I posted this earlier with all the verse text, but it seemed to long, if you would prefer to have it in that format, click here
It would be profitable to read the passages below and consider how they
bring out the point more clearly as to how the Holy Spirit works in our
lives. Also be considering how our lives and our actions should declare the
glory of God and not boast in the flesh.
1 Corinthians 1:18-31-
The flesh and its limited understanding is nothing but foolishness when compared with the wisdom of God. As believers, we still use our natural talents and abilities, to be sure. God has granted them to us for a purpose. Having said that, it is not the talents or natural gifts that we use to bring about the miraculous works of God. The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts for the edification, or building up, of the body of Christ, the church. I have not yet fully understood why God would use the weak, base, foolish things in human comprehension to accomplish His goals, but it seems self evident that when God provides, beyond the natural realm, supernatural spiritual gifts, we are forced to rely only on God for the accomplishments that come in the Christian walk.
We can give ourselves no credit, for we deserve none. A faithful servant does not claim ownership of his Master's crops or goods. In the same way, what God does through His servants, by the power of His Holy Spirit, is not to be credited to us, but as in all things to give glory to God. That is why we were created, to give glory to God, for His pleasure. Let us live each moment of every day in view of this truth.
Matthew 5:38-48
The next portion deals more with how we ought to act. Surely, as physically strong and healthy Americans, we ought to demand our rights and fight for what we believe in. Well, we are told to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and that we are soldiers for Christ(2 Timothy 2:3-4). In reading the context of the previous passages, we see that this idea is often either misrepresented or just taken to extremes. That is a whole different topic, sorry to get off on a rabbit trail.
We are to not resist evil people, we are to give to those who ask, submit to even harsh treatment in order to proclaim the love of God, to be a peculiar people by living these commands. Verses 46-48 remind us that we are not just to love those who love us, this is not accomplished through the flesh, but only by asking the Lord to give us His heart. After all, is Jesus not the ultimate example of loving those who persecute you? Stephen took this teaching literally it would seem. While being stoned to death, Stephen asked God not to hold his death to their charge. May we all see the power of a Spirit filled life through this example.
Romans 12:3-5
Our call in this passage,giving all credit to the Holy Spirit of God, is to be humble, as we know all our accomplishments only point to God. We are one body, not to be tearing one another down or being in competition, but rather spurring one another to love and to do good deeds. We have different jobs, different gifts, all from God and for His purposes, none of which will be accomplished by our own strength or will. When we give up ourselves, submitting to making Jesus the Lord of our lives, we will see the fruit of our labor that only He can supply. We cannot save anyone, grow anyone, or build up the body of Christ in our own strength. All human attempts will fail, but even the weakest and most humble servant relying on the Holy Spirit will accomplish great things, and therefore glorify the Father. (Matt 5:16)
1 Peter 4:10-11
This passage reminds us again that we are to use gifts to serve one another, to build up the body. We are only stewards, chosen servants, who are to do as God commands, not just decide what we think is best. I challenge every one, including myself, to rely on God's strength when things are tough. When we are persecuted for living a godly life, know that it is the price we pay for following Jesus Christ. Galatians 6:12-18 reminds us that Paul was a persecutor of the church, and then became persecuted for his life of service to Jesus Christ. What a miraculous example for us. We were dead in the flesh, and now alive in Christ. It is all the work of God, through the blood of Jesus the Son, the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 2:4-10
Do you see the pattern? (4)God's mercy, God's love, (5)our death, life in Christ, grace, (6)raised up with Jesus, seated in Christ Jesus,(7)He, riches of His grace, in Christ Jesus, (8) grace, not of ourselves, God's gift,(9) not works, not boasting, (10) His work, created in Christ, God prepared.
I don't see much of our work here. I see the earlier part of the chapter where we are dead in our trespasses and sins. I see even earlier that the whole point of this letter is to point them to the character of Jesus Christ, that our life and hope and everything is in Him. The examples later on of family, marriage, children, all point to Christ as the example. If we were to delve deeply into the character of Christ, we would see the shame and base nature of the human flesh. Yet in all this, God chooses to work all things to gain the glory, and allows us to take part. Note here that our part never gives us glory. God will not share His glory, a point that was brought out to me in a time when I was being prideful. This hard lesson reminds me of the glory of our King, Creator, God and Father of life and eternity. What a blessing this passage is.
