THEARTOFCHRIST — Lesson 1: The Foundation
Purpose and Character in Christ
How Christ brings about life, and how He supplies it more abundantly.

You want a fulfilling life. Everyone wants it. You want purpose. You want character that holds under pressure. Christ gives both. Christ gives life, and He gives it more abundantly (John 10:10).

This lesson lays the foundation. Christ is purpose. Christ produces character. Every later lesson stands on this foundation. Every topic in this workshop relates to physical life — to work, to home, to body, to speech, to sleep, to waking, to eating, to loving. Christ supplies that life.

Anchor: The Foundation That Holds

No one can lay another foundation besides Jesus Christ (1 Cor 3:11). Apart from Me you can do nothing (John 15:5). I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10).

Purpose Is Given by God, in Christ

God created all things through Him and for Him (Col 1:16). From Him, through Him, and to Him are all things (Rom 11:36). God works all things according to the counsel of His will (Eph 1:11). God saved and called with a holy calling, not according to works, but according to His own purpose and grace (2 Tim 1:9).

Therefore, purpose is not something you invent. Purpose is something God gives. God gives it in Christ. God fulfills it in Christ.

Man plans his way, but God directs his steps (Prov 16:9). The heart is deceitful above all things (Jer 17:9). Therefore, purpose cannot come from the heart. It comes from God.

God created His people in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand (Eph 2:10). God conforms His people to the image of His Son (Rom 8:29). Therefore, purpose is lived in the body. It is lived in work. It is lived in home. It is lived in the ordinary days God gives. God prepared the works. Christ supplies the life to walk in them.

In Christ, purpose is given. God gives it. God sustains it. Apart from Christ, man is alienated from the life of God (Eph 4:18). He seeks purpose, but cannot find it, because purpose lives in Christ.

Character Is Produced by Christ, in You

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal 5:22-23). God gives a new heart and puts His Spirit within (Ezek 36:26-27). God works in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Phil 2:13). God has granted all things pertaining to life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3).

Therefore, character is not what you manufacture. Character is what Christ produces in those who abide in Him.

Character is physical. It shows in speech. It shows in patience when you are tired. It shows in kindness when you are wronged. It shows in self-control when appetite pulls. It shows in faithfulness when no one watches. Christ produces that character in the body. Christ supplies the life that the body needs.

In Christ, honesty is truth spoken in love because Christ is truth (John 14:6; Eph 4:15). Kindness is grace received and given because God was kind in Christ (Eph 4:32). Discipline is abiding, not striving, because Christ bears the fruit (John 15:4-5). Character is Christ formed in you (Gal 4:19).

In Christ, character is Christ at work. God works it. God grows it. Apart from Christ, man is alienated from the life of God (Eph 4:18). God gives the new heart first. The fruit follows.

Life, More Abundantly

Christ came that you may have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10). That life is not only future. That life is now. That life is physical. Christ gives breath. Christ gives bread. Christ gives work. Christ gives rest. Christ gives love for neighbor. Christ gives strength for suffering.

In Christ, God makes new creation (2 Cor 5:17). In Christ, God creates for good works prepared beforehand (Eph 2:10). In Christ, God conforms to the image of the Son (Rom 8:29). Christ in you is the hope of glory (Col 1:27).

Therefore, purpose and character are not two separate projects. They are one life: Christ in you. Abide in Him, and He bears fruit (John 15:4-5). Apart from Him, you can do nothing (John 15:5). In Him, you can do all things through Him who strengthens you (Phil 4:13) — all things He purposed for you.

The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Christ comes to give life. Everyone wants a fulfilling life. Christ alone gives it. That is not teasing. That is invitation.

Warning and Invitation

Apart from Christ, you can do nothing (John 15:5). Whoever does not abide is cast out, withers, and is burned (John 15:6). Whoever does not believe stands condemned already (John 3:18). The wrath of God remains on him (John 3:36).

Yet whoever believes will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). He who believes HAS eternal life (John 6:47). Repent and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15). Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matt 11:28). Come, and Christ will give what no effort can produce.

This Week

Read John 15, Galatians 5, Ephesians 2. See where Christ gives purpose. See where Christ produces character. See how that life touches physical life — work, home, body, speech, rest. In Christ, abide and give thanks. Apart from Christ, come and believe.

This is the foundation. Every later lesson — mindset, mind, body, love, suffering, glory — stands on this foundation. Apart from Christ, none of it stands. In Christ, all of it holds, and life comes more abundantly.

This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son (1 John 5:11).