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Having the spirit of Christ

By Ejikeme Ejim
13 December 2020   |   4:09 am
Christ's disciples were first called “Christians” (“Christ-people”) at Antioch by the Gentile population, because they stood out for Christ and the people saw in them the Spirit of Christ.

Ejikeme Ejim

Text: Romans 8:1-17
Key Verse: Romans 8:9, “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” (NKJV)

Christ’s disciples were first called “Christians” (“Christ-people”) at Antioch by the Gentile population, because they stood out for Christ and the people saw in them the Spirit of Christ. One of the greatest burdens I have always had as a pastor is that I wanted to see my members being Christians indeed. I know what it means to be a Christian and I know to be a Christian means someone surrendering his life completely to Christ, Who becomes the new master.

Paul writing to his son Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:7 admonished him to discipline himself to be like Christ, “But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness.” As a child of God, you have a duty to continue to grow in the knowledge of Christ after salvation, and it is a progressive journey. 2 Peter 3:18a, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” The word “grow” means to increase, to augment. Growth is not an event; it is a process. Salvation is an event, but spiritual growth is a process.

Spiritual growth is a process of becoming more like the Lord Jesus. The Bible said Jesus grew in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52) and I also know that the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature (1 Samuel 2:26). Jesus grew in wisdom and kept growing in wisdom. I know there is room for growth, but when after 30 years, 40 years and 50 years, you don’t see that growth or you see stunted growth, it disorganises any parent. If a parent has a child who is 40 years old and the physical development of that child is just about 5 years old, let nobody tell you that the parents will be happy. They will be sad all their lives. It is the same thing with our spiritual lives; we must grow. Pentecostalism may mean noise, but Pentecostalism may also mean the Holy Spirit being inside of us, making use of us and transforming our lives day by day from glory to glory.

I fear when I look at some portion of the Scriptures and I look around and ask myself, “Do some people who call themselves believers really understand what they are doing?” When the Lord sent Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza, the question was: Do you really understand what you are reading (Acts 8:26-40)? Do we really understand what we read, even the very commonest of scriptures? One of the commonest of the scriptures is, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). Some of us have being in Christ for 20 years; some for 30 years; some for 40 years and some for 50 years, but when it gets to the new creature concept, there is a problem and you can’t see the new creature.

A child must resemble his parents and everything Jesus was not, I must not be. Jesus was not an adulterer and I cannot be. Jesus was not a liar and I cannot be. Jesus was not a thief and I cannot be. Jesus is the role model. Keep looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of your faith. Only Jesus is the real role model.

Today’s Nugget: Jesus is the real role model
Prayer: Lord help me to grow and become like Christ.
Prayer lines: 08054477940.
E-mail: servantofgod111@yahoo.com
Rev. Pastor Ejikeme Ejim, General Superintendent, Assemblies of God Nigeria.

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