Reading List: January/February 2016

Finished this month:

Be Free: Exchange Legalism for True Spirituality (Commentary on Galatians) by Warren Wiersbe

This was a good read and I would recommended it (although I would disagree with his dispensational views on two occasions). It was a very easy read too - it didn’t feel like a “commentary”. Warren Wiersbe gives a very good explanation of what it means to be set free from the law and walk in the Spirit. If you want to read/study more about that, this is a great book for you!

“Justification is not simply ‘forgiveness,’ because a person could be forgiven and then go out and sin and become guilty. Once you have been ‘justified by faith’ you can never be held guilty before God.”

“We have been ‘raised to walk in newness of life’ (Rom 6:4), and since we live by His resurrection power, we do not need the ‘help’ of the law.”

“[This] simply means that we no longer need the external force of the law to keep us in God’s will because we have the internal leading of the Holy Spirit of God (Rom 8:1-4).” (emphasis his)

Loving the Way Jesus Loves by Phil Ryken

I loved this book! It was such a beautiful exposition on love and how Christ is the personification of perfect love. It was pretty convicting – wow how short I fall of God’s love! But as Phil writes, “What makes these verses so beautiful is that they are really a portrait of Jesus and his love” (p. 33). It is Christ and His love that must enthrall our hearts first of all. If we are to understand and grow in love, we must seek to know Jesus, for “A Christian is someone who has experienced the love of Jesus and who therefore pursues love in relationship to other people” (p. 189). In each chapter, Phil focused on a certain attribute of love and then moved to a passage of Scripture where Christ demonstrated that particular characteristic.

“We will never learn how to love by working it up in our own hearts, but only by having more of Jesus in our lives” (p. 23).

Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ by John Piper

In this fifth book in his “The Swans Are Not Silent” series (all GREAT books by the way – definitely ones you want to read!), John Piper shares from the lives of William Tyndale, Adoniram Judson and John Patton. Each of these three men suffered greatly for the cause of Christ, the true Gospel of salvation and the truth of God’s Word.

William Tyndale lived in exile for years but later was captured and burned at the stake because of his work of translating the Scriptures into English. It is mostly from his work that we have the English translations that we have today. The Catholic Church was so opposed to his work – mainly because he sought to faithful translate words like “elder” instead of “priest” and therefore undermined much of what Catholic theology actually taught! But Tyndale realized that for the sake of the life-giving Gospel, the Bible must be translated, and he gave his life for that cause.

John Patton lost his first wife and newborn shortly after arriving in the New Hebrides islands, but he remained and worked among cannibals. When one person tried to persuade him not to go for fear he would be “eaten by cannibals” John replied with remarkable courage: “I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by Cannibals or by worms; and in the Great Day my Resurrection body will rise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer” (p. 58).  What a remarkable man of prayer and perseverance! He wrote, “Whatever trials have befallen me in my Earthly Pilgrimage, I have never had the trial of doubting that perhaps, after all, Jesus had made some mistake. No! my blessed Lord Jesus makes no mistakes! When we see all His meaning, we shall understand, what now we can only trustfully believe that all is well – best for us, best for the cause most dear to us, best for the good of others, and the glory of God” (p. 76).  God give me such faith! While there was much suffering and resistance to his work after some years saw amazing fruit as one entire island turned to Christ!

Adoniram Judson lost 2 wives and multiple children to disease in the midst of missions work in Burma. 6 years it took for them to be able to baptize their first convert. At one point he was imprisoned and nearly died; the after-affect was that his wife and newborn child did die. He felt this loss greatly and struggled through some depressive times. But he wrote, “If I had not felt certain that every additional trial was ordered by infinite love and mercy, I could not have survived my accumulated sufferings” (p.87).

Talk about inspirational. John Piper ends the book with these words: “The question is not whether we will die, but whether we will die in a way that bears fruit” (p. 107). In our life and in our death, may we bring glory to God and fruitfulness to His mission.

