“for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” – Ephesians 4:12–13
The Law Practice
In my last 2 posts, I delved into the concepts of Practicing our Faith, Testing our Faith and what realizing Spiritual Gifts often entails. In this post, I’ll try to wrap a big bow around it all. (Hey, it’s Christmas time!)
What about the idea if Practicing our Faith?
I was with a group recently discussing spiritual matters and a number of times the phrase “practicing our faith” was mentioned. I wondered about the meaning of the term. In Christian vernacular people are talking about ‘being active in their life with Christ’ or ‘applying what they believe’. But, the word practice has a bit of a double meaning in the English language.
Practice – The word’s earliest meaning was ‘to pursue or be engaged in a particular occupation, profession, skill, or art’ as in the practice of law or medicine. Later, it was recorded as meaning ‘to perform an activity or exercise a skill repeatedly or regularly in order to acquire, improve or maintain proficiency’. That is the meaning it most commonly has today.
So, when we exercise (Practice) our faith are we merely Practicing or In The Practice?
I certainly know that exercising faith is inevitably about trusting God to step out into the unknown. As detailed in my previous post, anything you decide you want to excel in requires basic elements like – studying/observing, exercising, testing and performing.
A medical student spends years studying, learning and testing to develop their knowledge and skill – practicing their craft to then become fully licensed in the “practice” of medicine.
(I once wondered as I was being sedated for surgery, how many of these surgeries had the young surgeon successfully performed? The person was in the practice as a surgeon but how much was that person still practicing? – and on me!)
But, what does that mean as a Christ-follower? If I say that I am in-practice it suggests that I am fully matured and an expert in the things of faith – the exercise of Spiritual Disciplines and of Spiritual gifts. Unfortunately, I don’t feel like I’m in a position to put up a shingle to declare “I’m Fully In Practice”.
Can you imagine as a Christ-Follower hanging up a shingle outside your home declaring: The Spiritual Practice of Dewey, Lovem and Howe? (That would be pretty cool to have that kind of confidence!)
But what about the idea that we practice to develop certain skills? Does that not relate to the things of God in the Spiritual realm – developing proficiency in spiritual disciplines and gifts?
Back To The Concept of Testing Our Faith
As I previously have stated, Testing is a critical component of Fully Exercising our faith.
James 1:2-4 – “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.:
Who’s Testing Who?
Is God testing us, or are we testing God, or . . . could we possibly be testing our own faith in God? We may look at it as us testing God to answer our prayers but the whole focus on James 1:2-4 is on the Brethren. The Brethren who:
- Falls into trials,
- Counts it joy,
- Tests their faith,
- Lets patience work,
- Then is made complete – or more like the image of Jesus.
Is it unreasonable to think that in the middle of that process, the testing referred to is about us doing the testing? Of God? No, our testing of our own faith in God. Brethren who are willing to stretch their own faith in God through trials.
My premise is that God is not doing the testing, He is pulling back to allow you to test yourself. Much like the teacher who teaches but then steps out of the classroom to allow the students to test themselves for how much they have learned. We see a great Biblical example of this in 2 Chronicles 32 where it describes that “God left him (Hezekiah) to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.” At times God stands back to let us test the extent of our true faith in God. In the Greek the word for Testing is Dokimion – that by which something is tried or proved. You try/test it to prove it.
4 T’s To becoming Fully In The Practice
I find scripture encouraging me to “Thirst” (1 Cor 12:31) for the best gifts (That which is uniquely given to each one of us), to “Test” the spirit (1 John 4:1), to “Taste” (Ps 34:8) that which is good and then to “These Things Do.” (James 1:22 & Luke 7:22-23)
The Taste Test
The imagery that comes to mind is a lab in one of the large food Corporations. The process starts with 1 ) their Desire is to satisfy their customers so, 2) they mix together ingredients that would seem to make an appetizing concoction, 3) they taste test it 4) If it is good and passes the Taste test then they Produce and distribute it. Moving from Practicing to Being In The Practice.
But, Where Can We Go to Test?
This is what I see as a major function of the “Body of Christ”, to lovingly exhort one another to greater levels of faith and experience and knowledge of the living God. 1 Thessalonians 2:11 – “as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children,”
We have many great examples of this in my church community – exhorting the study God’s written word, applying God’s word by serving one another and the community, sending, giving and praying. All this to more fully know a greater reality of God in our life and then to more powerfully have God impact the world through us. Psalm 46:10 – “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
Paul writes about the church’s role of exhortation in Colossians 1:9-11 – “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;”
The word in the Greek for Knowledge is Epignosis – precise and correct understanding and the knowledge of things ethical and divine.
Paul in his writings encourages us to grow in our faith and trust and wisdom but perhaps most importantly in our knowledge of God. Often we limit that to intellectual knowledge but I believe it may be more about knowing Him relationally that we then grow in our faith and trust and wisdom in the person we have come to Know. Good examples of this are found in Ephesians 1:17 – “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:” and later in 4:13 – “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:” How can we achieve the “fullness of Christ” if we don’t fully know Him?
Spiritual Laboratories
So, I wonder if we as a community of Christ-Followers give adequate room for testing and exploring the Spiritual Gifts God has for each of us as we seek to fully Know God?
In our community we do have several of what I would call ‘spiritual laboratories’. There are two that I participate in – a Saturday Morning Men’s Prayer Group and a Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting. Both of those meetings have been consciously designed to leave greater room for the movement of the Holy Spirit. In these meetings, while standing on the bedrock of God’s written word we exhort one another to test/stretch the practice of our faith by engaging with God to expect something beyond the limits we have set – to expect more.
We are experiencing the reality of this dynamic – the more we test the limits of our faith, and the more we practice stretching our faith, the more God shows up to reward our diligently seeking Him. We test and practice that it would become a practice.
THE Greatest of all Gifts – the Christmas Gift
A key to powerfully exercising sign gifts – What is the true desire of our heart? God knows. Is it purely to glorify God? Is it about saving the lost and building up the body of Christ? Is it too much about self? There is a purification process where God will allow you to test to see where your heart lies and how desperately you want to pursue the purposes of God and leave self behind.
In our family for Christmas there was always one major gift under the tree for each person. There were other good gifts but they all paled in comparison. There are many gifts God gives but they all pale in comparison to the gift of salvation found in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
For those other spiritual gifts their ultimately purpose is to point to the greatest gift that we celebrate this season; God with us – Jesus and his completed work of salvation to ultimately glorify the Father.
As declared in 1 Corinthians 13, while all of God’s gifts are good, they are but clanging symbols and nothingness if it is not pointing directly to the reality and truth of the power and the love of the Father – whose sole desire is to restore the lost back into His loving arms.
In this season, even as we open up and explore His wonderful gifts, may it all be to celebrate the greatest gift of God.
Tucked In and Lamps Burning 