The Evolution of Christ's Body
Text: Luke 2:49-52 (NIV)
“And He said to them, ‘Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them. Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”
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The same historical Jesus who walked the earth 2000 years ago is present in us through the Holy Spirit. Jesus is not only our savior, but our type, model, and pattern. He is not a mere teacher, but the blueprint of Christian living. His life lived on earth prophetically foreshadowed the destiny of His spiritual Body, the Church.
Early in Luke’s gospel, he gives an account of the young Jesus remaining behind in Jerusalem after the Passover Feast, unbeknownst to His parents, Mary and Joseph. They find Jesus teaching in the temple, astonishing the teachers with His understanding and answers. Jesus is not at all moved by His parent’s alarm, and even suggests that they should have known where he would be. After, Jesus makes Himself “subject” to His parents while in Nazareth, where He would increase in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man.
The natural events of the Old Testament and New Testament gospels prophetically illustrate the spiritual principles of God’s kingdom. When we examine the natural Christ in the New Testament, we see a prophetic illustration of His future spiritual Church. Jesus walked in the anointing of the Holy Spirit, faced the sin and evil of the fallen world order, and won the victory over death. This is our pattern. His opponents were not the humans He came to rescue, but the elemental spiritual forces of the world oppressing humanity (Colossians 2:20).
The Body of Christ is a new humanity called to live in between the ages (Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 3:9-11). We exist in the “here, but not yet.” The Kingdom of God has come to earth and we have been given a limitless inheritance in the Holy Spirit, but still face the oppression of a world system marred by sin, death, and division. Father God is working in this tension through the Holy Spirit to completely reconcile all things to Himself (1 Corinthians 15:25-26).
Like Jesus, the Body of Christ is growing in wisdom and stature with God and man. These are incredible times, and we are witnessing the Lord break His Bride out of the rigid, powerless structures of dead religion. He is returning Christianity to its roots as a social-spiritual movement, born on the wind of the Holy Spirit.
Whether we are aware of it or not, Christ is always at work in His Body, evolving us and growing us more and more into the perfect image and representation of Himself on earth. The Christian revival movements of the past 1500 years are glorious growth spurts in the maturing of Christ’s Body. He is slowly and carefully preparing us for our final glorious eschatological purpose.
In this episode from Luke, Joseph and Mary find Jesus revealing His wisdom in the temple. For us, this temple can symbolically represent religion, theological structure, or even the church building. These are the agents Christ has historically used to develop our understanding of Him, His character, and His intents and purposes for humanity - but they are not the end-all-be-all. God’s eschatological intent is that the knowledge of the glory of God cover the entire earth, with the new humanity serving as the temple of His Presence (Habakkuk 2:15; Psalm 22:27; Jeremiah 31:34).
As Jesus subjected His divinity to His human stewards, Mary and Joseph, our understanding of Him has always been dictated by the religious scholarship of the time. The Lord is moving us away from patterned adherence to religious dogma into a greater freedom available through life lived in total partnership with the Holy Spirit. This is a freedom characterized by God’s manifest Presence, the miraculous, fresh revelation, and favor with God and man.
The Body of Christ is growing in wisdom and stature with God and man. Through advancements in science, medicine, and other fields, Christ is progressively unveiling the totality of His glory. As we head towards the end of the age, God is releasing revelation from the storehouses of heaven. Heaven is raining on the earth, urging an awakening to the reality that Christ is in all and through all (Ephesians 4:6; 1 Corinthians 8:6). God is working through His Body all over the world. to make His reality undeniable. His Body is a cloud of witnesses, preparing the earth for His return.
In the coming years, the power, purity, and favor of life lived in the Holy Spirit will effortlessly draw millions to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Advancements and breakthroughs in all sectors of society will once again be driven by Christians (lit. “Christ-ones”). God’s intricate involvement in the affairs of man will become more and more tangible and evident. Christ’s radiant glory will be in all and through all. There will no longer be an option to sit on the fence or embrace lukewarm Christian living.
God’s Word, given to us in the Bible, never changes, but our understanding of it does. Religious rules, formulas, and expectations cannot set us free from sin and spiritual captivity. A legalistic paradigm of belief only stimulates sin and stunts our spiritual growth (Romans 7:8-11). It is the revelation of our identity as sons of God and our glorious inheritance in Christ that releases us into the freedom of the Spirit (1 John 3:1). It is this freedom that empowers the growth of our wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man.
