Before
you begin your Bible study, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, be sure you
have named your sins privately to God the Father.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and
righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(Known, Unknown and Forgotten sins) (1Jn 1:9)
You will then be in fellowship with God,
Filled with the Holy Spirit and ready to learn Truth from the Word of God.
"God is spirit, and those
who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth," (Joh 4:24)
Old Sin Nature vs. Holy Spirit
SETTING THE STAGE
God
the Father is the Author of a plan of grace for mankind. The plan has three
phases. Phase one is salvation, which was accomplished by the Lord Jesus
Christ. The historical execution of phase one began with the virgin birth of
Christ, continued through His incarnation, and culminated with His death,
resurrection, ascension, and session at the Father’s right hand. (Heb 1:3) Because Christ was accepted in heaven
as a man, believers are also “accepted in the Beloved.” (Eph 1:6)
For
the individual, phase one is the moment of salvation, the first instant he
believes in Christ as his Savior. In that moment of faith, he receives many
permanent grace benefits, which accompany his new position in Christ. Prior to
the historical advent of Christ, God presented the saving work of Christ in
various ways: direct revelation, the teachings of prophets and priests, dreams,
visions, and rituals. In every era of history, however, man enters God’s plan
only through faith in Christ.
For what does the Scripture say?
"ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Rom 4:3)
They
said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your
household." (Act 16:31)
Phase
two of God’s plan is the period between salvation and the believer’s departure
from this life. The post-salvation way of life differs in various
dispensations. We live in the Church Age, which began on Pentecost, A.D. 30,
and will end at the signing of the Peace treaty by the one world ruler. (Dan 9:27)
During the Church Age, the Christian way of life is executed by God the
Holy Spirit; in and through the believer. (Joh 14:26;
Joh 16:13; Gal
5:16)
In phase two God has made
perfect provision for the Christian to live a supernatural life, to
advance to Spiritual maturity and to possess happiness and blessing in
prosperity and or adversity! (Joh 17:13) The techniques of the Christian life — including rebound, the
filling of the Spirit, faith-rest, and living in the Word — are introduced in other books. The Doctrine of
dispensations, which enables us to orient to God’s plan for our post-salvation
lives on earth, is also presented in a separate book. Phase three is God’s plan
for the believer in eternity. This phase commences
at physical death when we will be face to
face with the Lord. (2Co 5:8) Believers who advance to Spiritual maturity in time will
receive rewards in eternity.
At
the point of salvation, the Holy Spirit places each Church Age believer in
union with Christ. I like to diagram this by the “top circle,” which represents
eternal life. We can never get out of that top circle. At salvation we are also
placed in the “bottom circle,” which represents temporal fellowship with God.
However, as soon as we sin we move outside the bottom circle into carnality. There are no Spiritual dynamics in carnality. The
only way back into that circle of fellowship with God, that state of
Spirituality, is by means of rebound.
If we confess our sins, [Acknowledge
our known sins, maybe we will and maybe we won’t] He [God the Father] is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. [Unknown sins] (1Jn 1:9)
When
we acknowledge to God all our known sins, the Holy Spirit is free to fill and
or empower us.
The
filling ministry of God the Holy Spirit provides the Divine power that works
invisibly in the life of the growing believer to produce the “fruit of the
Spirit,” (Gal 5:22-23) The Holy Spirit utilizes the inventory of Truth that the
believer accumulates in his soul. As the
believer’s inventory of Truth grows, so does
the extent of God the Holy Spirit’s production in his life.
ELIJAH. THE SPIRITUAL GIANT
While believers in the Old Testament were never said to be
in union with Christ, they were; based on what HE would do; as we are on what
He DID do! Certain believers were filled and or empowered by God the
Holy Spirit for special functions. Spirituality was
applied through the faith-rest technique, (Rom
4:17-21; Jas 5:17-18) — BELIEVING GOD'S PROMISES! Therefore, the Principle
of fellowship versus carnality holds true for all believers, then and now. (Psa 32:5; Psa 51:3)
In, (1Ki 19:1) Elijah, who was filled
with the Spirit of God, (2Ki 2:9) was
taught that great lesson of Spirituality. He had just concluded the Spiritual
leadership of a spectacular revival in Israel. (1Ki
18:1-46) As the servant of the Lord, he had been instrumental in
reversing the tide of apostasy and turning the Jews back to their Messiah. At that particular point, the devil began a subtle
counterattack through a willing dupe — the heathen queen, Jezebel.
Jezebel
was the leader of the apostate ecumenical religious system of Palestine, the
worship of Baal, and she had been supporting her 450 false prophets with public
funds. After their infamous failure to provoke Baal to action on their behalf,
Elijah had ordered the prophets slain (1Ki 18:40)
Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah
had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. (1Ki 19:1)
King
Ahab returned to Jezreel from Mount Carmel where the revival was conducted.
Like the mouse he was, Ahab’s First mistake was to tell his wife everything!
Jezebel, in turn, immediately took steps to eliminate Elijah. Since Satan was too clever to risk making a martyr out of one
who was now a great Spiritual hero and thus further spread the revival,
"Jezebel" conceived of a more devious scheme to dispose of him.
Then Jezebel sent a messenger to
Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make
your life as the life of one of them [Prophets of Baal] by tomorrow about this
time." (1Ki 19:2)
Under
normal conditions, Elijah would not have been disturbed by this threat upon his
life. Until this time, he had kept his eyes on the Lord. As a result, he had been fantastically used as an instrument
to demonstrate who and what the Lord is. Now, weary and overwrought, the prophet began to think about himself and to worry about
his situation. A believer is most vulnerable
to failure after a great Spiritual victory! Elijah
was no exception, and he was completely disarmed by Jezebel’s plan. Having run
all the way from Mount Carmel to Jezreel, he was exhausted. Consequently, when
he received the message, his perception was dulled.
