2 Corinthians Day 68 -
Still His Voice
12:19 Again, do
you think that we excuse ourselves to you? We speak before God in Christ.
But we do all things, beloved, for your edification. 20 For
I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I
shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there
be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions,
backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults; 21 lest, when I come
again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have
sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and
lewdness which they have practiced.
I still hear the voice of Jesus here, don't you?
"I want to come to you. I am going to come to but I'm
afraid of what I will find. Everything I have done and am doing is for your
good, to build you up and restore you. However when I come will I find you
healing? Will you even want Me? Are things different among you or are you still
fighting and competing amongst each other as always? Are you still slaves to
your lusts? Have you continued to resist Me? Will we be friends when I come or
will you be My enemy? Are you waiting for Me or hoping I delay forever?"
If we resist the humans in our lives who are fighting for us
and desire nothing but our good are we not fighting against God Himself?
"Father if nothing else help me to become willing to be
made willing..."
2 Corinthians Day 69 -
Weak or Strong?
13:1 This will
be the third time I am coming to you. “By the mouth of two
or three witnesses every word shall be established.” 2 I have told
you before, and foretell as if I were present the second time, and now being
absent I write to those who have sinned before, and to all the rest, that
if I come again I will not spare— 3 since you seek a proof of Christ
speaking in me, who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you. 4 For
though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we
also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.
5 Examine
yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do
you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are
disqualified. 6 But I trust that you will know that we are not
disqualified.
I don't believe Paul uses stronger language in any other
letter to any other church. Clearly things are not going well and he is trying
by every means to shake them out of their present condition. Clearly he loves
them or he wouldn't be investing so much time and effort on them and all of it
for free.
It appears the church in Corinth, at least some of them are
saying Paul is a weak person. This is the second time this has come up.
Addressing this Paul makes an interesting point about Jesus. When Jesus was
heading to the cross He was like a lamb lead to the slaughter and He opened not
His mouth. He could have. He could have humiliated all his captors by
recounting in embarrassing detail all their sins. He could have allowed His
divinity to flash through as he did when He cleansed the temple and they all
would have fled away. He could have called angels to His defense and
obliterated them. He had countless options by which He could have both freed
Himself and shown His power. He did nothing. He was "weak". His
enemies mocked Him - "He saved others but Himself He cannot save!"
yet even in the mocking they admitted His power. Jesus set His power aside.
Ecclesiastes 3, which was made into a popular hit song in the
1960's states that there is a time for everything. Implied in that list but not
stated is that there is a time to be weak and a time to be strong. Another
song, popular in the country music world states "Daddies hands, soft and
warm when I was crying, daddies hands, hard as steel when I'd done
wrong..."
There is a time for everything and when we want to slander a
person we highlight the moments in a person's life that suit our purposes and
downplay the rest. However it's much easier to do that in their absence. Paul
is returning to Corinth but not in weakness. Jesus is returning to this earth
in power and great glory to set up the kingdom long promised. Some will look up
with excitement on that day. Others will shrink back in fear and shame. One
Jesus, two opposite reactions. Why? Because of the choices they made in His
absence, in His "silence", in His apparent weakness.
I hope we will all be among those looking up in anticipation
:)
2 Corinthians Day 70 -
Don't You See?
13:5 Examine
yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do
you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are
disqualified. 6 But I trust that you will know that we are not
disqualified.
This is a wildly misunderstood passage of Scripture, partly
because of the translation but mostly because of our thought process. It sounds
like Paul is telling them to evaluate themselves to verify if they are
believers or not but this is definitely NOT the case. Quite the opposite
actually. He is asking them to look and see who and what they are because it
seems they gave forgotten.
Go back to verse 3. Paul states emphatically that Jesus is
working mightily in them. In fact all through the letters of first and second
Corinthians he calls them saints and affirms over and over in various ways that
they are in Christ and He is in them. It would be foolish and contradictory at
this point to completely shift gears and tell them to examine themselves to see
if they are in Christ/in the faith.
So what then is he saying?
"Examine yourselves if you are in the faith."
