The shared life.

[episkopos]

Then how do you define a "shared life"?

A family. I find that the church is never as close as even unregenerate family in the flesh.

Jesus said HIS mother, brothe,r and sisters ...are those who do the will of God.

We are NOT like our Master in this at all.

[Michae]

I agree on how hard it is to overcome the scars we receive both before AND after we come to Christ.

But the issue keeps getting flushed...because it is seen as too difficult.

But how else can we grow into the love and unity we are supposed to exhibit as the Body of Christ in the world?

We start out as babes in Christ and the Lord bless's everything we do and we have that mountain top experience but in time that stops. The Lord will always take care of us he is our Father but in time we will be challenged to grow up. Most will have to keep going through the sames situations over and over until they can yield to the Holy Spirit to teach them.

Sometimes he will use the world or relationships or any number of things to bring us around to open up, its a tuff road to get to where we can yield. We dont come easily we will come fighting all that God is doing in our lives.

He deals with each of us according to our understanding but the final out come is the same. What I have learned is what he is doing in and with us doesnt come in the package I thought it would come. Basically what he is doing in everything that goes on in our lives is to reveal his Son Christ in us. The same revelation Paul had and preached. He preached a person the gospel is a person, that is what he is doing in us its a deep spirit thing to see Christ who is our only life. We have no life of our own, we have one life and that life is the Christ life.

[Vhayes]

A family. I find that the church is never as close as even unregenerate family in the flesh.

Jesus said HIS mother, brothe,r and sisters ...are those who do the will of God.

We are NOT like our Master in this at all.

Ok - but what does that "look" like in the modern world? If we care for as well as about our spiritual brothers and sisters, laugh with them, weep with them, comfort them and all else - what more do you feel we should do?

[episkopos]

Ok - but what does that "look" like in the modern world? If we care for as well as about our spiritual brothers and sisters, laugh with them, weep with them, comfort them and all else - what more do you feel we should do?

The early disciples broke bread from house to house on a daily basis. Daily prayer, daily meals, daily accountabiblity to one another.

[RabbiKnife]

And why the assumption that Christians today don't?

And while we are at it, why the assumption that all believers every did every day, when Scripture simply doesn't teach that? Talk about building an entire doctrine on one phrase of one verse of one chapter of one book of the entire bible.

[Vhayes]

The early disciples broke bread from house to house on a daily basis. Daily prayer, daily meals, daily accountabiblity to one another.

So - in your mind/Christian model/perfect world Christians living in the same town would gather at the end of the work day and fix a communal meals, share the evening and then go home to sleep and start again the next day?

[Vhayes]

We start out as babes in Christ and the Lord bless's everything we do and we have that mountain top experience but in time that stops. The Lord will always take care of us he is our Father but in time we will be challenged to grow up. Most will have to keep going through the sames situations over and over until they can yield to the Holy Spirit to teach them.

Sometimes he will use the world or relationships or any number of things to bring us around to open up, its a tuff road to get to where we can yield. We dont come easily we will come fighting all that God is doing in our lives.

He deals with each of us according to our understanding but the final out come is the same. What I have learned is what he is doing in and with us doesnt come in the package I thought it would come. Basically what he is doing in everything that goes on in our lives is to reveal his Son Christ in us. The same revelation Paul had and preached. He preached a person the gospel is a person, that is what he is doing in us its a deep spirit thing to see Christ who is our only life. We have no life of our own, we have one life and that life is the Christ life.

You have a really good handle on it! Great post.
V

[Michae]

So - in your mind/Christian model/perfect world Christians living in the same town would gather at the end of the work day and fix a communal meals, share the evening and then go home to sleep and start again the next day?

Could be Epis that you are hungering for the things of God and nothing else will satisfy you. Not a bad place to be but it is usually brought on by frustration. Frustration isnt a bad thing either matter of fact its a God thing to keep us moving and searching for that all satisfying life of Christ, at that point nothing else will do.

Sounds like you are looking for the pure fellowship of likeminded believers. That happens when we have fixed in us the deep understanding of who we are in Christ. There are many many believers today that have that kind of Spirit teaching and training.

Until we have that kind of teaching we can be standing next to them and not even know it. Those that move on in the Lord find each other, they have such a hungry for the truth of God and pure fellowship they will cross paths. They dont fellowship based on what they believe but in whom they have believed and that takes Spirit taught knowledge which is revelation.

[episkopos]

So - in your mind/Christian model/perfect world Christians living in the same town would gather at the end of the work day and fix a communal meals, share the evening and then go home to sleep and start again the next day?

Perhaps! Maybe even work together at the same occupation. Whatever disciples do! The Lord would work out the details...but are we willing to lose all?

[Dani H]

There's no "losing all" to gain Christ. That's nowhere in the Bible.

Per Scripture, there's giving willingly and counting it all loss because we realize how awesome Jesus is, and so we gladly and in free will as an offering of gratitude give back. Jesus isn't going to twist our arms and pry anything from our clenched fists.

I know this because I already gave all in reality. Whatever He asks, it's His. Because I LOVE HIM, and I WANT to do it. Because He FIRST LOVED ME.

We're not victims, we're conquerors. Jesus is no victim. He didn't lose His life; He willingly laid it down. What's there to do in response, once we realize how awesome a salvation we've been given, but to give it all back?

[episkopos]

There's no "losing all" to gain Christ. That's nowhere in the Bible.

