Martin Luther Started The Reformation, But He Did Not Finish it
Protestants around the world count the reformation under Martin Luther as “THE” reformation. Some see this great revival as a single period of time in which believers threw off the shackles of Catholic dogma, returning to the pure word of God.
I invite you to consider what reformation really is and to perhaps consider that, from God’s viewpoint anyway, reformation may be unfolding to this very day. In fact, I challenge you to consider that you may be living in the midst of a continuing reformation.
Is the reformation finished?
Could Luther’s reformation not simply be a point in time but an ongoing process? Could this processes have been taking place even before Martin Luther read, “the just shall live by faith”? We all know that a seed spends time in the ground before it begins to show itself to the world. Likewise, people like Jan Hus, one hundred years before the 99 thesis, were beginning to reform God’s church and liberate His people through preaching salvation by faith. Even after Martin Luther others came and added to the restored truth that He gave us.
An unfolding revelation
If we think of reformation as an ongoing process that has been unfolding throughout the centuries God’s grand design begins to come into focus. Rather than being a single event, it is a process that is recreating God’s people, through His Holy Spirit, back into His image and likeness. Historically, we can start with the reformation whose main focus was the restoration of salvation by faith.
Next we can look to the Anabaptist who realized that baptism was by immersion. Still later we can see the holiness movement before the nineteenth century and the subsequent outpouring out of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Later, in the 1940’s there was the latter rain movement that featured prophecy and healing. One of the latest manifestations of this reforming process is the Christian Mystic Movement that started recently in Wales and is exploring even greater manifestations of our Father’s Spirit.
Reformation brings change
Reformation demands change. It means that believers are being rebuilt into something more, something greater than they presently are. I say greater only in the sense that God lives through us in a greater way as we become one with Him. Holding His Spirit in our earthen vessels we become one with our Creator. Though we are nothing He is everything.
When you reform something you remake it back into what it once was. The image that was broken in the Garden of Eden when Adam fell is being recast back into the image and likeness of the last Adam, Jesus Christ. As we mature into the fullness and stature of Christ, we (as fallen men) are reformed into the likeness of our Father.
The third reformation
This is revelation and a Present Testament God writes upon the hearts of all men. We seek not just experience but also revelation born of experience. When I hear people talk about the wonderful things God does I rejoice. However, I also listen to hear if their experiences have also brought a deeper, personal understanding of our Lord Jesus. This is the tell tale sign of whether or not people are testifying reality or fanaticism. Truly, experiencing the presence of God brings both experience and understanding. You cannot walk with God and be devoid of His Spirit or His word.
Father, give us all eyes to see
In conclusion, it is my belief that we are presently in a continuing reformation. In fact, this continuing reformation is all around us if you know how to recognize it. The Tabernacle reformation is available for anyone who dares to believe God and be led by His Spirit. Here is a truth,
“Moves of God often times start with a single spark of brilliance borne out of the Spirit that has set someones soul on fire.”
Have the courage to approach God and look into the fire that enfolds itself within His throne. Then testify to us of what you know as well as where you have been.
