Participating in the Sufferings of Christ

1 Peter 4:12-19 (New International Version, ©2010)

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And,

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

What are the sufferings of Christ? How can we partake of it? Why was it God's will for Him to suffer? Who is behind these sufferings?

Firstly, think of Job, the Old Testament prophet of God, who knew what suffering for God was all about.He knew God did not bring these sufferings but Satan did.Salvation is only through Christ and none other and so is eternal life. So it was a battle between Eternal Life and Eternal Death. This battle began in the Garden of Eden and now it was at the hands of Job to handle it.Satan or the Devil had been cursed by God with Eternal Death -with no return to Him. Satan who is the 'Father of unbelief' attacked Job so that he would succumb to it's unbelief. No , Job remained faithful to God till the end of the many trials of his faith in God.

James 5:10-11 (New International Version, ©2011)

Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

The partaking of these sufferings of Christ would lead to Christformation in you.The Lord Jesus Christ showed us the way.In fact,He is The Way. He suffered in the battle between Eternal Life and Eternal Death, like no one else did and emerged The Victor.There is no need for anyone to fear partaking the same sufferings of Christ because the work on the Cross is complete.We would only need to partake, that would mean, just commit your life fully to him and when the right time comes, the Glory of God will be revealed in you. The eternal Glory of God the Heavenly Father is Christformation in you. Christformation in you is the fullness of Christ formed in you. When you are filled with Him , you will be filled with the fullness of His compassion and mercy.

Satan or the Devil cannot bring life to anyone,for it can only bring death. Death itself is suffering what more, eternal death in God's Hands.

Christformation Doxa comes as a result of partaking in the sufferings of Christ our Lord.These sufferings may prune us so that we become more fruitful filled with the nature of Christ. For this we must abide in Christ. Abiding in Christ is obeying Him.
We cannot obey Him if we hate Him. We must love Him to abide in Him.We must love Him to remain in Him.Without loving and obeying Him we cannot have Christformation in us

John 15:1-10

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

There is a lack of the Fear of the Lord..

Genesis 31:42 (New International Version, ©2010)

If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.”

For Jacob, he had this choice to make,to fear his father in law, Laban, or the God of his father.Apparently, he had chosen to fear the Fear of Issac who is the God of Abraham. A lesson to learn from Jacob,if you fear mere man,you will not fear the Lord and if you fear the Lord you will not have the fear of man in you.Obviously, he had seen how his father had revered and feared his God above everything or everyone else on earth.Jacob referred to God as the 'One whom Isaac feared'.

This reminds me of God's prophet Daniel and the other three men of God too.

Daniel 3:4-6 (New International Version, ©2010)

Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

Men in power issue threats not knowing who they are opposing.They become proud in their hearts after a while and start to forget that they are opposing the same God who put them in that place of authority.This is where the Creator God of the universe steps in and puts an end to that abuse of authority.Every human being, no matter in what position of authority they are, must fear the Lord of all authorities.

Hebrews 1:1-2 (New International Version, ©2010)

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.

Colossians 1:15-17 (New International Version, ©2010)

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Daniel and his friends stood firm in their faithfulness to God with their trusts in Him and this is what happens to those who oppose the same God who had placed them in power.

Daniel 7:26-27 (New International Version, ©2010)

“‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’

When you fear the Lord, it shows Christformation in you.

Christformation in You is the Beauty from Inside

Christformation in you is the eternal beauty from inside. Do not waste your time and effort beautifying your outside, only for the appreciation of others around you.Spend your lifetime beautifying your inside.This whole lifetime wouldn't be enough for beautifying yourself inside with Christformation in you.It will require absolute obedience to the Holy Spirit who dwells inside of you.If you are the temple of the Holy Spirit,you will find the need for Christformation in you.

1 Peter 3:3-4 (New International Version, ©2010)

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

Only those who do not have Christformation in them, make a lot of unnecessary noise seeking attention from the world.Their ugliness will show in the end.There is no ugliness of nature when there is Christformation.The divine nature of Christ is the unfading Beauty of the Lord in you.But, this Beauty of The Lord must be formed in you.You must seek daily to be filled with the divine natures of Christ.

