Master the Bible: How to Get and Keep the Big Picture of the Bible's Story

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Mas ter the B i b l e : How to Get and Keep the B i g P i c ture of the B i b l e ’ s Stor y

Insights Growing towards maturity involves God’s working to position and place you into his family in order that you might mature in Christ, i.e., to become edified and to become fruitful, to the glory of God. • We must be born again in order to enter God’s Kingdom, which occurs when we believe that Jesus is the Christ, God’s Son. We receive the new birth by the washing and regenera tion of the Holy Spirit, who adopts us into the family of God. • The New Testament uses the analogy of physical birth and childhood to communicate the importance of spiritual parenting and spiritual maturity. God’s desire is that each of his children come to the measure of the fullness of Christ, to be fully conformed to his image in all aspects of their lives and ministries. • New converts are just like spiritual infants. They need protection, feeding, care, and affection in order to ensure that they do not backslide into the world, give in to tempta tion and sin, become trapped in doctrinal error and falsehood, or abandon the faith in the face of persecution and hardship. God has given us pastors and leaders in the church to parent us and help us mature in Christ. • A godly, Christlike disciple zealously represents Christ and his Kingdom, obeys the call of God and bases their life on the Scripture’s vision of life. They maintain a disciplined walk, hold to a believing stance, express a compelling tes timony, and fight valiantly in spiritual warfare. They share their lives in common with others, are a healing presence to the broken and hurting, and live life with a passion to multiply the Gospel to others. • Only the Holy Spirit in the context of the church can bring followers of Christ to full maturity. In discipling others, we are co-laborers with God. In the final analysis, only God can bring his own to full conformity to the beauty and power of Christ.