This past Sunday, we talked about the nature of Scripture. Using Psalm 19.7-9, and 2 Timothy 3.16-17, a description of God’s Word was defined.
When we speak about Scripture, often we become bogged down in the theological arguments of our day. Is Scripture inspired? Is the Word inerrant? What does inspired and inerrant mean? Those kinds of questions. From the beginning of Church history, believers have debated the nature of Scripture and the truths God’s Word affirms.
What we need to understand is the central role the Bible has played in the life of the Church and in the daily experiences of believers throughout the church era. If we allow ourselves to be distracted by the arguments for or against some biblical issue, we will be diverted from applying the truth of the Word to our lives.
In Psalm 19, David declared several principles about Scripture in a forthright manner. The Psalmist did not argue for or against any position, he simply affirmed certain truths about the Word of God. In doing so, he gave us incredible insights into both the nature and workings of Scripture.
Paul did much the same in his letter to Timothy. As David did, Paul also declared some fundamental truths about Scripture. His concern was for Timothy to base his pastoral ministry on the reality of the truth Scripture.
From these two texts we learned some key affirmations. Among those is the central essence of Scripture: The Bible is the inspired (Paul said God-breathed) revelation of God. David declared the wholeness, purity, cleanliness and reliability of Scripture. In his comments, Paul focused on the sufficiency of Scripture.
In order to build an adequate and legitimate worldview, we must do so on the foundation of Scripture. We must realize the importance of Scripture for our lives. The Word of God is adequate for our every need. The Word provides all the doctrine we need; the Word shows us our failures, instructs us on correcting our errors, and shows us how to avoid making those mistakes again in the future. Finally, the Word equips us for ministry.
In equipping us for ministry, the Bible enables us to understand how God by His Holy Spirit enables us through spiritual gifts to function as beneficial members of the Body of Christ. In our next study, we will begin looking at spiritual gifts. We will see what they are, how they are given, and how they function. Also, we will consider the role of the Fruit of the Spirit in the working of the gifts. This study should last two weeks.
In preparation for next Sunday’s study, read the following passages: Romans 12.3-8; 1 Corinthians 12.1, 4-31; Galatians 5.22-24; Ephesians 4.11-13. After reading these passages, think about and write down what gift or gifts you think God has given you. If you are uncertain, think about some of your strengths and talents. You do have a gift. Every believer does.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
The Holy Spirit and God’s Will, Pt. 2
This past Sunday, we started discussing how the Holy Spirit enables us to understand God’s will. Now, admittedly, that is a pretty inclusive subject. In fact, the concept is so broad, we are left without any practical advice about seeing God’s plan for our particular life. We need to know what God’s wants for us so we can make biblically-sound decisions. How do we do that?
The first thing we need to understand is what we talked about Sunday morning. To know the specifics, we first must see the bigger picture. What we did first was to clarify the two kinds of knowledge we find in Scripture. First, God’s Word contains wisdom (This word is found in Ephesians 5.15). For our purposes, we considered mainly the concept within the New Testament framework. There, we find the word sophos. This word, translated wisdom, refers to theoretical knowledge. In Scripture, we find propositional truth, if - then statement. For instance, 1 John 1.9 says “If we confess our sins, [then] he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
One word for knowledge is ginosko. This word also can mean understanding. This term refers to practical knowledge, or, experiential knowledge. We, on the one hand, know how to apply a particular principle. For instance, the principle in 1 John 1.9 refers to confession. When we actually confess, we have applied the theory in a practical way. Further, we then have experienced the truth of confession and forgiveness.
In Ephesians 5.15-18, another word for knowledge was used: suniemi. This particular word means to perceive or have insight into something. For our purposes, we need to “understand” how these three words work together. We study Scripture and discover wisdom, or, propositional truth. For instance, Rom. 10.9 says, “ if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, [then] you will be saved.” We can read this statement and see the truth statement. We gain insight into the proposition under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; he makes the “if, then” statement come alive for us. Then, we practice the truth by confessing and believing resulting in our being saved.
