Faith Musings: Nothing to Boast About - Part 6

We have spent the last few posts looking at 1 Corinthians 2:1-9. Today I would like to start mulling over verses 10-16. We won’t get through all the verses today, but I’ve included the rest of the passage for you to read. I’m also including a fall picture for you to enjoy. I’d like to be driving through there right now! :)

Image by Alexandru Manole from Pixabay

“10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,
13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.
16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

— 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 (NASB 1995)

Let’s start dissecting this passage.

For to us God revealed them…

Image by James Nichols from Pixabay

First let’s understand that it is God who should be revealing things to us, not some other entity. We live in a world where information is instantaneous. Type into Google any question you have, or anything you want to research and within seconds you have lists of sites where you can learn all sorts of things. We now even have AI ChatGPT to come along side and teach us how and why we should commit suicide. Such tragedies are not of God, and are precisely why we still need God and His revealed truth.

What exactly is God revealing to us? Who are the “them” referred to in this verse? Them is looking back at verse 9. Them refers to: “Things which the eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” In other words God reveals His truth to us through His word. How does this happen?

…through His Spirit;

Image by Thomas from Pixabay

This revelation comes about through the Holy Spirit. Paul testified of this divine revelation in his own life.

“11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.
12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”

— Galatians 1:11-12 (NASB 1995)

As you may know, the Holy Spirit was given to us to be our companion, helper, revealer of God’s truth, and our very own prayer warrior.

“16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

— John 14:16-18 (NASB 1995)

“25 “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. ”

— John 14:25-26 (NASB 1995)

Image by Siggy Nowak from Pixabay

The Holy Spirit is vital in our relationship with the Creator. Just as Jesus had a role, that of the Savior of the world, the Holy Spirit has a role in the triune God-head. He is the presence of Jesus in our lives. He is the One who binds us to God the Father. He also dwells in us, daily guiding, and helping us as we battle the flesh, and as we scramble to remember what we have been taught from God’s word. Not only does He help us remember, He also helps us to live it out.

Over the last few years of dealing with illness on the regular and just the normal struggles of an aging body, I have learned over and over that there is very little I do in this relationship with the Holy One, other than bend my knees in humility and prayer. He does everything else. He provides energy when I have none. He helps me to remember my value in God, when I question it over and over again. He establishes me in Christ, in a way that no teaching, exercise, or activity can. He even gives life. (See the examples of Elizabeth and Mary in the Gospel of Luke chapter 1). And as I have taught about before, He prays for us. (See my take on Romans 8:26-27.) It is a fun study to explore the many works and facets of the Holy Spirit throughout Scripture.

…for the Spirit searches all things even the depths of God.

Image by Jan Alexander from Pixabay

I don’t know about you, but that makes me want to cry. The fact that this Spirit, who lives inside of me searches all things, even the depths of God makes me realize, there is no thing and no one in this world that knows me better than God. There is no drug, no activity, no teaching, and no internet search that is going to reveal more than the Holy Spirit. He is the conduit through which we have full access to the Kingdom of God the Father.

God forgive me, for not giving the Holy Spirt His due, and God forgive others who limit Him to the mere center of an emotional experience. The Holy Spirit works in perfect synchronization with the Father and the Son to give us complete understanding of His truth, and complete redemption and forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus.

Hallelujah! What an awesome God we serve!

Next time we will delve deeper into how His Spirit works in our lives. Have a great, Spirit filled week!

Mulling it Over - Romans 8:9-11

In this series we are looking at the eighth chapter of Romans. It is commonly believed that Paul’s letter to the church at Rome was written from Corinth and was written to provide guidance and encouragement. The church in Rome was probably rather large and had been established early on after Pentecost. Today we are going to unpack Romans 8:9-11, only 3 verses, but a lot of information.

Image by Abstract Vibe from Pixabay

“9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

— Quote Source

Let’s take this a verse at a time.

Verse 9 - The emphasis here is that the individuals being written to are believers. They already have the Spirit of Christ. Paul reminds them they are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. From reading other writings of Paul and even in this letter, we know there were plenty of false teachers around, and in turn false believers.

How can someone be a false believer in Christ? For an answer to that we have to look at the Parable of the Sower and the Seeds.

“3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow;
4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.
5 Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.
6 But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.
8 And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
9 He who has ears, let him hear.””

— Matthew 13:3-9 (NASB 1995)

Image by Florian Pircher from Pixabay

From this parable we learn that the seed, which represents the Word of God, can have four outcomes after it is sown:

1 - It can be eaten up by birds, meaning those who hear it have no interest at all.

2 - It can fall on rocky soil, where it takes root, but because it has no depth it withers away, meaning those who heard it, took it to heart, but in never took deep root, and as soon as the camp high is over they forget about it.

3 - It can fall among thorns, and the thorns take over and choke it out. I am unsure with this one whether the seed actually developed at all, or if it never has a chance, because the thorns, or the cares of life, difficulties and struggles overpower its development.

4 - It can fall on good soil where it takes root and grows and yields a crop one hundred fold. These seeds take root in a person’s heart who is truly searching for the truth and here they grow, and grow, and eventually they deliver the word to others, and so on.

