... the open secret, covered up from the people of
former ages and generations ... the mystery hidden for ages
and generations but now made manifest to his saints ...
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim,
warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom,
that we may present every man mature in Christ
... mature through union with Christ ...
perfect in Christ Jesus ...
Col.1:26,27,28 (Wil,RSV,NKJV)

The above scriptures capsulize the purpose of the ministry of Christ - The Better Way. It is set forth in somewhat greater detail in the two brief discussions below.

1: The Primary Purpose (and Goal) of the Ministry

... is to help and encourage believers to grow in oneness (union) with the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is often said, among believers, that the Christian faith "is not a religion but a relationship." We are convinced, as borne out by such scriptures as above, that our Lord has called us not only to a relationship, but to actual fusion (union, oneness) with Himself, and hence with God; for, as it says in Colossians 2:9, "in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (NKJV).

We believe the Lord (with the Father in Him) wants to be our very Life, the Spirit we live by (... "he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him": 1 Cor.6:17, NKJV) -- with His Mind our mind; His Head our head; His Wisdom, Righteousness and Holiness manifesting themselves through us as our wisdom, righteousness and holiness (1 Cor.1:30) -- to where we can knowingly say that "my present life is not that of the old 'I,' but the living Christ within me" (Gal.2:20, JBP). To paraphrase Watchman Nee, we believe this type of oneness should be "The Normal Christian Life." It is this Life that the Christ - The Better Way ministry purposes to foster via its Devotional and other publications, and as the Lord otherwise harnesses us to this end.

It is our view that, in one wise or another, our blessed Lord wants to speak to us, through us, as us, and by us -- until this expressing of Himself as our very Life is no longer just a startling, seldom occurrence, however wonderful, but is the warp and woof of our daily existence in this world. And He is Love! Life can be wonderful indeed!

So, again, the prime purpose or goal of the ministry is to help and encourage believers (including ourselves!) to grow in oneness (union) with Christ, and hence with Love -- and in the wonder of Him! Such oneness, we believe with all of our hearts, is the Lord's prime goal for each of His children. As the Barclay version puts it:

You must steadily grow in grace and you must steadily come
to know more and more of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
... 'I pray that all of them may be one. I pray that just as you,
Father, are in me and I am in you, so they too may be in us
... that they may be one as we are one, I in them and you in me,
that they may be perfectly one ... so that the love with which
you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them' ...
2Pet.3:18 (Bar); Jn.17:21,22,23,26 (Bar).

These verses from the Barclay version form the closing text of one of the final devotions in the Christ - The Better Way Devotional: The Foretaste -- which sums up our prime purpose and hope for our readers (click the title).

2: The Corollary Purpose (and Goal) of the Ministry

For from him and through Him and to Him are all things
... And we know that God causes all things to work together
for good to those who love God, to those who are called
according to His purpose ... predestined to become
conformed to the image of His Son ... But put ye on
the Lord Jesus Christ ... "for apart from Me you can
do nothing" ...
Rom.11:36; 8:28,29; 13:14 (NAS); 13:14 (KJV);
Jn.15:5 (NAS)

In light of these Scriptures, the Christ - The Better Way ministry has the corollary (or parallel) purpose and goal of setting forth a four-point outlook or viewpoint which, when accepted and practiced, can have a quite marvelously transforming effect upon the believer's approach to daily life -- how he relates to people and to all things taking place in the world about him. Readers of the Devotional will find these four points woven throughout its daily selections. They are:

1. That God is absolutely sovereign, and is the ultimate Source of (sends) all the things that come to us in our daily lives, the good and the (apparently) ill, regardless of the agencies by which they reach us. Even if things seem to come to us via nature, chance or coincidence, or from people, or from the adversary in people, or from the adversary himself, they nonetheless are sent by (come to us from) God, from Whom are all things (Rom.11:36), and Who ...

2. Is working them all together for our good, as per Romans 8:28. Hence all things that come to us are perfect! -- however painful they may at first seem to be; for our perfect God has sent them -- and He loves us -- and He is working them together for the prime good of ...

3. Conforming us to the image of His Son: making us Christlike (as per Romans 8:29); making us vessels of Selflessness, Love, Joy, Peace, Gentleness, Humility, Compassion, Tenderness, Longsuffering, Perfect Patience and Forgiveness. Of course, such Godly attributes are not at all natural for us, and they cannot be attained to in the flesh (other than a tight-lipped Self-righteousness!), saddled as we are with our "old nature," "old self," or "old man" ; so our only recourse is to recognize that God is ...

4. Crowding us to Christ, apart from Whom we can do nothing (Jn.15:5), but in Whom we can do all the things God asks of us (Phil.4:13). To wit: God is driving home the point that we can't be like Christ apart from Christ, and we hence must learn to look to Him (Heb.12:2), abide in Him (1 Jn.2:28), put Him on (Rom.13:14), walk in Him moment by moment (Col.2:6), and thereby come into union or oneness with Him (Jn.17:20-26) -- so that He can be in us what God asks of us.

In sum, what these four points boil down to is that God is using all the things that come into the lives and minds of His children as means to bring them into union with Himself in Christ -- if only they would dare accept that this is so. How wonderfully this viewpoint of things can help in the transformation He wishes to achieve in us, and in our surrendering to it. For example ...

If I take what is coming to me from my angry neighbor as not from him but as from God, who is dealing with me through my (unknowing) neighbor, teaching me Christlikeness, crowding me to Christ, causing me to look to (cleave to) Jesus so that He can flood His Love into and through me toward my neighbor, I will understand that God is teaching me to overcome my satanic, resentful, unforgiving, pained thoughts through my Deliverer, Jesus Christ! -- that these thoughts come so that I can gain victory over them (over my adversary) by cleaving to Christ! When I catch on to these things -- grasp what God is up to -- how can I ever harbor any resentment, impatience, unforgiveness, annoyance or bitterness toward anybody!?! We have found that when believers accept the Lord at His Word (as in the verses mentioned in the paragraphs above) -- accept that He is crowding them, ever so wonderfully, to Himself in Christ through all the circumstances in life, then nothing ever is the same again. Life gradually becomes a Joy (His Joy manifested in the believer!) and a wonderland of Love (His Love manifested as the believer's own!). And we can become truly thankful in all circumstances, as we are so enjoined in 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

How do we go about making sure we are of Christ in our daily walk? By learning to look unto Jesus -- to abide in Him (or "put Him on" -- as per Romans 13:14)! We pray the dear Lord will make the daily selections of the Devotional a blessing to you, and that they (and perhaps other of the publications listed on this web site) will serve as catalysts to the wondrous goal of union. And that this ministry will thereby be of service to you.

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