Tag: God Is Spirit

Thoughts…

Thoughts…

For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. ~ 1 Corinthians 2:11-12

Thoughts are mental cognitions – our ideas, opinions, and beliefs. They are framed by what we perceive through our senses and our human experience in this world. And yet, there is a much deeper component found within the spirit God breathed in each of us. (Cf. Genesis 2:7) As the text indicates, our thoughts find their origin within our spirits … the “essence” that animates us and gives us “life”. And through human speech or language, we have the capacity to express our thoughts; and therefore, express what resides within our individual spirits. And it is the expression of thoughts through our words and actions that reveals the nature of our true spirits in relational terms.

When we examine the “sin nature” of man, it is rooted in our spirits. Genesis 6:5 states: “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” It is the depravity of our spirits that God calls into account. As Jeremiah noted: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10) The Prophet Amos confirmed as well: “He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, and who reveals His thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the Lord God Almighty is His name.” (Amos 4:13)

I am thankful our merciful God has expressed His thoughts on these matters through His Spirit to the Prophet, Isaiah, and provided this instruction:

Isaiah 55:7-9 (NIV)

Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on them, and to our God, for He will freely pardon. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

As Paul explained in our text, the thoughts of God reside with His Spirit; and it is through the expression of His Spirit in words and actions that His thoughts are revealed. Indeed, as Paul notes, until we are regenerated (born-again) by the Spirit of God (Cf. John 3:3-8), our spirits will not be joined with His so that we may understand what the Father has freely given us. Indeed, “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:14) And perhaps I should add: “The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

My friends, the core message here is that as image-bearers of the Triune God, our thoughts reside within our spirits as well. And our thoughts are expressed through words (and actions). But the unfailing love of God has afforded us a solution for our depravity: His Thoughts! Our Creator has revealed His thoughts through His Spirit. It is known to us as the “Word of God.” Yes, when we are born-again of the Spirit, we receive the mind of Christ. We are able to process and understand spiritual thoughts (the words of God) because the Spirit explains spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words! (1 Corinthians 2:13) And Jesus confirms the Word of God is Truth! (John 17:17) Further, Jesus affirmed: “I AM the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) I pray we will embrace the Word of God and its power to transform and renew our minds! (Romans 12:2)

Have a Blessed Day!

Spirit…

Spirit…

When Jesus conversed with the woman at the well (John 4), He declared to her: “God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in Truth.” (Verse 24) His statement is quite profound; and yet, it should be understandable. For God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27) As His image bearers … as humans with indwelling spirits … it should be quite natural to us to worship God our Creator … our Father … with the inner being He gave us. (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

Yet, it appears that too often we allow our spirits to be subjected to the weakness of the flesh that envelopes them. As Jesus reminded His disciples: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38) And so, I think it is apparent that we need a supernatural power to invigorate us … to energize and strengthen us for worship and service that will please our Heavenly Father.

Jesus affirmed: “Very truly I tell you, no one can center the Kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” (John 3:5) Indeed, the Apostle John testified: “The one who keeps His commands lives in Him, and He in them. And this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us.” (1 John 3:24) And Paul reminds us that the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)

The Good News is that His divine power IS available through baptism in the Holy Spirit. Yes, when you come to Jesus through the grace of faith, believe in Him, and place your entire trust in Him, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33) All the Gospels attest to this truth! Through Christ Jesus, you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit!

Friends, I want to encourage you to look deeper into the role of the Holy Spirit in your journey of faith. There is a baptism in water … and there is a baptism in the Holy Spirit. His role is to guide you into all truth. His role is to indwell you so that you may remain in the Lord Jesus. His role is to endue you with power, love, and self-discipline. In Him, you will bear much fruit … Kingdom fruit … that will last and bring glory to God. (John 15:8)

Have a Blessed Day!

So, I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ~ Galatians 16-18

To Be Born of God…

John 1:12-13 (NIV)

Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

In our Verse of the Day, the Apostle John provides us with a profound statement of theology; and I think we should take a look at what it asserts for believers and unbelievers.

John 1:1-13 (NIV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

We see the Apostle John laying the foundation of who Jesus is … His identity … and His divine origin. Unlike the synoptic gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), John does not begin his gospel narrative with the physical born of Jesus into the world; rather, he establishes that Jesus is an eternal being … the Word of God from the beginning … the Word who became flesh and made His dwelling among us.  We see the divinity of Jesus from the inception of his eyewitness account, and we understand that it is Jesus who “gives us the right to become children of God.” It is upon the basis of His authority that a human has the capacity to be born of the Spirit … to be born of God. There is no other way for this spiritual birth to take place. For Jesus to transform a person, He must be received in faith.  Indeed, Jesus is the assurance of what we hope for and the evidence of what is unseen…. (Cf. Hebrews 11:1)

Have you ever wondered why a “second birth” is necessary to see and enter the Kingdom of God as Jesus told Nicodemus?  In John 3:6, Jesus affirmed: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” To be sure, we bear the physical image of a human being … the image of Adam; but read this account very carefully:

Genesis 5:1-5 (NIV)

This is the written account of Adam’s family line. When God created mankind, He made them in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And He named them “Mankind” (Adam in Hebrew) when they were created. When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.

In the natural … in the physical … we are made in the likeness of Adam (human beings). We bear his image; however, the likeness of God (the holiness of God) in which the first male and female had been created, this likeness of God was “lost” due to their disobedience in the Garden of Eden. When sin entered the world through the rebellious act of Adam and Eve, our holiness was foregone through the knowledge of good and evil. But God provided a plan of redemption … a path of reconciliation … through the sacrificial atonement of His own Son. To those who receive Jesus … to those who believe in His Name, He gave the right to become the children of God … to bear His image. Through faith in Jesus, we receive His righteousness … His holiness … and we are hidden in Him before God. Our identity is in Jesus and our holiness is restored through Him!