That's the first part. The English translation unfortunately takes the word
"if" and turns it into "as to whether". Now the meaning is
lost. If here is not a word implying doubt. It's being used this way:
"Swim if you are in the water". And they are "in the
water". He has affirmed this repeatedly. These are believers. There is no
doubt about this. They are struggling in various ways but they are without
question "in the faith". That's precisely why Paul wants them to
examine themselves and test themselves.
Then he asks the question that is key to the whole passage:
"Don't you know yourselves, that Christ IS IN YOU?" The only way He
isn't in you is if you are disqualified and I trust that you will know that we
are not disqualified."
Do you see it? Paul is trying to help them see reality. He is
not asking them to make sure they are in the faith and/or make sure Jesus is in
them. He is asking them to look and realize that they are in the faith and
Jesus is in them!
Think of it this way. Your friend has food in his teeth. You
tell him. He doesn't believe you. So you tell him to examine himself to see
that it is true. You pass him a mirror. You are not trying to get him to see if
he has food in his teeth. You are asking him to see that he has food in his
teeth.
Think about it. Why are these false teachers able to gain a
foothold in Corinth? It is only possible to deceive believers who don't believe
that believing is enough. If I as a Christian do not fully believe that Jesus
is in me and that He is fully in charge of my restoration, and that all the
time I am being transformed from sinful to sinless I am covered by His grace I
am a prime target for deception. I am wide open for a Jesus + something else
"gospel".
Paul wants them to see themselves as they truly are. They are
broken yet restored. They are not yet like Jesus yet He is on it, He is in
them, they are qualified not by performance but by His grace. That the truth he
want them to see. Examine yourselves. Test yourselves. Jesus is in you. You are
not disqualified.
"Father help us. Give us eyes to see the good news of
Your grace. Give us full assurance that Christ in us is our Hope of glory. Help
us to stop looking away from His all sufficiency and trying to add to Him in
some way of our own doing. In simple terms Father save us from
ourselves..."
2 Corinthians Day 71 -
If We Could Just Get This...
13:7 Now
I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but
that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified.
Allow me to rewrite that verse in my own words:
"Now I pray to God that you (those with Christ living in
them) would behave well, not for the sake of appearing holy or gaining
approval, but simply because doing good is honourable, although we may seem
hopelessly dishonourable."
Can you see what Paul is trying to say?! Yesterday he asked
them to examine themselves and discover the reality all over again that Jesus
is in them and He is enough. Adding circumcision or feast days or anything else
will not make them more qualified. In fact it will do the opposite. Like the
offering of Cain it will make them seek their qualifications from their
accomplishments rather than from His.
Now he adds that he prays for them to behave well, to act
like Him, to be decent people, yet not for the sake of being approved or
accepted. That's a done deal. Jesus is enough. They are already
secure/saved/rescued because of Him. He just wants them to do right because it
is right, not for brownie points or credit, or anything of the sort. He
acknowledges that any good they will do will still leave them seeming
hopelessly dishonourable but that doesn't matter. Our weakness is swallowed up
in His strength. Our lack is irrelevant in the stream of His endless supply.
The truth is the more we get to know Him and understand Him
and discover what good and right actually are the more disqualified and
hopeless we will seem in comparison. That's why the whole notion of gaining His
favour by our behaviour is so preposterous. And yet it's good to do good
things.
We should pray for each other that each day finds us more
like Jesus without ever falling into the trap that our accomplishments or
improvements have anything to do with our destiny. Him in us. That's our hope
of glory and it became a reality the moment we invited Him into our mess. :)
2 Corinthians Day 72 -
Becoming Complete
13:8 For we can do
nothing against the truth, but for the truth. 9 For we are glad when
we are weak and you are strong. And this also we pray, that you may be made
complete. 10 Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being
present I should use sharpness, according to the authority which the Lord has
given me for edification and not for destruction.
It's tough to be a leader, be it a parent, a teacher, a
coach, a boss, a pastor or any position where you are responsible for helping
people grow and succeed. Growth means change, it means learning, it means
correction. Helping someone develop their character means calling them on their
issues, being honest even when it hurts, especially when it hurts.
