NEWS The Way, the Truth, and the Life
"The anointing which ye received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any one teach you" (1 John 2:27).
"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man" (1 Cor. 2:14-15).
I came across something Oswald Chambers wrote decades ago that goes to the heart of the issue I blogged on last week (see: Filled With the Spirit). Here's what Mr. Chambers said:
There is only one thing as futile as the Roman Catholic Church and that is Protestantism. In Roman Catholicism the great dominating authority is Churchianity; the Church is vested with all authority. In Protestantism it is what the Book says that is the supreme authority, and a man gets rest when he decides for either. "I am going to give up all the turmoil and let my Church do my thinking for me." If you put your faith in a Church, it will solve your problems for you. Or you may stake your faith in Bibliolatry with the same result. "Ye search the scriptures, because ye think in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of Me, and ye will not come to Me that ye may have life" (John 5:39-40 RV). Jesus Christ says neither the Church nor the Bible is the authority, but "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life"; the Church and the Bible are secondary. The context of the Bible is Jesus Christ, and a personal relationship with Him interprets the Bible in a man's life.
(Source: The Shadow of an Agony)
This is a powerful statement that is not well appreciated nearly 2,000 years after Calvary. The last sentence sums everything up very well:
"A personal relationship with Him interprets the Bible in a man's life."
It's a well known fact that the disciples did not carry Bibles with them. Nor did Paul or the other early followers of Christ. What all these men and women had was a direct connection to God via the Holy Spirit. They were all once natural men - earthly men and women. But they became new creations when they were finally broken and received the Spirit.
The Spirit is the Instructor. He guides our hearts. The Scriptures are there for us to confirm what the Spirit is telling us. It's no accident that the Acts of the Apostles doesn't have a formal ending. It is still being written today by the Holy Spirit.
The Pharisees knew the five books of Moses and the written words of the Prophets backwards and forwards, but that didn't prevent them from spitting in Jesus' face and crucifying the Lord. You see, the Pharisees knew the words as written in their Scriptures, but they didn't understand their meaning. The Holy Spirit gives us the faculty to understand the Scriptures. Without the Holy Spirit, it's impossible to understand the Scriptures. Jesus and the Spirit were one. Listen to the Spirit pouring through the Lord in these Scriptures:
"No one comes to the Father except through Me."
(John 4:40)
"But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
(John 4:24-24)
"Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.
(John 8:58)
Before Abraham, I am! What an incredibly powerful statement that is! It is the Alpha and the Omega blasting through Jesus. The Pharisees were greatly puzzled when they heard the Spirit saying this through Jesus. "Isn't he not yet 50 years old?," they asked each other. How could he exist before Abraham? Abraham lived thousands of years ago. Impossible!
Leave it to religious hearts to try to make a spiritual thing an earthly thing. As soon as something spiritual is made into something earthly, it dies. The Lord was very clear: We must Him worship in spirit and in truth. We must!
Spirituality is key. Here's how T. Austin-Sparks put it:
"A spiritual state is the key to all that is of God. Spirituality is the door, and the key to the door, beyond which lies everything that relates to God. Without spirituality, there is no way through, the door is closed. The word "cannot" stands written as an impassable barrier -"cannot understand or receive the things of the Spirit of God." In reality, our lives are set in a realm of things spiritual. God is Spirit, therefore the supreme Reality, the supreme factor, the ultimate environment of this universe - God - is Spirit."
The Spirit is One. It is not divided. As the Spirit said through Paul:
"He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." (1 Cor. 6:17)
There are over 40,000 Christian denominations today. There are millions of man-made churches separated from each other by earthly (man-made) labels. But Christ is not divided. Satan can and does divide and subdivide churches men build, but Christ cannot be divided. He is One. Jesus is not Catholic nor Protestant. Jesus is Christ - the true expression of God's love. God has no religion. He is Spirit, and we worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Here's how Oswald Chambers defines the Church:
"The Church is a separated band of people who are united to God by the regenerating power of the Spirit, and the bedrock of membership in the Church is that we know who Jesus is by a personal revelation of Him. The indwelling Spirit is the supreme Guide, and He keeps us absorbed with our Lord."
United by the power of the Spirit - who know the Lord by a personal revelation of Him. The Spirit inside is the supreme Guide. Yes, indeed!
Jesus was adamant about the disciples not doing anything until they received the Spirit (Acts 1). The disciples received the Holy Spirit after Jesus ascended into heaven - not while they were walking the earth with Him. They were very much of an earthly nature when they were walking with Him - Peter especially so.
Tragically, there have been many Christians that have disobeyed the Lord and gone out to preach without the Spirit. That kind of behavior is a recipe for darkness, despair, and disaster, as history clearly documents.
Have you had a personal revelation of the Lord? This is, as Mr. Chambers says, the bedrock of membership in Christ's church - the Church that cannot be divided nor penetrated by Satan.
May you posses a personal relationship with the Lord through revelation and truly know God's never-failing love.
His love is the greatest.
