The Essentials of the Character of Christ by Apostle John L. Hairston It is the necessity, pursuit and ambition of every believer to exhibit the Character of Christ; it is part of the reason that the citizens of Antioch first called the disciples and followers of Jesus Christ, CHRISTIANS [Acts 11:26]. According to the Gospel of John, Chapter 1 verse 12: “But as many as received HIM [Christ Jesus], to them gave He POWER to BECOME the Sons of God…” Because we are CHOSEN in HIM before the foundation of the world [Ephesians 1:4], Apostle Paul explained to the Romans: “For whom he did FOREKNOW, He also did PREDESTINATE to BE CONFORMED to the IMAGE of HIS SON [Christ-Like]” Romans 8:29 And went on to signify Jesus Christ as “the first born of many sons [or brethren]”, because it is the ultimate objective of the believer to have their life, in all ways, look like Christ. Let us look at some essential character traits of Christ Jesus, so that we may be able to progress toward the mark of the High call on us-to conform to such conduct and character. The essentials of the Character of Christ are the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT found in Galatians 5:22-23, which are: 1. Love 2. Joy 3. Peace 4. Longsuffering 5. Gentleness 6. Goodness 7. Faith 8. Meekness 9. Faith This identifies the essentials of the Christ Character. Notice in the Word of God, we find the term “fruit”, in Galatians 5:22-23, SINGULAR, meaning that this BODY of traits comes as a UNIT. You don’t get one and not the other, you receive them all. Once you come into relationship with Christ, you receive the Spirit as well, which then works to produce in the believer the Character of Christ, in a process called Sanctification. LOVE is first, because it is PREEMINENT in the Christian character, it is the BLOOD that runs through the BODY OF CHRIST [The Church]. Read here with the intent to receive the full scope of next statement. Due to the fact that Scripture says that “God is Love” [John 4:24], and The Father Son and the Holy Ghost are one [1 John 5:7], then when the WORD [Logos] was made flesh [John 1:1-4] it was the manifestation and expression of the fullness of God’s Love for humanity; and so, His [the Son] blood is a representation of the POURING OUT OF GOD’s LOVE onto his creation. Love is the seed of all of the other traits and is most vital in the ministry of the Church, because ALL genuine services and godly miracles worked by Christ were done in an atmosphere of Love-Hear the Word of God: “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and HEALING EVERY SICKNESS and EVERY DISEASE among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, HE WAS MOVED [think motivated or inspired by] WITH COMPASSION on them…” [John 9:35] All of the services and works that can be provided by the church WITHOUT LOVE is meaningless and has no significance in the Kingdom as demonstrated in the Gospel of Matthew 7:21-23, where they will accomplish many works and miracles, but NO LOVE, and so they become the objects of rejection of the one, in whose name, they claimed to work in. To read the full article please click the link below: ihcm.thischurch.org/bgm/ And look at the left hand column...
Posted on: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 02:08:01 +0000
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