Strangers to Fire: When Tradition Trumps Scripture edited by Robert Graves

I’m pretty much laying my cards on the table with this one; a number of my Christian brothers and sisters out there will disagree with me on this issue. But since in the last few years I have become more and more convinced that Cessationism is not Biblical I think this was a good book and an important one. It was written by various Charismatic/Pentecostal theologians in defense of Charismatic/Continuationist theology. The first half of the book has several articles/essays written in direct response to John MacArthur’s book Strange Fire. (My go-to and favorite essay in this section was the one written by Craig Keener – a really excellent defense but done with incredible humility and grace!) The second half of the book is a whole bunch of essays written defending Charismatic/Pentecostal theology or the continuation of the gifts of the Spirit – particularly focusing on prophesy, healing, miracles and tongues. I would disagree rather strongly with the Pentecostal writers on their emphasis on tongues (I’m not convinced that all Christians have that particular gift). I’m also not sure where I stand on the apostolic gift/office debate. Still, it was very interesting (and helpful) to read their perspective. Favorite chapters in this section were “Continuationism – A Redemptive-Historical Perspective” by James Hernando, and “Restoration of the Kingdom’s Miraculous Power” by J.P. Moreland.

“The meaning of ‘canon’ is not all that God has ever said, but the critically agreed-on measuring stick for evaluating other revelation… Depending on God for personal direction, sometimes through sensing an inner guidance, is not the same as inventing a new, post-Biblical doctrine… The New Testament model for believers is not to reject all prophesy but to discern what is right from what is wrong (1 Cor 14:29; 1 Thes 5:20-22).”    – Craig Keener (p. 53-54)

“Biblical faith is not a formula by which God can be manipulated but a relationship with one whose character we have come to trust… I must conform my experience to the Bible rather than the Bible to my experience. In other words, I remain committed to spiritual gifts because I am committed to Scripture.” – Craig Keener (p. 147 & 161)

(Addressing the fact that Cessationism has become an increasingly minority position…) “This means that the harshness and rigidity that sometimes characterized Cessationists advocates should be tempered not merely because all of us need to dialogue about our differences in a gracious manner, but because it may well be intellectually irresponsible to embody the sort of certainty with respect to Cessationism that sometimes fuels such harshness and rigidity. Even if you remain a solidly convinced Cessationist, however, there is still plenty of room in your theology to increase your passion for and expectation of the supernatural, miraculous aspect of new covenant life and ministry.”    – J.P. Moreland (p. 293)

Future Reading:

My spring semester will be starting up very soon, so I don’t think I’ll get to any additional reading. But I will most an update at some point about my classes and assignments. Thanks for reading! 

The 5 Sola’s of the Reformation: Sola Scriptura

(This is part 2 of a series on the 5 Sola’s of the Reformation)

One of the cries during the Reformation was later termed “Sola Scriptura!” which means “Scripture alone”! Again, the Reformation was an awakening of the errors of the Roman Catholic Church, and one thing that they taught was that Scripture alone was not the ultimate authority. While they didn’t say this out rightly, it was clear that Church tradition was esteemed just as highly as Scripture (if not more), there were several apocryphal books added to the 66 original Canon, and in addition, the Pope could speak “ex-Cathedra” and it was considered equal to the authority of Scripture. In so doing the Church could supersede Scripture and “interpret” it as they saw fit. Martin Luther took issue with that, and rightly so. The Scriptures were not their final and ultimate authority for doctrine and life and it claims to be just that:

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17)

Scripture alone! “Canon” means rule or standard. It’s a measuring rod if you will, one that everything else must measure up to. The 66 books of Scripture have met this standard and have stood the test of time for the last 2,000 years.

The question of the Bible’s authority is not just a problem within Catholicism; many Protestants, while claiming the Scripture is their authority, unfortunately can end up placing more weight on their feelings or experience than on the Word of God. I could name a lot of names right now of teachers who claim “God told me” or share visions or ideas, but yet they don’t measure up to what Scripture teaches. Since Scripture is the standard we do not compare Scripture to our thoughts, interpretations or opinions we compare them to the standard of Scripture. It alone is our rule for faith and practice. To follow any other thing before or above this - whether it be a person, a dream or our feelings, is to practically deny the authority of Scripture.

*Picture: Martin Luther’s pulpit, Wittenberg, Germany. Amelia Arnold, 2008.

