GROW IN CHRIST

InSpired

JESUS INCREASED IN FAVOUR BY GROWING SPIRITUALLY !

Jesus Christ is God from the foundation of the Eart and will remain so forever.

( John 1:1- 4 and also Col. 1:15-18)

Our LORD Jesus Christ deliberately subjected and submitted Himself to Human laws of existence though He was God in Human flesh. 

The Bible made a profound statement about our Jing forever who is also The King of the rulers of the Earth. Jesus Christ grew in physical stature as child into an adult but He grew also in spiritual stature until He attained His full potential.

"And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.'

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Luke 2:40 and 52.

And the child grew and waxed strong [in spirit], filled with wisdom, and God's grace was upon him. 

And Jesus advanced in wisdom and and stature, and in favour with God and men. (Darby)

Our LORD Jesus Christ advanced in wisdom and spiritual stature as He waxed stronger in spirit , he was filled with wisdom because God's grace was in Him.

It shows that The Saviour was given grace just as every believer received a measure of grace when such received Jesus as Saviour. 

But the Saviour did not stop at the initial.grace He received as the Son of a carpenter called Joseph. He did not stooped at the grace that enabled Him to argue the scriptures with the Teachers of the Lwa in the synagogue when His oarent was searching for Him 

Though our LORD Jesus responded to His parents with the following statements " Don't you know l must be at my Father's business after that encounter at the synagogue we did not hear of the boy called Jesus Christ until he grew up into an adult of 30years Old.

And when Jesus Christ was introduced at age 30 at the Wedding in Cana, we saw a different Jesus Christ from the boy at age 12. He had grew in statute of wisdom. When the mother came to Him to perform the miracle of the water to wine, Jesus Christ replied His mother " it's not yet my time.

There is a big contrast between The Jesus at age 12 and the Jesus Christ at age 30. The Jesus had age 30 introduced Himself to The Teacher sof The Law by challenging their doctrine. And informed His parents that He was ready to go about His Father's business.

But the Jesus at age 30 was patiently waiting for divine timing to start His ministry at the command of the Father.

This is what spiritual growth within the believer does. It brings a transformation within the Believer which conforms such to the image of Christ in the inner man. The growth Jesus experienced was in His spirit man which brought about an increase in wisdom that brought an advanvemwnt in His ministry that reflected in His relationship with God and man.

Truly, favour is unmerited but there is the favour that comes upon a Christian as a result of waxing stronger in the spirit and been filled with wisdom.

Also every believer needs to increase in favour with God and men. Though God, The Father is benevolent, kind and full of goodness, men and women will need favour to access certain aspect of the spiritual blessings that comes from Him.

Yesterday, l was at a local shop making my hair when l heard two members of Catholic Church salutations. The greeting goes thus " Glory to Jesus and honour to Mary."

It got my thinking that Mary is still honoured many generations after her death because she found favour in the sight of God. The angel's salutation to Mary was:

"And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 

TO A VIRGIN espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and THE VIRGIN'S NAME WAS MARY. 

And the angel came in unto her, and said, HAIL, THOUGH THAT ART HIGHLY FAVOURED, THE LORD IS WITH THEE: BLESSED ART THOU AMONG WOMEN. ( Luke 1:26-28)

Mary was a virgin but obviously there were other virgins in Israel even from the tribe of Judah and a direct seed of King David. Among many factors that qualified Mary; the Bible mentioned and single out Favour with God at a very high degree ' HIGHLY FAVOURED'. 

it means there are degrees of favour a man/ woman can obtain from God 

But Mary needed favour in the sight of her husband Joseph; if not Joseph would have divorced her quietly when he knew she was with a child without his input.

Therefore favour with God and men is needed by every Christian and this particular kind of favour comes as a result of spiritual growth and sternght in the inner man.

We conclude with this wonderful that every believer should offer for self.and other Believers daily.

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father [of our Lord Jesus Christ], of whom every family in [the] heavens and on earth is named, in order that he may give you according to the riches of his glory, 

TO BE STRENGTHENED WITH POWER BY HIS SPIRIT in THE INNER MAN; that the Christ may dwell, through faith, in your hearts, being rooted and founded in love,

 in order that ye may be fully able to apprehend with all the saints what [is] the breadth and length and depth and height; and to know the love of the Christ which surpasses knowledge; 

that ye may be filled [even] to all the fulness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19.

Christians need the power upon and the power within the spirit. The power upon is the one most believers possess because the power is for.service and seen easily by others. The power upon brings visible and tangible results that can be seen by others.

But the power within the Believer is the power that protects and preserves the believer; it is the power that comes by fellowship and through knowledge of Jesus Christ and the Believer has to grow to conti use to access this power within the spirit.

A.L Hephzibah.