Last night I read an article a friend sent me about a couple
who both were drinking heavily and it was getting worse and finally they both
realized they had to stop or they were going to self-destruct. However in order
to quit they had to deal with the pain and junk in their lives that was causing
them to drink. The alcohol was just a form of self-medication.
Why do I bring this up? Neither of these individuals were
Christians. They weren't facing their issues and kicking alcohol to the curb in
order to please God or be good enough for heaven. They were doing it so they
could get to a healthier place and lead happier lives for themselves and those
around them.
When Paul keeps pushing the Corinthians to face their issues
and to talks about becoming complete it is not for the sake of achieving
salvation or buying God's favour. They already have both. The reason God wants
us to strive for completeness and live a healthy wholesome life is for our own
happiness and to help us become a blessing to others. As we have talked about
before, our doctor doesn't tell us to exercise for his benefit. It isn't
his/her heart that will enjoy the results. We don't become more his/her patient
by listening to him/her.
The demonic insecurity we feel in knowing we are incomplete
needs to end. Truth must speak to the lies. Where sin abounds as it did in
Corinth and does in me, grace abounds all the more. The pursuit of becoming
complete must go on. We must be humble in the face of correction, submit to leadership,
and embrace growth but never to buy His favour. Never to achieve salvation.
Never to feel secure. We are His. We are saints. We are washed. We can be no
more ready for heaven than the moment we choose Him.
It's called good news for a reason.
2 Corinthians Day
73
13:10 Therefore I
write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness,
according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not
for destruction.
I'm not sure which is worse, being corrected or having to
correct others. God says that those He loves He rebukes and corrects and that's
the kind of correction we're talking about here. It's easy to correct people
you don't like. The dark side of our nature enjoys "putting them in their
place". However to confront and correct someone you love is an entirely
different scenario. Paul in this instance reveals that he is "hiding"
behind ink and paper because he believes it will be easier for them to take. In
other places/letters he said he wrote because he feared that in person he
wouldn't say what needed to be said.
Again it's tough. What to say. When to say it. How to say it.
How will they take it? How will I react if it becomes confrontational? Will I
lose my voice in their lives?
Jesus corrected. He confronted. He had to deal with tough
situations. Matthew 23 is the most volatile. He finally near the very end of
His life had to stand before the leadership of the Jewish nation and expose
them. He compared them to vipers. He called them hypocrites, blind guides,
fools, and murderers. When He was finished exposing their dark side He wept. He
wept for them, for their ancestors, for those who would follow after them. He
went for every heart that stubbornly refused to be drawn by His love but
instead became foot soldiers in the army of Satan.
However not all His correction moments turned out so
negatively. Nicodemus didn't harden when corrected in John 3. He melted. Peter
was corrected several times and in the end was a mighty force for good. Even
Paul had to correct Peter but each time Peter was correct he set aside his
pride and aligned himself with the right.
My favourite author tells of times when God called her to
speak correction into the lives of others and how she delayed for months to say
a word. She hated that role. It was tough. Love does not enjoy these moments
yet love demands they take place.
Here are some checks and balances to consider before ever
correcting anyone:
1, Is it "no big deal"? If setting some
straight is easy you shouldn't be doing it. The fact it isn't gut wrenching
says you don't really care that much about them.
2, Are you a person they know 110% cares about them and
desires nothing but their good? Correction is tough for all of us to take and
pride does everything it can to distort our thinking when correction comes. If
there is any doubt about the nature of your concern for them they will not be
able to take the rebuke in the spirit in which it was intended. You better
strengthen the relationship before you address the wrong.
3, Have you prayed for wisdom and guidance? Do you know
when the time is right? The Bible talks a lot about timing. Make sure they are
in the most humble/receptive frame of mind possible.
4, Are you prepared to weather the rejection that may
come with grace and humility? Jesus did everything perfectly and still lost
friends. Some He lost temporarily and others permanently.
