God’s desire is not only that He would save man from eternal perdition, but that man would be filled with Christ and even become Christ to express God in full.
For this, God regenerates us with His life when we repent and believe into the Lord Jesus. Then, He grows in us and expands in us, until Christ lives in us. Gradually, as we enjoy Christ and we are being transformed, Christ is being formed in us. As we let Christ make His home in our heart, He is then manifested through us.
Finally, we all will arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of God, at the full stature of Christ. Step by step and day by day, Christ is growing in us. Slowly but surely, He is bringing us on to maturity.
However, we need to realize that being full of the stature of Christ is not an individual matter but a corporate matter – we ALL arrive together at the full stature of Christ. Our spirituality and growth in life should not be individualistic but in the Body.
As the Lord takes us through things that will help us deal with our flesh, our natural man, and our self, we will no longer be individualistic Christians – our whole Christian life will be in the Body. We will realize that without the Body of Christ it is not possible for us to be a Christian.
This is what God desires – that we would all arrive at the full measure of the stature of Christ, at a full-grown man that is corporate and fulfills God’s purpose. The maturity of the Christian life takes place in the Body, and we cannot attain full maturity by ourselves without the Body.
We need to desire and ask the Lord to grow in us – for the Body of Christ! We aspire to be matured – for and in and with the Body of Christ!
Five Steps of the Growth of the Stature of Christ in us
We can generally divide the growth of the stature of Christ within us (both according to our experience and according to the Bible) in five main steps.
- Christ enters into us to become our life – we are regenerated (see John 1:12-13; 3:15; 1 John 5:11-12; Col. 3:4). This is the initial stage, and every genuine believer in Christ has the divine life of God in Him. Unfortunately, many dear believers stop here, in the initial stage, being content with merely being saved from the eternal perdition…
- Christ lives in us and grows in us (see Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:15). Every seeking believer is in the process of letting Christ grow in him and living Christ. Christ is not only in us but He also lives in us, and we are having the experience of no longer I, but Christ who lives in me.
- Christ is formed in us (Gal. 4:19). Paul travailed that Christ would be formed in the Galatian believers. There’s much pain and suffering involved. How about us? Where is Christ in us? How much is Christ formed in us? How much is Christ formed in the saints we meet with and care for?
- Christ makes His home in us and is manifested through us (see Eph. 3:17; Phil. 1:20-21). Generally speaking, this is quite a rare experience among the believers. But we need to let Christ make His home deep down in every part of our heart, in our mind, emotion, will, and every part of our spirit. When he is comfortable in our heart, He will be manifested through us, and for me to live will be Christ!
- We are full of the stature of Christ and arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 3:19; 1:4-5). The result of Christ entering into us, living in us, being formed in us, making His home in us, and being manifested through us is that we together are full of the stature of Christ and we all arrive at the measure of the stature of Christ. This is the climax of our salvation and Christian life!
This should be our Christian life and experience – letting Christ expand in us and increase in every part of our being so that He can make His home in us and be formed in us, with the result that we will have the measure of the stature of the fullness Christ. We are today in this process of growing in life, allowing Christ to spread into every part of our being and fill us with Himself, and being conformed to His image.
From eternity God intended that man would be filled with Christ to express God corporately, and now we as believers in Christ have Christ growing in us, being formed in us, living in us, making His home in us, and being manifested through us. We need to grow unto maturity and aspire to arrive at the measure of the stature of Christ, at a full-grown man!
Being Full of the Stature of Christ is a Corporate Matter – only in the Body!
No Christian by himself can arrive at the full stature of Christ, no matter how mature or spiritual he is. We cannot attain this stage individually – this experience can be gained only in the Body of Christ.
Actually, if we experience the brokenness of the flesh and the natural constitution, we will automatically see the Body of Christ and depend on the Body for everything. From that point on, we will realize that our entire Christian life should be in the Body, and even touching the Lord and living in Him is in the Body.
If we are detached from the Body of Christ, we are not a real Christian; conversely, our spiritual life is growing unto maturity only in the Body.
In Eph. 4:13 we see that “we all arrive”, and in Eph. 3:18 we can apprehend all the dimensions of Christ only together with all the saints. The stature of the fullness of Christ and the unsearchable dimensions of Christ can be experienced by us only in the Body and with the saints.
The maturity of our Christian life is in the Body – we can’t be “matured individually”. Yes, we grow individually, and we need to personally let Christ grow in us and make His home in our heart. However, our growth in life is in the Body and for the Body, and our arriving to maturity is a Body matter.
It is impossible to “grow unto maturity by yourself” – if you try to, it would be abnormal, grotesque, and anti-Body. We all need to be brought to maturity together, and we need to stay in the Body, grow in the Body, and arrive to the full stature of Christ with the Body!
It is in the Body that we can apprehend with all the saints what the universal dimensions of Christ are, and it is in the Body that we all arrive – together with all the saints – to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. We need to tell the Lord,
Lord Jesus, grow in me for the Body. Lord, I would like to grow with the Body and in the Body. Grow in us all unto maturity until we all arrive at the full stature of Christ. Lord, we pray for all Your believers, those who have Your divine life – cause us all to grow in life! Let us all be brought on to maturity! Save us from remaining infants or immature. We want You to be formed in us and be manifested through us. Lord, make Your home in us and spread into every part of our being! Hallelujah, we all are in the process of arriving a the full stature of Christ in the Body!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Minoru Chan’s speaking in the message for this week, and portions from, The Experience of Life (pp. 373-375), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Entering into the Fourth Stage of the Experience of Life to Arrive at a Full-Grown Man for the Fulfillment of God’s Purpose, week 6/ msg 6, The Fourth Stage of the Experience of Life (5) – Full of the Stature of Christ.
- Further reading: recommending ch. 3 in, The Building up of the Body of Christ, and ch. 11 in, Knowing Life and the Church (both by Witness Lee).
- Hymns on this topic:
# Growing, growing, in us He is growing, / More and more each day. / Into all our living He is flowing— / This is now His way. / For growth, O Lord, we pray; / Increase in us each day. / It’s not enough to know; / Now Thy life in us must grow.
# He transforms, all sanctifying, / Till like Him we are matured; / He transforms, our soul possessing, / Till His stature is secured. / Lord, transform us to Thine image / In emotion, mind, and will; / Saturate us with Thy Spirit, / All our being wholly fill.
# Jesus is getting us together, / Come and see the saints in one accord. / His love is knitting us together, / To the stature of the fullness of the Lord. / Thus with all saints we can apprehend / All the vast dimensions of God. / Knowing Christ’s love passes all we know, / We’re together filled to fullness with our God.
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