All that being said, I’m going to add a bit of a twist to the discussion. Is Scripture itself alone sufficient to make us “complete”, alone sufficient for “life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3)? I would say, well... not quite. While Scripture must be our final authority, I would argue, it is not all we need.

Now you pick up stones to throw at me please review what I said previously. The Scripture ARE our final and ultimate authority. BUT – there is something we are forgetting.

The Bible says that the Word of God gives life (see Ps 119:50). But what is it exactly that gives these ink-on-paper words life? They were breathed-out by the Holy Spirit. Notice what Jesus says gives life: “It is the spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63). There are two things that give life: the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. These two cannot be separated! The Word of God is the means to our becoming “complete” (1 Tim 3:16) but the Holy Spirit is the agent through which this is brought about. To have the Word without the Spirit is empty religion, to have the “Holy Spirit” without the Word is mere spirituality or mysticism. We must have truth based on Scripture, and we must have the Spirit to bring that truth to life.

There are many in charismatic circles who place their emphasis on the Holy Spirit at the expense of the Word of God, but I have also known of solid, Biblical, evangelical, even Reformed churches who emphasize and centralize the Word of God but at the expense of nearly entirely ignoring the Holy Spirit. It’s as if it’s our own feelings/experience + the Holy Spirit = life, OR our own intellect + Scripture = life. While both groups have something valuable I would say both are unbalanced.

Let’s look at this text for instance:

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Heb 4:12-13)

Is this saying that the words on the page themselves have this power to convict and judge? Well, yes, but again, it's not just the words themselves that challenge us it’s the Holy Spirit that works through the words of Scripture (written or spoken) that brings about conviction. Words themselves can not convict, only the Spirit can do that.

So, Scripture alone, period? If you’re talking about final authority than yes, absolutely! But we would do well to remember that Scripture is made alive “sola” through the work and power of the Holy Spirit. The means of Scripture and the involvement of the Holy Spirit is what gives us all we need for life and godliness. Perhaps we should add another “Sola” to our list: Sola Spiritus. It is the Spirit alone who gives life, light and power - BUT this He does through the Word of God and more specifically, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We must have “both and” my friends!

For more on this subject, here are some great messages to listen to:

http://illbehonest.com/the-power-of-the-holy-spirit-is-essential-paul-washer

http://illbehonest.com/sensitivity-to-the-voice-of-christ-tim-conway

Fellowship Conference Review (I'll Be Honest church network conference)

So I recently took a trip to Texas. I went to San Antonio first to visit friends and then drove with them to The Fellowship Conference held in Denton Texas, April 17-20th. The whole trip was so great, refreshing, encouraging, convicting…. I thought I would share about what it was like and give a summary of the messages. It was put on by a group/network of churches the Pastor's of which include those speaking below. You can find more information through this website: http://illbehonest.com

There were about 900 people there. It was challenging at first as I didn’t know hardly anyone, but I was staying in a cabin with several other girls and it was a blessing to get to know them. I also connected with a lady that I had known several years ago that was there which was really sweet. We had meetings in the morning and evening and the afternoons were just for fellowship. Also in the morning after breakfast we had a prayer time where we gathered, someone shared some thoughts/Scripture for a couple minutes then we prayed for about 30+ minutes. The songs and hymns we sang at the meetings were different, many I had never heard before but the lyrics were rich! It was a very sweet time.

Thursday night meeting: Mack Tomlinson (from Denton, Texas) preached on what the role of the Holy Spirit was in the life of Christ. As Christ was fully dependant on the Spirit in all He said and did, so should we. We need the Spirit’s help and we need to be seeking Him.

Listen here: http://illbehonest.com/the-spirit-in-the-life-of-the-man-jesus-mack-tomlinson

Friday morning prayer was led by Mack and he talked briefly about Phil 4:4-7. The Lord is near, so don’t worry, pray! And pray with thanksgiving.

Friday morning meeting: Kevin Williams (from England) preached on Genesis 4:1-7a – Cain and Abel’s sacrifices. One was accepted, the other was not. Why? Because one had faith in a blood sacrifice and the other was merely performing an outward sign of religion. It is only through Christ that we are accepted.