5, Do not count the cost. Do not decide whether or not
you should speak based on how you think the outcome will be. Imagine if Martin
Luther hadn't addressed the wrongs in his church out of fear that it wouldn't
do any good... While we must be as sensitive as possible we can't shrink back
if we're convinced it won't do any good. Isaiah tells us when we do this, their
wrong is on our hands as much as it is on theirs.
Finally notice what Paul says. He had God given authority and
that authority was given for one purpose only - to build up. We are not in the
destroying business. We are in the healing business. Every look, every word,
every decision, every move must be calculated to restore.
I thank God for those God has sent into my life to correct me
and reorient me in a better, healthier, and kingdom enhancing direction. I know
for some of them it was really tough but they did it and I benefitted. I know
how tough it was because I have had to do it for others. Remember love
corrects. Love rebukes. Love even calls us names when it has to.
"Father help all of us to be strong enough to correct in
love and humble enough to receive correction."
2 Corinthians Day 74 –
My Favourite Good Bye
13:11 Finally,
brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live
in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
12 Greet one
another with a holy kiss.
13 All the saints
greet you.
14 The grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy
Spirit be with you all. Amen.
Of all the ways Paul ended his various letters this is my
favourite. Let me show you why:
1, Brethren: Paul understands he has a specific role to play
as a leader but never does that cause him to see himself as above anyone else.
We are all brothers/sisters. God is no respecter of persons which is a fancy
way of saying he has no favourites. We may all have different parts to play but
we are one/equal/same.
2, Become complete: All through Scripture (although
often lost in translation because of the limitations of how the English
language is structured) there is a consistent theme of becoming. Jesus said
"Follow Me and I will cause you to become fishers of men." This word
become coupled with the verb tense is the Greek is a word clearly showing
progress toward maturity. We are not complete and there is no one thing we can
do or say or learn to attain instant completeness. It is a process. And like
any process it takes time and experience. Peter's denial of Jesus was actually
a critical step of growth for him even though it was in the moment a painful
failure. We gave a greenhouse and one thing we learned quickly was that plants
sheltered in a greenhouse for too long with no exposure to wind and colder
temperatures are not prepared for life in the real world. They need some
tougher exposure to gain strength and resilience. Don't beat yourself up if you
haven't "arrived" and don't expect perfection from others either. We
are all becoming complete.
3, Good Comfort: It can be discouraging to say the least
sometimes when we face the reality of how incomplete we are or how incomplete
others are. Let's face it. Sometimes it's enough to make us want to throw in
the towel completely. Lessons we thought we learned become undone in a moment.
Temptations we thought we ancient history flare up like a bad canker sore.
Feelings of anger and revenge well up against people we thought we had
forgiven. Paul says be of good comfort. Really? Was Peter supposed to be of
good comfort when that rooster crowed? He could have been if he understood two
things. First that he was still growing and becoming. Second that the grace of
God is sufficient to cover any and all of our unfinished parts. We are not
loved, accepted, or saved based on our level of completion. We are saved by His
grace. End of story. The growth is just a bonus.
4, Be of one mind: Like Red Green said "Keep your stick
on the ice, we are all in this together." The Bible says there is no
temptation except what is common to all men. The Bible says if your brother
stumbles to restore him. One day you may fall flat on your face. Another day it
might be me. We all need to know the truth about ourselves that we are
incomplete and the truth about God, that His grace is sufficient. These two
truths always kept in proper position will make us of one mind. How can I not
forgive when I too am as guilty of being incomplete? How can I despair of my
lack when I see Jesus as all sufficient?
5, Live in peace: Those two realities will keep us
living in perfect peace before God and in peace with each other. We have no
advantage or disadvantage. We are not higher or lower. We have no reason to
boast or be swallowed up in self-pity or loathing. We have no cause to hate or
any such distortion. In Christ we are saints, holy, beloved, and growing into
those realities as He leads us through life. I can rest in that. It creates a
peace that transcends whatever the issues of the moment are.