We also considered two categories of people defined by Paul in Ephesians 5.15-18: the wise and the unwise. The wise person is careful in how he lives; he pays close attention to his conduct, with a view to eternity. He also sees his opportunities for witness and ministry. Further, he has insight into God’s will for his life. Lastly, he is filled by the Spirit with the Truth of God’s Word.
The unwise person is just the opposite. He lives carelessly, not paying attention to how he conducts his life, typically living for the moment. He is unaware of life’s opportunities for goodness since he has a careless perspective on life. This person does not understand what God’s plan is, or how that plan could be carried out in his life. Lastly, this person is under the control of some force or power other than the Spirit of God. He is being led towards an alternative, false reality in which no hope exists.
How do we translate all this information into our daily lives? How do we see God’s plan, gain insight into his plan, and apply his plan in a personal, specific way. The answer to that question rests in the source of wisdom itself: God’s Word. We need to understand the essential nature of Scripture if we are to benefit from its truth. Psalm 19.7-9 and 1 Tim. 3.16-17 will enable us to gain insight into Scripture. Then, we can put the Holy Spirit together with God’s Word, and begin seeing what God plans to do with our lives.
Remember, God does not want us to be ignorant of what He is doing. He is willing to open our eyes to His plan. We must, though, approach Him in the proper manner with the proper attitude if we want to know God’s will.
The first thing we need to understand is what we talked about Sunday morning. To know the specifics, we first must see the bigger picture. What we did first was to clarify the two kinds of knowledge we find in Scripture. First, God’s Word contains wisdom (This word is found in Ephesians 5.15). For our purposes, we considered mainly the concept within the New Testament framework. There, we find the word sophos. This word, translated wisdom, refers to theoretical knowledge. In Scripture, we find propositional truth, if - then statement. For instance, 1 John 1.9 says “If we confess our sins, [then] he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
One word for knowledge is ginosko. This word also can mean understanding. This term refers to practical knowledge, or, experiential knowledge. We, on the one hand, know how to apply a particular principle. For instance, the principle in 1 John 1.9 refers to confession. When we actually confess, we have applied the theory in a practical way. Further, we then have experienced the truth of confession and forgiveness.
In Ephesians 5.15-18, another word for knowledge was used: suniemi. This particular word means to perceive or have insight into something. For our purposes, we need to “understand” how these three words work together. We study Scripture and discover wisdom, or, propositional truth. For instance, Rom. 10.9 says, “ if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, [then] you will be saved.” We can read this statement and see the truth statement. We gain insight into the proposition under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; he makes the “if, then” statement come alive for us. Then, we practice the truth by confessing and believing resulting in our being saved.
We also considered two categories of people defined by Paul in Ephesians 5.15-18: the wise and the unwise. The wise person is careful in how he lives; he pays close attention to his conduct, with a view to eternity. He also sees his opportunities for witness and ministry. Further, he has insight into God’s will for his life. Lastly, he is filled by the Spirit with the Truth of God’s Word.
The unwise person is just the opposite. He lives carelessly, not paying attention to how he conducts his life, typically living for the moment. He is unaware of life’s opportunities for goodness since he has a careless perspective on life. This person does not understand what God’s plan is, or how that plan could be carried out in his life. Lastly, this person is under the control of some force or power other than the Spirit of God. He is being led towards an alternative, false reality in which no hope exists.
How do we translate all this information into our daily lives? How do we see God’s plan, gain insight into his plan, and apply his plan in a personal, specific way. The answer to that question rests in the source of wisdom itself: God’s Word. We need to understand the essential nature of Scripture if we are to benefit from its truth. Psalm 19.7-9 and 1 Tim. 3.16-17 will enable us to gain insight into Scripture. Then, we can put the Holy Spirit together with God’s Word, and begin seeing what God plans to do with our lives.
Remember, God does not want us to be ignorant of what He is doing. He is willing to open our eyes to His plan. We must, though, approach Him in the proper manner with the proper attitude if we want to know God’s will.
