The Enneagram + The Gospel

Since that moment in the Garden, the Fall, we’ve been deceiving ourselves—seeing things through distorted lenses. And in so doing, we have created defense mechanisms and strategies to keep us “safe” from anything that might come against us. It’s called ‘personality’ or ‘ego’ or, in biblical terms: ‘flesh’ (Romans 8:8-9). These strategies, mechanisms, and tendencies differ from person to person, and they often manifest as a way to cover our personal sin issues. But we all trick ourselves into believing that they are going to help us find freedom, and instead we fall prey to self-deception.

We forget who we are, made in the image and likeness of God the Creator, living in the Spirit. We often look to external improvements to our spiritual and emotional problems, when the issue really lies deep in our hearts. We allow fear, distrust, and pride to guide us but these things only divert us down a path which takes us far from who the Father created us to be.  Somewhere inside each of us is an inner restlessness, the draw of Jesus, longing for and asking us to shed the weight of our sin and ego; to strip off every weight that hinders us from becoming more like Him. Inside each of us (with and by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit) is the ability to trade in our self-awareness, for Christ-awareness.

How does the Enneagram help?
The Enneagram is a tool that can help us become aware of all the ways we distort truth, goodness, and beauty. As a means to wake us up from unhealthy motivations and to help us become aware of the healthier ones, the Enneagram serves as a tool for spiritual transformation to help us along the journey home. Much like the warning alarms in an airplane which alert when the plane might be in danger, the Enneagram helps us to know how and where we need to grow both emotionally and spiritually but also gives us warning signs to prevent and correct us from going in the wrong direction. When embarking on a journey, we must start somewhere (in this case, where we’ve been, where we are right now) and understand where we are headed.

With prayer, Scripture, guidance from the Holy Spirit, and the practice of self-observation, self-reflection, and self-awareness, the Enneagram can be utilized as a tool that aids us along the way by unveiling our weaknesses, allowing us to see our tendencies, and revealing our strengths. 

As Christ followers, we must remember that the Gospel is our foundation, the Holy Spirit is our Guide, and Scripture is our Authority.

Personally, the Enneagram is a tool that can assist you in ridding yourself of old habits, sins, and behaviors which are self-defeating and stunt your spiritual and emotional growth. It is a tool that helps you to confront your brokenness, shame, and sin while offering a map for you to move toward growth by understanding how you are motivated and then begin integrating healthier habits and behaviors. With awareness and observation, the Enneagram can be used to expose your sin, how you function, and how you strive so that you can grow, live, and thrive. And all this while becoming more of who the Lord has created you to be. And then, when you put that which you’ve learned into practice, you are able to live out the Gospel message freely and unapologetically and, in doing so, give others permission to do the same.

In community, the Enneagram is a tool that helps you to shed your false self and allows you to invite others into deeper connection and intimacy. It aids in allowing you to extend yourself outward to the people around you, being who you were truly meant to be, and seeing others for who they are also intended to be. In community, we have an opportunity to model and teach one another how to trust, how to soften, and how to live safeguarded by the Cross. When we choose to be vulnerable with our brothers and sisters, allowing them to truly know our sin and struggles and giving them permission to speak God’s truth to us, we allow our community to partner with the Spirit in the transformative work of sanctification. A tool for practicing compassion and empathy, the Enneagram strengthens your relationships and unifies you to the hearts of the people surrounding you, providing a clearer path for living out Gospel-centered community.

Spiritually, the Enneagram is a tool that helps you become aware of the lies that the Enemy uses against you and find freedom in understanding who it is that God created you to truly be. God has given every one of us his Image to bear and a call to be agents of reconciliation and cultivation in the world. The Enneagram simply provides a framework through which you can approach that calling. It helps you recognize how you are motivated and how you use your mechanisms and tendencies to control certain aspects around you and certain characteristics within. With this information you can learn to let go and release yourself fully to Christ, deepen your dependency on Him, and trust His goodness and grace for you.

With prayer, intentional reading and study of the Scriptures, observation, awareness, and understanding how the Enneagram works, we grow in personal, spiritual, and relational maturity and integrity. As Christ followers, we must remember that the Gospel is our foundation, the Holy Spirit is our Guide, and Scripture is our Authority. We trust in the Gospel, that we are saved because of Jesus on the Cross. We believe we do not do the work of transformation on our own, but that transformation and teaching is ultimately the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit at work in us. We run to the Scriptures as the inspired Word of God to lead us to His wisdom and truth. The Enneagram is simply a tool that helps lead us to experience the growth the Spirit gives and that God desires to accomplish in us through the Gospel and reflect to others the love and grace that Jesus has offered to us.

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