6, The God of love and peace will be with you: The
letter began positively. It dealt with some tough stuff on the way but ends
just as positively. Growth necessitates correction but it never changes the
underlying reality. God will never leave us or forsake us. He made peace with
us already because His love for us is greater than any thing we have done
against Him. He has been, is, and will be faithful to complete the good work He
started.
7, Greet each other with a holy kiss: There is some
tension in Corinth but Paul intends for the healing balm of the good news to
break down the walls of insecurity, hurt, offenses, unforgiveness etc... We are
broken and hurting people hurt people but we are all in the same boat. We are
losers at times but loved. We are failing but forgiven. We are grace filled and
grace covered even as we grow into our true identity as children of the King.
Good. News.
2 Corinthians Day 75 -
Grace, Love, Connection
13:14 The grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy
Spirit be with you all. Amen.
Grace. If Paul has one word that sums up all of his teaching
it is grace. He begins each letter with the greeting "Grace and peace to
you." It was Paul who wrote in Ephesians "For you have been saved by
grace through faith, not by works, lest any man should boast..." It was
Good who said to Paul "My grace is sufficient..."
Grace is that thing that makes it possible for us to return
to the Home we lost when Adam and Eve chose to listen to the lies and
experience evil. Grace was made available to us by the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the whole world. He did not come into the world to condemn us
but to rescue us. Without Him we were destined to die, never to live again. He
who knew no sin became sin for us that we in Him might become righteous,
perfect, holy. Grace. It can be looked at from myriad angles and should be. It
gets more beautiful with each and every look. If I imagine walking into a
prison, heading to death row, and permanently exchanging places with a
condemned criminal there I am starting to faintly comprehend grace. As the hymn
writer expressed it "Heaven came down and glory filled my soul, when at
the cross the Saviour made me whole. My sins were washed away. My night was
turned to day. Heaven came down and glory filled my soul." The grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
The love of God. I have children. I have had a child sick in
the hospital. I have been sick and in the hospital myself. Without question
watching my helpless little girl suffer was far worse than any of the seven
surgeries I have had. I would have done anything to switch places. Those who
think Jesus loves us and has to pay off His angry Father in order for us to be
allowed to return home missed the Story. It's true that through the eyes of the
Old Testament you might come to that conclusion but those people didn't know
Him. They had a picture of Him that was pagan and dark. Jesus came primarily to
reveal the heart of His Father. "Philip if you have seen Me you have seen
God" - Jesus.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only
Son..." God watched us ignore His birth abd murder hundreds of babies in a
desperate attempt to kill Him. God stood by while Jesus was misunderstood by
His own parents and taunted by His brothers and sisters. God silently stood by
while attempt after attempt was made by the Pharisees and others to kill Him.
He said and did nothing while Jesus' own disciples argued with Him, laughed at
Him, and second guessed Him constantly. He stood by while Judas made the deal.
He turned a deaf ear when three times Jesus asked for a way out from the garden
in Gethsemane. He stood by while the soldiers took Him. He listened in silence
while Peter denied Him. He refrained every angel in the universe while the
coward Pilate had Him beaten so badly that He couldn't even carry His own
cross. God could have sent an invisible angel to lighten the load. No help
came. Finally the hardened Roman soldiers had to intervene to get Him some
help.
Finally in the end He turned from His own Son completely.
That for Jesus was the greatest punishment of all. For the first time in His
eternal existence Jesus was cut off by our sins from His own Father. In agony
He cried "My Father, My Father, why have You forsaken Me!??!"
The answer is us. He did it, they did it for love. The only
just way to be able to rid the universe of sin while saving sinners was to
demonstrate His character before the universe. No watching angel on either side
of the water could deny such self-sacrifice. Here was love pushed to an extreme
no one had ever seen before and both of them were fully committed to it, to us.
That's why even after His Father turned away Jesus cried one last time
"Father into Your hands I commit My Spirit."
I would have done anything to switch places with my daughter
but couldn't. God could have rescued His Son but didn't. Love prevented that
selfish act. Love restrained Him. We were His children. We are His children and
They would not save themselves at our expense. Never fall for the deception
that Jesus loves us more than God. God's love for us is boundless. He could not
have given more to show how genuine and infinite His love is.