Had he Spiritually Thought out the situation, he would have realized that if
Jezebel had truly intended to kill him, she would have sent an assassin with a
dagger instead of a servant with a message. Jezebel’s objective was
simply to frighten Elijah into running out on the revival, which was threatening
her pagan religion.
ELIJAH,
THE CARNAL GIANT
And he was afraid and arose and ran for his
life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. (1Ki 19:3)
In
order for us to understand that the distance from the palace at Jezreel to
Beer-sheba was over one hundred miles, the Bible clearly specifies that this
Beer-sheba belonged to Judah. The instinct of self-
preservation is strong in every human being. So
dear had Elijah’s life become to him, that he drove himself beyond normal
endurance until he considered himself to be safe from his enemies. An entire day had passed before he stopped to reflect on his
situation.
But he himself went a day's journey
into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he
requested for himself that he might die, and said, "It is enough; now, O
LORD, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers." (1Ki 19:4)
Instead
of realizing that no one was pursuing him and that as long as he was alive, the
Lord still had a purpose for him, the great Spiritual giant of Mount Carmel
became a carnal weakling moping under the juniper tree, totally discouraged. He
was the victim of the old psychological cliché, “I wish
I were dead!” Of course, people seldom mean that literally; it is merely
an expression of their self-pity. The inevitable
outcome of focusing our eyes on things or people is that we eventually get our
eyes on self!
Elijah
had completely ignored the Principle of grace. No
one ever implied that he was better than his fathers. Elijah had been used of
the Lord because of grace, not because he was
anyone special. You can always count on it, when you are out of
fellowship, you will feel sorry for yourself and have the wrong perspective of
life.
At
the time of, (1Ki 19:2) Elijah had
eternal life; he was in the top circle, and he could never get out. But when he sinned against the Lord by running away, he moved
outside the circle of fellowship. He had his
eyes on himself and had fallen into the trap of self-pity; he believed he had
failed in every possible way. It is a soul kink to feel sorry for yourself, and it is one
of the worst expressions of carnality. Sooner or later it happens to all
members of the human race — “sitting under the juniper tree.” We can understand and even sympathize with Elijah
because we have all been in a place where everything looked hopeless,
everything had gone wrong, and we felt that no one loved us!
He lay down and slept under a juniper
tree; and behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him,
"Arise, eat." (1Ki 19:5)
Elijah was out of fellowship. He had neither earned nor
deserved the right to have food or any other blessing; but because of His
perfect character, God in His grace always provides.
Then he looked and behold, there was
at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and
drank and lay down again. The angel of the LORD
came again a second time and touched him and said, "Arise, eat, because
the journey is too great for you." (1Ki 19:6-7)
We
now discover that the angel of verse 5 was the Lord Jesus Christ, the Angel of
Jehovah. The Lord Jesus Christ always comes to us in
our hour of difficulty and trial. Even though
we are totally unworthy. He is always there.
It was the Lord Jesus who said:
'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not
anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I
will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'
"Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish. "You will
seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, Those who war with you
will be as nothing and non-existent. "For I am the LORD your God, who
upholds your right hand, Who says to you, 'Do not
fear, I will help you!' (Isa 41:10-13)
So he arose and ate and drank, and
went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the
mountain of God. (1Ki 19:8)
I
would like to have a meal like that! Apparently it contained all the vitamins
and minerals that were necessary, because after this one meal, Elijah traveled
forty days — all the way down to Mount Horeb in the Sinai Peninsula. Point of
Truth: God’s provision is always the best — in fact,
it is perfect!
HOW
DO YOU “DWELL”?
Then he came there to a cave and lodged there;
and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What
are you doing here, Elijah?" (1Ki 19:9)
The
Hebrew language is a very descriptive language, and the Jews had at least six
different words for “lodging.” It is worthwhile to see exactly what these words
look like and what they actually mean. I will give the English spelling
phonetically as nearly as possible to the sound of the Hebrew verbs. (1) GUR —
to lodge somewhere as a guest. This word means “to come with the idea of making
a short visit and to stay the specified short period.” This is what we would
call a good guest. (2) DUM — to dwell or lodge in a state of depression. (3)
DUR — to dwell in restlessness. This word was used in connection with any kind
of a caged animal. (4) CHANAH — to dwell in a tent. (5) JASHAB — to dwell in
peace, happiness, blessing and prosperity. (This is the one that should apply
to every married couple.) (6) LUN — to go, to move into some spot with the idea
of spending the night and then staying a long time. LUN is the word used in
this passage.
Elijah
had moved into the cave just to rest for one night; but even though it was
dark, cold and clammy, he stayed for a long time. He was still feeling sorry
for himself, so he remained in the cave and sulked. What a contrast! The great Spiritual giant had allowed himself to be reduced
to a heap of gloom and depression!
Again,
the Lord (Jehovah) appeared to teach him the lesson of Spirituality — a lesson
that each of us must learn. “Elijah, what are you doing here?” was a proper
question. What was Elijah doing there? He was the Spiritual leader of the
revival of Northern Israel. God never meant for Elijah to be a cross-country
runner; yet that was what he had been doing — running and sulking. The key
point in his answer is the personal pronoun, “I.”
He said, "I have been very
zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken
Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword.
And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." (1Ki 19:10)
Because
the Lord is omniscient. He knew billions of years ago that Elijah was
“jealous,” or literally, “zealous for the Lord.” He also knew that the children
of Israel had been out of line. Notice the emphasis: it is “I, I, I and my.” Poor, carnal Elijah, with his eyes on himself!
