CHRIST FORMED IN YOU

Description

BRIAN G HEDGES

Christ Formed in You is a book about spiritual formation, the “grace-driven developmental process in which the soul grows in conformity to the image of Christ.” The acid test of all spiritual formation is this: Are you becoming more like Jesus? Are the contours of your character being shaped by his image, formed in his likeness?

This on-going transformation is possible for you. You can become more and more like Jesus Christ. But there is only one way: through your increasing understanding and application of the gospel. The goal of Christ Formed in You is to aid you in this process—to help you discover new depths of joy in what God has accomplished through Christ and the Spirit to deliver you from both the guilt and the grip of sin.

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Part One focuses on the foundations for personal change.

We will look at God s ultimate goal in transforming us (Chapter One); the key to transformation, which is the gospel itself (Chapter Two); and the application of the gospel to our lives in three specific ways (Chapters Three, Four, and Five).

Part Two then takes up the pattern of personal change.

We will explore the captivating beauty of gospel holiness (Chapter Six); with its demands that we both kill sin (Chapter Seven); and grow in grace by the power of the Spirit (Chapter Eight); and the quest for joy that motivates us in this pursuit and strengthens us in the battle for holiness (Chapter Nine).

Part Three of the book focuses on the means of personal change, the tools God uses to transform us.

These final three chapters, while building on the foundation of the gospel discussed earlier in the book, are the most practical. We will learn how God uses spiritual disciplines (Chapter Ten); suffering (Chapter Eleven); and personal relationships in the body of Christ (Chapter Twelve) to conform us to the image of Christ. In each of these chapters, my aim has been to connect the dots between the gospel, the goal of Christlikeness, and the specific aspect of spirituality under discussion.