LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
READING REFLECTION OF A.W. TOZER’S THE CRUCIFIED LIFE
Submitted to Dr. Gregory Faulls, in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the completion of the course,
EVAN 500
Spiritual Factors of Growing Churches
by
Kristopher Williams
SCORE: 49/50
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………...1
CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES……………………………………………………….…...1
Corporate Health Depends on Individual Health…………………………………….1
General Lack of Growth by Christians………………………………………………2
Word vs. Deed: External and Empty Christianity ………….……………………….2
The Condition of the Modern Church……………………………………………….2
APPLICATIONS……………………………………………………………………………3
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………..……………………4
ii
Tozer, A. W. The Crucified Life: How to Live Out a Deeper Christian Experience.
Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2011.
INTRODUCTION
In his The Crucified Life, A.W. Tozer argues that Christian life and the unregenerate
world are at permanent odds with each other. The Christian is in no position to pursue
worldly victory standards and must seek what he calls “the crucified life.” He believes that
“Christ did not die on the cross just to save people from hell; rather, He died on the cross so
that all could become one with Christ.”1 The Christian believer will truly have to pursue, not
just passively accept, opposition to and misunderstanding of the message of Christ.
CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES
Corporate Health Depends on Individual Health
In line with St. Paul’s metaphor that individual Christians are part of “the body of Christ”
in 1 Cor. 12, Tozer recognizes that the “health of the Church is in direct proportion to the
health of each individual Christian. If the Church is to grow and be healthy, the individual
Christians comprising the Church must grow spiritually.”2 Tozer further stresses that any
spiritual revival must “start with an individual, extend to the church and extend out to include
the community, but it can never occur in the reverse order… no churches have ever been
revived until individuals in the church have been revived.”3 At all stages of the crucified life,
the individual must ultimately take responsibility and action to press corporate growth.
General Lack of Growth by Christians
1 A. W. Tozer, The Crucified Life: How to Live Out a Deeper Christian Experience (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany
House Publishers, 2011), wsb.to/&5nXKY6.
2
Ibid., wsb.to/&3Z4Pf9.
3 Ibid., wsb.to/&5xZHvW.
1
Tozer points out that “Most churches never get beyond the basic teaching of becoming a
Christian,”4 with the unfortunate state being that “we seek God and stop searching, whereas
the early saints sought God, found Him and continued to seek more of Him.”5 Modern
Christians remain stagnant and make no growth towards union with Christ. Thus, most will
not pursue “the crucified life” since they never grow “in wisdom and in stature and in favor
with God and man” (Luke 2:52).
Word vs. Deed: External and Empty Christianity
Tozer recognizes that “If we can allow a word to stand for the deed, we will do the word
and not do the deed.”6 Christians demonstrate the externals of Christian worship, vocalize
the language of Christianity to the world, yet are never effectively changed by the message.
Without internal change of the individual, change cannot be made by, in, or through the
universal Church.
The Condition of the Modern Church
Tozer believes that “The condition of today’s Christian Church is the result of too many
common Christians in leadership roles.”7 This is due to the general lack of spiritual growth
by most Christians and the necessity to promote Christian leaders from the ranks of believers.
APPLICATIONS
4
Ibid., wsb.to/&5ywgT5.
5
Ibid., wsb.to/&59MhF.
6
Ibid., wsb.to/&76VrXr.
7
Ibid., wsb.to/&3rkc2d.
2
Tozer is correct in his focus on the individual and its effect on the corporate body. While
each individual is ultimately responsible for their response and relationship to the Christian
message, the application of the faith is lived in union and cooperation with the universal Church.
Knowledge of the Christian message is the first step in spiritual growth. Academic
knowledge itself does not guarantee spiritual growth; however, “to know and understand man,
we must come to an intimate knowledge of God.”8 Knowledge of God can help us help
humanity. This course of study is meant to be applied to my individual life and applied at my
local church in order to help us grow as individuals in our understanding of the Christian gospel.
The remediation of overall congregational ignorance, beginning with individuals, will
provide a greater crop of potential leaders who can use their knowledge to promote personal and
corporate spiritual growth. This symbiotic growth, where the Church provides stimuli and the
individual takes initiatives in concert with biblical examples, promotes unity. It follows that a
congregational leader cannot provide others with what he does not possess. Greater knowledge,
leading to spiritual growth by “common Christians,” will lead to higher standards across the
board, providing leaders who can effectively assist others in “the crucified life.”
Interactive participation in worship is necessary. I attend a liturgical church (LCMS)
where lengthy Bible passages are read from the pulpit and the service itself is steeped in biblical
quotes and themes. While one could be caught by externals, understanding of each part leads to
meaningful participation with the Church, past, present, and future.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Tozer, A. W. The Crucified Life: How to Live Out a Deeper Christian Experience.
Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2011.
8Ibid., wsb.to/&CwHpN.
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