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Holy Spirit and God's Will, Pt. 1
This past Sunday morning, we began a two-week study of the Holy Spirit, focusing mainly on his role in guiding believers to understand God’s Word. Two passages of major importance in our study were John 14.16-18, 26, and 1 John 2.26-27. Our point of emphasis was the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Our underlying purpose as a group is the development and maintenance of a biblical worldview. Our worldview is our perspective on life. We should have a position from which we “see” our world and our lives. From this theological vantage point, with Scripture as our lens, we can perceive life as life truly is, not as it appears to be. Thus, we will be able to make the right decisions for the right reasons.
Now, as we pointed out in our study time, for a biblical worldview to be meaningful, we have to know where we are headed; we must understand God’s will, his plan for our lives. Only then will we know where we are going. One consideration, by the way, must be taken into account as we attempt to discover God’s personal plan for each of us. First and foremost, God is interested more in who we and than in what we do.
We can do all the “right” things and still be spiritually immature or lost. Attending church on Sunday, a life-group during the week, tithing, and many of the other things we are supposed to do can be done by a lost person. But, if we are a follower of Jesus, one of those people on the fringe, as Bro. Darrell reminds us, we will do what God wants us to do. So, right practices will be an outgrowth of a right relationship with God.
As we talked about the Holy Spirit and his ministry to believers, we also pointed out the impossibility of understanding the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is one person of the Triune Godhead. God the Father and God the Son are the other two. I will not go into all we had to say about the divine mystery of the Trinity, other than to point out how impossible grasping an infinite reality is for a finite mind. In the final analysis, we accept the doctrine of the Trinity solely on the basis of faith.
What is important for us to know is God has condescended, or accommodated himself to human beings. The Father sent the Son, who came into this world in obedience and humility in order to do for humanity what humanity could not do for itself. He made reconciliation with God a real possibility through his death on the Cross. Each of us as individuals, and all of us as a race, because of our sin, were separated from God. Only He could restore us. We are reconciled only as we trust Christ for the forgiveness of our sin.
Once restored to a right relationship with God, we must realize we have been restored to wholeness. Now that God has made us whole (cf. Col. 2.10), we are able to do what God wants us to do. Paul wrote to the Philippians, “For God is at work in you both to determine and to do his good pleasure.” In other words, the moment one becomes a believer, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in that person’s life and begins changing him in his present existence into what and who we are in our spiritual and eternal existence.
Again, though, the question arises, “How do we know exactly what God’s plan for us is?” Well, this coming Sunday we will look at how we are equipped by God to know what he wants us to do. Our main text will be Ephesians 5.15-18. Paul outlined for the Ephesian believers two categories of people: those who know God’s will and those who don’t. One group is called wise, the other unwise. One, by thoughtful interaction with the Holy Spirit, has come to understand God’s will. The other, simply by not thinking, has failed to grasp the nature of God’s plan. Knowing God’s will is not a great mystery. Knowing God’s will is a result of a right relationship with God through the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. We’ll see this Sunday how this all plays out.
Assignment: What does wisdom mean in the Bible? You can respond to that question by posting your comments (anything from one word to several paragraphs) on this blog. Your responses will be confidential.
Our underlying purpose as a group is the development and maintenance of a biblical worldview. Our worldview is our perspective on life. We should have a position from which we “see” our world and our lives. From this theological vantage point, with Scripture as our lens, we can perceive life as life truly is, not as it appears to be. Thus, we will be able to make the right decisions for the right reasons.
Now, as we pointed out in our study time, for a biblical worldview to be meaningful, we have to know where we are headed; we must understand God’s will, his plan for our lives. Only then will we know where we are going. One consideration, by the way, must be taken into account as we attempt to discover God’s personal plan for each of us. First and foremost, God is interested more in who we and than in what we do.
We can do all the “right” things and still be spiritually immature or lost. Attending church on Sunday, a life-group during the week, tithing, and many of the other things we are supposed to do can be done by a lost person. But, if we are a follower of Jesus, one of those people on the fringe, as Bro. Darrell reminds us, we will do what God wants us to do. So, right practices will be an outgrowth of a right relationship with God.
