SPIRITUAL FOUNDATIONS
Ephesians 4 and 5
“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
The new self, with the new mind, the one who has been forgiven by God through the atoning sacrifice of his Son, and who has received the Holy Spirit as the guarantee of his love and blessing, the Christian, must fundamentally learn to walk in truth, live lives that can contribute to the needs of people around, and relate with people positively to build them up.
In order to do this they must allow the Gospel to heal the soul and rid it of all negativeness so that forgiveness, kindness and compassion may flow from the Holy Spirit that resides within. The calling we have received is one that was established by our God who loved us while we were yet sinners, who, rather than condemn us and wipe us out, gave us his Son so as to rescue us, who continues to forgive us and deal with us in compassion and love. As the undeserving beneficiaries of his love Paul tells us that we should then let go of all “bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” and follow God’s example and walk in the way of love. In Paul’s view, this must fundamentally be the experience of every Christian.
These are the spiritual foundations for every Christian. When Paul calls on us to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received”, he followed that up with “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
Our spiritual foundations are established by the Holy Spirit within us. All the resources are within our grasp, even the motive for us to discard the “futility of godless thinking” and embrace Christ and the truth that is in Christ of forgiveness and grace are ours when we embrace the Gospel. What remains is for us to choose—flowing from the first decision to choose to follow Christ—to be kind and compassionate, and to forgive, everyday, because in Christ we have known of God’s kindness and compassion, and his forgiveness.
Most of us have been brought up to think that the basics every Christian should learn to do is worship, fellowship, prayer and bible study, and churches spend a lot of energy to make sure that the Christians in their care have opportunities to learn and practise these skills.
However, we hardly talk about sin and the effect of sin and sinful ways and attitudes on our soul. None of us are unscathed from sin as we have lived with it from young. In Paul’s view, our spiritual foundations need to be re-established and strengthened so that our lives may exude the positive power of the Holy Spirit so that we become a godly blessing to those around us. When our spiritual foundations are weak, the Holy Spirit is grieved, hindered by our refusal to choose to live godly lives.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”