The purpose of life in THIS age is to have Christ formed in us in preparation for the NEXT age.
It is through this that God will ultimately have His full will in all creation. In this age, God is bringing us into a greater inward realization of His Son. Thus, this is worked out as we lose our lives into His hands in order that Christ might be our life — all unto becoming those who can be vessels through whom the Treasure is manifested — now and eternally.
Everything God is doing is unto that end — He wants Christ manifested through individuals, and then a body. Practically speaking, we abide by faith in His purpose by losing ourselves to Him in each situation for whatever it takes for Him to get His purpose.
This will bring our SELF life under the Cross but will bring us into a greater and greater degree of release in the Truth and life of Jesus. Over the course of time, we will realize that losing our lives to Christ is not a demand or a duty or a law. It is not something to avoid — even though the flesh doesn’t like it. It is what we will WANT to do because we will want the Lord and will no longer want to live in delusion of religious flesh. The outcome of the Redemptive work of Jesus Christ is that Jesus Christ be Lord of all — including us personally. If you read Ephesians 1, and then Romans 8, you get a picture there of the great purpose of God in Christ.
You will see that God is indeed fully engaged in our lives. But you will also note that He is engaged unto HIS purpose and not ours. God is not going to facilitate, repair, or restore, the old man in Adam. Rather, we are created in Christ Jesus a new creation. Thus, we see the vital necessity of knowing the Truth on these matters.
David A. DePra