As we talked about the Holy Spirit and his ministry to believers, we also pointed out the impossibility of understanding the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is one person of the Triune Godhead. God the Father and God the Son are the other two. I will not go into all we had to say about the divine mystery of the Trinity, other than to point out how impossible grasping an infinite reality is for a finite mind. In the final analysis, we accept the doctrine of the Trinity solely on the basis of faith.
What is important for us to know is God has condescended, or accommodated himself to human beings. The Father sent the Son, who came into this world in obedience and humility in order to do for humanity what humanity could not do for itself. He made reconciliation with God a real possibility through his death on the Cross. Each of us as individuals, and all of us as a race, because of our sin, were separated from God. Only He could restore us. We are reconciled only as we trust Christ for the forgiveness of our sin.
Once restored to a right relationship with God, we must realize we have been restored to wholeness. Now that God has made us whole (cf. Col. 2.10), we are able to do what God wants us to do. Paul wrote to the Philippians, “For God is at work in you both to determine and to do his good pleasure.” In other words, the moment one becomes a believer, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in that person’s life and begins changing him in his present existence into what and who we are in our spiritual and eternal existence.
Again, though, the question arises, “How do we know exactly what God’s plan for us is?” Well, this coming Sunday we will look at how we are equipped by God to know what he wants us to do. Our main text will be Ephesians 5.15-18. Paul outlined for the Ephesian believers two categories of people: those who know God’s will and those who don’t. One group is called wise, the other unwise. One, by thoughtful interaction with the Holy Spirit, has come to understand God’s will. The other, simply by not thinking, has failed to grasp the nature of God’s plan. Knowing God’s will is not a great mystery. Knowing God’s will is a result of a right relationship with God through the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. We’ll see this Sunday how this all plays out.
Assignment: What does wisdom mean in the Bible? You can respond to that question by posting your comments (anything from one word to several paragraphs) on this blog. Your responses will be confidential.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Real Life in a Relative World, Pt. 1
world·view (wûrld’vyū`)
1. The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world.
2. A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group.
This past Sunday, we began the process of laying and maintaining the foundation for a biblical worldview. As the definition above states, your worldview is your perspective on life, how and why you see and interpret things the way you do. Your worldview is made up of certain assumptions, conscious and unconscious, about how and why life works the way it does. If you have never given thought to your worldview, then you have an essentially secular perspective on life. A biblical worldview must be developed intentionally. A foundation must be laid and an ethical structure must be built upon the basics.
We considered at 2 Corinthians 4.16-18 as a starting point for our study of a biblical worldview. One of things we saw was the literary contrasts Paul used in defining his two categories. The Apostle understood only two ways for approaching life: faith and sight. Thus, he showed how these two categories differ.
The secular mind-set focuses on what is seen, the physical world. For the secular minded person, the ultimate reality is what can be seen. But, as Paul showed, this is a temporary, impermanent reality. He used several words to illustrate that truth: outer person, decaying, struggle, momentary, light, seen, and temporary. The biblical perspective is rooted in faith or trust. Paul’s terms for this category were: inner person, renewing, glory, ageless, burden, unseen, eternal. The secular and the biblical share no common ground because the basic assumptions of both are in conflict, they collide.
The Apostle did not use the term worldview (as far as I know, a Greek word for worldview does not exist), but he did have such a concept in mind. Verse 18 speaks of not “looking” to what is “seen,” but to what is “unseen.” In other words, Paul encouraged the Corinthian believers to take a particular perspective on life. What we must not miss is the urgency found in these three verses. The truth of this passage is similar in thought and tone with Romans 12.2. To the believers in Rome, Paul said, “Do not be molded by the world around you, but instead, be transformed from the inside out by the renewing of your mind so you will be able to know clearly what is the good, acceptable and whole plan of God.” (My Translation)
Understanding God’s will is not a process rooted in what we can see, and thus control. God’s plan is first and foremost about “unseen things.” The question for which we must seek an answer, I think, is how do we go through “mind renewal,” and how do we determine what God’s will for our lives really is. If we work from the point of God’s plan, our worldview will and must be biblical. If we work from the point of what we ourselves can see and accomplish wholly on our own, we will be operating from a secular worldview.
