Growth

In 1971 Norman Grubb gave a talk called "Walking on the Summit." During the talk he made a brief but poignant comment about growth. The following is a transcript from the portion of that talk relating to growth:

"You've got your present-day Moses: Moses who took the children of Israel out of Egypt on the way to Canaan is Jesus Christ: took you out of the world into Himself. Now you've got your Joshua--He took you out of the wilderness out of self-effort, Joshua took you out of the wilderness life into the land of milk and honey--now the rest. Now your Joshua is Jesus--took you out of the land of self-effort, brought you into this union consciousness. Now you're in the land of rest; you've got the sufficiency for your job now. He's become your sufficiency, you're 'able ministers of a new covenant.' Now you're also . . . Jesus Christ is our Melchizedek. That means a 'high priest.' That's the highest form we have . . . The highest term I know in the Bible of what we mean is 'royal priests' . . . That term is not used in Hebrews, it's used in 1 Peter because it couldn't be used in Hebrews because self-pity caught hold of those Hebrews. So they couldn't see their identification with Christ in priesthood. They saw identification with Christ in reconciliation, regeneration, identification with Christ in union life. They couldn't catch the other although the great 'by faith' chapter, 'by faith'--those who know your Bibles in Hebrews 11--outlines how men were at that time that kind of people. They were priests of that day. So it wasn't ever said so because they couldn't take it. God won't ever give you more than you can take . . . so it comes out in other places.

"I'm only saying that in each case there's a third level, there's a third strata. Now don't let's get the idea that it's some painful growth. It's what Christ is already inside of us. The moment you're redeemed you are actually a priest. The moment you're redeemed you've actually ascended. He did the thing and finished it. It only matters how quickly you can recognize what you are. So don't think it's some painful, crawl up in forty-five years or something. No, you are this up to the level to which you're conditioned to recognize you are that.

"So I'm always a bit afraid of the word 'growth' because it's a hidey-hole: 'Oh, of course I haven't grown there yet. In forty-five years time I might conquer that or something.' It's a hidey-hole behind growth. The growth in the Bible is growth in recognizing Jesus Christ. That's the growth, not in you becoming something. Get out of that 'you become'--vessels become nothing. That's all. They just remain vessels. I've told you that a thousand times over. They don't change.

"So don't look at yourself to change. Growth is a larger recognition of the Person who's in you--and what He is in you--'Growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ' in 1 Peter. 'Grace' is God's gift to us of Jesus Christ. 'Knowledge' is: 'Oh, that's what He is. That's what He is in me.' So growth is not I becoming different. I recognize a little more of this wonderful Person who's operating in His wonderful, different ways in my life."