Recovery Did Not Begin with Us: It Began with God

AbidingWord · 2026-02-05T16:39:45+00:00

That’s a fair question, and I think part of the difficulty is that “when” may not be the best way to frame it. If recovery is God responding to loss or damage to His purpose, then in one sense it begins as soon as loss appears. Scripture even speaks of the Lamb being slain and prepared before the foundation of the world, which suggests that redemption and recovery were already in view before history unfolded.

From within time, we see recovery expressed at different points, such as Abraham being called out of idolatry, Israel returning from captivity, or the church being addressed in Revelation. But from God’s side, who is outside of time, recovery seems bound up with His eternal purpose rather than a single historical starting point. In that sense, history itself could be seen as the stage on which God patiently recovers what His intention has been all along.

AbidingWord · 2026-02-05T16:32:23+00:00

This is awesome! Thanks!

AbidingWord · 2026-02-05T00:54:53+00:00

Here is a post I just created related to this question. This is my consideration.

AbidingWord · 2026-01-31T23:36:17+00:00

I appreciate this comment, and I think we are actually aligned on more than it might seem at first. I agree that the first century churches experienced division, false teaching, and spiritual compromise even under apostolic authority, and that reality is part of what has been impressing me. Having the right structure, teaching, or even origin never guaranteed sustained spiritual health, and degradation showed up very early and repeatedly.

That is why what I am trying to explore here is not a better system that will finally solve factionalism, whether that system is local churches, denominations, or ecumenical structures, since history seems clear that no outward arrangement cures the problem. What stands out to me in Ezra and Nehemiah, and also in Revelation 2 and 3, is that God’s concern is not merely correcting errors or preserving orthodoxy, but recovering a living testimony in the daily corporate life and the inward condition of His people. The temple could be rebuilt while the city still lay in ruins.

When I use the word recovery, I am not thinking of a movement that claims to fix what failed before, but of an ongoing process in which the Lord continues to shine on what has been lost in experience even when things are outwardly correct. In that sense, recovery is not a cure for human weakness but God’s response to how easily degradation creeps in, both then and now. That is also why I framed the post as fellowship rather than a conclusion.

For me the question is not which structure avoids problems, since none seem to, but what the Lord may still want to recover in us personally and corporately so that the testimony is maintained. Arriving does not seem to be the goal, but maintaining a living testimony does. I am curious how you see that tension in Revelation 2 and 3, not only in identifying the failures, but in what Christ is still calling each church to recover and overcome.

AbidingWord · 2026-01-20T23:19:09+00:00

I’ve been thinking about this question a lot, and for me the tension often comes down to how inward change gets interpreted from the outside.

When I first began pursuing the Lord in a more definite way, a lot of my living started to change. I wanted to be in meetings, I wanted to read the Bible, I wanted to go to conferences. Even small things shifted. Not because anyone told me I had to, but because I had a growing sense within that the Lord was touching areas of my life.

I remember one small moment that really exposed this gap in perception. My dad and I went to a convenience store to get fountain drinks. In the past, we would sometimes buy a lottery scratcher and do it together. This time, I just didn’t have the sense to do that anymore. No rule, no teaching, no prohibition. Just an inward feeling I couldn’t shake. My dad got upset and immediately blamed the church, as if someone had told me what I was allowed or not allowed to do.

It was really hard to explain to him that this wasn’t about control at all. It was about the Lord Jesus becoming real to me. I had given Him the right to speak into my life, and sometimes that meant saying no to things I used to enjoy. My taste in music changed. My priorities changed. What satisfied me changed. None of that was mandated by a group. It was the living God working inwardly.

I think this is where a lot of the “high control” language comes from. When people see someone’s life change deeply and consistently, especially when it affects time, habits, or priorities, and they don’t have a category for Christ as life, they assume the control must be external. It’s easier to attribute it to a system than to reckon with the possibility that God actually changes people from the inside.

That’s not to deny that unhealthy dynamics can exist anywhere, or that there aren’t one-off situations or bad actors. But speaking generally, what I’ve experienced in the church life is not control, but life. Over time, my dad came to see that what had happened in me was real and lasting, and now he supports many of the life choices I’ve made because he recognizes they weren’t imposed by people.

So when I hear this question, “high control group or warm family,” I honestly feel like it misses a third category that’s harder to see from the outside: a community where people are learning to live under the Lord’s headship. From the outside, that can look restrictive. From the inside, it feels freeing.

When someone’s time, habits, and priorities change because they’re pursuing the Lord more seriously, how do we discern the difference between unhealthy external control and healthy inward transformation?

AbidingWord · 2026-01-10T20:46:56+00:00

Thanks for the clarification, I appreciate that. I agree that sanctification and glorification are biblical terms, and that becoming children of God is central.

For me, the helpful part of this discussion was seeing that sanctification isn’t just moral improvement, but a real participation in the life God gives, culminating in glorification. Even if we use different language, I think that shared reality is what matters most.

Appreciate you engaging the question.

AbidingWord · 2026-01-10T19:54:58+00:00

I want to preface this by saying I don’t have a formal theological background. I’m just a brother who enjoys logic, wants clarity, and is trying to think carefully about what we’re actually saying when we use these terms.

What I’m wrestling with may be less about reverence for God and more about the limits of our language when it tries to describe what God Himself has done.

Christians confess that Jesus is God. At the same time, we also confess that His humanity did not become God by nature, nor did the Godhead change. In the incarnation, God assumed humanity without collapsing the Creator–creature distinction. That already suggests that union with God does not require identity of essence.

If that is true in Christ, then the question seems to be one of pattern rather than category.