Acts 1:7-8
It all comes back to this passage. Jesus had died, risen from the dead, and was giving His final marching orders for His followers. Immediately after this speech, Jesus was caught up in the clouds and promised to return when the time was right. We still await His second coming, when all the earth will bow, even those who will be judged and sent to eternal punishment in Hell. Those who anxiously await the return of our King, our Savior, Jesus Christ know that the power of the Holy Spirit that was promised is a reality in our lives. We know that the radical transformation of a man passing from death to life in Christ is evidenced by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
We have been looking at the power of God's Holy Spirit, but we must not forget the other side of the coin. Eternal life was accomplished for man through Jesus' death on a cross. We talked in the beginning about the foolishness of preaching, the shame of the cross. We now look back to what Jesus did for us, and what He is still doing through the Holy Spirit. This power, this life is available to all, but not all have laid hold of it. To gain the power of God, one must repent of their sin and submit to the Lord, believing on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. This is offensive to someone trying to live their own life, their own desires. What a waste of a life that was created for God's glory. Speaking of the foolishness of preaching and the offense of the cross, Charles Spurgeon said:
"The most terrible thing to impenitent man in all the world is the death of Christ. For if God spared not His only Son, on whom was only laid imputed sin, will He spare sinners whose sins are their own?"
Those who die in their sin, who have not been washed by the blood of Christ, will stand in judgement with no defense. The offer of salvation is only valid during our time on earth, in which there are no guarantees of even another day. How much the sinner who shuns God's grace and His beloved Son grieves the heart of God. My heart is broken as day after day, I am blessed to tell the love of God, of eternal life through Christ, and yet how many spit in the face of Almighty God as they reject His Son, desiring to do it their own way. How saddened is the heart of our Lord and Master when we try to rely on our power, our talents, and ourselves to accomplish His work. He has given us the source of power, the Holy Spirit. Ours is but to surrender ourselves and obey His command to preach the Gospel through the power of His Spirit which dwells in us.
It would be profitable to read the passages below and consider how they
bring out the point more clearly as to how the Holy Spirit works in our
lives. Also be considering how our lives and our actions should declare the
glory of God and not boast in the flesh.
1 Corinthians 1:18-31-
The flesh and its limited understanding is nothing but foolishness when compared with the wisdom of God. As believers, we still use our natural talents and abilities, to be sure. God has granted them to us for a purpose. Having said that, it is not the talents or natural gifts that we use to bring about the miraculous works of God. The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts for the edification, or building up, of the body of Christ, the church. I have not yet fully understood why God would use the weak, base, foolish things in human comprehension to accomplish His goals, but it seems self evident that when God provides, beyond the natural realm, supernatural spiritual gifts, we are forced to rely only on God for the accomplishments that come in the Christian walk.
We can give ourselves no credit, for we deserve none. A faithful servant does not claim ownership of his Master's crops or goods. In the same way, what God does through His servants, by the power of His Holy Spirit, is not to be credited to us, but as in all things to give glory to God. That is why we were created, to give glory to God, for His pleasure. Let us live each moment of every day in view of this truth.
Matthew 5:38-48
The next portion deals more with how we ought to act. Surely, as physically strong and healthy Americans, we ought to demand our rights and fight for what we believe in. Well, we are told to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and that we are soldiers for Christ(2 Timothy 2:3-4). In reading the context of the previous passages, we see that this idea is often either misrepresented or just taken to extremes. That is a whole different topic, sorry to get off on a rabbit trail.
We are to not resist evil people, we are to give to those who ask, submit to even harsh treatment in order to proclaim the love of God, to be a peculiar people by living these commands. Verses 46-48 remind us that we are not just to love those who love us, this is not accomplished through the flesh, but only by asking the Lord to give us His heart. After all, is Jesus not the ultimate example of loving those who persecute you? Stephen took this teaching literally it would seem. While being stoned to death, Stephen asked God not to hold his death to their charge. May we all see the power of a Spirit filled life through this example.
