The Spirit of Christ
Today’s Focus: Maturation: Culture of Religion vs. Culture of Son
Scripture: John 14:12; Galatians 4:19
Greetings Kingdom Citizens
Depending upon which culture you live under, you maturation is directly affected. In the religious culture, maturation is said to be achieved after death. Now this is consistent with this culture view of the Kingdom and House of God. This culture does not speak of a present Kingdom and House in the Earth but speaks of it in the future tense upon the return of the Lord. If this is all to happen after death and upon the return of the Lord what do you do until then? Do we just suffer and pray the Lord returns to take us up out of here? The culture of religion is predicated on going to heaven or God taking us out of here to escape life’s problems. This culture is where a lot of people are and God is raising and maturing a culture that demonstrates the power and culture of Heaven on Earth. What do we think the ministry of Jesus on Earth was all about? Religion says to save your souls so you can go to Heaven. The culture of the Son says something completely different.
The culture of the Son is all about maturity. The atmosphere of that culture is to help others grow in Christ so that they reach their designed potential in Christ. This means we are destined for maturation. We are designed to forgive. We are designed to overcome the world. We are designed to receive the inheritance from the Father. What is sad is many people never mature and if you do not mature then you are very limited to almost to no use in the House of God because God will not entrust the true riches of the Kingdom to a immature child. You are no more than a slave or servant in your Father’s House if you do not mature. I know that seems harsh but let’s look at scripture.
Galatians 4:1,2: Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Do we see this? The child must be taught (tutors and governors) and when the child matures and the father knows He can trust them with the inheritance, the father will give the son, mature son, the inheritance to continue to distribute. We as the sons of God have an inheritance from the Father and the Father will give it to us to distribute it once we come into maturity. This is why God gives us spiritual fathers to bring us into maturity.
A true spiritual fathers desire to mature sons because they want their sons to go beyond the place where they have gone. This is called building the House multi-generationally. Jesus believed in this.
John 14:12: Verily, verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
So Jesus is telling us that greater works shall those who come after Him do. Does that make us greater than Jesus? Absolutely no! He is the source of the power and authority we operate in. But what we are doing is maturing the Body of Christ and so we are to be progressing to prepare the Body for the return of the Lord. Look at this scripture:
Galatians 4:19: My little children, of whom I travail in birth again UNTIL CHRIST BE FORMED IN YOU.
Now if you have been born again, do you not possess Christ? Absolutely so what is this forming that must happen in you. Paul is speaking about maturing to the full stature of Christ. In other words, he is speaking of maturing the child to an adult in Christ to handle the gifts of the Spirit. This maturing of the Body of Christ has a name. It is discipleship. In the next message we will look discipleship and correlate it to the religious culture and the culture of the Son.
Peace, Love and Grace from the Father,
Calvin Calhoun, Jr.
