

In order to live with God forever, we have to be compatible with Him. Yet this is about the last thing we are to begin with. Natural man, with his carnal mind, is at enmity with God. This tells us that a major adjustment must take place – in us. This is the preparation God is putting us through.

Herein we see the purpose for life – to conform us to God. The way God does this is to form us together with Christ.

But what does that mean? Well, it does NOT mean, to make us, "like Jesus." Rather, it means to get us to the place where Jesus can be seen in and through us. There is a big difference. To be, "made like Jesus," suggests that God is doing something TO us. But for Jesus to be seen through us means that God is doing something IN us.

If you are a Christian, Christ is IN YOU. But for Him to be able to live THROUGH you, God must get YOU out of the way. He must crucify your self-will, patterns of the flesh, and He must renew your mind according to the Truth – and this begins by exposing all of the errors you believe. Then Christ can be seen in you, and live through you – not without your free-will, of course, but by using it.

Right here – on this Truth – is actually where some of the biggest mistakes are made in Christian teaching. People teach that God gives us a THING called power. Some try to say that because we have this THING called power, that all we need to do is believe we have it, and use it. It will work – we’ll be able to do miracles, get rich, etc. This is not the Truth. God does not give us a THING called power. Rather, He gives us His Son – Christ in us. And if we submit to the work of the Cross, Christ will come to be seen in us and will be able to work through us – and power will be there to do God’s will.

All power is in Christ – in a Person. The moment you try to make power a THING you have to use, you are in error, and the results can be disastrous. The power of Christ, according to the apostle Paul, rest upon us, and works through us, when we are WEAK in ourselves. It is as a principle: The power of Christ working through me will be directly related to my weakness in myself, and the resulting dependence I have upon Christ. That is a Truth.

The one thing Satan wants to hide from Christians is the reality of the Cross of Jesus Christ. Thus, we have teaching that offers resurrection life, inheritance, and power -- not from Christ in us, released through the work of the Cross – but from some kind of, "anointing," or from some kind of gift God just gives to people. The Bible teaches nothing of the kind.

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. (1 Cor 1:18)

I watched a popular teacher on TV the other day, who was saying that because we are sons of God in Christ, we already have IN US all things we need. He was right about that much. If Christ is in you, you ARE complete. There is nothing to add. The trouble is, the man’s angle was to prove that you could be rich and prosperous financially simply by believing and confessing the fact – because such prosperity comes with the package of the life within you. He quoted Rom 8:16-17. He read, "The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ….." This was the reason, he stated, that we have the right to claim health, wealth, and anything else we desire.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I do believe that God generally wants us to prosper and have abundant life. But only on HIS terms, not OURS. And only as it serves the eternal purpose we are discussing – to prepare us to live with Him forever. To form us together with Christ. And as quoted by this man, the Bible does say we inherit all things in Christ, which means we inherit what Christ inherits. We really do have all of that IN US, if Christ is in us – at least we have it potentially. But as is usually the case, the most important part of the verse from Romans, which this guy was using to prove his case, was left OUT. Every promise in that passage is based on the part the guy left out. It goes on to read, "…..if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."

Again, this man neglected the Truth of the Cross. God does want to bless us. But we cannot handle His blessings until they come through death and resurrection. We have to have everything about us that is not compatible with God crucified, so that the fullness of God, and all He has for us, can be given to us. This is progressive, of course. As we come under the work of the Cross, we are able to more fully experience our inheritance.

The work of the Holy Spirit works no other way, and cannot work any other way. The reason is because of where we start – with a sin nature, in Adam, with no knowledge of God. That mandates that a death come to all those negative things, so that HIS life might be released and seen through us.

Can we now see why God isn’t trying to make us LIKE Jesus, but is seeking to have Jesus seen through us? Can we see why so many of the promises of the Bible do not seem to come to pass in us – in a way that we seem to experience? It is because they CANNOT, until God makes us compatible with Himself through the Cross and subsequent resurrection.

Do we actually think that any of us are qualified or capable of living in the things of God until God deals with our self-will and flesh? Forget it. And yet today many think so.

Now, I’ve said all of this, to get to this point: God – RIGHT NOW – is adjusting us to live with Him. To live with us NOW, and accomplish His purpose in and through us. But if we are not letting Him, what will God take to live with Him FOREVER? Get my point? In the final analysis, God is really preparing us NOW, for THEN. And how faithful we are over what He is doing NOW, has a big relationship with how we will live with Him THEN.

It may come as a shock to many Christians, but God is not keeping score as to your works, service, or any other THING you are doing. All that is going to matter, when everything is said and done, is your compatibility to live with God forever. Are we allowing God to plant in us preliminary seeds and adjustments – which the Bible calls faith, hope, and love – that will prepare us for the eternal ages.

The Holy Spirit is a down payment, the Bible says, on our greater inheritance. The Holy Spirit has come to take everything of Jesus and make Him articulate IN and THROUGH us. How we respond to the Holy Spirit with regards to the down payment is going to determine how much of our inheritance we can actually live in. He that is faithful over LITTLE – in the here and now – can be faith in MUCH – in the eternal ages.

God is preparing us to live with Him forever. That is the bottom line. Eternal life, holiness, sanctification, service, and Christian character – all of these come back to that. Christ is already in us. How are we getting along with Him NOW?

The Good News - Home