Per Scripture, there's giving willingly and counting it all loss because we realize how awesome Jesus is, and so we gladly and in free will as an offering of gratitude give back. Jesus isn't going to twist our arms and pry anything from our clenched fists.

I know this because I already gave all in reality. Whatever He asks, it's His. Because I LOVE HIM, and I WANT to do it. Because He FIRST LOVED ME.

We're not victims, we're conquerors. Jesus is no victim. He didn't lose His life; He willingly laid it down. What's there to do in response, once we realize how awesome a salvation we've been given, but to give it all back?

Dani...what do you make of these...

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,

He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”

[Dani H]

"Count all things loss" means in today's English:

"These things don't mean anything to me compared to Jesus."

That's what "count loss" means.

Paul basically realized the true value of Jesus in his life, and so he looked back at everything he thought he "gave up" and realized how worthless it all was, really, comparatively speaking.

God gives us worth. People's love ... sure it provides us some value. But God's love ... that's the true treasure, the treasure that's worth infinity. Because His love elevates us to our true place. We realize what we thought was "life" before we knew Christ ... was a piece of dirty glass in comparison to the true diamond.

Perspective.

Radically transformed by realizing truth from where God sits. Having our eyes opened from "I used to be blind, but now I see, and I finally understand."

[episkopos]

"Count all things loss" means in today's English:

"These things don't mean anything to me compared to Jesus."

That's what "count loss" means.

Paul basically realized the true value of Jesus in his life, and so he looked back at everything he thought he "gave up" and realized how worthless it all was, really, comparatively speaking.

God gives us worth. People's love ... sure it provides us some value. But God's love ... that's the true treasure, the treasure that's worth infinity. Because His love elevates us to our true place. We realize what we thought was "life" before we knew Christ ... was a piece of dirty glass in comparison to the true diamond.

Perspective.

Radically transformed by realizing truth from where God sits. Having our eyes opened from "I used to be blind, but now I see, and I finally understand."

I posted what you said was not there. It is there and we will be tested on it. God will not take us to place we are not willing to go. I think we short-circuit God's ways by saying to ourselves...that we have done enough.
How does what you shared reflect on living a shared life where we see God's house is as important (or more so) than our own?

[Dani H]

It's not about doing.

It's about redemption and salvation by grace, by getting something we cannot possibly earn, ever, no matter what we do.

Redemption is about buying something back. Redeem literally means "to buy back". That means you pay for something what it's worth. If you redeem a coupon, then whatever monitary value is stamped on that coupon, is what you get.

How much is your life worth, episkopos? How much is my life worth?

To God, it's worth the death of Jesus, His Son, equal with Him, part of the Godhead.

You and I, we're worth God's own life. Not because we earned it. But because God Himself has declared it to be so, because of the fact that He Himself created us, in His own image.

Sin devalues us. Sin creeps in and all of a sudden, we see ourselves and other people as far less than how God sees us. That's why murder is so heinous, because it reduces the value of human life to zero.

The Gospel is good news, episkopos, not bad news or hard news!

It's God telling us what we're worth to Him, what He paid for us, and to call us back to our true state of fellowship and oneness with Him, to our rightful place. It redeems us from sin's curse and all those things that stand in the way of us and God.

We want to somehow earn it, but love is freely given, or it's not love but some cheap copy that is ... nothing, honestly, no matter what we want to call it. Love, real love, God's love toward another person happens when we realize their true worth before God, and so then that's what they must also be worth to us, and so then that is how we treat them, no matter what nationality or age or creed or belief or whatever their background. We're all, every one of us, of equal value to God, worth the life of Jesus Himself.

If you don't know that, then I invite you today, to know and understand and realize it. You are worth everything to God. You are worth His own life!

So then, my most valuable possession that I can possibly offer to the Lord, is me. That's it. Not my money. Not my house or my bank account or anything material I have because that's all temporary. Just me. That's all He wants. That's who He died for. While I was still a sinner and didn't care anything for Him and treated other people badly because I didn't realize their worth, nor my own.

What will a man give in exchange for his soul, episkopos?

Nothing. You can't. There's nothing that exists apart from you that's of any sort of value to God.

Once we realize that, and once we receive our salvation and accept it, then the works happen because we love God back.

What works?

To treat others the way God treats us. To love them like He loves us. To see their value like He sees it. That's the true test. Because fire burns dross and the things of no value, so that when the test is over, what remains, are things of eternal value. That's the point of testing. So that what can be shaken, is shaken, and so that what is dead and lifeless and useless, gets removed. When the dross is burned off, what you're left with, is the refined gold.

Understanding this, is worth losing everything over. To be reduced to nothing, where it's just you and Jesus, that's when you realize He's worth everything, and you're worth everything to Him. That's when you realize what your true life is made of, and that it's in Him, springs from Him, is there because of Him, empowered by Him, and that as long as you have Jesus, you have everything. Then you go share Him with others, which should be a joyful thing, a happy thing, because you're sharing the most valued possession you have. And because you're adopted as a son, now you have brothers and sisters who have the same thing you do, and you come together over that and celebrate it and encourage each other in it and worship God together. That's what communion is all about. Because our life was bought with His own life blood and our healing was purchased with His broken body, and so we commemorate that until He comes back and continuously remind ourselves of these truths because from them, everything else springs. Together, in this eternal covenant with our God and with one another, that's the true shared life.

That's the Gospel, and that's what makes it good news.

[lovex]

Amen Dani! You have just spoken the Gospel.