Listen here:

http://illbehonest.com/why-cain-was-rejected-and-abel-accepted-kevin-williams

In the afternoon I went and listed to Mack go through all the books that were on the book table and talk about what they were about. Then went and played Ultimate Frisbee with some other young adults.

Friday evening we first had a missionary who serves in the Middle East share. He talked about how persecution and suffering are interwoven in the Christian faith and it is the means by which God grows us. He challenged us to remember our days are a gift and to use them wisely.  Afterwards, Ryan Fullerton (Louisville, Kentucky) preached from Galatians 3:1-6. This was probably my favorite message. In this passage Paul was rebuking the Galatians for trying to live the Christian life apart from the power of the Spirit. We receive the Spirit when we are saved, and we need Him more and more as we grow in Christ. And we receive more of the Spirit by looking to Christ. It’s full dependence upon Him that we need!

(Towards the beginning of the message all the lights in the room went out [just sunlight from the windows]… he didn’t miss a beat!)

Listen here:

http://illbehonest.com/gospel-faith-leads-to-the-fullness-of-the-spirits-power-ryan-fullerton

Saturday morning prayer was led by a man who’s a missionary to underground churches in China. He shared some various passages on the importance of prayer and I most remember this quote: “The battle for missions is won or lost in rooms like this.” Are we striving in prayer as we are called to in Scripture?

This missionary also preached at the morning meeting - since he’s an underground missionary, his message was not recorded, so I’ll give you a more extensive run-down on what he said.  He spoke on the basic missions principles that we find in Acts: 1. The Context of Missions (it springs from the local church, this is where missionaries should be sent from), 2. The Messengers (the first missionaries, Paul and Barnabas, were men grounded in the truth and mature in the faith – we need to be training men and women for ministry!), 3. The Message (We need a Biblical Gospel! It’s Christ and Him crucified for the forgiveness of sins; and mainly: Repent and believe!), 4. The Ministry of Missions (we bear a cross and follow Him. It’s by much tribulation that we enter the kingdom of God. Missionaries are called to plant churches and train leaders to take over leadership of them), 5. The Power of Missions (it’s all done by the power of the Holy Spirit and through prayer. All the knowledge and teaching in the world is worthless otherwise).

(Note: What this man is doing for Christ is amazing and it springs from his very serious relationship with the Lord. I had a chance to talk to him briefly afterwards…!)

Saturday evening we heard a short update from a missionary in Mexico, then Charles Leiter (Kirksville, Missouri) preached a message from 1 Corinthians 1:17-31 and the “weakness and foolishness of God”. So often God appears to be the weak and foolish one, but really He’s the strong one! He has a purpose and plan and it’s all to gain more glory for Himself and conform us more to the image of Christ. He gets ALL the glory, we are nothing!

(I was overwhelmed by gratitude for the Lord saving me after listening to this message! Praise the Lord for His marvelous grace!!!!)

Listen here:

http://illbehonest.com/the-weakness-and-foolishness-of-god-charles-leiter

Sunday morning prayer was led by Clint Leiter who shared 3 words that we should be continually praying: Revive, Restore, Refresh. We daily need God to give us “life again”, “abundance again” and to help us to “flourish again”.

Sunday morning sermon was by Tim Conway (San Antonio, Texas). When he got up he said he had notes from several sermons and really didn’t know what exactly he was preaching. But this, out of all the sermons was the most convicting! In sum: Jesus taught us to pray “Your kingdom come” – but do we really mean it? Do we really pray and seek for people to be saved? We have a responsibility to be reaching the lost, to be sharing the Gospel. Pray with passion, and let it overflow to your life! (Really convicting!)

Listen here:

http://illbehonest.com/hyper-calvinism-and-missions-tim-conway

I am so grateful for this opportunity to have gone. The messages were all great – I’m sure by listening to them you’ll be encouraged, inspired and convicted too! If you ever have an opportunity to go to this conference in Texas (or to hear any of these men speak) DO IT!  (For a heads-up, there will be a conference in Portland ME August 7-9, 2014 – more information forthcoming! If interested, contact me and I can let you know when I hear more.)