Yet
because the Lord is very gracious. He was not willing to put one of his
well-trained servants on the shelf. Elijah had been trained both by the brook
Cherith and in the house of the widow of Zarephath. (1Ki 17:1-16) He did a marvelous job on Mount Carmel in taking
a stand for the Lord. (1Ki 18:1-46) But now he was falling apart; he was in the place of
carnality, out of the bottom circle.
UNDERSTANDING
JEHOVAH
(1Ki 19:10) in the Authorized King James Version,
uses the word LORD in capital letters. This is the translators’ method of rendering
the Hebrew word JEHOVAH. Notice that JEHOVAH contains three vowels. When you
remove the vowels, you have JHVH. This approximates the Hebrew word JHWH, which
is called the Tetragrammaton because it has four letters. Originally, written
Hebrew contained no vowels. The vowels were all pronounced and understood, but
the written language was just a series of consonants read from right to left.
Later, vowels points were placed below the letters. This particular word, JHWH,
is derived from the verb HAJAH, “to be,” with the connotation of absolute
existence. This concept is taken from, (Exodus 3:14)
where the translation “I Am that I Am” is the
doubling of the verb. Therefore, JHWH appears to be a crasis formed from the
doubling of the verb HAJAH, “to be.”
When
the Old Testament refers to all three Members of the Trinity collectively, the
Hebrew word is ELOHIM. This word is rendered “God” in the Authorized Version,
capital G with lower case od. The IM in ELOHIM is the plural suffix, indicating
that identical Divine essence belongs to all three Members of the Trinity. When
the Old Testament refers to one of the individual Persons of the Godhead, the
word used is JEHOVAH or JEHOVAH ELOHIM.
THE
LORD PASSED BY — A STILL SMALL VOICE
So He said, "Go forth and stand on the
mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a
great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the
rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an
earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. (1Ki 19:11)
Elijah
stood at the entrance to the cave and watched this tremendous wind tear up the
mountainside and destroy the rocks. The wind and the earthquake were a great
manifestation of nature: they represented the power of human ability and
naturalistic phenomena. Please notice, ‘The LORD was not in the wind … the LORD
was not in the earthquake.” God does not operate through the energy of the
flesh ---through human power; God operates through His
Spirit and Truth! (Joh 4:24)
After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was
not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a
gentle blowing. (1Ki 19:12)
Again,
the fire was a terrifying representation of natural power, but “the LORD was
not in the fire.” The English phrase, “a sound of a
gentle blowing,” is a weak translation. The Hebrew says, “a voice of silence, atomic!” This was a voice that
said nothing; yet it was the most powerful voice in the universe. Here is a title of God the Holy Spirit. (Zec 4:6) summarizes
the lesson: “…Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of
hosts.”
THE
USELESS BELIEVER
1Ki
18:1 did not learn his lesson, and he had to be set aside for a time until he
woke up to the importance of the power of the Spiritual life; the control of the “still small voice.” When God the Holy Spirit controls our lives, we are said
to be Spiritual. When the old sin nature
controls, we are said to be carnal. (Rom 8:5)
At every point, we are either carnal or Spiritual;
but we are never both at the same time. There is a continual struggle between
the old sin nature and the Holy Spirit; the
soulish mind, (Rom 8:7-8) versus the Spiritual Mind;
(1Co 2:16) human reality versus GOD'S REALITY.
When the Holy Spirit controls the life; He can use any
useless or broken stick; when the Holy Spirit
does not control our life, the greatest talent, ability, personality and
eloquence in the world are absolutely worthless. Elijah had run away; he
had sat under the juniper tree; he had been sulking in a cave. Elijah was in a
carnal state; he was out of fellowship. In spite of his tremendous human
abilities, he was powerless at the moment. To serve
God, a believer must be in a position to utilize the power of God the Holy
Spirit! I have a very beautiful gold pen, which has been handed down in
the family for several generations. I cherish it very much. But you know, the
little gadget that takes in the ink is worn out. I never carry that pen around
to use for the simple reason that it just won’t hold ink. Even though it is a
beautiful pen on the outside, it is useless because it isn’t filled with ink.
Whatever
you may be on the exterior, if God the Holy Spirit
does not control your life, you are as useless
as my gold pen — as useless as Elijah was in the cave. It is very important to understand this concept, because
Spirituality is the key to experiential Christianity.
SPIRITUALITY
AS RELATED TO THE MOSAIC LAW
For
a general concept of the Principles of Spirituality, we must begin with the
Person of Jesus Christ.
Point
1: Christ fulfilled the Law. This may not seem to have much to do with
Spirituality, but actually, it has everything in the world to do with our
subject. In, (Mat 5:17) Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the Law,
or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” In view of
this statement, we need to take a look at the Mosaic Law.
We
usually think of the Mosaic Law as the Ten Commandments’ but these mandates
were only a small portion of the Law. The entire Law was divided into three
parts or codices:
Codex
#1 was the moral Law, which included the Ten Commandments as well as all
other moral and ethical Commandments. The purpose of Codex # 1 was to prove to
man that he is a sinner and needs a Savior.
