Six Godly aims of effective Christian Churches Part 2/3

Aim 1. To show your love for the Lord. (Our Commitment to God).

Aim 2. To produce mature & stable believers. (Our Commitment to God).

The first pair of aims #1 and #2 are to show our love for the Lord and to produce stable and mature Christians. These  show our real  commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. And that comes tops. That is the first thing. Remember, please, that  we are here for His pleasure. We are here to love Him. We are here to worship him. We are here to adore Him. The head is here to receive from the body all that it ought to receive. Our primary function is that of our first commitment to God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

Explanation of the priorities [God-Church-World]  of the Aims

You will notice in the Bible  that this is the order [God-Church-World] that is given in many places. In John 15 where Jesus spoke about the vine, he said I am the vine. If you read that carefully, You'll notice the first part He deals with abiding in him. It is about being in fellowship with the Lord and really having a strong relationship with him. And after he is dealt with that, he then goes on to talk about our relationships with one another. And then having dealt with our relationships with an another, he then finally goes on to the testimony to the world.

[God]  John 15:4 KJV Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

[Church] John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

[World] John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

Correct priority order in Colossians

Do you know the first half of the book of Colossians is all about with the person of Christ? It is how glorious he is, how wonderful he is, you know, how everything centred in him, how all our vision has got to be of Him. It goes right through into chapter 3:1  says if you then be risen with Christ, seek those things that are above, get occupied up there. Do not get occupied down here.

He is the head of the body, the church who is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in all things he might have the pre-eminence. In all things, He has got to have the pre-eminence in everything. Jesus has got to come first. In everything in our lives, He's got to be the first one. He has got to be considered before anyone else.

in Colossians 3:12 that you start dealing with our relationships with one another : Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering for bearing one another, forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against you, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And what he is saying is in our relationships with one another think about Christ and when you see how Christ works so it will look influence your life .

Then finally in Colossians 4.:3-5, you get testimony to the world. The order here [GOD-Church-World] is in the correct order of priority.

[God] Colossians 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

[Church] Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another…

[World] Colossians 4:3 meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, 4that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.

 A similar order can also be found in Ephesians.

Q. How do we know the correct order of our aims ?

 A. We find it in various scriptures.

First and greatest commandment is about how we ought to love the Lord God with our whole beings.

Matthew 22:37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

The Shorter Westminster Catechism below shows the chief aim of humankind, which is to glorify God. He is our number one priority.

                        Westminster shorter catechism:

Q1. What is the chief end of man?

A1. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.

Amen

Personal Prayer

In Part 3 we discover two catalysts for Christian maturity.

Acknowledgement

This study is a modified version from the following bible studies.

Roger Price Fellowship Life Series Aims and Vision TaFLS 05.

Roger Price  Special Topics Series   Christian Maturity  STS 141.