What I’ve Learned or Observed From Strange Fire

Regarding John MacArthur’s Strange Fire conference, there have been some things I’ve learned and observed over the last few weeks. I’m going to do my best to write this without entirely “hanging out the flag” of my particular theological beliefs… so here it goes:

1. John MacArthur has a very loyal following. Now, I really like John MacArthur. I have been very blessed through many of his books and he’s a great expositor. I’m just saying it was amazing to me how many people were defensive of John MacArthur simply because he is John MacArthur. God forbid he could be wrong! There’s a joke that he’s the “evangelical pope” but unfortunately that is actually true among some people.
2. He’s not the only one… there are some pretty loyal Mark Driscoll fans too that stood by him even though he exaggerated the truth (i.e. “lied”). I’ll go out on a limb here and admit that I actually like Driscoll too (to an extent), but he’s still got some growing-up to do. And those who applauded him for making a scene have some maturing to do too.
3. I was reminded that no one is right. That is, no one person or group is completely accurate in their theology or actions. Mark Driscoll shouldn’t have “crashed the party”, Grace-To-You could have done the conference a whole lot better (narrower focus? more unifying? more grace?), many those reacting to the conference could have been more gracious (although there’s a number who have done a good job at this), and many those on both sides should have done more homework/stayed more within Scripture context and not been so led by their presuppositions, etc.
4. Fire causes sparks… and they can potentially start more fires. Grace-to-You was attempting contain the true fire into one and smother the false ones, but in the process I think they actually sparked more fires. If their goal was to bring more people into believing cessationism (which it appears it was) I think they failed. If someone has really studied what they believe this conference will be very unlikely to convince them to change their position. The only people who are going to become cessationist through this are those who, 1) were already riding the middle line, 2) were in a really bad/false church.
5. Fire also causes a lot of smoke…. This one sure did! But if truth is supposed to bring unity and love among believers, why didn’t this conference do that?
6. Who has responded the best to this whole escapade? My vote is John Piper. I think it’s really interesting that he has not responded AT ALL to the Strange Fire conference (at least not publicly as of yet... although I would imagine he will at some point). Perhaps he realizes MacArthur respects him and is being careful not to cause more division? I think many people could learn from this lesson though… sometimes it’s better to just keep your mouth shut (although there are times to speak, hence this blog post).
7. The Church as a whole is still lacking in unity. Apparently we still can’t figure out or agree on what are essentials and what are non-essentials. At the very least if they have or do many seem to still be focusing too much on the non-essentials. We need to pray for more unity in the Church today!

To end I’ll throw in this really interesting, thought-provoking quote by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: (I didn't say I AGREE with it, I just found it rather fascinating!)

“There is nothing, I am convinced, that so ‘quenches’ the Spirit as the teaching which identifies the baptism of the Holy Ghost with regeneration. But it is a very commonly held teaching today, indeed it has been the popular view for many years. It is said that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is ‘nonexperimental’, that it happens to every one at regeneration. So we say, ‘Ah well, I am already baptized with the Spirit; it happened when I was born again, at my conversion; there is nothing for me to seek, I have got it all’. Got it all? Well, if you have ‘got it all’, I simply ask in the Name of God, why are you as you are? If you have ‘got it all’, why are you so unlike the Apostles, why are you so unlike the New Testament Christians? The teaching that I have just mentioned is false. The apostles were regenerate before the day of Pentecost. The baptism of the Holy Ghost is not identical with regeneration; it is something separate. It matters not how long the interval between the two may be, there is a difference; there is an interval, they are not identical. But if you say that they are identical, you do not expect anything further. And if you do not believe that it is possible for you to experience the Spirit of God bearing direct witness with your own spirit that you are a child of God, obviously you are quenching the Spirit. That is why so many Christian people are miserable and unhappy; they do not know anything about crying out, ‘Abba, Father’; or about ‘the Spirit of adoption’. God is a Being away in the far distance; they do not know Him as a loving Father; they do not know that they are His children. They may believe it intellectually, theoretically; but Paul says, ‘You have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear’. We are not to go about groaning and wondering whether we are Christians or not. We were in that state under the law; then we were wretched and we cried out, ‘O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me?’ But no longer! ‘We have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry’—and it is an elemental cry that comes from the depth of the personality—‘Abba, Father’.”    

