Tag Archives: God

Bible Study–The Holy Spirit’s Role

Posted on by under God's Call

The Holy Spirit is not merely a nice addendum to the Christian faith. He is at the heart and core of it. He is not merely a force or an influence. He is the third Person of the Trinity, God Himself.”  – Tony Evans, The Promise

One of the Holy Spirit’s role is to illuminate Scripture—guiding believers to understand the meaning of the words that the Spirit Himself already inspired           (2 Peter 1:20-2:1). This ministry of enlightenment is the process by which the Spirit enables believers to grasp and apply God’s truth in daily life.

1 Corinthians 2:10-16 (NIV) states: . . . . These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 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. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 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. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Abide in Christ

When we abide in Christ, the Holy Spirit translates God’s very thoughts to us!         (1 Corinthians 2:16; 1 John 2:20-27) He acts as a transmitter to and through our human spirit (Proverbs 20:27). Although my mind can’t fully grasp all the workings of the Holy Spirit and the Trinity, I stand amazed by this mysterious truth.

The Holy Spirit Sheds Light 

(Source: touchn2btouched)

(Source: touchn2btouched)

The Holy Spirit, part of the Godhead, knows the deepest thoughts of God. We can trace His role of Illuminator back to Creation—hovering over the earth, dispelling darkness when God said: “Let there be light.”

Our natural minds don’t speak God’s language. Without the illumination of the Holy Spirit, our understanding is muddled. He desires to help us by clarifying spiritual truth.

Results of the Holy Spirit’s Illumination

Clarity, order, peace, faith, and hope dispel confusion, chaos, turmoil, fear, and despair when we communicate with the Holy Spirit.

Recall

Another aspect of the Holy Spirit’s illuminating work is the power of spiritual recall (John 14:26). This usually doesn’t mean remembering word for word passages (at least not in my case), but rather remembrance of a point or paraphrase of Scripture previously read. Countless times the Holy Spirit has counseled me–opening my “spiritual eyes” to His objective truth–helping me in various situations.

Qualifications to Receive Spirit’s Benefits

The promise of the Holy Spirit’s teaching and recall ministry is for all believers. What is Jesus’ condition for receiving the Spirit’s indwelling presence and His benefits?

 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”  – John 14:21

Honestly, I struggle sometimes hearing the Holy Spirit speak through His Word. Sometimes He is quiet. But most often, there are  competing signals—busy thoughts, worldly attractions, sin, Satan’s distractions, etc. So I have to ask: How is my spiritual antenna? Does God have my undivided attention? What signals might be jamming up the communication lines with God?

How’s your communication going with God? . . . . More to come: The Holy Spirit.

Why Study the Bible?

Posted on by under God's Call

“If there is one terrible disease in the church of Christ, it is that we do not see God as great as He is. We’re too familiar with God.”  – A.W. Tozer, Worship: The Missing Jewel

Growing up and regularly attending a Bible based church has truly been a blessing. But I confess, there have been times when I allowed my relationship with God to become too casual–viewing Him more as my buddy rather than the infinite, omnipotent King of Kings. A peruse of Job 38-41, however, quickly put things into proper perspective. 🙂

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When we apply ourselves to Bible study we grow in knowledge, wisdom and truth (Proverbs 2:6).

The Bible–A Map to Guide Us

God knows we desperately need a map to point us in the right direction. On our own we are lost sinners. His inspired Word provides the guidance we need to acquire His perspective and principles for living (Psalm 119). No wonder King David penned, “you [Lord] have exalted above all things your name and your word”  (Psalm 138:1-2).

Knowing God’s Commands

Matthew 7:1-13 records Jesus scolding the Pharisees for claiming to know God’s will in every detail of life. They created much confusion amongst the people by adding hundreds of their own petty rules and regulations to God’s laws. Jesus said, “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men,” (vs. 8).

Engaging Our Minds

Jesus used parables to explain spiritual truth, compelling listeners to think. He doesn’t want us to park our minds in neutral and follow Him in a blind free fall. He calls us to actively engage our minds in His Word (Matthew 22:37; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 John 4:1; 1 Corinthians 10:15; 1 Peter 3:15).

Other Benefits From Bible Study

  • Knowing Jesus Christ and God the Father: His justice and mercy
  • Understanding how to receive eternal life
  • Knowledge of the beginning and the end (Genesis, Revelation)
  • Training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16)
  • Combatting temptation and spiritual warfare (Matthew 4:1-4; Ephesians 6:10-18)
  • Understanding God’s purpose of spiritual gifts and the function of His church
  • Discernment of false teachers

The Take Away

God wants us to not only listen carefully to His instructions, but also obey (Hebrews 2:1; James 1:22-25).

ed81919a606f79fe2cf3cb280c73b462When we seek God through Bible study and prayer, He will come along beside us personally each day and help us carry out His principles. He will also grow our faith and bless our obedience.

Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”  – 1 Timothy 4:16

Are you currently engaged in Bible study? Does a Christian ever reach a point when he/she doesn’t need God’s Word anymore?

Coming next—“Understanding Biblical Truth.”