Codex
# 2 was a complete shadow Christology. It is called “shadow” because Christ
was revealed symbolically in many ways. (Heb 10:1)
For example, the Tabernacle was a shadow Christology. Every article of
furniture in the Tabernacle, every activity inside the Tabernacle, the very
materials from which the Tabernacle was constructed — cloth, metal and wood —
were significant. Each article specifically taught some facet of the Person and
work of the coming Messiah. Remember, not all of the
people could read; but they could learn Truth from seeing the various articles
of furniture and the rituals performed in the Tabernacle. (Heb 9:1-28)
The
Jews observed the slain animal on the Brazen Altar, and understood that this
foreshadowed the Messiah Who would die for their sins. They saw the priest enter
the Holy Place to accomplish the service of God. While the congregation could
not enter, they knew that within was a Table of Shewbread that spoke of Christ
as the Bread of Life. (And fellowship with God in time) (Joh 6:35) They were aware of the Lampstand which
furnished the only light in that part of the Tabernacle; and from this, they
understood that Christ is the Light of the world. (Joh
8:12) (And the Spiritual life of Christ in us) There was a Golden
Altar of Incense, which identified Christ as the High Priest forever after the
order of Melchizedek; (And prayer through Christ) (Heb
5:6). The veil separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies,
the dwelling place of Christ, represented his Incarnation (Heb 10:20)
In
the center of the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant, which portrayed
Christ as a sin offering for mankind. This box, constructed of acacia wood and
overlaid with gold, symbolized the humanity and Deity of Christ, or His
Hypostatic Union. The Ark contained three articles as a reminder of Israel’s
sin during the wilderness wanderings: the tables of the Law, the pot of manna
and Aaron’s rod that budded. (Heb 9:4)
Over the top of the Ark of the Covenant was the Mercy Seat. Its very
construction, with the cherubim on either side, presented propitiation and
depicted how the justice and righteousness (Holiness) of God the Father would
be satisfied with the Spiritual death of Christ. (Rom
3:25) As explained in, (Heb 10:1)
all these Doctrines were communicated by means of shadow Christology: “For the
Law having a shadow of good things to come.…” What are these “good things”? They refer to the Lord Jesus Christ and the new way of
life for the believer in the Church Age.
The
Tabernacle revealed the Person and work of the Messiah, but He was further made
known through the Levitical offerings. Each of these offerings disclosed some
feature of the work of Christ on the Cross. In addition to the offerings, the
function of the Levitical priesthood also revealed Christ’s Person and work.
Finally, the Jews observed various Holy Days. The
Passover, for example, prefigured Christ’s redemptive work. (Salvation) (1Co 5:7)
The Feast of Unleavened Bread pictured Christ with no
imputed sin, sin nature, personal sin and no human thinking in the Spiritual
life. (1Co
5:6-8) Each of the Holy Days taught some aspect of God’s Plan, and
the Jews learned Truth by observing the prescribed rituals. All ritual worship was specified by Codex #2 of the Mosaic
Law and was designed to demonstrate that Christ is the only solution to the
problem of sin and the old sin nature. (Rom 6:17)
Codex #3 was the social and Divine establishment code, which provided
a life-style to protect Israel as custodians of the Word of God. Its Laws of
sanitation, diet, etc., affirmed that God takes care of His own.
In
His Incarnation, Christ fulfilled all three codices. The next question is, how
did He fulfill them? First, under Codex #1, He observed the Ten Commandments perfectly.
For hundreds and hundreds of years, the Decalogue had been begging for someone
to keep its every jot and tittle; yet no one ever
could! The presence of the old sin nature in
every member of the human race prevents even the possibility of living a
sinless life. But here is One, born of a
virgin, without a sin nature, without imputed or personal sin. Who came into
the world as true humanity and undiminished deity in one Person, and lived a
perfect life! In so doing. He fulfilled Codex #1.
Second,
Christ accomplished Codex #2. He became the Reality of the shadows. He actually
achieved in His life all the Precepts previously taught about His Person and
work.
Third,
Christ obeyed all laws and thereby fulfilled the concept of Codex #3. Prior to
the Church Age, the universal indwelling of the Spirit was unknown. We now have
a totally new situation: from the Day of Pentecost, A. D. 30, to this very
moment, every person who has believed in Jesus Christ as Savior is immediately
and permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ said in, (Joh 16:7):
"But
I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not
go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
This
was a reference to the Holy Spirit. After Jesus Christ ascended and was seated
at the right hand of the Father, He and the Father sent the Holy Spirit, (Joh 15:26) and the new Law of the Spirit of Life
in Christ Jesus was instituted. (Rom 8:2)
Our next point is extremely important because it is the negative approach to
Spirituality.
Point
2: Christ is the end of the Law for believers. “Or
Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone that believes”
(Rom 10:4) “But if you are led by the
Spirit, you are not under the Law.” (Gal 5:18)
“But the fruit OF GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT is love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness self-control;
against such there is no Law. (Gal 5:22-23) The Law in these passages refers
specifically to the Mosaic Law.
Once
fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ, the Mosaic Law was set aside. The Law was
given only to Israel during the dispensation of the Jews. It was instituted
through Moses and remained in effect until abolished by Christ. During the
Church Age, believers are not under the Law. This Truth may shock you. You may
be vibrating because of all the Sunday School teachers and ministers who have
convinced you that you must live by the Ten Commandments — as if the Ten Commandments could effectively deal with sin. The
only trouble is that you have never examined the Word of God to discover God’s
grace method of handling sin in the believer’s life. God provides solutions; He
is not shockable.
Point
3: We are not Lawless. When the Bible states “we are not under the Law, (Ritual
--- shadows) but under grace,” (Reality) (Rom 6:14)
--- it is not a credit card for sinning. If you do not understand this point,
you might assume this were true. You would say, “Since I am not under the Law
and I have eternal life and eternal security, I am going out and live it up.
Goodbye, God, I’ll see you in eternity!” That, of course, is a distortion of
Truth. The Word of God never gives you license to sin.
The
whole purpose of the study of the Levitical priesthood in the Book of Hebrews is
to demonstrate that the Mosaic Law was abolished when Christ fulfilled it. The
priesthood of the Law was a specialized priesthood. In all Israel, there were
only a few priests, all from the family of Aaron in the tribe of Levi. What
happened to the specialized priesthood when the Law was removed? It went, too!