Galatians 6:7-8 (New International Version, ©2010)

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

You will please the Holy Spirit who is in you when you seek Christformation in you.You cannot please Him, if you do not seek Christformation in you.The Lord Jesus Christ had very strong words for those who advocated and did not spend their time cleaning and beautifying the inside but instead, the outside only.

Matthew 23:25-26 (New International Version, ©2010)

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

The Lord Jesus Christ was referring to Christformation in your born again spirit that will renew your mind and fill you with the mind of Christ as much as you're filled with Christ through your obedience to Him.This Christformation in your born again spirit and the soul(mind)which is now formed as the the mind of Christ in you will be clothed with the incorruptible and imperishable body which is being built at the right hand of God the Father, now. Remember,the Bride will be clothed from heaven.

We cannot fool God if we do not actively sow our lives for Christformation in us while on earth.If we had only spend our lives on the things of this world we will be answerable to Him on That Day.What we have sown with out time and effort will show in the end.We will reap accordingly.Warning: If we had sown greed and self-indulgence we will be reaping self-destruction.

Christformation in You is the Beauty from Inside

I Am With You:This Promise is Fulfilled through Christformation in you Eternally

Matthew 28:18-20 (New International Version, ©2010)

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

"I am With You" is one of God's greatest promise to those who belong to Him through Christ His beloved Son.This promise is fulfilled through Christformation in you and me.But, if you were to look diligently into the preceding sentence, this does not happen until you have been taught or learnt total obedience to the Lord and all His commandments.Obedience to the commandments of the Lord would bring about Christformation in you. The degree you obey Him in your life will decide how much Christ will be formed in you.Therefore, we cannot fool God! We can fool man but we can never fool God,saying and claiming that we are saved.The fruit of our salvation will be a life of obedience to the Lord,just as He was to the Heavenly Father on earth, even death on the cross.

I Will Have Mercy on Whom I Have Mercy, says The Lord

Romans 9:15-16 (New International Version)

Christformation will only happen in all those who are predestined for Christformation in them by the Heavenly Father. You must be an object of his mercy to have Christformation in you.An object of His wrath will never have Christformation in himself.In the end, God the Heavenly Father decides who will be filled with His beloved Son.If you have a leading of the Holy Spirit for Christ to be formed in you fully, then that leading comes from the Heavenly Father.

For he says to Moses,

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

Just exactly who are those who have God's mercy and have not was spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ in His parables.This parable has the message clearly spoken:

Matthew 25:31-46 (New International Version)

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

If you would realize why the sheep were chosen and not the goats,it was because of Christformation in them. It was their Christ-like nature in them that made the difference.

The parable was not just highlighting social service to mankind as many perceive, but,Christ-like nature formed in them.It takes Christ-like nature to respond to people like the above.Remember, They are the "least" in the eyes of the public.You may do social service to mankind but still God looks at your motives and intentions of the heart.It may look like you are doing humble service to mankind but He knows why it was done.Was it for pleasing the sinful nature to seek self glory with selfish ambition in your heart or greed for worldly things. He knows it!

Jesus Christ our Lord is The Law, The Word and The Promise of God..

Jesus Christ our Lord is the The Law, The Word and The Promise of God. All three has been fulfilled in Christ our Lord.

Colossians 1:19-20 (New International Version)

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.

The Lord Jesus Christ came to fulfill The Law,The Word and The Promise that God made from the beginning of the world.Christ Came to Fulfill the Law:

Matthew 5:17-18 (English Standard Version)

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Galatians 4:4 (English Standard Version)

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

John 1:14 (English Standard Version)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Isaiah 7:14 (New International Version)

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.

The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled all the promises of God,obeyed all of God's word and fulfilled each law found in it and He redeemed us for the same to be formed in us through Him by the power of the Holy Spirit in us.

With Christ fully formed in us, the Law, the Word and the Promise of God fills us because He is the Law of God, the Word of God and the Promise of God to us who believe in Him and love Him.