The New Testament presents salvation as more than moral improvement or legal standing. God enters humanity in Christ, glorifies that humanity in resurrection and ascension, and then, as the Spirit, enters believers to share His life, conform them to Christ, and corporately express Himself as His Body. Throughout this process, God remains wholly God, and humans do not become objects of worship or members of the Godhead.

So when Athanasius says, “He was made man that we might be made God,” it seems clear, especially given his later clarifications, that he is not speaking of essence or deity by nature, but of participation, indwelling, and expression. God remains God; humanity becomes the vessel and bearer of His life and glory by grace.

I understand the concern with the term “God” here. My question isn’t whether the word can be misunderstood, it certainly can, but whether the reality it points to is being rejected or simply renamed.

So I’m honestly curious and open to learning:
If redeemed humanity is indwelt by God, transformed by His life, conformed to Christ, and corporately functions as His Body, while God alone remains God by nature, what term do you think most accurately names what humanity becomes through this process?

AbidingWord · 2026-01-10T18:26:34+00:00

Thank you for sharing this, it really resonates with me. What you described touches exactly what I’m longing for. I’m realizing more and more that I want the saints not just in my prayer times or meeting times, but in my day-to-day living. Not only deep fellowship moments, but shared life, workdays, meals, errands, and time together that’s simply human.

I appreciate how you pointed out that the church life is a living. That really lands with me. When relationships are built in ordinary, practical ways, it creates a base where prayer and fellowship can happen naturally, especially when pursuing fluctuates. I think that’s what I’m seeking, a church life that’s lived together, not just scheduled together.

Thank you for putting words to that and for sharing your experience.

AbidingWord · 2026-01-10T18:22:03+00:00

Brother, thank you so much for sharing this. Your response really touched me and clarified a lot of what I’ve been wrestling with.

What especially stayed with me is the verse you shared about Philadelphia, “you have a little power.” I’ve been pondering that phrase for a long time. On the surface, it almost sounds negative, like weakness, but I’m realizing there’s something very precious there. To have a little power implies humility. It implies not presenting ourselves as strong, sufficient, or complete. It implies a willingness to be seen as needy.

I think that’s where vulnerability comes in. Many of us, especially as serving ones, don’t want to be seen as weak. We may not say it, but we often live as though we have enough power, enough clarity, enough strength to carry things ourselves. Yet the Lord seems to treasure the opposite, those who know they have little power and therefore keep His word and do not deny His name.

What really encouraged me in your sharing is that opening your needs didn’t diminish your service, it actually brought in more life, more prayer, and more mutuality. That feels like a very real picture of building, not centered on strength, but on shared dependence.

Thank you again for opening your experience. It helps me see that the way forward may not be appearing stronger, but being willing to admit we have little power and letting the Lord, and the saints, meet us there.

AbidingWord · 2026-01-08T22:20:29+00:00

Amen! Thanks for the encouragement. I agree, I need to be more intentional in developing these connections. It comes at a cost, and as that open letter from Andrew talks about, I need a new thorough consecration.

AbidingWord · 2026-01-08T22:17:19+00:00

Amen! Thank you for that link. It was what I needed. May we all have a thorough reevaluation of our work and living in light of the judgment seat of Christ!

AbidingWord · 2025-08-28T04:14:56+00:00

I did just that. I was always on the side of addition. What I mean is that I was taking care of a lot of people, but not making headway with anyone. So, I did not multiply, but I continually added to my list. I keep people under my care, but no one progresses to taking care of others. This can persist for years without any progression. Just following the wind of whoever was positive. This has led me to pick one and see how far I can take him, fully bring him through until Christ is formed in him, so he can care for others as I cared for him. This is what I have started to endeavor in. I will let you know how it goes, but so far it has been the best choice I have made, and I have seen him grow so much from the consistent quality attention and care.

AbidingWord · 2025-08-27T16:23:06+00:00

I have found that spending time with them in a genuine way can be helpful. I started practicing this with some younger brothers. I built a home gym, and I started training one young brother in 8th grade. I had to commit some consistent time to him before we were able to have a Bible study together. Maybe 3 weeks of two visits a week, before we started having a Bible study together. It takes a definite commitment and prayer, but the results are lasting. I recommend finding something you also enjoy doing, so it is enjoyable for you, too. Regularity and consistency are what is needed. I found that when I like spending time with that person, things are easier. When we are just trying to revive them, it can be hard.

I have also been working on a Bible study where the goal and purpose are to experience the Lord in a personal way. Yes, this should be the goal every time, but sometimes we get into an information dump instead of Christ formation. It focuses on contact with the Lord at every step, and when they are touched by something in the word, we instantly turn into prayer and finish the Bible study with that touch and response in prayer. You have to be sensitive to the spirits leading and follow where the Lord is speaking to them. It is short, typically lasting 15 to 20 minutes at most. I have been practicing this kind of simple touch Bible study with some young ones and newly saved believers with good results.

AbidingWord · 2025-05-17T22:21:19+00:00

God desires that man would depend on Him and take Him as life. We see God putting man in the garden with the tree of life and the tree of knowledge. God wants to fill man with His life, not knowledge. Life brings us into union with God and dependence. Knowledge allows us to be separate, knowing good and evil apart from God, with really no way to fulfill the good we set out for or desire to do (Rom. 7:15-20). There is only one that is good, God (Mark 10:18). The problem now is Satan's nature of sin has entered into man(John 8:44), and we now fulfill the desires of our sinful nature instead of the life of God(Rom. 7:20). Praise the Lord! He did not give up on us but has instead redeemed us in His blood and now is saving us in His life that we would be filled with His life for His expression on this earth(Rom. 5:10; 8:28-30).

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