Upon your conversion as a follower of Christ enters God’s “School,” it’s totally opposite of the “School of the Old life,” they lived before Christ. They have turned to God in repentance and placed their trust exclusively in the Person, merit, work, promises of the LORD Jesus Christ, and “class” begins as His student! They trade in self-will for God’s will, Sin for His righteousness. Self-reliance for God dependency. Self-exaltation for God exaltation, living for self to living to Glorify God… It is radically different and it begins from the Inside out!

A Heart change. a complete u-turn from living for self as the end to bowing in loving and grateful submission to the Savior…. they have a NEW STANDING with God- Romans 5:1-2 teaches- a perfect standing….and “School Begins.”

…A Heart change. a complete u-turn from living for self as the end to bowing in loving and grateful submission to the Savior…. and “School Begins.”

Though the Standing is PERFECT the life change in character in Christlikeness is PROGRESSIVE;. It is not a life of perfection but a new direction…Sanctification- God working IN us to conform us to the image of Christ in our Thinking, speaking, attitudes, and actions… it is a lifetime work of the Holy Spirit working IN US. It is not a life of perfection but a new direction…Sanctification- God working IN us to conform us to the image of Christ in our Thinking, speaking, attitudes, and actions… it is a lifetime work of the Holy Spirit working IN US.

Through the STANDING with God based on the Work of Christ is perfect, we remain imperfect in ourselves and so the Holy Spirit begins to work IN us to change us, not that we be or earn acceptance by GOD but BECAUSE WE ARE ACCEPTED BY HIM! “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work IN you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”-{Phil 1:6}-“for it is God who works IN YOU to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”-{Phil 2:13 nlt}

  • Paul put it this way, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.”-{Phil 3:12-16.

GOD’S SUPPLIES;

Let’s look at some of the means GOD SUPPLIES in His school, for the student to be “successful.” Not success as the old lifestyle or those who are without Christ would term success, but success in God’s view, for example, Read Joshua 1:8. and that “Christ might be formed in you.”-{Gal 4:19}.

A student going to school needs “Supplies,” of various kinds to help them with the process of learning… so for our Spiritual learning and maturity God “Supplies” us with what we need to help us mature spiritually.

So LET’S Look at some of God’s “SUPPLIES “for you…

1-HE SUPPLIES -THE WORD OF GOD;

God has given us The Bible as our Guide to inform, transform us, and to learn about and know God increasingly more and more, His will, and ways. It is reliable, trustworthy, eternal, perfect, living, solid foundation to build your life upon! -{Read Psalm 139:7-13; Psalm 119:105; Matt 7:24; Rom 12:1-3}

2.- HE SUPPLIES – THE SPIRIT OF GOD;

The Holy Spirit is our primary Teacher to indwell us, inform us, transform us, conform us, and empower us. -{ John 14:26; Gal 5:22-23; Eph 3:14-19; Phil 2:13}

3.- HE SUPPLIES -TESTS; Trials are our Tests in His “School.”

There are Tests, and they often come unexpectedly of various types, and severities, some are short others are long. They end only when He takes us Home. They come not to trip us up but to build us up in our faith to know Him better, depend on Him more and less on ourselves, and to build spiritual stamina to endure so as to be about His business. Trials are designed and GOD always watches over each one, Trials are to be expected! They are inevitable. -{James 1:2}. Sometimes heart-wrenching, and distressing, sometimes they are small and they EXPOSE to us attitudes, and irritations in us that God wants to change OUT of us. {Eph 4:31-32; 1 Peter 2:1-3}.

The more we respond rightly by applying the Scriptures to our thinking, motivation, and doing in our circumstances the more trials will work to benefit us in strengthening and maturing us in our faith in Him! -{ James 1:2-4}.

The TEST reveals the condition of our heart very often, and our need to change, to become more like the LORD Jesus. When we are saved we enter into a “New” relationship, a “New” position, but though we have a New Perfect standing with God we have to grow in our understanding of our Position of all we have “In Christ,” and though our standing is PERFECT our PRACTICE is not, and this is where God begins this work of changing us from the inside out {sanctification} to make us more like His Son in our Thinking- {Romans 12:1-2.} Motivation – {1 Cor 10:31} our Doing- {James 1:22}. And it is a lifelong process.

He SUPPLIES the ANSWERS to the TESTS in His Word so that when the test comes we will know what He wants for us to do, by responding appropriately through His grace by His Spirit. Do we always? No. But we can look and see why not and often come to the realization we have chosen self and sin over the Savior or leaned to our own understanding and not upon Him and His gifts of The Word of God, The Spirit of God, and applying by faith His Word. But if we are not in His Word, how will we know how to respond or have the STRENGTH of the Scriptures by which the Spirit can remind us to guide, encourage, warn, and enable us with?

The Word of God and the Spirit of God go hand in hand! -{Read Prov 3:5-6; 2 Cor 12:9-10; Phil 2:13; Col 3:16}.

  • TESTS come not to DESTROY us but that Christ might be DISPLAYED TO us, through being DEVELOPED IN us and TO us and THROUGH us. -{John 6:1-6; Gal 4:19; 1 Peter 3:15; Gal 5:22-23}

You are in His “School.” And like a child that enters kindergarten is not a fully mature student, neither are we nor will we be until we see Him and be changed to be like Him!-{1 John 3:2}. But in the meantime, we press on to know, honor and love Him more and more. And we know based on His Word that God has given us…

  • HE SUPPLIES – HIS WORD,- His “magnificent promises,”
  • HE SUPPLIES – HIS SPIRIT to empower us -{2 Peter 1:3-4} and His Sufficient Grace,-{2 Cor 12:8}
  • To SUPPLY us for our TESTS in this Life.

4.- GRADUATION DAY;

Everybody graduates from the School of Christ when He calls us Home into His presence, ” … Absent from the Body and to be Present with the LORD ” -{2 Cor 5:8}. And only then is… “School out!” -{ John 17:24; Phil 1:21,23} –

  1. If you take a little time and read the verses the Holy Spirit can encourage you as you read and apply.

God bless

Aidan.