Focus: Heartbeat of God

Text: Col.1:28

"Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may PRESENT every man PERFECT in Christ Jesus."

God's heartbeat is the perfection of the saints. God longs for His people to be like Him. God wants us to be holy because He is holy. At the new birth God imparts to us His holy nature. From the point of our spiritual rebirth we become partakers of His divine nature. In fact, we are re-gene-d in Christ. Internally, we possess the gene and DNA of Christ. Externally, God wants us to be conformed to the image of Christ. In Rom.12:2, we are told not to be CONFORMED to the world, and the word 'conformed' means an outward form that is radically different from our divine nature or identity. It is appearing unreal or being something on the outside that is not true of us on the inside. The Greek word is 'suschematizo'. In Rom.8:29, God has predestined for us to be CONFORMED to the image of His Son. The word 'conformed' here is 'surmorphos' in the Greek. It means 'same form as.' God is producing in us the same form as Christ has. John says, "Because as he is, so are we in this world" (1Jh.4:17). Again, John says, "But we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be LIKE him; for we shall see him as he is" (1Jh.3:2). We are Christ's lookalike. We shall, on the day of His appearing, look exactly like Him. It's going to be a spotless resemblance.

Paul is sharing the same sentiment with God. God's heart beats in him. He writes to the Galatian church, "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be FORMED in you" (Gal.4:19). All that Paul wants is to make sure that God's people have the shape of Christ manifesting on them, and that the world gets to see Christ in us everywhere.

*Involved individuals

Paul is passionate about what God is passionate about. He is preaching, teaching and warning every man so that he might present everyone perfect or mature in Christ. In 2Cor.11:2, Paul says, "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may PRESENT you as a CHASTE VIRGIN to Christ." He moves from 'perfect' to 'chaste virgin.' He is wanting what God wants and doing something about it.

Another person burning with God's passion is Epaphras. Paul says of him, "Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may STAND PERFECT and COMPLETE in all the will of God" (Col.4:12). God wants us mature and fully developed in Christ, and Epaphras is laboring in prayer to that effect.

*Involve yourself

Paul is calling on us, personally and corporately, to make earnest effort in realizing God's heartbeat. He says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye PRESENT your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Rom.12:1). Paul and others are doing their own bit; do your own. Show the same interest and get involved. God is calling us to holy worldliness - a worldliness which is untainted by sin.

*Involved Christ

Paul tells us that Christ has already reconciled us "in the body of his flesh through death, to PRESENT you HOLY and UNBLAMEABLE and UNREPROVEABLE in his sight" (Col.1:22). From 'perfect' to 'chaste virgin,' and now to 'holy, unblameable and unreproveable.'

*Involved to the end

Paul says Christ sacrificed himself for his church "that he might PRESENT it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Eph.5:27). Christ will not relent in His involvement with us until He finally presents us to Himself - pure and polished. Jude exclaims, "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to PRESENT [you] FAULTLESS before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 1:24).

Beloved, do your own; God is already doing His own just for you. Make effort; work at it. Make God's heartbeat your own.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter