LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Spiritual Formation and Discipleship
Submitted to Dr.
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 500
Discipleship Ministries
by
xxxxxx
April 11, 2021
Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1
Overview of the Three Directional Love ................................................................................ 1
Walking in the Spirit .............................................................................................................. 4
My Personal Growth Assessment .......................................................................................... 6
Personal Growth Plan ........................................................................................................... 7
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 8
Bibliography .......................................................................................................................... 9
1
Introduction
Spiritual formation is the process where a believer submits to the Holy Spirit for a
lifelong personal transformation, to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ for God’s glory
and for the sake of others. This is crucial because without experiencing this metamorphosis, the
believer will not grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God and cannot become a disciplined
learner. It is through spiritual formation that believers become mature disciples, growing into
the full stature of Christ, and developed into the healthy body of Christ ready for disciple-
making. It is the intention of this paper to give an overview of the three-directional love, explain
the impact of the Holy Spirit in spiritual formation and present a personal growth plan that
addresses areas of opportunities on selected spiritual disciplines.
Overview of the Three Directional Love
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
1
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily basis
to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary commands
Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God (upward
disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
2
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
3
1
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller, Bruce
Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
2
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
3
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
2
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
4
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
5
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
6
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
7
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates access
to life and godliness.
8
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed out by
4
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
5
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
6
Ibid., 83.
7
Ibid., 102.
8
Ibid.
3
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
9
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
action.
10
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
11
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is my
commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
12
9
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
10
Ibid.
11
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
12
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
4
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
13
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
14
Believers should
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
15
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
16
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
13
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
14
Ibid., 104.
15
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
16
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
5
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
17
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
18
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
will.
19
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide in
them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
20
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
other grow in Christ.
21
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
22
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
17
Ibid.
18
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
19
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
20
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
21
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
22
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
6
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
23
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
24
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
25
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
26
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
23
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
24
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
25
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
26
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
7
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
8
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
9
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
27
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
28
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
29
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
30
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
27
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller, Bruce
Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
28
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
29
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
30
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
10
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
31
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
32
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
33
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates access
to life and godliness.
34
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
35
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
action.
36
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
31
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
32
Ibid., 83.
33
Ibid., 102.
34
Ibid.
35
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
36
Ibid.
11
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
37
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is my
commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
38
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
39
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
40
Believers should
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
37
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
38
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
39
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
40
Ibid., 104.
12
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
41
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
42
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
43
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
44
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
will.
45
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide in
them.
41
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
42
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
43
Ibid.
44
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
45
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
13
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
46
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
other grow in Christ.
47
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
48
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
49
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
50
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
46
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
47
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
48
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
49
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
50
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
14
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
51
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
52
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
51
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
52
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
15
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
16
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
53
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
53
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller, Bruce
Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
17
disciplines).
54
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
55
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
56
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
57
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
58
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
54
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
55
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
56
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
57
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
58
Ibid., 83.
18
know Him.
59
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates access
to life and godliness.
60
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
61
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
action.
62
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
63
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is my
commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
59
Ibid., 102.
60
Ibid.
61
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
62
Ibid.
63
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
19
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
64
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
65
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
66
Believers should
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
67
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
64
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
65
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
66
Ibid., 104.
67
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
20
understanding of God’s Word.
68
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
69
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
70
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
will.
71
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide in
them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
72
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
other grow in Christ.
73
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
74
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
68
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
69
Ibid.
70
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
71
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
72
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
73
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
74
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
21
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
75
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
76
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
77
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
78
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
75
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
76
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
77
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
78
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
22
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
23
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
24
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
79
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
80
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
81
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
82
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
79
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller, Bruce
Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
80
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
81
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
82
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
25
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
83
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
84
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
85
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates access
to life and godliness.
86
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
87
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
action.
88
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
83
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
84
Ibid., 83.
85
Ibid., 102.
86
Ibid.
87
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
88
Ibid.
26
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
89
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is my
commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
90
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
91
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
92
Believers should
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
89
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
90
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
91
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
92
Ibid., 104.
27
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
93
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
94
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
95
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
96
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
will.
97
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide in
them.
93
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
94
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
95
Ibid.
96
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
97
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
28
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
98
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
other grow in Christ.
99
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
100
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
101
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
102
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
98
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
99
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
100
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
101
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
102
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
29
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
103
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
104
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
103
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
104
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
30
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
31
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
105
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
105
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
32
disciplines).
106
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
107
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
108
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
109
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
110
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
106
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
107
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
108
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
109
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
110
Ibid., 83.
33
know Him.
111
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
112
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
113
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
action.
114
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
115
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
111
Ibid., 102.
112
Ibid.
113
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
114
Ibid.
115
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
34
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
116
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
117
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
118
Believers should
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
119
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
116
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
117
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
118
Ibid., 104.
119
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
35
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
120
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
121
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
122
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
will.
123
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
124
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
other grow in Christ.
125
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
126
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
120
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
121
Ibid.
122
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
123
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
124
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
125
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
126
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
36
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
127
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
128
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
129
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
130
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
127
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
128
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
129
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
130
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
37
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
38
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
39
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
131
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
132
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
133
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
134
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
131
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
132
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
133
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
134
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
40
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
135
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
136
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
137
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
138
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
139
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
135
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
136
Ibid., 83.
137
Ibid., 102.
138
Ibid.
139
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
41
action.
140
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
141
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
142
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
143
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
144
Believers should
140
Ibid.
141
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
142
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
143
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
144
Ibid., 104.
42
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
145
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
146
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
147
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
148
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
145
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
146
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
147
Ibid.
148
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
43
will.
149
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
150
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
other grow in Christ.
151
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
152
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
153
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
154
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
149
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
150
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
151
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
152
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
153
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
154
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
44
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
155
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
156
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
155
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
156
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
45
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
46
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
157
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
157
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
47
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
158
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
159
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
160
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
161
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
158
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
159
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
160
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
161
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
48
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
162
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
163
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
164
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
165
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
action.
166
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
167
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
162
Ibid., 83.
163
Ibid., 102.
164
Ibid.
165
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
166
Ibid.
167
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
49
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
168
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
169
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
170
Believers should
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
168
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
169
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
170
Ibid., 104.
50
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
171
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
172
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
173
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
174
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
will.
175
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
176
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
171
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
172
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
173
Ibid.
174
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
175
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
176
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
51
other grow in Christ.
177
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
178
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
179
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
180
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
181
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
182
177
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
178
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
179
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
180
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
181
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
182
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
52
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
53
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
54
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
183
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
184
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
185
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
186
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
183
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
184
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
185
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
186
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
55
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
187
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
188
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
189
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
190
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
191
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
187
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
188
Ibid., 83.
189
Ibid., 102.
190
Ibid.
191
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
56
action.
192
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
193
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
194
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
195
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
196
Believers should
192
Ibid.
193
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
194
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
195
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
196
Ibid., 104.
57
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
197
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
198
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
199
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
200
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
197
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
198
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
199
Ibid.
200
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
58
will.
201
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
202
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
other grow in Christ.
203
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
204
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
205
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
206
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
201
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
202
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
203
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
204
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
205
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
206
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
59
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
207
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
208
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
207
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
208
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
60
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
61
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
209
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
209
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
62
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
210
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
211
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
212
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
213
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
210
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
211
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
212
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
213
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
63
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
214
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
215
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
216
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
217
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
action.
218
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
219
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
214
Ibid., 83.
215
Ibid., 102.
216
Ibid.
217
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
218
Ibid.
219
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
64
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
220
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
221
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
222
Believers should
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
220
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
221
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
222
Ibid., 104.
65
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
223
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
224
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
225
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
226
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
will.
227
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
228
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
223
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
224
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
225
Ibid.
226
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
227
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
228
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
66
other grow in Christ.
229
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
230
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
231
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
232
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
233
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
234
229
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
230
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
231
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
232
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
233
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
234
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
67
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
68
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
69
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
235
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
236
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
237
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
238
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
235
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
236
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
237
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
238
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
70
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
239
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
240
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
241
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
242
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
243
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
239
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
240
Ibid., 83.
241
Ibid., 102.
242
Ibid.
243
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
71
action.
244
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
245
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
246
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
247
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
248
Believers should
244
Ibid.
245
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
246
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
247
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
248
Ibid., 104.
72
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
249
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
250
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
251
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
252
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
249
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
250
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
251
Ibid.
252
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
73
will.
253
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
254
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
other grow in Christ.
255
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
256
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
257
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
258
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
253
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
254
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
255
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
256
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
257
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
258
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
74
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
259
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
260
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
259
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
260
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
75
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
76
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
261
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
261
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
77
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
262
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
263
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
264
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
265
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
262
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
263
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
264
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
265
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
78
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
266
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
267
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
268
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
269
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
action.
270
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
271
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
266
Ibid., 83.
267
Ibid., 102.
268
Ibid.
269
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
270
Ibid.
271
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
79
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
272
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
273
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
274
Believers should
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
272
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
273
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
274
Ibid., 104.
80
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
275
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
276
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
277
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
278
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
will.
279
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
280
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
275
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
276
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
277
Ibid.
278
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
279
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
280
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
81
other grow in Christ.
281
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
282
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
283
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
284
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
285
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
286
281
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
282
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
283
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
284
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
285
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
286
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
82
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
83
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
84
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
287
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
288
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
289
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
290
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
287
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
288
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
289
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
290
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
85
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
291
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
292
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
293
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
294
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
295
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
291
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
292
Ibid., 83.
293
Ibid., 102.
294
Ibid.
295
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
86
action.
296
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
297
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
298
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
299
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
300
Believers should
296
Ibid.
297
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
298
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
299
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
300
Ibid., 104.
87
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
301
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
302
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
303
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
304
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
301
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
302
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
303
Ibid.
304
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
88
will.
305
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
306
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
other grow in Christ.
307
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
308
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
309
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
310
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
305
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
306
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
307
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
308
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
309
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
310
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
89
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
311
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
312
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
311
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
312
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
90
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
91
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
313
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
313
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
92
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
314
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
315
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
316
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
317
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
314
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
315
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
316
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
317
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
93
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
318
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
319
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
320
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
321
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
action.
322
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
323
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
318
Ibid., 83.
319
Ibid., 102.
320
Ibid.
321
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
322
Ibid.
323
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
94
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
324
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
325
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
326
Believers should
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
324
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
325
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
326
Ibid., 104.
95
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
327
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
328
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
329
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
330
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
will.
331
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
332
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
327
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
328
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
329
Ibid.
330
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
331
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
332
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
96
other grow in Christ.
333
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
334
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
335
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
336
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
337
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
338
333
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
334
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
335
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
336
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
337
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
338
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
97
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
98
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
99
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
339
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
340
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
341
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
342
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
339
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
340
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
341
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
342
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
100
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
343
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
344
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
345
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
346
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
347
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
343
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
344
Ibid., 83.
345
Ibid., 102.
346
Ibid.
347
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
101
action.
348
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
349
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
350
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
351
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
352
Believers should
348
Ibid.
349
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
350
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
351
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
352
Ibid., 104.
102
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
353
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
354
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
355
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
356
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
353
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
354
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
355
Ibid.
356
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
103
will.
357
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
358
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
other grow in Christ.
359
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
360
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
361
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
362
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
357
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
358
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
359
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
360
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
361
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
362
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
104
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
363
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
364
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
363
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
364
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
105
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
106
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
365
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
365
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
107
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
366
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
367
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
368
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
369
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
366
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
367
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
368
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
369
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
108
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
370
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
371
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
372
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
373
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
action.
374
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
375
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
370
Ibid., 83.
371
Ibid., 102.
372
Ibid.
373
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
374
Ibid.
375
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
109
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
376
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
377
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
378
Believers should
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
376
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
377
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
378
Ibid., 104.
110
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
379
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
380
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
381
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
382
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
will.
383
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
384
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
379
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
380
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
381
Ibid.
382
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
383
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
384
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
111
other grow in Christ.
385
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
386
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
387
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
388
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
389
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
390
385
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
386
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
387
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
388
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
389
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
390
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
112
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
113
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
114
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
391
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
392
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
393
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
394
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
391
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
392
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
393
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
394
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
115
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
395
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
396
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
397
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
398
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
399
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
395
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
396
Ibid., 83.
397
Ibid., 102.
398
Ibid.
399
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
116
action.
400
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
401
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
402
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
403
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
404
Believers should
400
Ibid.
401
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
402
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
403
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
404
Ibid., 104.
117
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
405
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
406
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
407
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
408
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
405
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
406
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
407
Ibid.
408
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
118
will.
409
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
410
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
other grow in Christ.
411
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
412
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
413
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
414
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
409
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
410
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
411
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
412
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
413
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
414
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
119
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
415
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
416
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
415
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
416
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
120
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
121
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
417
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
417
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
122
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
418
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
419
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
420
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
421
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
418
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
419
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
420
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
421
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
123
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
422
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
423
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
424
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
425
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
action.
426
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
427
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
422
Ibid., 83.
423
Ibid., 102.
424
Ibid.
425
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
426
Ibid.
427
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
124
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
428
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
429
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
430
Believers should
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
428
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
429
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
430
Ibid., 104.
125
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
431
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
432
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
433
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
434
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
will.
435
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
436
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
431
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
432
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
433
Ibid.
434
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
435
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
436
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
126
other grow in Christ.
437
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
438
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
439
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
440
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
441
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
442
437
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
438
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
439
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
440
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
441
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
442
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
127
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
128
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
129
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
443
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
444
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
445
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
446
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
443
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
444
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
445
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
446
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
130
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
447
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
448
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
449
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
450
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
451
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
447
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
448
Ibid., 83.
449
Ibid., 102.
450
Ibid.
451
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
131
action.
452
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
453
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
454
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
455
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
456
Believers should
452
Ibid.
453
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
454
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
455
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
456
Ibid., 104.
132
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
457
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
458
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
459
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
460
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
457
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
458
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
459
Ibid.
460
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
133
will.
461
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
462
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
other grow in Christ.
463
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
464
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
465
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
466
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
461
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
462
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
463
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
464
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
465
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
466
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
134
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
467
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
468
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
467
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
468
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
135
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
136
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
469
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
469
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
137
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
470
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
471
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
472
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
473
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
470
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
471
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
472
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
473
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
138
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
474
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
475
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
476
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
477
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
action.
478
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
479
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
474
Ibid., 83.
475
Ibid., 102.
476
Ibid.
477
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
478
Ibid.
479
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
139
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
480
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
481
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
482
Believers should
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
480
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
481
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
482
Ibid., 104.
140
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
483
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
484
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
485
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
486
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
will.
487
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
488
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
483
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
484
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
485
Ibid.
486
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
487
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
488
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
141
other grow in Christ.
489
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
490
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
491
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
492
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
493
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
494
489
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
490
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
491
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
492
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
493
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
494
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
142
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
143
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
144
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
495
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
496
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
497
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
498
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
495
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
496
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
497
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
498
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
145
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
499
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
500
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
501
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
502
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
503
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
499
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
500
Ibid., 83.
501
Ibid., 102.
502
Ibid.
503
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
146
action.
504
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
505
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
506
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
507
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
508
Believers should
504
Ibid.
505
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
506
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
507
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
508
Ibid., 104.
147
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
509
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
510
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
511
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
512
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
509
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
510
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
511
Ibid.
512
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
148
will.
513
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
514
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
other grow in Christ.
515
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
516
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
517
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
518
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
513
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
514
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
515
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
516
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
517
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
518
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
149
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
519
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
520
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
519
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
520
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
150
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
151
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
521
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
521
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
152
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
522
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
523
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
524
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
525
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
522
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
523
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
524
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
525
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
153
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
526
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
527
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
528
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
529
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
action.
530
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
531
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
526
Ibid., 83.
527
Ibid., 102.
528
Ibid.
529
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
530
Ibid.
531
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
154
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
532
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
533
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
534
Believers should
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
532
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
533
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
534
Ibid., 104.
155
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
535
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
536
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
537
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
538
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
will.
539
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
540
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
535
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
536
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
537
Ibid.
538
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
539
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
540
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
156
other grow in Christ.
541
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
542
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
543
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
544
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
545
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
546
541
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
542
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
543
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
544
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
545
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
546
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
157
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
158
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
159
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
547
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
548
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
549
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
550
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
547
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
548
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
549
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
550
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
160
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
551
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
552
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
553
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
554
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
555
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
551
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
552
Ibid., 83.
553
Ibid., 102.
554
Ibid.
555
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
161
action.
556
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
557
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
558
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
559
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
560
Believers should
556
Ibid.
557
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
558
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
559
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
560
Ibid., 104.
162
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
561
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
562
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
563
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
564
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
561
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
562
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
563
Ibid.
564
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
163
will.
565
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
566
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
other grow in Christ.
567
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
568
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
569
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
570
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
565
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
566
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
567
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
568
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
569
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
570
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
164
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
571
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
572
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
571
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
572
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
165
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
166
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
573
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
573
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
167
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
574
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
575
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
576
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
577
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
574
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
575
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
576
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
577
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
168
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
578
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
579
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
580
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
581
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
action.
582
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
583
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
578
Ibid., 83.
579
Ibid., 102.
580
Ibid.
581
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
582
Ibid.
583
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
169
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
584
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
585
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
586
Believers should
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
584
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
585
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
586
Ibid., 104.
170
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
587
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
588
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
589
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
590
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
will.
591
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
592
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
587
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
588
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
589
Ibid.
590
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
591
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
592
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
171
other grow in Christ.
593
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
594
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
595
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
596
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
597
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
598
593
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
594
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
595
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
596
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
597
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
598
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
172
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
173
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
174
To understand the concept of three-directional love, first, one must understand that as
spiritual formation is the process of transformation in which the believer is changed to be more
like Jesus,
599
spiritual disciplines are the “holy habits” the believer should practice on a daily
basis to achieve spiritual growth. These spiritual disciplines fall under the three primary
commands Jesus gave to His disciples. They are called the three directional love: love God
(upward disciplines), love your neighbor (outward disciplines) and love one another (inward
disciplines).
600
Therefore, the roots of spiritual formation are established in having a relationship
with God and one another.
601
Loving God should be a no brainer for a Christian. After all, not only believers are
commanded to love God throughout the Bible, but every believer should feel love for the God
who created them and loves them so much, that He gave His only begotten son to rescue them
from sin and eternal death. All believers have felt God’s love at some time or another and
should be thankful for the grace that God has given them. But the Bible is very specific as to
how to love God. Jesus was very clear with His answer, when the Pharisee expert in the law
asked Him which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, ESV).
602
Jesus is saying that we are to love God with every part of our being, with every action we take
599
Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, Bruce McNicol, Keith Matthews, Bill Hull, Peggy Reynoso, Paula Fuller,
Bruce Demarest, Michael Glerup, and Richard Averbeck, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and
Spiritual Formation, Colorado Springs (NavPress Publishing Group, 2010), 167.
600
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 83.
601
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Demarest, and Averbeck, The Kingdom Life, 15.
602
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Crossway
Bibles, 2007)
175
and without reserve. However, this love does not come automatically, but it is formed by
intentionally, actively and relationally, loving God in return.
The first directional love must aim towards God where the upward spiritual disciplines
come into place.
603
Responding to God’s love by spending time in a quiet place and reading and
“chewing” the Word of Christ, praying, fasting, meditating in the Word of God, and utilizing a
journal to record what the Spirit says, is the best way to build a loving relationship with the
Father.
604
Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence allows for the opportunity to get to
know Him.
605
Studying the Word and increasing in the knowledge of His teachings creates
access to life and godliness.
606
The apostle Paul explained it this way, “All Scripture is breathed
out by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that
the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Reading the
Scripture also empowers the communication with God. It is the way to know who He really is,
what He expects from believers and how He expect them to live. As the relationship between
God and the believer grows, so their love for God grows in their hearts as well.
The next directional love aims inward, towards one another.
607
The words “one another”
are found in the New Testament more than fifty times and has always a connection with an
603
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 101.
604
Ibid., 83.
605
Ibid., 102.
606
Ibid.
607
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
176
action.
608
Jesus made it very clear when He gave a new commandment to His disciples. He asked
them to “love one another” but then He also said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love
one another” (Jn 13:34). This commandment refers to believers loving their brothers and sisters
in Christ. However, He is commanding them to follow the example of how He loves them,
because all flows from who God is.
609
In John 15 Jesus made the following statement, “This is
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you” (vv.12-14). In other words, the love that God require believers to have for each other is a
no boundaries, unconditional and sacrificial love. To love one another, Christians are to follow
all the “one another” course of actions found in the New Testament, using the gifts of the Spirit
to build each other for the service and glory of God.
610
The third and last directional love focus on “loving our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt
22:39). It is the outward discipline and covers practices such as praying for the neighbors,
sharing the gospel and being salt and light to the neighbors. Also loving the unlovable, enemies
and especially loving those who do wrong to others.
611
As the love for God continues to grow in
Christians, the fruit of the Spirit starts to show in their day-to-day life. All the sudden others
start seeing, feeling and experiencing Jesus through the life of the believers.
612
Believers should
608
Ibid.
609
Willard, Meyer, McNicol, Matthews, Hull, Reynoso, Fuller, Demarest, Glerup, and Averbeck, The Kingdom
Life, 18.
610
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 103.
611
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 84.
612
Ibid., 104.
177
say something about who God is with their life, just as Jesus’ life spoke about His love for the
world.
Walking in the Spirit
The term “waking in the Spirit” means to constantly submit to the Holy Spirit; to follow
His leadership by continually allowing Him, not the flesh, to guide the feelings, thoughts and
actions of the believer. The Holy Spirit has been crucial in God’s work on earth since the day at
Pentecost around two thousand years ago.
613
It is the main purpose of the Holy Spirit to help
believers come under the authority of Jesus and with His power, work deeply into all aspects of
the believer’s life. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works constantly with the believer to
develop spiritual and emotional maturity and renewing of the mind through theological
understanding of God’s Word.
614
And although Christian formation varies from believer to
believer, it is the active role of the Holy Spirit what draws believers closer to Christ.
615
But
transformation is not a one-time event. Christians renew their commitment to follow Christ in
every decision they make. And only when this becomes a daily event in their lives, real and
lasting transformation occurs.
616
To walk in the Spirit, one must first die to the flesh. God and sin
cannot coexist in the same place. The flesh innately will not submit to God’s, Word, way and
613
Dave Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion
and Confidence, Nashville (B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 31.
614
Diane J. Chandler, The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Cham
(Springer International Publishing, 2016), 5.
615
Ibid.
616
W. Jay Moon, Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global Approaches to
Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids (Baker Academic, 2017), 58.
178
will.
617
This is why Jesus cleans those who accept Him, before He sends the Holy Spirit to abide
in them.
The Bible says that when believers accept Jesus as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside of them (Acts 2:38).
618
The Bible also says that when the Holy Spirit comes,
among other things, He brings gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11) and fruits (Gal 5:22-23). The gifts of the
Spirit are exactly that; gifts that God gives the church to strengthen, encourage, and help each
other grow in Christ.
619
But that does not show how much the church loves God. It shows how
much God loves the church. Fruit is a whole other subject. Fruit is the result of intimacy with
the Holy Spirit and the measuring mark of discipleship.
620
The fruit of the Spirit are the character
traits that developed after having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. And
although operating in gifts does not tell how much the church loves God, it is when the church
walks in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
selfcontrol, that they show their love for God. But believers cannot experience a life of walking
in the Spirit without the spiritual transformation that comes from learning to walk in freedom
from the enemy within.
621
The Holy Spirit not only teaches, helps and guides the believer, more importantly knows
what God wants in the believer’s life.
622
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
617
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 74.
618
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 32.
619
Brad J. Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, Nashville (B & H Pub Group, 2008), 71.
620
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 106.
621
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 72.
622
Earley, and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…, 31.
