Giants of the Reformation (3)

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive… John 7.37-39

The Freedom of a Christian
Martin Luther (1483-1546)
“See, according to this rule the good things we have from God should flow from one to the other and be common to all, so that everyone should ‘put on’ his neighbor and so conduct himself toward him as if he were in the other’s place. From Christ the good things have flowed and are flowing into us. He has so ‘put on’ us and acted for us as if he had been what we are. From us they flow on to those who have need of them…”

When the righteousness which comes by faith increases who we are – that is, as we are increasingly transformed into the image of Jesus Christ – what we do will come more naturally and readily to us. We’ll still have to pray and plan for loving our neighbors as we love ourselves (Ps. 90.12, 16, 17); however, as the Spirit works within to make us willing and able to do what pleases the Father, our responses of love will become more consistent, and flow more readily from us to those in need around us. Thus filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5.18-21), we fill our Personal Mission Fields with the presence of Jesus, risen from the dead and advancing His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Let each believer make this a goal and calling of his walk with the Lord, and let pastors and leaders lead, teach, and equip the saints for overflowing lives.

Pastors must teach, pray, and set an example for their congregations in the life of “flowing” good works. How’s it going with you in this regard?

T. M. Moore

Organizing with the Spirit
The Lord Jesus is building His Church. His Word is the blueprint, His Spirit is the General Contractor, and we are all builders together of the Body of Christ. But are we doing our work God’s way, or ours? The Spirit has His ways of organizing our work, and we do well to understand as much as we can about His methods. This is the argument of Dr. Kent Miller of Michigan State University, and you can watch our Conversation with Dr. Miller, and download a free copy of his paper on the subject, “Organizing with the Spirit,” by clicking here.

The Fellowship of Ailbe is supported through the generous and faithful gifts of those who benefit from and believe in our work. Does the Lord want to use you in this way? Please look to Him in prayer over this question. You can contribute to The Fellowship of Ailbe by using the Contribute button at our website, or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452. Thank you.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.All quotations from Martin Luther, The Freedom of a Christianin John Dillenberger, ed., Martin Luther: Selections from His Writings(New York: Doubleday, 1962).