Over the next few Sundays, we will spend time investigating Scripture in an attempt to come to terms with knowing God’s will for our lives. Until we are clear on what God wants us to do, we will not act decisively. Our investigation will begin with a look at who the Holy Spirit is and the role he plays in our lives. We will begin with passages in John 14-16 and 1 John 2.20-27. Our study of these texts will take at least two weeks and will allow us to develop a biblically sound understanding the Third Person of the Trinity.
God has not set us adrift in this world to flounder on the seas of doubt and confusion. His plan, his purpose for us is growth, maturity and wholeness. He wants us to come at life from the right perspective, with the right worldview. Otherwise, we will be fooled by the devious tricks of the Devil (Eph. 6.11)
1. The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world.
2. A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group.
This past Sunday, we began the process of laying and maintaining the foundation for a biblical worldview. As the definition above states, your worldview is your perspective on life, how and why you see and interpret things the way you do. Your worldview is made up of certain assumptions, conscious and unconscious, about how and why life works the way it does. If you have never given thought to your worldview, then you have an essentially secular perspective on life. A biblical worldview must be developed intentionally. A foundation must be laid and an ethical structure must be built upon the basics.
We considered at 2 Corinthians 4.16-18 as a starting point for our study of a biblical worldview. One of things we saw was the literary contrasts Paul used in defining his two categories. The Apostle understood only two ways for approaching life: faith and sight. Thus, he showed how these two categories differ.
The secular mind-set focuses on what is seen, the physical world. For the secular minded person, the ultimate reality is what can be seen. But, as Paul showed, this is a temporary, impermanent reality. He used several words to illustrate that truth: outer person, decaying, struggle, momentary, light, seen, and temporary. The biblical perspective is rooted in faith or trust. Paul’s terms for this category were: inner person, renewing, glory, ageless, burden, unseen, eternal. The secular and the biblical share no common ground because the basic assumptions of both are in conflict, they collide.
The Apostle did not use the term worldview (as far as I know, a Greek word for worldview does not exist), but he did have such a concept in mind. Verse 18 speaks of not “looking” to what is “seen,” but to what is “unseen.” In other words, Paul encouraged the Corinthian believers to take a particular perspective on life. What we must not miss is the urgency found in these three verses. The truth of this passage is similar in thought and tone with Romans 12.2. To the believers in Rome, Paul said, “Do not be molded by the world around you, but instead, be transformed from the inside out by the renewing of your mind so you will be able to know clearly what is the good, acceptable and whole plan of God.” (My Translation)
Understanding God’s will is not a process rooted in what we can see, and thus control. God’s plan is first and foremost about “unseen things.” The question for which we must seek an answer, I think, is how do we go through “mind renewal,” and how do we determine what God’s will for our lives really is. If we work from the point of God’s plan, our worldview will and must be biblical. If we work from the point of what we ourselves can see and accomplish wholly on our own, we will be operating from a secular worldview.
Over the next few Sundays, we will spend time investigating Scripture in an attempt to come to terms with knowing God’s will for our lives. Until we are clear on what God wants us to do, we will not act decisively. Our investigation will begin with a look at who the Holy Spirit is and the role he plays in our lives. We will begin with passages in John 14-16 and 1 John 2.20-27. Our study of these texts will take at least two weeks and will allow us to develop a biblically sound understanding the Third Person of the Trinity.
God has not set us adrift in this world to flounder on the seas of doubt and confusion. His plan, his purpose for us is growth, maturity and wholeness. He wants us to come at life from the right perspective, with the right worldview. Otherwise, we will be fooled by the devious tricks of the Devil (Eph. 6.11)
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