If the Holy Spirit is the wind that fills the sail to move us on this Christian journey, spiritual disciplines help us develop the keel which keeps us from flipping over. The keel of the ship is the part that juts down below the water which no one can see but it is essential to staying upright. Spiritual disciplines are the part of your life that no one can see but they see the results of them. When the waves begin to rise, you stay upright. When the storms swirl, you are steady. The disciplines you develop in your spiritual formation are what will keep you upright and steady when the trials of life come. Go read Ephesians 4 where Paul calls the church to maturity (and unity) in Christ. He offers the same image of the keel of the ship:
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. - Ephesians 4:14-16
We are called to maturity in Christ as a church. The other image Paul offers here is an infant’s body with the head of an adult. The immature church is filled with people who seek their own interests rather than the interest of others. The immature church is filled with people who seek power over others rather than ways of serving others. The mature church seeks to encourage others to become more like Christ in their spiritual walk. Each of us are called to mature into the likeness of Christ but this does not mean the spiritual journey is individualistic. In his book “After You Believe,” NT Wright points to “love” as the primary virtue the Christian strives to develop. When this virtue matures in us, the other virtues begin to form as well. He then goes on to say, "If love is the primary virtue, community is the primary context." I would say that this is the point Paul is making in 1 Corinthians 13, which he puts right in the middle of his discussion of the Christian gathering of believers.
You engage in the spiritual disciplines for your own maturity into the likeness of Christ to then unify in the Spirit with others and become the body of Christ together. Developing habits of spiritual formation is essential to your maturity in Christ as well as the building up of the body of Christ to maturity. I’ve found it helpful to view these disciplines not as work that I do to make myself better but rather creating space to be in the presence of God to submit to the Spirit’s work of transformation in my life. This is Christ’s work in us, not our work on ourselves though we do have a part to play.
The working definition I want to use for spiritual formation has four parts: A journey of being transformed into the image of Christ for the sake of others.
(1) A journey
(2) of being transformed
(3) into the image of Christ
(4) for the sake of others
This Sunday, we will continue to talk about how the Spirit works to transform us into Christ’s likeness through the spiritual disciplines. We will look at the life of Jesus and the importance spiritual formation played in his life. It is odd for us to think about Jesus needing to be formed spiritually but we must recognize that his submission to the guidance of the Father through the Holy Spirit guides his whole life and ministry. Jesus became like us in every way (Hebrews 2:17) so that we can be like him (1 John 3:2). So, if Jesus needs spiritual disciplines in his life, how much more do we need them?
Take some time to read and reflect on Matthew 3:13-4:11:
What does Jesus have to strengthen the keel of his ship to keep him upright in this storm of temptation?
What gives Jesus strength during these temptations?
What is Jesus being tempted with?
How are you doing with forming habits of spiritual formation?