The fellowship/communion of the Holy Spirit. We'll dig into
that tomorrow. Just let me say or rather point out that the idea of God the
Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit is not a creation of the Roman
Catholic Church or an invention of religion. They have in most cases distorted
this truth but that only makes it more true because Satan doesn't waste time
inventing lies unless there is a truth to distort or bury.
Father, Son, Spirit, and if ever there was a time to
understand and know the Spirit of God it is now.
2 Corinthians Day 76 -
The Companionship of the Holy Spirit
13:14 The grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy
Spirit be with you all. Amen.
I woke up this morning thinking. That doesn't always happen.
My thoughts were on the realization there is really only one false teaching or heresy
or whatever you want to call it and all other lies etc... lead to this one
false idea. This one error is that Jesus is not enough. The flip side is that I
don't need Jesus at all but again same lie. Either I don't need Him at all or I
need Him plus more because He isn't enough.
Now as we look at this last verse in 2 Corinthians, and focus
in on the last part, the fellowship, or communion, or companionship of the Holy
Spirit something becomes obvious: Jesus is central. Think about it. The last
book of the Bible is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. John 5:39 says that the
entire Old Testament testifies about Him. He is the Lamb of God that takes away
the sin of the whole world. He met Adam and Eve in the garden and covered them
with skins and promised One would come. He walked and talked with Abraham. He
lead the children of Israel through the desert in the cloud and fire. He met
Joshua as the Commander of the Lord's army. He came and told Manoah's wife she
would have Samson. Over and over He has been with humanity from the start.
It all begs the question why we need the Holy Spirit and why
so many today are fighting over what He does or if He even exists. Paul says we
need the companionship of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said when He left He would
send us a Comforter, a Teacher, a Guide. He said this Teacher would lead us
into all truth, and tell us things to come. He said the Spirit would convict us
of sin, righteousness, and judgment.
So why is He under so much attack? I even have friends who
say He doesn't exist and that teaching that He does exist is the last great
false teaching. Really? How could Someone Jesus announced and endorsed be non
existent or a false teaching?
Again Paul said He, the Holy Spirit is our companion. Think
about that. Jesus said we were better off if He left because the Spirit, the
Comforter, the Helper was coming. Then He said something really strange. He
said "He is with you and He will be in you."
So the Spirit of God wasn't new. He wasn't coming for the
first time. He was just coming in a new way. Look through the Old Testament and
you will find the Spirit from the start and all throughout the various books.
Search the phrase "the Spirit of the Lord" and you will find lots to
read about. You will also discover He was back then an external presence. The
Bible says "The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson..." Never will
you find the Spirit in anyone in the Old Testament. He was with them but not in
them.
When Jesus conquered both sin and death there opened a new
reality in the Great Controversy between Good and Satan. Until the cross Satan
had access to heaven and dominion over us. Now he has no access to heaven and
no dominion over us. (Revelation 12) He lived in us but now he can only harass
us. Before the cross God's Spirit could influence us but not live in us. Now He
can.
The Spirit of God is ever with us and longs to be in us. He
is with us by the prerogative of God but never in us unless by our
invitation.
Deep stuff but critical to understand. We'll continue
tomorrow...
2 Corinthians Day 77 -
The Companionship of the Holy Spirit Part 2
13:14 The grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy
Spirit be with you all. Amen.
In the Old Testament the people barely knew God had little to
no concept of Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. That's why when Jesus came most of the
Jews rejected Him. The idea of God having a Son who would come in human form
did not match their expectations or understanding of God. They saw Him as only
one being and so holy that they wouldn't even say or write His name. How could
a Good like that ever be a man and walk among them? They should have know
better. Their own Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament) says God
spoke to Abraham face to face. Moses went up into the mountain where God was
and returned. He entered the sanctuary where His presence was and survived. God
was clearly approachable. In fact He came to Adam and Eve at the very
beginning. However over time they developed this picture of a distant holy God
who was unapproachable and so when Jesus came as one of us they rejected Him as
a fraud. They chose to ignore the evidence just as the Sadducees denied life
after death despite the resurrection accounts in their own sacred
writings.
