The Day of New Beginnings
Proven Character
Rom. 5:
1* ¶ Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2* through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
3* And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;
4* and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;
5* and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
In the above passages, we have the formula by which all spiritual growth takes place. What we have is a cycle that occurs again and again, always spiraling upward into a greater revelation of the Lord.
Everything of spiritual growth begins with a Word from God. He speaks to our hearts, He gives us a vision, and we pursue after Him. Acts 14:21-22 says:
21* After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,
22* strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God."
When God meets our hearts, it always throws us into tribulation. This must be because there cannot be a revelation of the Lord to our spirits without a subsequent judgment upon our flesh natures. The Lord gives us a Word, we receive a revelation, and the Holy Spirit proceeds to create the reality of that revelation in us through the cross.
To the flesh nature the work of the cross is tribulation of the worse kind. That’s because the tribulation takes place within us, throwing our self life into complete disarray. Through the tribulation that rages within us, the Adamic nature is crucified and Christ’s life, the new nature, begins to spring forth.
While in the midst of tribulation, the revelation that we have received from the Lord, the Word that He has quickened to us, remains a theoretical thing. It’s what He is going to do, not what He has done. Through the tribulations we experience, we learn to persevere. Perseverance is an important ingredient to a walk with God. Jesus said it is he who endures to the end that shall be saved. Endures to the end of what? Saved from what? This passage of Scripture can be interpreted on many levels, but the most pertinent interpretation is that we must endure to end of the tribulations He puts us through and then we are saved from ourselves, meaning our Adamic natures.
Perseverance establishes us in the promises of God. It’s perseverance that takes us from the theoretical to the “done deal”. That’s why the scripture says perseverance brings about proven character. What is proven character? It’s that state of being we attain through God’s dealings that qualifies us to inherit the promise of God. Proven character is Christ’s nature created in us!
Psalm 105 states:
19 Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the LORD tested him.
The above passage is about Joseph. He received great dreams from the Lord revealing how his family would come and bow down to him. Joseph went through many tribulations before that Word came to pass. He was sold into slavery, thrown into prison and forgotten. All those years God was refining Joseph, preparing him for the authority and responsibility that would eventually rest upon him. Joseph had to persevere. His perseverance created in him proven character.
Proven character brings about hope, not just a human hope though, but a divine hope. It’s a hope that does not disappoint. When we attain to that realm of proven character, it means God has established something of Himself within us. We find a new relationship with the Lord opens up. That’s what it means when the passage says the love of God has been poured out within our hearts. In the new relationship with the Lord that comes, we find fulfillment of all that God had previously spoken to us.
This is a cycle that occurs again and again within us as we seek to walk in the reality of God’s promises. This is the key to “becoming” in Christ.