Jan 6, 2021
By Pastor Jamaal Fyffe
By definition, the word saturation refers to “the state or process that occurs when no more of something can be absorbed, combined with, or added.” Quite naturally, the logical question that arises within the context of Gospel Saturation is how does this notion become the lived reality within the body of Christ, with all of the individual members existing as one? Is it possible to have so much of Christ dwelling within us that our “cup runneth over” as King David penned in the twenty-third Psalm? Or perhaps we have been misled into believing that this saturation process is merely a layer of sanctification requiring that we give up some of who we are, with the intent of becoming more like Christ. Notwithstanding such obscurity, however, before Christ can be poured out into us to the point of overflow, the vessels of our very being must of necessity be completely emptied of both self and pride.
Admittedly, the question noted above is in fact an age- old one merely worded differently, which emanates from the days of the prophet Ezekiel in which the question was presented to him from God: “Son of man, can these dry bones live?” What became abundantly clear to the Prophet was that living bones grow and thrive in living bodies that are saturated in blood that gives life. Dry bones, on the other hand, are lifeless and are as dry as the frame upon which they hang. In the same manner, gospel saturation goes beyond the cliché of “WWJD” (What Would Jesus Do?) to “what does Jesus do” in and through my life? The gospel saturation process speaks to a Spirit-filled life, and sacrificial love becomes the very heartbeat and source of sustaining life both in the church and within the life of the believer. A Christ-centered life cannot be dichotomized. He either has all of me or none of me— there is no in between. So how does this narrative fit within a broken world, and broken system where love is nowhere to be found? The reality is God specializes in the area of brokenness. The Prophet Jeremiah eventually understood this principle when he was sent to the Potter’s house for an object lesson (Jeremiah 18). Broken lives and dreams are not terminal in the capable hands of the Potter. Gospel saturation can lead us to our greatest victory in activating a broken and a contrite heart that leads to true repentance, in place of a sacrifice of bulls and unblemished lambs.
So if we are to experience gospel saturation in our lives and within our church communities, we have to experience the gospel itself. In other words, the love of God can not merely exist as an intellectual experience. The love from God must be shed abroad in our hearts and lives to the point that it literally explodes and impacts everything and everyone that stands within close proximity to our very lives. For it is impossible for us to give the world what we ourselves do not possess, nor have ever experienced personally. When the body is dead, and void of life, the heart must be revived again. The heart of the matter therefore is love, and it has always been love. Love is an independent act of the will; it is the act of mirroring God at the core. The substance that flows out of the life of a gospel-saturated heart is a love that goes beyond emotion and acts sacrificially. The world is not hungering for a new explanation of Christianity; it is hungering for a substantiation of our Christianity.
Pastor Jamaal Fyffe is the husband of Sheena Fyffe, and the father of Manoah, Saraeyah and Judah. He serves as Pastor of the Open Arms SDB Church
in Toronto. The Open Arms Ministry is a community-based church with an “all hands on deck” culture, that is also missional and Christ-centered.