-Dr. David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Christian Warfare: An Exposition of Ephesians 6:10-13, p. 280 (Edinburgh; Carlisle, PA, Banner of Truth Trust, 1976).

Bearers of His Presence

To [the Saints] God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:27

Did you know that you bear the presence of God? That Almighty God, the same One who created the world, parted the Red Sea and sent fire from heaven, dwells in you? So often, we as Christians affirm this truth, but yet the impact of it has yet to influence our lives.

I heard a story once of a pastor who was discipling a young man who was struggling with pornography. The pastor asked him if he believed in the omni-presence of God. “Of course,” the young man responded. “No you don’t,” the pastor replied, “because if you really did believe that God is everywhere and sees everything than you wouldn’t be looking at what you do.”

Do we really believe that God actually indwells us or is it just a nice Christian concept? Is it just a doctrine we hold or is it a reality in our life?

The Ark of the Covenant: Israel bearing the presence of God.

And David and all Israel went up to Baalah, to Kirjath Jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God the Lord, who dwells between the cherubim, where His name is proclaimed. So they carried the ark of God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart. Then David and all Israel played music before God with all their might, with singing, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on cymbals, and with trumpets. And when they came to Chidon's threshing floor, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzza, and He struck him because he put his hand to the ark; and he died there before God… David was afraid of God that day, saying, "How can I bring the ark of God to me?" So David would not move the ark with him into the City of David, but took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house three months. And the Lord blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that he had.

-1 Chron. 13:6-14

Then David said, "No one may carry the ark of God but the Levites, for the Lord has chosen them to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him forever." And David gathered all Israel together at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it… And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites: for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. He said to them, "You are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it. For because you did not do it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him about the proper order." So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God on their shoulders, by its poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.

-1 Chron. 15:1-3, 11-15

In the Old Testament, the people of Israel bore the presence of God, but it wasn’t on an individual level but rather corporate. God’s presence was between the cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant and the Levites bore it on the behalf of all the people. But God did not intend to always dwell among His people this way. In 2 Corinthians Paul writes, “For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people’”. (2 Cor 6:16) The New Testament with the death and resurrection of Christ and the giving of the Holy Spirit brought this prophesy to fulfillment. “You are the temple of the living God” says Paul. No longer does God dwell between cherubim but in the hearts of His people. Each of us, if we have put our trust in Christ and given ourselves to Him, receives the presence of God in return.

You bear the presence of the Son of God.

Jesus said, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18) and at the end of the Great Commission promised, “lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt 28:20). Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless you fail the test.” We should know and have assurance that Christ Himself dwells in us and we are to test ourselves against the Word of God.

You bear the presence of the Father.

It is not just the Son that you bear though, it is also the Father. John wrote, “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23). And Jesus said, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23).

You bear the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus promised not just His presence, but the constant presence of the Holy Spirit of God: “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17). In Romans 8 Paul equates the Holy Spirit as being the “Spirit of Christ”: “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His” (Romans 8:9). The Scriptures also tell us that the Holy Spirit dwelling in us is an evidence of our salvation.

The gravity of bearing the presence of God Almighty…

If we really believed that God actually lived in us would we live the way we do? Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are” (1 Cor 3:16-17) and, “…do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's” (1 Cor 6:19-20).

As the temple of God, we are called to “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord” (2 Cor 6:17). We are not to be of the stuff of the world and entangled in its delights. Rather, as Peter writes, “…as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’ And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:15-19). There is a requirement to bearing the presence of God, and that is holiness. We must die to the flesh and to self, reckon the power of sin over us as nullified and present ourselves in obedience and service to God.

The GLORY of bearing the presence of God Almighty…

Paul writes in Colossians, “To [the Saints] God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). To think that wherever we go, whatever we do, we have the presence of God in us and with us, leading us, comforting us, directing our every step. What a privilege, what a blessing! That we might bear the presence of our Lord in our body. Thus we can say with Paul: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal 2:20)!

You Can Walk on Water

You Can Walk on Water.

