Ephesians 3:
20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
Acts 4:
11 This Jesus is the stone which was despised and rejected by you, the builders, but which became the [a]chief Cornerstone.
1 Corinthians 10:
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God
Whenever a building was constructed in Jesus’s time, the chief cornerstone was the first stone to be placed and not only that every other block was placed in reference to this stone. It anchored the walls together, preventing the building from collapse.
For those who are called to build, if our interactions with (and ministry to) God’s people is not centered on them aligning with Christ and His purposes for their lives, it is futile and has no eternal significance. We are then building in vain and whatever we build (regardless of how hard we have toiled or greatly sacrificed) is of no value from God’s perspective! Every decision we take, every ministry venture, everything we do, must be done with the intent of leading people to Christ or helping them on the journey to become more Christ like.
People’s lives need to fit into Christ, not the other way around. A person needs to be led in such a way that at some point in his life’s journey, his life perfectly and completely comes under the Lordship of Jesus. The moment that happens, Christ can manifest powerfully through every area of that person’s life as He intends, edifying His body and bringing light to those on the outside. If one surrendered person can bring in such a powerful change, imagine the impact if a collective group of people are led to that place of total submission in Christ.
Today, much of what is preached and taught in the church focuses only on temporal and lacks eternal significance. God certainly cares greatly about every detail in our natural lives. While on this earth, Jesus went everywhere meeting people’s physical and emotional needs, and there is nothing wrong in ministering to people in their need. However, we must remember that Jesus also called those who were blessed by Him in the natural to walk in full surrender to Him, regardless of the cost. He wanted their focus to be on the eternal rather than on the natural. The temporal must give place to the eternal eventually.
Similarly at some point, in our journey of leading people if we aren’t leading them into experiencing the selfless love of Christ which requires one to live in the light of eternity (at all costs) and not for this world, then everything we have invested in people would be in vain.
Christ demonstrated His love constantly through good works, meeting people’s needs while teaching and preaching on spiritual truths needed to prepare them for His eternal purposes. Today, we have largely neglected the spiritual and focused mainly on natural in our preaching and teaching, and we have little fruit to show even from our good works.
We have also, knowingly and unknowingly, encouraged a belief system in which ‘christ’ fits into our agendas and interests, rather than our lives being shaped around Him. This is wrong. It is a deceptive and has its origin in a self-centered gospel. It is an affront to the One Who, because of His great love, sacrificed everything for us. The only fitting response to that love is to give Him complete Lordship of our lives—nothing less. We seek Him to know Him and then from that knowing adjust our lives according to His will and desires for us and not our own.
Today the gospel of convenience has resulted in a group of people whose lives aren’t totally surrendered to God! That is why the works of the flesh are prevalent in the church to a great extent. It has also resulted in demonic activity and deceiving spirits at work in some cases. If this is the case, how can the Spirit be present amongst us as we desire Him to be? in our individual lives, homes, gatherings and our communities.
No amount of prayer and striving for God to be manifest in our gatherings will bear fruit as Christ isn’t the reference point. He isn’t the Lord and master directing our building efforts. If we are not building a habitation for God to dwell, then were we called of Him in the first place to build? or whose kingdom have we been building?
We need to have the heart to constantly lead people into the knowledge of Christ; to know His nature and His attributes; His desires and HIS thoughts and help them in the process of transformation into the same if needed. This is what pleases the Spirit! He is there on this earth only to fulfill this job. If we aren’t acting in accordance with His will in this regard, how can He accompany us or bless our efforts with His presence?
Being fully fitted into Christ means we have completely surrendered to Him. He governs and leads us in every area of our lives, work, and service. This is our goal on this earth: to reach the place that in whatever we do, we will do it for His glory. There is also a huge difference between reaching that place and living our everyday lives under His Lordship. His call to deny ourselves, crucify the flesh, and take up our cross each day are all applicable in the context of living out our lives in obedience to Him.
Now, this can never be achieved unless we first see how Christ lived, died, and rose again for us. From eternity to His life on earth, and ultimately in His great sacrifice, ALL of His choices were made with us in mind. He placed us before Himself, lived for and gave away everything for us!
It is the basic comprehension of this love that leads a person to want to do the same in return. Now, we will never fully comprehend His love on this side of eternity (and may never will on the other side also) as the love of Christ far surpasses our understanding. However, requiring total commitment from people without helping them see the love of Christ is a futile endeavor and that which will led to bondage than liberty.
Comprehending that love calls for a corresponding response, the least of which is offering our lives in surrender. We will be rewarded on that basis in eternity. The fact that the twelve disciples will be reigning with Christ one day is because they responded to His love by drinking from His cup.
Dearly beloved, when we are perfectly fitted into Christ, it allows the Spirit to flow freely amongst us. He leads and prepares the way under His governance, so that God can manifest Himself as He wills amongst us.
Perfect harmony that results from a perfect union. It allows God to make Himself known in ways not known before. A knowledge that causes a transformation into HIS image, leading to greater degrees and depths of His revelations for all of eternity!