If you are standing on a rug and someone pulls it out from under you, what
happens to you? Down you go with the rug!
We
no longer operate under a specialized priesthood because in no sense of the
word are we under the Mosaic Law. You should be familiar with, (1Pe 2:5; Rev 1:6;
Rev 5:10; Rev
20:6). Every believer is a priest! Any religious organization
that tries to put believers under the Law has neutralized those believers in
phase two of God’s Plan for their lives. This is dishonoring to the entire
Principle of grace, to God the Father, the Author of that Principle, and to God
the Son, who executed the Plan of Grace upon the Cross!
THE
NEW LAW
(Rom 8:2) states the new Law, which is the routine
for the Christian life:
For the Law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus has set you free from the Law of sin and of death.
“Of”
is a genitive of source. The source of this Law is the
Holy Spirit and His Thinking. (1Co 2:11-13)
He is the new Law! Notice that the Holy Spirit has several titles. “Holy
Spirit” is the name which stresses His personality. “Spirit of” emphasizes His
work and is used as a title to indicate various aspects of His ministry. He is
designated the “Spirit of Truth” in, (1Jn 4:6)
because He reveals Truth.
How
does this new Law operate? “In Christ Jesus.” This
means that it is a function for believers only. “Has made me free” is in
the aorist tense, where the point of time is divorced from time and perpetuated
forever. “Once and for all the Holy Spirit has made me free from the Law of sin
and death.” This is a reference to the Mosaic Law, called the “Law of sin,”
because Codex #1 revealed the sinfulness of man. It is called the “Law of
death” because the Mosaic Law could not produce life,
even in one person.
For what the Law could not do, weak as
it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of
sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He
condemned sin in the flesh. (Rom 8:3)
Here
was the deficiency of the Mosaic Law. “It was weak through [Literally, because
of] the flesh.” “Flesh” is a reference to the old sin nature resident in every
individual. The Law could do nothing for us; but God the Father could do
something, and He did! God sent His own Son into the world as true humanity.
“And for sin” in the Greek, is literally “for a sin
offering.”
So that the requirement of the Law might be
fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the
Spirit. (Rom 8:4)
What
does “the righteousness of the Law fulfilled in us” mean? Since the presence of
the old sin nature in every member of the human race precludes any possibility
of fulfilling Codex #1--- in the energy of the flesh, it
is impossible to keep the Mosaic Law by trying to keep the Mosaic Law. Only one Member of the human race ever kept the Law, and
that was Jesus Christ. Yet it says right here that the Law can be
fulfilled. Is this a contradiction? Definitely not! Then how? “... fulfilled in
us, who walk not after [According to] the flesh, [The old sin nature] but after
[By means of] the Spirit.”
You see, one cannot keep the Law in the power of the old sin
nature. The Law can be fulfilled only by means of the filling of the
Holy Spirit. So today, we can measure up to the Divine standard in exactly the
same way that Christ did — through the filling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit sustained Christ during the entire period of His Incarnation. We know
this from, (Isa 42:1) and from passages
throughout the New Testament itself. In, (Mat 12:28)
Jesus said, “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God [first-class
condition of “if” — and I do] …”
At
the same time that Christ was fulfilling the Law, He was controlled by
the Spirit, and He produced the characteristics of love, peace, etc., that are
seen in, (Gal 5:22-23). When we are controlled by the Holy Spirit, He produces in
us the very character of the humanity of Jesus Christ. (2Pe 1:4) This is the only way in which we can
fulfill the Law. We are not Lawless; but we have a new Law which was designed
for believers in the Church Age — “the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” (Rom 8:2)
“BE
FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT”
The
new Law calls for a new Commandment.
For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper,
And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you." (Eph 5:14)
“Wherefore”
is literally “for this reason,” and refers to the tremendous Divine operating
assets listed in the first three chapters of Ephesians. “Sleeping” is a picture
of the believer out of fellowship, out of the bottom circle. “Awake,” an aorist
active imperative, is a Command to the believer to
use, (1Jn 1:9) which is our
rebound technique. “Arise from the dead” is also an aorist imperative. Since no
believer can literally bring himself up from the dead, what does this really
mean?
The
Bible teaches 9 different types of death, (Spiritual, physical, temporal,
productional, sexual, second death, sin unto death, retroactive positional
death and experiential death; to the old sin nature). In,
(Eph 5:14) we
have temporal death, the believer out of fellowship with God through carnality.
Our Command once again is: Get back into fellowship! If we do, what happens?
“Christ shall give you light” or animation. A dark house on a dark night is
just a blur on the landscape. But if the house has light on the inside, it
takes on beauty. Christianity provides inner beauty and inner power through the
light, which is turned on when the Holy Spirit controls the life.
Therefore
be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise. (Eph 5:15)
How can you walk “carefully”? (Gal 5:16) states the answer: “This I say then,
walk in [By means of] God the Holy Spirit, [in the filling of the Spirit] and
you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” [Old sin nature] “Not as unwise.”
How can I avoid being unwise? (1) I must know and
understand Truth; and (2) I must Think with
It! How do we know this? The word “wise”
connotes the concept of the application of Truth to experience, and this is
only possible by means of the filling of the Spirit.
Making
the most of your time, because the days are evil. (Eph 5:16)
The
word “exagorazo in the greek” means “to purchase.” Remember, this is addressed
to believers; only believers can buy time, as the unbeliever has no “capital.”
