Relationship

Christ's dealings to adjust us to maturity, to sanctify us unto His Lordship, comprise a life-long process over time,
whereby He works into us His very Holiness. This personal holiness in character and action is a holiness unto Christ,
not a holiness from the world. Holiness is not a legalistic obedience to certain laws and taboos. Holiness is first and
foremost an inner union with Him, Christ Jesus the Person. Only as we are, will, and indeed can come into that union
with Him, shall His Holiness (as well as all other aspects of His Person) be manifested in us and through us unto the
world about us.
His first workings in any of our lives, therefore, is to bring us unto a companionship knowledge of and personal
relationship with Him. "Faith", upon which this must be based, is our seeing Him in His Spiritual reality, our total
trust in Him as a Person, and our total obedience to His every will, far beyond trust in our knowledge about Him or in
church or in our fellow Christians and far beyond our dependence upon our abilities, talents, finances, etc. That in turn
requires each of us individually to become totally committed to Him. He must work that into our attitudes first, so that
He can then bring us unto cohesive local Body units with horizontal covenant relationships.
The name of the game is relationship, not religion. Being sanctified unto Holiness means unto inner union with Christ
Jesus. The Way of the Cross is first and foremost our total faith-commitment to Him: our total dependence upon Him
and sensitive obedience to His will; that we be so secure in Christ that we dare expose ourselves to our fellow
believers in horizontal covenant commitment; and so that He can mature us into being His Bride.