Thursday, August 6

THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2015

Ezra 3:1–4:24

1 Corinthians 2:6–3:4

Psalm 28:1–9

Proverbs 20:24,25

 

 

In today’s reading from 1 Corinthians 2 and 3, Paul introduces us to three different types of people, distinguished by their relationship with God and their connection with Him through the Holy Spirit:

 

The natural person (1 Corinthians 2:14).  This individual has not yet received Christ as his Lord and Savior.  Paul has highlighted how the world views the wisdom of God as foolishness in the first two chapters of 1 Corinthians:  “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”  From this verse, we understand that, to understand spiritual truth, we must receive a revelation from the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit guides us into truth and convicts the world according to sin and righteousness. (John 16:8,13,14)

 

The spiritual person (1 Corinthians 2:15).  This person has received Christ and invited the Holy Spirit to strengthen and direct his life.  Guided by the Spirit, this individual “makes judgments about all things,” indicating that he has received wisdom and “may understand what God has freely given us.” (1 Corinthians 2:12)  We become aware of God’s rich blessings “in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.”  Again, we see the crucial element of God’s revelation in sharing God’s truth with the spiritual person.

 

The carnal person (1 Corinthians 3:1,2).  This person has received Christ but lives in order because he has turned back to the world and trusts in his own strength to live the Christian life.  Paul chides the Corinthians for returning to “worldly… jealousy and quarreling” among themselves.  While he had called them to eternal glory, their focus had remained horizontal.  As a result, they had grown bitter towards one another and had not lived together in love.  As we will discover later, they also had dabbled in worldly sexual practices, which caused confusion and disarray.

 

Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade (now, Cru), argued that carnal Christians are among the unhappiest of people.  They may have experienced some joy in their walks with Christ, but now they have turned away from the Source of joy and have chosen to dabble again in the world.

 

 

Each Christ-follower has the opportunity to live as a “spiritual person.”  We have all received the baptism of the Holy Spirit at the time we trusted in Christ.  To welcome the Holy Spirit into our lives, we must prepare ourselves in real time.  To do so, we must confess our sin and turn away from it (repentance).  We may thank God for providing once-for-all righteousness for those who have trusted in Christ and for forgiving our sins on that basis (1 John 1:9).  Having “cleaned” our hearts, we may then invite the Spirit to fill us and strengthen us as promised in the Scriptures (Ephesians 5:18).  From that filling, we receive power to honor God by loving Him, loving people, and making disciples (Acts 1:8; Galatians 5:22,23).

 

The Spirit’s filling allows us to express the heart of God in our world.  He brings boldness and focus so that we may live with love, joy, and peace; wisdom; and self-control.  By inviting the Spirit into our lives, we may live out Paul’s charge in Philippians 1:20, even under trial:  “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.”

 

 

In addition, these words from David encourage us in our trusting God:

 

“I am still confident of this:

                I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord;

                be strong and take hart and wait for the Lord….

The Lord is my strength and my shield;

                my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.” (Psalm 27:13,14; Psalm 28:7)

 

 

Lord God, thank You for revealing Yourself through Your Word and through Your Spirit.  Thank You that You do wish for us to be close to You and to understand what You have freely given us.  Send Your Holy Spirit to turn our hearts fully towards Yours and to place You Help us to trust You completely and honor You with our lives.  In Jesus’s Name, amen.

 

 

Please read more about living the Spirit-filled life here:  http://goo.gl/eE6lYg.

 

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