He cannot buy even one minute! Time is purchased by
means of the filling of the Spirit, whereby Truth learned and applied becomes
our “coin of the realm.” (Pro 23:23)
So
then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Eph 5:17)
Our
next imperative or Command says, “Stop being stupid.” Who is the “stupid”
Christian in this context? It is the believer who remains in the state of
carnality due to his ignorance of the Truth of Pneumatology — the ministry of
God the Holy Spirit. What can he do about this status? “Understand
the will of God.” You cannot learn all of the details of the will of God
in one moment; it is not even expected of you. But it is very clear from this
context what the will of God is:
And
do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the
Spirit. (Eph 5:18)
The
first part of this verse is prohibition against drunkenness, because in a
drunken state, alcohol becomes the adverse controlling force of the mind. On the other hand, the filling of the Spirit is the
controlling power of the Spiritual life. This is a Command from God: the
present passive imperative of PLEROO says, “Keep on
being filled with the Spirit.” Notice the passive voice: you receive the
filling of the Spirit. You cannot work for it; you cannot earn it; you do not
deserve it; it is a grace provision of the Lord.
The
state of Spirituality is not attained because you “agonized in a closet.”
Perhaps you think that because you fasted you are Spiritual. Well, you are not!
You may look better because you lost weight. You may feel better because your
cardiovascular system isn’t under such a strain; but you are not Spiritual
because of fasting. Perhaps you think that because you hustled in a Christian
program and were elected to a church office that you are Spiritual. Such
activities do not make you Spiritual! Spirituality
is the filling of the Holy Spirit which we receive when we follow God’s Command
in, (1Jn 1:9).
So we have been given a new Law in Romans, Chapter
8, and now we have a new Commandment in Ephesians 5.
YOUR
BODY IS A SANCTUARY
The
body of the believer contains a soul (The area for capacities in life) composed
of self-consciousness, mentality, (With two lobes) volition, emotion, and
conscience. (Norms and standards) The body also houses
the old sin nature. The human spirit, received
at salvation, enables the believer to understand, to store and to transfer
Truth into the right lobe. Finally, God the Holy Spirit indwells the
body of the believer. Nowhere is He said to indwell the soul, nor are we ever
Commanded to be indwelt by the Spirit, for this ministry to the believer is
automatic and permanent from the moment of salvation.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? (1Co 6:19)
Whenever
you find the word “Ghost” in your Bible, it should be translated “Spirit.” The
Greek word PNEUMA always means “Spirit.” There is no word in the Greek
vocabulary for “ghost.” This apparent discrepancy is simply a matter of
preference with one group of translators partial to the use of the English word
“Ghost,” and the other, to “Spirit.” In, (Exodus 25:8) the
Tabernacle (Later on, the Temple) is
referred to as a sanctuary. So, to make our verse a little stronger: “your body is the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit.”
A
stranger walked into Berachah Church one day and asked me where the sanctuary
was. I said, “Right here.” He said, “I don’t see it.” I repeated, “Right here,”
and pointed to myself. He said, “You don’t understand”; whereupon I countered,
“You don’t understand!” Then I added, “If you are looking for the auditorium,
go down the hall and turn to the right.” He looked terribly shocked and said,
“Auditorium?” So I explained, “Yes, the last sanctuary made of brick and mortar
was destroyed in A.D. 70 by the legions of Titus when they broke through the
walls of Jerusalem and destroyed the city.”
It’s pretty hard to get rid of old ideas, isn’t it? In
the true sense of the word, it is impossible for any church to have a
sanctuary. God no longer “dwells” in tabernacles made with hands; He indwells
the body of every believer. So wherever you go, you take your “sanctuary” right
along with you. Whether you are Spiritual .or carnal, mature or immature, the
Holy Spirit never leaves your body during your life on this earth. The prayer
David prayed in, (Psa 51:11) … take not
thy Holy Spirit from me,” is no longer legitimate. When believers in the Old
Testament who temporarily possessed the power of the Spirit stepped out of
line. He could be removed as the result of Divine discipline. (1Sa 16:14) But in the Church Age, the Holy
Spirit is here to stay — period!
THE
MANIFESTATION OF THE NEW LAW
The
Holy Spirit indwells the body of the believer permanently, but His ministry of
filling depends on whether or not you use, (1Jn 1:9).
The new Law of the Spirit of life, or Spirituality,
is manifested in and through the believer as the Holy Spirit controls his soul.
However, in the case of a new or immature
believer, the filling of the Spirit is rarely apparent. There are two
reasons for this. First, the new or immature believer
is unable to be filled with the Spirit for a prolonged period. Second, he is minus Truth. The
more Truth he understands, the more consistently he will apply the rebound
technique and be filled with the Spirit. The
longer he is able to maintain the filling of the Spirit, the more Truth he is
able to assimilate and apply. The Holy Spirit
uses the BIBLE in the soul!
In order for the believer to mature Spiritually, there
must be a balance of residency in his soul between the filling of the Spirit
and God's Thoughts. The
filling of the Spirit, plus the positive volition of the believer toward Truth
and his consequent consistent intake of Truth establish this balance of
residency in his soul. In each of the passages
we will examine, the soul of the believer is connected with the function of the
Holy Spirit and Bible Truth.
That He would grant
you, according to the riches of His glory, to
be strengthened with power through His Spirit in
the inner man. (Eph 3:16)
“That”
introduces a purpose clause, and the literal translation reads: “That he would,
once and for all, give you, according to the riches of his glory, to be
empowered with Divine power by means of his Spirit in the inner man.” You will
notice the Principle: the Holy Spirit’s control of the inner man or soul is the
source of power. First Christ is formed in us by
Truth.
My children, with whom I am again in
labor until Christ is formed in you. (Gal 4:19) 30 percent.
And next by consistency of the
Thinking with Truth; Christ is at home.
So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through
faith; (Truth) and that you, being rooted and
grounded in love. (Virtue) (Eph 3:17) 60 percent.
