Three implications

ay not be in the hab it of thin kin g about God' s Work

Now you m
.n the world in precisely these term s, but I trus t you see th
1 -. e
. 1. tr·ons · There are several, . and .we will tease then out in
-lJ.J.
imp ICa note th
the coming chapters. But at this point, we should
pos r~e
·1mportant consequences of this view of God's pur es in
the world.
t God is
The first and mo st obvious is tha t if this is really wha
our small
doing in our world the n it is tim e to say goodbye to
es to the
and self-oriented ambitions, and to aba ndo n ourselv
determine
cause of Christ and his gospel. God has a pla n tha t will
and it is
the destiny of every per son and nat ion in the world,
preached
unfolding here and now as the gospel of Christ is
more vital
and the Holy Spirit is pou red out. Is the re anything
our 'jobs,
to. be doing in our world? It is mo re imp orta nt than
nt than
our families, our pas tim es- yes , even mo re importa
need to
the comfort and security of familiar chu rch life. We
ng man
recapture the radicalism of wh at Jesus said to. the you
dead to
who wanted to retu rn and bur y his father: "Leave the
claim the
bury their own dead. But as for you, go and pro
kingdom of God" (Luke 9:60).
ing for
. The second implication is tha t the gro wth God is look
ugh his
in our world is growth in people. He is working thro
see them
word and Spirit to draw people into his kin gdo m, to
and bear
born again as new creations, and to see the m ma ture
of life and
fruit as servants of Christ. Wh ate ver oth er signs
olvement,
growth we mig ht look for in our ·congregations-inv
ldings, and
activities, newcomers, finances, num ber of staff, bui
God's plans
~o on -th e only growth.tha t has any sig nifi can ce in
g vine really
~s th e growth of believers. This is wh at the gro win
· t by
IS' it i · d· 'd 1 bor n-a gai n bel iev ers gra fted into Chris .
ua,
h.· s In IVI ,
fellowship
~sword and Spirit, and dra wn into mu tua lly edifying
with one another.
 The third momentous implication is that this people-growth
happens only through the power of God's Spirit as he applies
his word to people's hearts. That's the way people are converted,
and that's the way people grow in maturity in Christ. We plant
and water, but God gives the growth. We speak God's word to
someone, and the Spirit enables a response. This can happen
individually, in small groups, and in large groups. It can happen
over the back fence, over dinner, or over morning tea at church.
Jt can happen in a pulpit or on a patio. It can be the formal
exposition or study of a Bible passage, or someone speaking
some Scripture-based truth without even referring to the Bible.
However, despite the almost limitless number of contexts in
which it might happen, what happens is the same: a Christian
brings a truth from God's word to someone else, praying that
God would make that word bear fruit through the inward
working of his Spirit.
That's vine work. Everything else is trellis.