When Jesus was about it leave this earth He spent a
significant amount of time in John 14 through 16 telling His followers that He
was sending Someone else in His absence. This Someone He gave many names as we
discussed yesterday. Now here we are denying and rejecting the Holy Spirit just
as the Jews rejected Jesus. Some Christians say He is just a force. Some
say He is God's Spirit and not a third Person. In doing so they reject not only
the plainest statements of Scripture but also deny the One who longs to walk
with us now as Jesus walked with His disciples. The Holy Spirit is the One who
is better than Jesus in the sense He can walk with each of us wherever we are.
He is not limited by time or space. Can I explain that scientifically? Of
course not. But neither can I explain Jesus walking on water, or raising the
dead, or countless other things.
The point is that Jesus promised He would come. He was always
here just as Jesus was always here but when Jesus was born in Bethlehem as one
of us it marked a significant new event and era. So too when Jesus conquered
sin and death it marked a new era for the Holy Spirit. As we saw yesterday He
could now live within us, which was not possible before. When the curtain in
the Temple was torn from top to bottom it symbolized the end of the separation
between God and humanity. That's why the New Testament declares that we can
come boldly to the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies. It declares the priesthood
of every believer. No more do we have to stand at a distance. No more does God
have to dwell among His people. Instead He can dwell in them. That's why Paul
asked in 1 Corinthians 6 "Don't you know that your body is the temple of
the Holy Spirit..."?
In another place he wrote that "Christ in us is the hope
of glory."
Think about it. When Jesus was baptized God the Father spoke
from heaven while the Spirit anointed Him "like a dove". When we are
baptized it is with water and the Spirit only the Spirit is like fire for us.
Fire because we need to be purified. Jesus had no sin so the Spirit was like a
dove. No fire required. So right there all three are present. When we are
baptized Jesus said plainly that we are to be baptized in the name of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Now here in Corinthians Paul prays that
the Corinthians would enjoy the grace of Jesus, the love of God, and the
companionship of the Holy Spirit.
Why is Jesus talking about three and Paul talking about three
of there are only two?
And do you know what happens when people start believing
there is only God the Father and Jesus? Eventually they start believing Jesus
is less than God...
Remember what I said yesterday? The only false teaching on
which all other false ideas hang is that Jesus is not enough. Jesus said
"If you have seen me Philip, you have seen God." If Jesus is less
than God He lied...
Jesus also said the only sin, think about this, the only sin
that can't be forgiven is to sin against the Holy Spirit. Why? Because He is
the One sent to lead you into all truth. He is the One who gave you the desire
to pursue God to begin with. He is our Companion. He is the one whispering
"This is the way, walk in it." Your first inclination to seek God was
prompted by Him. He is our Guide, Comforter, Helper, the One who will lead us
into all truth. He convicts us of sin and righteousness and gives us the
ability to distinguish between the two. Take Him away and what do we have left?
Who will lead us back to Jesus and give us a heart to love God? That's why
Jesus said if we reject Him (the Holy Spirit) there is no forgiveness because
He is the one who prompts us to seek forgiveness. God is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness but only if we
confess and confession is initiated by the work for the Spirit in us.
Now can you see why Satan is working so hard to discredit and
turn us from the Holy Spirit? If Jesus needed to be Spirit filled to accomplish
His mission here and spent so much time announcing the arrival of the Spirit
after His departure, who are we to think or teach we don't need Him now?
For those who you who may be having the Writings of Ellen
White twisted and hen pecked and served to you in such a way as to discredit
the Holy Spirit or make Him and/or Jesus less than they are consider this
statement:
We need to realize that the Holy Spirit, who is as much a
person as God is a person, is walking through these grounds.—Manuscript
66, 1899 (From a talk to the students at the Avondale School.). Ev
616.5
If you have more questions about the person of the Holy
Spirit feel free to message me.
No comments:
Post a comment