The
second purpose is “that Christ may be at home in your hearts.” Just as we had
several Hebrew words for different aspects of “dwelling,” this is the Greek
word for “being at home.” This means “to
dwell in relaxation and ease.” It is possible to be in a house, even to live
there, yet not be at home. Some of you may have had such an experience. This phrase says, in effect, that when the Holy Spirit
controls the soul, Christ is at home in your life. Experiential Christianity is what you Think; (Pro 23:7) — not the
facade you can produce on the outside. The last part of, (Eph 3:17) defines manifestations of the filling
of the Spirit when the believer has a foundation of Truth,
(“Rooted”) and is growing Spiritually, (“Grounded”).
According to my earnest expectation
(Concentration on Truth) and hope, (Certain of rewards in eternity) that I will
not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, (And or openness)
Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by
death. (Php 1:20) 100 percent
cf. (Mar 4:20)
“With
all boldness,” is literally, “with all openness.” In our last passage, Christ
was at home in our hearts. We now have a little different phrase: “Christ
exalted in my body.” The means of accomplishing this is the same as before — the filling of God the Holy Spirit and maximum Truth
resident in the soul!
My children, with whom I am again in labor
until Christ is formed in you. (Gal 4:19)
Paul
is using the title, “my little children,” to rebuke the Galatians.
Occasionally, when adults start scrapping, you tell them to “stop acting like
children” or “stop being childish.” With this phrase, Paul immediately gained
the attention of those “fighting Irishmen” from Asia Minor. The Galatians were
the three Celtic tribes that turned back, instead of crossing the English
Channel with the rest of the Irish, and finally settled in the province of
Galatia. They had been conducting themselves in a rather childish way by biting
and devouring each other with words. Actually, they had been fighting among
themselves because they had been “suckers” for false Truth. So Paul used the
term “my little children” as rebuke, not as affection.
“Of
whom I travail in birth again,” might be translated, “I am sweating you out.”
The phrase, “until Christ be formed in you,” is simply another manifestation of
the application of the new Law by which the believer in the Church Age reaches
Spiritual maturity.
THE
GLORIFICATION OF JESUS CHRIST
Who
glorifies Jesus Christ on earth? If you said, “believers,” you are wrong! The
answer is the Holy Spirit. Jesus had promised the Holy Spirit in, (Joh 16:7): “... if I depart, I will send him
[the Comforter] to you.” Then in, (Joh 16:14)
Jesus said, “He [The Holy Spirit] shall glorify me . . . .” The primary ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify
Christ! (Joh 7:39) tells us:
“... the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
After Christ ascended and sat down at the right hand of the Father in
glorification, the Holy Spirit came to glorify Christ on earth THROUGH
believers. Christ must be absent from the earth before the Holy Spirit could
begin His ministry of glorification.
No
member of the human race has within himself any ability to glorify Christ.
Human talent, physical assets, mental capacity — none of these apparent
advantages can glorify Christ. This is a vital point: it exposes the worthlessness of any human righteousness that
we can produce. (Rom 7:18) Only One Person glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. That
Person is God the Holy Spirit, who indwells and controls the believer.
The Command of, (1Co 6:20) to “glorify
God in your body” can be fulfilled only through the
balance of residency in the soul between the filling of the Spirit and Truth.
THE
STRUGGLE FOR CONTROL
As
long as you live in your present body, the old sin nature will coexist with the
indwelling Holy Spirit as a permanent resident of the body. This results in a
great struggle for dominance in the life of every believer: the old sin nature
versus the Holy Spirit. Paul stated it this way:
For I know that
nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the
doing of the good (Divine righteousness) is not. (Rom 7:15)
He is simply saying that we cannot live a supernatural
Spiritual life, when the old sin nature controls the soul. (Gal 3:2-3) When the
Holy Spirit controls our soul, we are Spiritual. Your volition determines which one will control. Any sin in your life allows the old sin nature to dictate to
your soul; but it is quickly dethroned by the
application of, (1Jn 1:9). When your sins are confessed, the Holy Spirit is again in
control. Some believers are like yo-yo’s. They constantly jump back and
forth between the dictatorship of the Holy Spirit and the old sin nature. Only the consistent intake and the Thinking with God's Truth
can overcome this instability!
Since you
have in obedience to the Truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the
brethren, fervently love one another from the
heart. (1Pe 1:22)
What happens to the Holy Spirit when
we allow the old sin nature to control the life? The Holy Spirit does not leave
us, but He is said to be “quenched” in, (1Th 5:19)
or “grieved” in, (Eph 4:30). Both of these terms describe activities of the old sin
nature. Before we examine these in detail, let us note the six sins
listed in the Bible as sins against the Holy Spirit. Four of them are committed
by believers; two, by unbelievers. The sins committed by unbelievers are
actually two sides of the same coin, so we will look at these first.
SINNING
AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT
(1)
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. This sin is found in, (Mat 12:14-32) and is simply the rejection of
Jesus Christ as Savior. The religious crowd was guilty of this during our
Lord’s Incarnation, and this sin can be committed by an unbeliever during his
time on earth.
(2)
Resistance to the Holy Spirit. This is also the rejection of Christ during the
Church Age, found in, (Act 7:51).
(3)
Lying to the Holy Spirit. From the analysis of the context in, (Act 5:1-10) lying to the
Holy Spirit is a sin of false motivation, committed by a believer. This is
performing a good deed, but with the wrong motivation. Giving money to the
church is generally considered to be "good." However, if you do it as
a result of pressure, of approbation lust, or of any false motivation, this is
lying to the Holy Spirit.