“No I can’t”, you may protest. “That’s impossible! OK, so Jesus walked on water… and Peter did when Jesus called him to, but we can’t.” But we are called to live an impossible life. Jesus said, “You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matt 5:48). Are you perfect? “Of course not”, you reply. “No one is.” Well, what are we to do then? The modern church will just pat you on the back and say, “It’s ok, God will still accept you the way you are.” But is that true? Habakkuk 1:13 says of God, “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness”. We cannot come to God in our sin. “Well, yes,” you will agree, “But God’s grace covers all our sin”. Does it? Grace is not just God coming along side of us and accepting us, Grace is found in Jesus.  “Yes, in Christ we are forgiven” you respond. Indeed. It was while we were “yet sinner”s that Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8) but does coming to Christ mean only forgiveness? Are we just to accept that and sit back in the boat when we could be walking on water? “Christ walked on water so we didn’t have to” you may argue. But if that’s true than once we’re “saved” we can go back living the way we were before. “No… um… well...” you say while shifting uncomfortably, “of course there’s supposed to be a change, but there’s only so much we can do”. Much more so, without Christ we can do nothing. “So if it’s impossible,” you sigh, “then what are we arguing about?” Because, “if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:13-14). If we are indeed sons of God then we are called to live accordingly. We are called to live a life in accordance to the Spirit of God. “But how are we supposed to walk on water if it’s impossible?” you cry. The secret of imitation is impartation. We only have the power to imitate Christ by the fact that Christ lives in us. Paul said in Galatians 2, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). We are crucified to the flesh. While we still live and breathe, Christ is the one who is living through us. “But it doesn’t seem like Christ is living through me” you protest. Romans 6 says, “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin” (Romans 6:6-7). “I know that that’s what the Bible says,” you cry, “but it doesn’t seem like I’m free”. That’s because knowing this is not enough; verse 11 says to “reckon yourself” as dead to sin. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new”. This is truth and you must reckon it as such in your life. Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing” (John 6:63). It is only through the Spirit of God that we can have new life and victory over sin. “But if I’m saved don’t I already have the Spirit of God?” is the next question you ask. Yes, you do and He is changing you, but you do not have His power working in your life do you? “Well,” you say uneasily, “I have… I mean… isn’t the Christian life supposed to be struggling against sin? That’s what Romans 7 talks about.” Well, then, what about Romans 6? That comes first you know. And besides, at the end of chapter 7 when he cries out for deliverance he says, “I thank God – through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 7:25). And that goes right into Romans 8 that is all about walking after the Spirit. Are you walking after the Spirit? “No,” you reply miserably, “I feel like I’m stuck in chapter 7.” It is the realization that Christ lives in you that will set you free. Ephesians 2 says, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:4-6). Not only are we made alive and raised up to new life, but we are seated together IN Christ. Paul talks about the mystery of God that now revealed which is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27). In this light, “if Christ is in you, [than] the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Romans 8:10). You need to realize your position in Christ. God’s grace is not just forgiveness; it is the enabling power of God working in and through us. It is the grace of God that is teaching us that, “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:11-14).

Now we can say with Paul, that although we were once slaves to sin “thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57)! 

And to that, I pray you will say, “Amen”.

Spiritus Sanctus (A prayer to the Holy Spirit)

O Holy Spirit,
As the sun is full of light, the ocean full of water,
Heaven full of glory, so may my heart be full of thee.
Vain are all divine purposes of love and the redemption wrought in Jesus
except Thou work within, regenerating by Thy power,
giving me eyes to see Jesus, showing me the realities of the unseen world.
Give my Thyself without measure,
as an unimpaired fountain, as inexhaustible riches.
I bewail my coldness, poverty, emptiness, imperfect vision,
languid service, prayerless prayers, praiseless praises.
Suffer me not to grieve or resist Thee.
Come as power, to expel every rebel lust, to reign supreme and keep me Thine;
Come as teacher, leading me into all truth, filling me with all understanding;
Come as love, that I may adore the Father, and love Him as my all;
Come as joy, to dwell in me, move in me, animate me;
Come as light, illuminating Scripture, molding me in it's laws;
Come as sanctifier, body, soul and spirit wholly Thine;
Come as helper, with strength to bless and keep, directing my every step;
Come as beautifier, bringing order out of confusion, loveliness out of chaos.
Magnify to me Thy glory by being magnified in me,
and make me redolent of Thy fragrance.

~From The Valley of Vision