Book 4 of Musings That Which Is Perfect

The ministries and gifts of the Spirit serve until perfection comes.

The ministries and gifts are as temporary scaffolding which serve to bring us to the perfection of the love of Christ, which is eternal.

The Apostle Paul prayed for the saints in Ephesus that they would be filled with God. The following passage describes what is meant by "when perfection comes."

For this reason I kneel before the Father, From whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, May have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, And to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19)

The perfection God is seeking for each saint is Christ: Christ formed in us; Christ dwelling in us; Christ with us, guiding us in all that we do.

We are to stand in relation to Christ as He stands in relation to the Father. We are to live by Him as He lives by the Father. Just as Christ thought, did, and said nothing of Himself but only as the Father expressed Himself in Christ, so we are to think, do, and say nothing of ourselves but only as Christ expresses Himself in us and through us.

Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. (John 6:57)

The Apostle Paul told us about the gifts and ministries that the Spirit of God gives to each member of the Body of Christ. Then Paul told us about the fullness of God's intention, which is that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith; that we may be rooted and established in love; that we may grasp the depths of the love of Christ; that we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

I think sometimes when we read "Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith" we conclude that we merely are to believe Christ dwells in our heart. This is not what Paul meant. Paul is saying as we press forward in faith, choosing to live in dependence on Christ instead of dependence on our own experience, talents, and strength, Christ is formed in us. Christ actually is formed in us; and the love of God which is in Christ is formed in us.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Thus Paul pointed out that the gifts and ministries are temporary. They are scaffolding as the all-important love of God is formed in us. When the structure of love has been fully built in us, then we will have no more need of the gifts and ministries of the Spirit. They have fulfilled their purpose.

The love of which I am speaking is not human love, not the love that comes from our fallen, adamic nature. There is a lot of talk about "love" today, but the reference is to human love. Human love is not at all dependable. It easily can become the enemy of God and the voice of Satan, as the Lord pointed out when He rebuked Peter for what appeared to be a genuine concern of Peter that Jesus not be harmed in Jerusalem.

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." (Mark 8:31-33)

The love of God is not the self-seeking human emotion with which we are familiar. The love of God is Divine, pure, exceedingly powerful, utterly dependable and faithful. To attempt to mix Divine love and human love is comparable to attempting to mix oil and water. They forever are different in kind.

Sometimes God gives us of His love for people. They will feel it and respond to it and we are able to minister to them. But we must be exceedingly careful that human love or even lust does not see a door here through which it can enter and corrupt the purposes of God. This indeed can happen if we are not prayerful.

God's love never, never, never behaves in a manner that is unscriptural or has even the appearance of evil.

A missionary may be given God's love for a particular tribe or group of people. This love may be so powerful the missionary does not want to return to his home country on furlough. His heart is with the people God has given him as an inheritance.

When that which is perfect, the fullness of Christ's love in us, has been formed in us, then all fear is removed from us. We then are not terrified by God's judgment because we truly love God and keep His commandments; and His commandments are not grievous.

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:16-18)

God is love. He who is filled with the fullness of God loves God and is found in Him at all times.

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, But when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. (1 Corinthians 13:9-10)