Which of these would you say is the person in whom God’s Spirit dwells? Remember the word dwell means to abide or take up residence. Are you a person in whom God’s Spirit dwells?

Going back to verse 9 of our Roman’s passage. Pauls continues, “…if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” It is important to know whose spirit we have allowed to take up residence in us. If it isn’t God’s spirit, then it is Satan’s, there is no middle ground.

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Verse 10 - In this verse the emphasis is on Christ’s part. “If Christ is in you…” Once again, Paul is reiterating the importance of knowing Christ and of inviting Him in to dwell with you. It is Jesus Christ who took us from death to life. It is only through Him that we are able to be righteous.

You can be a good person doling out kindness, love, generosity, and helps, but still be dead in your sins. Remember:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

— Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB 1995)

Image by D. from Pixabay

Verse 11 - The truth is driven home once again, if God’s Spirit is in us, the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, then He will give life to our mortal bodies. This work is done in the afterlife, through His Spirit, but it is also done in this life. There is never one more alive, than the one who is in complete communion with his/her God.

Speaking from my own experience, I know the days that I give to Him, and the days I spend time with Him are the days I have focus, energy and joy. Unfortunately, so often I don’t do this. I roll out of bed feeling fatigued, and I think about doing some exercise, and spending time with God in His word, but it doesn’t happen. I get distracted by my phone, or my spouse, or the dishes that are still sitting in the sink, or my grocery list and on and on it goes.

Image by Alexa from Pixabay

If there is only one thing in life I need to do better, it is this: living in His Spirit. I need to allow Him to consume me and give me the gift of His presence every single moment of every single day.

Mulling It Over: Romans 8 - Part 1

This week I want to start my Mulling It Over series where we will be taking a passage of scripture and move through it slowly. The idea of ruminating on something is likened to a cow chewing on its cud. Not a pleasant thought, but for the cow it aids in the digestion process. For us ruminating on a passage gives us time to think about it and digest what it is saying. It also allows the Holy Spirit to speak to us through His word and that is part of what enables us to become more Christ like. Obviously, we have to be willing to do the listening and participate in what the Spirit wants to accomplish in our lives. I believe that is best done at a slow, deliberate pace.

Image by Robert Owen-Wahl from Pixabay

I recently was directed back to Romans 8. It is a chapter packed full of God’s promises and gives us so many tools to use as we go about our daily lives.

“1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death”

— Romans 8:1-2 (NASB 1995)

If you have been through one of my Mulling It Over series before, then you know I like to take these passages apart verse by verse. Seeing as there is so much in this passage, I feel it important to look at it in small bite sized snippets. We are serving finger foods here, not a whole roast beef dinner. But hopefully when we are finished you will feel like you have eaten a meal prepared by the King’s very own chefs.

Therefore there -

In order to understand what the Therefore is there for, we must look back at chapter seven. There is one verse that I think sums up the section that is being referred to (7:14-25).

“18 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 is not.”

— Romans 7:18 (NASB 1995)

This passage in chapter 7 is referring to the struggle between the flesh and the Spirit. More specifically, to the Law of God, which is Spiritual, and the flesh which is sinful. Can’t we all concur with the Apostle Paul in this struggle? What sort of struggle would it be if we didn’t have the Holy Spirit? We would go about our business, not really giving a thought for the struggle that could have been.

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When we allowed Jesus to put His seal on our hearts the struggle became real. Suddenly we find our flesh wanting all manner of things that aren’t good or godly. Day in and day out we fight this battle of flesh, not because we are ungodly, but because we are His and we are meant to be righteous, and righteous we are because of His blood that covers all our sin, but we still live in this earthen vessel.

“25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”

— Romans 7:25 (NASB 1995)

Knowing this is the struggle all Christ followers will endure, we come to verse 1 of chapter 8, and now we know what the Therefore is there for.

…is now…

The word now speaks of time. The time is not future and it is not past. It is today, this morning, this hour, this moment. It refers to what we now know because of what was referred to in the previous chapter.

…no condemnation…

What could be more beautiful and life giving that those two words? This is a promise. The condemnation that we could be under because we know the law of God, the spiritual reality, yet our physical reality binds us to this flesh. How is it that a Holy God would not condemn us, since we continue to struggle against sin.

…for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Oh the blessing that is ours, because we are His and He is ours. We are not condemned because we are in Christ Jesus. What does it mean to be in Him? It means that we live with Him, abide, dwell, invest and put all our heart’s trust in who He is and what He has done for us on the cross and in the refrain, “Up from the grave He arose…”

Now we come to the reason:

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus….

We are no longer under the law of death as the physical Israelites were as they lived and moved across the wilderness, trying to adhere to a system of weights and blood balances that they could never completely live up to. We are under a new law: the law of the Spirit of life. This is only available through our Lord and savior, and by it He -

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

…has set your free from the law of sin and death.

Blessing upon blessing. Mercy upon mercy. We were under the law of sin and death, but now we are under the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. I have to really think about this and ask myself, am I still living as one in the wilderness continually looking back to my “Egypt”, wishing I could go back, longing for the comfort of my sin, or am I a new creation forged by His blood and released into a Promised land of freedom and joy?

Until next time dwell in His promised land, that place where you are not under condemnation, but lavishly loved.