(1 Corinthians 13:13)
Agape,
Steve
"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man" (1 Cor. 2:14-15).
I came across something Oswald Chambers wrote decades ago that goes to the heart of the issue I blogged on last week (see: Filled With the Spirit). Here's what Mr. Chambers said:
There is only one thing as futile as the Roman Catholic Church and that is Protestantism. In Roman Catholicism the great dominating authority is Churchianity; the Church is vested with all authority. In Protestantism it is what the Book says that is the supreme authority, and a man gets rest when he decides for either. "I am going to give up all the turmoil and let my Church do my thinking for me." If you put your faith in a Church, it will solve your problems for you. Or you may stake your faith in Bibliolatry with the same result. "Ye search the scriptures, because ye think in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of Me, and ye will not come to Me that ye may have life" (John 5:39-40 RV). Jesus Christ says neither the Church nor the Bible is the authority, but "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life"; the Church and the Bible are secondary. The context of the Bible is Jesus Christ, and a personal relationship with Him interprets the Bible in a man's life.
(Source: The Shadow of an Agony)
This is a powerful statement that is not well appreciated nearly 2,000 years after Calvary. The last sentence sums everything up very well:
"A personal relationship with Him interprets the Bible in a man's life."
It's a well known fact that the disciples did not carry Bibles with them. Nor did Paul or the other early followers of Christ. What all these men and women had was a direct connection to God via the Holy Spirit. They were all once natural men - earthly men and women. But they became new creations when they were finally broken and received the Spirit.
The Spirit is the Instructor. He guides our hearts. The Scriptures are there for us to confirm what the Spirit is telling us. It's no accident that the Acts of the Apostles doesn't have a formal ending. It is still being written today by the Holy Spirit.
The Pharisees knew the five books of Moses and the written words of the Prophets backwards and forwards, but that didn't prevent them from spitting in Jesus' face and crucifying the Lord. You see, the Pharisees knew the words as written in their Scriptures, but they didn't understand their meaning. The Holy Spirit gives us the faculty to understand the Scriptures. Without the Holy Spirit, it's impossible to understand the Scriptures. Jesus and the Spirit were one. Listen to the Spirit pouring through the Lord in these Scriptures:
"No one comes to the Father except through Me."
(John 4:40)
"But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
(John 4:24-24)
"Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.
(John 8:58)
Before Abraham, I am! What an incredibly powerful statement that is! It is the Alpha and the Omega blasting through Jesus. The Pharisees were greatly puzzled when they heard the Spirit saying this through Jesus. "Isn't he not yet 50 years old?," they asked each other. How could he exist before Abraham? Abraham lived thousands of years ago. Impossible!
Leave it to religious hearts to try to make a spiritual thing an earthly thing. As soon as something spiritual is made into something earthly, it dies. The Lord was very clear: We must Him worship in spirit and in truth. We must!
Spirituality is key. Here's how T. Austin-Sparks put it:
"A spiritual state is the key to all that is of God. Spirituality is the door, and the key to the door, beyond which lies everything that relates to God. Without spirituality, there is no way through, the door is closed. The word "cannot" stands written as an impassable barrier -"cannot understand or receive the things of the Spirit of God." In reality, our lives are set in a realm of things spiritual. God is Spirit, therefore the supreme Reality, the supreme factor, the ultimate environment of this universe - God - is Spirit."
The Spirit is One. It is not divided. As the Spirit said through Paul:
"He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." (1 Cor. 6:17)
There are over 40,000 Christian denominations today. There are millions of man-made churches separated from each other by earthly (man-made) labels. But Christ is not divided. Satan can and does divide and subdivide churches men build, but Christ cannot be divided. He is One. Jesus is not Catholic nor Protestant. Jesus is Christ - the true expression of God's love. God has no religion. He is Spirit, and we worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Here's how Oswald Chambers defines the Church:
"The Church is a separated band of people who are united to God by the regenerating power of the Spirit, and the bedrock of membership in the Church is that we know who Jesus is by a personal revelation of Him. The indwelling Spirit is the supreme Guide, and He keeps us absorbed with our Lord."
United by the power of the Spirit - who know the Lord by a personal revelation of Him. The Spirit inside is the supreme Guide. Yes, indeed!
Jesus was adamant about the disciples not doing anything until they received the Spirit (Acts 1). The disciples received the Holy Spirit after Jesus ascended into heaven - not while they were walking the earth with Him. They were very much of an earthly nature when they were walking with Him - Peter especially so.
Tragically, there have been many Christians that have disobeyed the Lord and gone out to preach without the Spirit. That kind of behavior is a recipe for darkness, despair, and disaster, as history clearly documents.
Have you had a personal revelation of the Lord? This is, as Mr. Chambers says, the bedrock of membership in Christ's church - the Church that cannot be divided nor penetrated by Satan.
May you posses a personal relationship with the Lord through revelation and truly know God's never-failing love.
His love is the greatest.
(1 Corinthians 13:13)
Agape,
Steve
posted by Steve at
10:50 AM
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