179
God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way
no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words,
believers receive the Spirit of God, who knows and have insight into the mind of God. The Holy
Spirit gives the church, the strength, ability and desire to obey God and say no to the flesh, as
He knows God’s will and purpose for their lives.
623
And the church can remain confident in God’s
promise to complete His transforming work in them (Phil 1:6).
624
My Personal Growth Assessment
All I can say is wow! If not for this assessment, I would still be in darkness concerning my
walk with God and where I should be at this point in my Christian life. It confirms what I already
knew but never thought it applied to me. That, knowledge of God, His Word, and His purpose
for your life, does not necessarily means you are doing His will. In other words, faith without
works is dead (Jm 2:17). To start, my strongest area was love for one another and the strongest
point in this area was not holding grudges or offense towards others. Had plenty of high
numbers in this category with nines and eights, however, also gave myself a zero for “meeting
weekly in small groups.” I must admit, this has never been a strong point in my
Christian life.
To my unfortunate surprise, my weakest area was love for God. I feel almost ashamed to
admit it, but it is the truth. With three zeros in this category, specifically in the prayer area and
journal recording, I have plenty of opportunities for my personal growth plan. And although in
the past I have been very active in daily reading God’s Word and trying to memorize and
623
Earley, and Dempsey, Spiritual Formation Is…, 77.
624
Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come, 15.
180
meditate on it and finding a quiet place to disconnect from the world and connect to Jesus, I
have fell away from that. On love for our neighbor, I had a low total of 47 points due to very low
scores in many items. My strongest was to pray for opportunities to spread the gospel and my
lowest seeking people to have lunch with who do not know Jesus. In the end a low overall score
of 48.7, gives me plenty to think, to repent, to pray about and to tackle in the next few years,
with God’s help.
Personal Growth Plan
For my personal growth plan, I am going to start small, but for the next thirty days, I will
try to tackle three areas of great opportunity that at the moment have priority. For example, I
am going to add to my monthly schedule, areas to work on spiritual disciplines that have to do
with the love for God. I feel that working on this area is going to be crucial, not only because it
is my most neglected, but because it is foundational for the other two areas to function
properly. Following Dr. Earley “SMART” goals, and with God’s help, the first item I am going to
try is to get back to reading the Word every day. One chapter per day, in the morning over
coffee, when I wake up. So, the first thing I will do is read a chapter in the Bible. The second
item I am going to work on is using a journal to write key words or verses out of the everyday
Bible readings, that stand out or God brings out to me, for meditation, meaning and application.
And the third and last item is to also use the journal and record how the LORD works in my life
and around me. After the first thirty days, I will review how I have followed the SMART goals,
correct any areas that need be, and then add three more areas to the ones I am already
working on, to work on for the next thirty days. Then continue the same process every thirty
days until all areas are covered.
181
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual formation is crucial for the believer to become a disciple in Christ.
As Jesus said, when the church has love for one another, the neighbors, the community, the city
and the world, it will be known that these are disciples of Christ. A pastor once said, “as
Christians we should be preaching the Word of God and Who Jesus is, but should only use our
words, when it is necessary.” This is because actions speak louder than words. And the love for
the LORD should be the loudest sound the church speaks, because the world is listening.
Bibliography
Chandler, Diane J. The Holy Spirit and Christian Formation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives. Cham:
Springer International Publishing, 2016.
Crossway Bibles. ESV: Study Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles, 2007.
Earley, Dave, and Rod Dempsey. Disciple Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with
Passion and Confidence. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2013.
Earley, Dave, and Rod Dempsey. Spiritual Formation Is… Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2018.
182
Moon, W. Jay. Intercultural Discipleship (Encountering Mission): Learning from Global
Approaches to Spiritual Formation. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2017.
Waggoner, Brad J. The Shape of Faith to Come. Nashville: B & H Pub Group, 2008.
Willard, Dallas, Meyer, Keith, McNicol, Bruce, Matthews, Keith, Hull, Bill, Reynoso, Peggy,
Fuller, Paula, Demarest, Bruce, Glerup, Michael, and Averbeck, Richard. The Kingdom Life:
A Practical Theology of Discipleship and Spiritual Formation. Colorado Springs:
NavPress Publishing Group, 2010.