Related Posts:

The B-I-B-L-E

Today’s Word

Knowing God

The B-i-b-l-e

Posted on by under God's Call

Thank you to everyone who participated in my poll last week, posted under Back to the Basics. I asked: What do you believe about the Bible? At last check, a whopping 100% of you agreed that the Bible is God’s inspired Word to us.

I don’t want to preach to the choir, but want to follow through with my theme from last week.

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The B-i-b-l-e, yes that’s the book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God.

I hope the following summary might be useful to you or someone you know.

What’s so unique about the Bible?

  • Through sixty-six separate books, 1,189 chapters, the Bible is divinely orchestrated and inspired by God—a claim the Bible makes for itself (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:2).
  • Although God’s Word was composed by 40 different authors in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek) over a span of 1,500 years on three different continents (Africa, Asia, and Europe), it is a unit from beginning to end.
  • The Bible shares one extraordinary message: God loves you.
  • The Bible proves God is intimately involved and concerned about people. His unconditional love is shown in the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross. His sacrifice for sin allows anyone to be in a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus’ work.

Interesting Facts

(Source: Study Bible Apologetics for Students, Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission)

  • Hundreds of biblical prophecies have been fulfilled (e.g., Isaiah 13; Daniel 2; Luke 21:5-6).
  • The Bible has been confirmed as being historically, archaeologically, and geographically accurate.
  • The Old Testament is 99% accurate when compared to the Dead Sea Scrolls dating from 200 B.C.
  • The New Testament is 99% accurate when compared to more than 5,600 partial and complete NT manuscripts dating from the first three centuries A.D.

80844cdbbb4f82927197b3b167c6afdbDo you regularly read God’s Word, the Bible?

Coming next . . . . “Why Study the Bible?”

Lighthouse – Shining God’s Light

Posted on by under God's Call

We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining–they just shine.” Dwight L. Moody

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GOD’S LIGHT SOURCE

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”  – 2 Corinthians 4:6

According to this verse, knowing Jesus Christ is the source of having God’s light and knowledge in our lives. (Related post: Knowing God.) We don’t acquire the light of His salvation through morality, religion, or good deeds; although good deeds follow genuine faith/trust in Christ (James 2:18).

GOD’S LIGHT CARRIERS

I’m glad God doesn’t reserve His glory for the smartest, strongest, wealthiest, or most talented people. I certainly wouldn’t qualify.

God operates differently than the world’s standards. His thoughts and ways are much higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9). God’s light carriers are described as jars of clay.

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Like jars of clay we are fragile. We crack. We crumble. We break.

But in our weakness—especially in our brokenness—God’s light shines brightest (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

 HOW DO WE DIM GOD’S LIGHT?

We dim God’s light by the following: (1) denial of His light, (2) failure to confess and/or repent of our sins, (3) neglect of sharing our faith, (4) ignoring others’ needs, (5) disobeying God, (6) failing to spend time and/or abide in God, and (7) going along with the crowd.

(This isn’t meant to be an inclusive list.)

HOW DO WE SHINE GOD’S LIGHT?

On a positive note, applying the opposite to the above will result in God’s light shining through us.

Perhaps, we shine brightest when we apply Jesus’ words: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”    Matthew 22:37-40

WANT EXTRA POLISH AND SHEEN?

(It’s free, but like the above, requires focus and resolve.)

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”    Philippians 4:8

How’s your shine?

Related articles

From Darkness to Light

Posted on by under Salvation

Have you ever stumbled out of bed in the middle of the night and ran into a wall? I’ve done that a few times, mostly when away from the familiarity of my home. . . . Thank goodness for light!

Light . . . I love seeing the sunlight streaming through the clouds, painting the evening sky. I love viewing God’s creation in radiant color and clarity. I also enjoy the sun’s warmth on a cool day, and the ability to see while biking so I don’t crash into the bushes.

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SUNLIGHT

For all of you trivia fans, here are some interesting facts about the sun (source: http://www.goldenkstar.com/facts/sun-interesting-facts.htm):

  • The sun makes up 99.86% of the mass of our solar system.
  • The energy being emitted from 1 square centimeter of the sun’s surface is enough to burn 64 light bulbs of 100 watt.
  • The earth receives 94 billion megawatt of energy from the sun. This is equivalent to 40,000 times the power requirement of the United States.
  • It takes up to 50 million years for energy produced at the core of the sun to reach its surface.
  • If a drop sized matter from the core of the sun is placed on the surface of the earth, no living organism will survive for a distance of 150 km from that drop.
  • An area of the sun’s surface the size of a postage stamp shines with the power of 1,500,000 candles. . . . That’s a lot of candles!

SON LIGHT

Shortly after the last night of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles celebration—where large torches lit up the skyline—Jesus spoke to the people from the temple where offerings were placed (John 8:20). Candles were burned here to symbolize the pillar of fire that led the Israelites through the desert at night (Exodus 13:21-22). The pillar of fire represented God’s presence, protection, and guidance. In this context, Jesus said:

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  – John 8:12

Without Christ, we are spiritually lost due to our sin. This ends in spiritual death and eternal separation from God. I doubt we can fathom just how dark and horrible such an existence is.

Is Jesus the light of your world? He will lead you to safety, wisdom, victory, and truth.