What's the Thing that Paul Says Will Grow Our Christian Lives to Full Maturity?
Of course the obvious and most general answer is divine grace in Christ through the power of the Spirit. Let's take that as a given. But more specifically, what does Paul consistently point to as a necessary, or at least inevitable, shaping agent God uses in our lives? Here are the verbs he uses throughout his letters when when talking about this thing: rejoice in, complete, have courage in, imitate others in, not be ashamed of, share, endure. Paul clearly expects this to be active in his churches lives, expects it himself, even makes it a condition of our glorification with Christ! The answer, I believe, is found in 2 Cor.4:7: “For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure.” “Slight momentary affliction,” which as we will see is pretty heavy duty suffering, is what work in us an immeasurable “eternal weight of glory.” And whatever exactly the latter is, I gather it's what we want as Christians. Paul seems to make