Romans 5:12-17 (New Living Translation)

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

Consider this for a moment. We bear the physical image of the earthly man in our bodies; but in order to bear the image of the heavenly man, we must be born-again of the Spirit. Thus, the “second” birth has implications for our resurrection bodies. The Apostle Paul had occasion to explain this concept for the Church:

1 Corinthians 15:44-50 (NIV)

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So, it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Through faith we know that Jesus is the Son of God and the exact representation of His being. (Cf. Hebrews 1:3) And I believe this truth should give us deeper insight into what this Scripture asserts: “For whom God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son….” (Cf. Romans 8:29) God desires us to be like Jesus … to be conformed to His image! This is why we are drawn by the Holy Spirit to pursue holiness in our lives. We who are in Christ Jesus receive in Him wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. (Cf. 1 Corinthians 1:30) We have been taught, with regard to our former way of life, to put off our old selves, which are being corrupted by their deceitful desires;to be made new in the attitude of our minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Cf. Ephesians 4:22-24) For without holiness, no one will see the Lord. (Cf. Hebrews 12:14)

Like Nicodemus, there are many people who do not understand the theological concept of being born-again. And I hope this brief overview helps us to see its presentation through multiple writers of the New Testament. The spiritual implications of the new birth are tremendous and it all begins with Jesus … the One who proclaimed: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.” (Cf. John 14:6-7) My friends, it is only in Jesus that we have the right … the “authority” … to become children born again of the Spirit.

So Now You Know…

Have a Blessed Day!

God Is Love.

1 John 4:16 (NIV)

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

I think most people today just really have a hard time understanding and accepting an eternal truth God has been speaking into His creation – HIS LOVE!  There are folks who give little thought to our Creator much less His Being or His nature.  But the Apostle John, an eyewitness and beloved disciple of Jesus, shares with us His encounter and experience with the love of God. Let’s read our verse in the surrounding context:

1 John 4:7-21 (NIV)

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us. 13 This is how we know that we live in Him and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love because He first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And He has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

So what we find here is the foundation on which love itself rests: GOD.  We cannot see love any more than we can see God, but we see the purpose of love and how that is manifested in our human experience. We cannot see love any more than we can see the wind, yet we can observe its effect and know that it is just as real as something we can see. My point is that we might need to understand love more as a spiritual phenomenon rather than a physical one. Why?  Because the Word of God declares to us both truths about the nature of God: God is Spirit (John 4:24) and God is Love (Cf. 1 John 4:8,16). These are the core of His Being and what the Father has chosen to reveal to us. Oh, I pray that we will come to the knowledge that love is to become the core of our own being in Christ. Read Verse 17 again: “This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.”

Yes, love is completed … it is perfected in those who become the visible love of God in this world. As the Body of Christ in this world, we are appointed to be like Jesus. We are conformed to His image through the power of His love for us.  As Verse 19 above asserts: “We love because He first loved us.”  Until we encounter the love of God through Christ Jesus, we cannot complete His love in the world. Perhaps this is why Paul wrote: “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) The blood of Jesus atones for us … for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) And, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1) Without faith in the finish work of Jesus on the cross, we will not come to know or embrace what He taught us: “A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34) Indeed, we know love when we know Jesus….

So, I will pray over us (as Paul did the Ephesians) that the love of God sent to abide in us through His Spirit will bring us to the fullness of love that He desires to be completed in each believer:

Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV)

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. ~ 2 Timothy 1:7

So Now You Know….

Have a Blessed Day!

Invisible God – Visible Jesus

Romans 1:20

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

This particular verse always resonates with me … when I think of the “apologetics” we have available in the Scriptures to speak with others about God.  Paul explains that we can KNOW God exists from creation itself … that His eternal power and divine nature are UNDERSTOOD from creation.  I delight in God every night when I look out into the universe … study the stars, their positions, and their ordered movements.  I think about ancient people who gazed on the same constellations and their parades across the night skies over the seasons of time.  It reminds me that God is faithful and steadfast … His mercies endure forever … His love is everlasting!

Likewise, when I think about living creatures and the complexities of all life forms, I cannot help but be amazed at the diversity of life. I contemplate how no plant, animal, or human being had any choice, power, or control in being brought forth into existence here on earth.  Our time here had already been determined (ordained) without our knowledge or consent. Everything that exists is by the will of God the Father … and we would do well to embrace His loving will that we have been created in His image … created in Christ Jesus to do good works with God prepared in advance for us to do. (Cf. Ephesians 2:10) There have been no accidents or mistakes.  Every person (soul) is precious to God.  That is why He commands us to love one another as He has loved us. (Cf. John 13:34-35)

We will not ever know or comprehend the unsearchable things of God (Cf. Romans 11:33), but I believe there are two truths that God has given us the capacity to understand:

God is Spirit              (John 4:24)

God is Love                (1 John 4:8; 4:16)

And both of these invisible aspects of His divine nature can be understood through His visible creation.  But even more, God has granted us to see Him through someone more tangible and visible: Jesus – His Son!

John 14:1-11 (NIV)

Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing His work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.

The Son is the image of the invisible God … the firstborn over all creation.  (Colossians 1:15) When we come to the conviction of His majesty and glory, then we will humble ourselves and fear Him with all the reverence and honor due His name.  Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever.  Amen. (1 Timothy 1:17)

So Now You Know….

Have a Blessed Day!