1 John 2:6

The church community is a vital platform where disciples grow in love with God and with each other.

“whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2:6 ESV).
Having covered 2 aspects of spiritual formation, growth towards Christ-likeness and intentional process, let us explore the final three aspects of spiritual formation.

“whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2:6 ESV).

3. Empowerment: Because spiritual formation is a spiritual discipline, it cannot be exercised using one’s own effort. We need the Holy Spirit’s help to grow to Christ-likeness (see Galatians 5:22-23, the fruit of the Spirit). Oh, there’s an immense benefit when we commit to living by the Spirit; we will surely not gratify the desires of the sinful nature (Galatians 5:16-21). So let us be clear about one thing. For us to continue living the Spirit-filled life we must submit to the Holy Spirit. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.
4. Goal: The goal of spiritual formation is to fulfil God’s will for our lives and glorify God. Here lies a key principle: to know God’s will we must know God’s Word (see Romans 12:1-2). One note of caution: we often hear Christians say, “God spoke to me”, or “I heard from God”. Now don’t get me wrong; I know that our living God speaks to us. But we must not presume that what we are hearing comes from the Lord. Instead we exercise care by verifying that what we are hearing is from God. How do we do that? First, check it against God’s Word (Acts 17:11). Second, seek godly counsel.
5. Community: God is a relational and communal God. One defining feature of Christianity is the Holy Trinity- Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the oneness the Holy Trinity display. As a church we too are to display that oneness (see John 17:21-24).

The church community is a vital platform where disciples grow in love with God and with each other. and be like Christ. Jesus demonstrated that He not only discipled one-on-one, He also discipled within a community.

In his book, ‘Cultivating The Inner Life’, Pastor Edmund Chan highlighted that the aspect of community is quietly overlooked, stating that the church is often divided because of fractured relationships and neglect. May I add that this division is also caused by the disciples’ lack of godly love, submission and accountability. If I may say so, the more spiritually mature the people are, the more united the church will become.
Growth, process, empowerment, goal, and community. Will you rise up to the challenge by committing to the practice of the spiritual formation, which is the heart of discipleship? Shalom!