Ananias
and his wife, Sapphira, were jealous of a man named Barnabas, who apparently
owned a tremendous amount of real estate on the island of Cyprus. He sold his
land and gave all the proceeds of the sale to the apostles for distribution to
other believers. For this reason, it seems that everyone thought well of him.
When Ananias and Sapphira heard about this, they
evidently decided they wanted approbation too: they lusted for praise.
So, what did they do? They sold a piece of their real estate and gave part
of the proceeds to the church. Now, this was perfectly in order: if they had
given only Five cents on the dollar, it wouldn’t have made any difference. But
they said that their monetary gift was all they had collected from the
property sale. In other words, they banked part of it and gave part of it; then
they dropped a little word here and there: We gave all of it, so admire us as
you do Barnabas. For that sin of lying to the Holy Spirit, they were severely
disciplined — they died the sin unto death. (1Jn 5:16)
Principle: a good deed done with false motivation is wrong.
(4) Insulting the Spirit of grace. (Heb 10:29)
(5)
Quenching the Holy Spirit. (1Th 5:19)
(6)
Grieving the Holy Spirit. (Eph 4:30)
We
must distinguish between “quenching” and “grieving” the Spirit. Both are
committed by the believer only --- and put him out of fellowship, but they are
different categories of failure. This difference is related to the areas of the
old sin nature. By definition, the old sin nature is the source of human sin, moral
and immoral degeneracy, and evil. (Satan's thinking) Formed as a direct result
of Adam’s first sin, the sin nature resides in the cell structure of the human
body, (Rom 6:6; Rom 7:5; Rom 7:18)
and is transmitted genetically by the male in procreation. (Gen 5:3) At the moment an individual is born
physically, his old sin nature becomes the target for the imputation of Adam’s
sin, (Rom 5:12) causing Spiritual death
and the sovereignty of the sin nature over human life. (Rom 6:12) The sin nature is the center of man’s
rebellion toward God. Variously designated in Scripture as “sin”, (Singular
noun — Rom 7:13) “flesh” (Gal 5:16) and “old man”, (Eph 4:22) the old sin nature also has essence:
an area of weakness, which produces personal sins (Heb
12:1) an area of strength, which generates human morality; (Isa 64:6) and a trend toward asceticism, (2Co 11:13; 2Ti 3:5)
or lasciviousness; (Gal 5:19-21) and a
lust pattern (The motivator — Eph 2:3).
“Quenching the Spirit” is sinning: “grieving the Spirit” is sinning and staying
in sin; (Reversionism).
GROWTH
AND MATURITY
A
basic concept of experiential Christianity is that Spirituality and carnality
are absolutes. (Eph 4:30; 1Th 5:19; 1Jn 1:7;
1Jn 2:10; 1Jn
3:4-10) At any given moment you will be either 100% Spiritual or 100%
carnal. You cannot be partially Spiritual or partially carnal. (No third option) Nor can you be both Spiritual and
carnal at the same time. You can, however, rapidly switch from one to the other.
There
is a second concept of experiential Christianity: Spiritual
growth is relative. A believer gradually matures just as a child
gradually becomes an adult. The moment you accept Christ as Savior, you become
a son of God. (Gal 4:4-7) The Greek
word HUIOS means “an adult son.” This is your position in Christ. However,
experientially you are called a BREPHOS. (1Pe 2:2)
This Greek word refers to a “baby at the mother’s breast.” A person may be
fifty years old when he believes in Christ as Savior. While physically an
adult, Spiritually he is a brand new baby. If he grows Spiritually by
assimilating and metabolizing Bible Truth, he will soon become a Spiritual
adolescent. (Mat 4:4) If he continues to grow, he will eventually emerge a
mature Christian.
The
relative progression of Spiritual growth is closely related to the absolute
status of Spirituality versus carnality. A baby believer is either Spiritual or
carnal at any moment, depending on who controls his soul: God the Holy Spirit
or the old sin nature. An adolescent believer is also either Spiritual or
carnal at any particular time. Likewise, a mature believer may be Spiritual or
carnal. A temporary lapse into carnality demands the
rebound technique but does not immediately erode the believer’s level of
growth. The believer greatly benefits by
keeping short accounts with God, by promptly rebounding to restore the filling
of the Spirit. (1Co 11:31) The more time the believer is filled with the Spirit, the
greater his opportunity to learn and apply Truth, and the quicker his Spiritual
growth.
We
have a new Commandment in place of the Mosaic Law: “Keep on being filled with
the Spirit.” (Eph 5:18; cf. Mat 22:36-40; Gal 5:22-23)
Obedience to this new mandate is necessary in order to fulfill our second basic
Commandment: “Grow in the grace and Knowledge (Thinking) of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ.” (2Pe 3:18; cf. Joh 16:12-15) When you accurately understand
these two imperatives, you are on your way in the Christian life. Until you
understand them, your Christian life is frustrated.
Many Christians are eternally saved
from the Lake of Fire; but do not know it. They feel they have lost their
salvation. There are also carnal Christians who do not understand carnality,
and Christians who confess their sins but do not understand Spirituality. The
question is: How do you know you are saved? How do you know you are carnal or
Spiritual? The answer is: by faith. This is a matter
of believing the Truth of the Word of God! (Rom
4:20-21) Your awareness of the filling of the Holy Spirit comes by
means of faith, as does your awareness of salvation. This is why the basic
techniques of faith-rest and rebound are among the first Doctrines the believer
needs to learn. Rebound provides the filling of the
Spirit; the faith-rest technique makes it a reality in your Thinking.
In
the realm of Spiritual phenomena, reality is not what you feel, not what you
assume, not what tradition has taught you, but what
the Scripture says! “For we walk by faith, (God's
Thinking) not by sight” (2Co 5:7)
End
No comments:
Post a Comment