Romans 12:3-5
Our call in this passage,giving all credit to the Holy Spirit of God, is to be humble, as we know all our accomplishments only point to God. We are one body, not to be tearing one another down or being in competition, but rather spurring one another to love and to do good deeds. We have different jobs, different gifts, all from God and for His purposes, none of which will be accomplished by our own strength or will. When we give up ourselves, submitting to making Jesus the Lord of our lives, we will see the fruit of our labor that only He can supply. We cannot save anyone, grow anyone, or build up the body of Christ in our own strength. All human attempts will fail, but even the weakest and most humble servant relying on the Holy Spirit will accomplish great things, and therefore glorify the Father. (Matt 5:16)
1 Peter 4:10-11
This passage reminds us again that we are to use gifts to serve one another, to build up the body. We are only stewards, chosen servants, who are to do as God commands, not just decide what we think is best. I challenge every one, including myself, to rely on God's strength when things are tough. When we are persecuted for living a godly life, know that it is the price we pay for following Jesus Christ. Galatians 6:12-18 reminds us that Paul was a persecutor of the church, and then became persecuted for his life of service to Jesus Christ. What a miraculous example for us. We were dead in the flesh, and now alive in Christ. It is all the work of God, through the blood of Jesus the Son, the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 2:4-10
Do you see the pattern? (4)God's mercy, God's love, (5)our death, life in Christ, grace, (6)raised up with Jesus, seated in Christ Jesus,(7)He, riches of His grace, in Christ Jesus, (8) grace, not of ourselves, God's gift,(9) not works, not boasting, (10) His work, created in Christ, God prepared.
I don't see much of our work here. I see the earlier part of the chapter where we are dead in our trespasses and sins. I see even earlier that the whole point of this letter is to point them to the character of Jesus Christ, that our life and hope and everything is in Him. The examples later on of family, marriage, children, all point to Christ as the example. If we were to delve deeply into the character of Christ, we would see the shame and base nature of the human flesh. Yet in all this, God chooses to work all things to gain the glory, and allows us to take part. Note here that our part never gives us glory. God will not share His glory, a point that was brought out to me in a time when I was being prideful. This hard lesson reminds me of the glory of our King, Creator, God and Father of life and eternity. What a blessing this passage is.
Acts 1:7-8
It all comes back to this passage. Jesus had died, risen from the dead, and was giving His final marching orders for His followers. Immediately after this speech, Jesus was caught up in the clouds and promised to return when the time was right. We still await His second coming, when all the earth will bow, even those who will be judged and sent to eternal punishment in Hell. Those who anxiously await the return of our King, our Savior, Jesus Christ know that the power of the Holy Spirit that was promised is a reality in our lives. We know that the radical transformation of a man passing from death to life in Christ is evidenced by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
We have been looking at the power of God's Holy Spirit, but we must not forget the other side of the coin. Eternal life was accomplished for man through Jesus' death on a cross. We talked in the beginning about the foolishness of preaching, the shame of the cross. We now look back to what Jesus did for us, and what He is still doing through the Holy Spirit. This power, this life is available to all, but not all have laid hold of it. To gain the power of God, one must repent of their sin and submit to the Lord, believing on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. This is offensive to someone trying to live their own life, their own desires. What a waste of a life that was created for God's glory. Speaking of the foolishness of preaching and the offense of the cross, Charles Spurgeon said:
"The most terrible thing to impenitent man in all the world is the death of Christ. For if God spared not His only Son, on whom was only laid imputed sin, will He spare sinners whose sins are their own?"
Those who die in their sin, who have not been washed by the blood of Christ, will stand in judgement with no defense. The offer of salvation is only valid during our time on earth, in which there are no guarantees of even another day. How much the sinner who shuns God's grace and His beloved Son grieves the heart of God. My heart is broken as day after day, I am blessed to tell the love of God, of eternal life through Christ, and yet how many spit in the face of Almighty God as they reject His Son, desiring to do it their own way. How saddened is the heart of our Lord and Master when we try to rely on our power, our talents, and ourselves to accomplish His work. He has given us the source of power, the Holy Spirit. Ours is but to surrender ourselves and obey His command to preach the Gospel through the power of His Spirit which dwells in us.
