The Words and the Spirit in the written Word

The Words and the Spirit in the written Word

Rom 2:25-29  For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.  (26)  Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?  (27)  And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?  (28)  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:  (29)  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Studying the written Word is more than just reading scripture to learn about the message in the words themselves. Yes, there is important truth in the message delivered by the words, but one should also learn and partake of the spirit of God in the passage, which is found behind the words.

Let’s have a look at the above passage and, as an example, extract a basic learning and understanding from the words in the passage, but also learn something about God’s character and will from the spirit behind the words.

 Quote of the Day

The quote above, paraphrased and adapted from a message preached by Paul Lucas, refers to the Athenians in Acts 17, who were essentially pagan idol worshippers who sat around all day in the courts of Areopagus, either to tell, or to hear some new thing [philosophy, stories, imaginations], Acts 17:21.

 Men who dote in their own wisdom, who reject God, waste time in their own vanities, adding nothing to their lives or to others. They are clanging cymbals, empty, and without profit unto God and His purpose. Similar to these men, the general history of mankind can be compared to these vanities, being empty of value when weighed up against God's eternal purpose.

The history recorded in the Bible are the events that truly have meaning and what men should remember and study. It pertains to God's plan and purpose in this world, it pertains to events that will still happen in our future, and it pertains to our spiritual destiny, both in this world and the ages to come. 

History is not our story, it is 'His' story, and thus it should be subject to His purpose and design and our attention and learning.

A practical analogy teaching how to study the Bible and walk in the Spirit

A practical analogy teaching how to study the Bible and walk in the Spirit

A famous chef had passed away, yet everyone was still trying to master his recipes. No matter what anyone did, from the Executive Chefs to the kitchen moms, their dishes just never had that sought after perfection that this chef produced in his day. He had authored a few books concerning his life and recipes, and one could follow his published recipes to the tee, but it never produced the same standards of taste and quality that he was renowned for. 

Then, one day, in a humble soup kitchen, in a backwater town, a social worker prepared a meal that ignited a frenzy. It was discovered that the simple meal he dished out to the homeless and destitute had the exact signature markers of that famous master chef. The aroma, the flavours, the textures, the quality and appearance. How did he do it? How did he crack the code? Reporters hounded him for answers.

This is what they learned:

Present your Bodies (Part 3)

Present your Bodies (Part 3)

Where is the dead body going to get life from?

1Cor 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

God breathed into the nostrils of the man, and he became a living soul. But since the fall of Adam, man is now dead in trespasses and sins. Where’s man going to get life from now? The law? Philosophy? Science?

Rom 8:10  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

The law of sin and death is no longer the only law operating in a believer. There is now another law operating within them too; the law of life and righteousness that frees them from the law of sin and death.

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Rom 8:11  But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

Present your Bodies (Part 2)

Present your Bodies (Part 2)

Until you get that glorified body, God wants your current one! What?? Why? What would God want with this weak, corrupt, vile, sinful body? The aim of this little study is to find this out.

Rom.12:1-2  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  (2)  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

If you have read, understood, and received what Paul has taught you in the first 11 chapters of Romans, concerning God’s righteous wrath and what He did through Jesus Christ to justify you and quicken your spirit, you will know that the only proper, and personal response you can make to His grace and love, is to present your body as a living sacrifice to God. But what good is our flesh body to God? Paul, in Romans 3 to 8, has informed you that your flesh is corrupt and sinful and that God’s work to save you was not achieved in your flesh, but judicially in His Son. So, why is Paul appealing to you to give God your futile body? Well God has a use for it, and it is for the glory of His Son.

Present your Bodies (Part 1)

Present your Bodies (Part 1)

The Start: Justification

Rom 5:1  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

When we believe the gospel of God’s Son, we have peace with God through our Lord, Jesus Christ. There is NOTHING that can change or threaten that peace we have! It is not dependent on us! That peace is through Christ. Justification is a legal word dealing with one’s judicial standing before God, the Judge. Biblical justification equates to the ungodly sinner being declared righteous, blameless, and innocent, being set free of all charges before God’s throne. Justification = just as if I never sinned.

The End: Adoption and glorification

Rom 8:23-24  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.