we are going to survey a bunch of scripture that identify what we should be doing. hopefully not the minor commands themselves, but
passages that identify the big ideas behind what god wants of us.
note that we're after themes, not specifics here.
old testament idea
genesis
abraham's faith
gen 15:1-6
1. After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not fear, Abram,
I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great."
2. Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"
3. And Abram said, "Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir."
4. Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but one who
will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir."
5. And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to
count them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
6. Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
(this is also quoted in romans)
exodus - deut
if you do these things...
deut 7:9-12
9. "Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His
lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments;
10. but repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him,
He will repay him to his face.
11. "Therefore, you shall keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding
you today, to do them.
12. "Then it shall come about, because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will
keep with you His covenant and His lovingkindness which He swore to your forefathers.
we are not going to read exodus - deut.
these are filled with chapters and chapters of rules and goals that god has laid out for his people.
instead, we'll just read a summary where there are some concluding thoughts.
deut 30
(read the whole stinking chapter)
some nt commentary on the whole deal...
jesus' comments on the first and greatest commandment (mark 12:29-31)
29. Jesus answered, "The foremost is, `HEAR, O ISRAEL ! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD;
30. AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR
MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.'
31. "The second is this, `YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
the scribe's reply to jesus included a quote form 1 sam 15:22, where samuel is rebuking saul for his lack of obedience.
22. Samuel said, "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obeying the voice of the LORD ?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
das prophets
ezekiel 11:17-21
17. "Therefore say, `Thus says the Lord GOD, "I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out
of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel."'
18. "When they come there, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it.
19. "And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone
out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,
20. that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people,
and I shall be their God.
21. "But as for those whose hearts go after their detestable things and abominations, I will bring their
conduct down on their heads," declares the Lord GOD.
micah 6:6-8
6. With what shall I come to the LORD
And bow myself before the God on high?
Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings,
With yearling calves?
7. Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams,
In ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8. He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?
note: just for the record, this isn't to say that grace isn't at the heart of old testament obedience...
psalm 86:1-5
1. A Prayer of David. Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me;
For I am afflicted and needy.
2. Preserve my soul, for I am a godly man;
O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You.
3. Be gracious to me, O Lord,
For to You I cry all day long.
4. Make glad the soul of Your servant,
For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5. For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.
psalm 51
(read it)
so - we're not saying that grace isn't included in the picture...
rather, we're attempting to establish what the goal is. failure is accounted for, but the goals are laid out.
summarize:
what did god want of his people?
he wanted them to do what he said he wanted them to do.
new testament idea
eph 4:17-32
17. So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk,
in the futility of their mind,
18. being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them,
because of the hardness of their heart;
19. and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of
impurity with greediness.
20. But you did not learn Christ in this way,
21. if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,
22. that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted
in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
23. and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24. and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
25. Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.
26. BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
27. and do not give the devil an opportunity.
28. He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good,
so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
29. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according
to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
30. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
32. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
col 1:3-12
3. We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
4. since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;
5. because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel
6. which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has
been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth;
7. just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,
8. and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.
9. For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be
filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
10. so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work
and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11. strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously
12. giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
col 3:1-17
1. Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated
at the right hand of God.
2. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
3. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
5. Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire,
and greed, which amounts to idolatry.
6. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience,
7. and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.
8. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.
9. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,
10. and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him--
11. a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian,
Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.
12. So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness and patience;
13. bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as
the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
14. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
15. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.
16. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another
with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
17. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to
God the Father.
heb 12
(read the chapter)
1 john 2:1-6
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins,
we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:
6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
summarize:
what does god want of his people?
he wanted them to do what he said he wanted them to do.
questions/discussion:
1. god goes to great lengths to clearly lay out what it wants of us.
god is not trying to hide what it is that he wants from us - he is trying to be explicit.
heb 11:6 "he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him."
2. commands from god are good news (comfort even) to the one seeking after god.
they tell us plainly what god wants of us.
do you want to please god? don't worry that you have to wait for a zen insight to strike you, or wait for a thunderstorm with a unicorn.
open your bible, and read - god has worked to tell us what he desires of his people.
3. what should we think about grace? what is it, what difference does it make to these commands?
i'd like to make sure that our doctrine of grace is healthy.
grace (arguably mercy is a better term here, though Paul seems to use grace to encompass both ideas) means that god gives
us what we don't deserve - forgiveness.
that doesn't mean that he doesn't really mean it when he says that his people should "abstain from sexual immorality" (or whatever
command you are looking at).
4. based on your knowledge of the bible (or what you can find without too much effort), what are the similarities and differences between
old and new testament commands?
my thoughts: the new testament has a lot more rules about attitudes/motives.
the old testament has this, but less directly. the new testament shouts it again and again.
extra credit: what are the implications of having commands cover attitudes/motives?
well...it seems to imply a level of personal control/responsibility.
review:
god has desires for his people, and he has expressed these (imperative statements in revelation).
those who seek to please god should work to do what he has said he wants his people to do, knowing that
his grace covers their failure and guilt.
the obvious question then becomes one of understanding god's desires/commands.
broad categories:
we could do this several ways, so don't take this as *the* biblical way of thinking about it.
however. for our purposes...
god's rules can be broken into two halves: prohibitions and positive commands.
prohibitions are negative commands - don't do this, don't do that, don't even think this other thing.
positive commands are things to exert towards - do this, do that, think about this other thing.
note: this is an incomplete picture
i'm not trying to say we earn our goodness, that we claw our way out of sin, or anything like that.
just looking at the fact that the bible gives us a bunch of commands, and we should obey them as it says to.
sanctification, the work of the spirit, all that...this isn't a discussion of how change happens.
the precurser: knowledge
kinda obvious, but before we can do anything, we need to know what god's rules are for us.
so...we'll throw a note in here that there are some positive commands to that effect.
deut 11:18-21
18 “You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them
as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.
19 “You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along
the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.
20 “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,
21 so that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the LORD swore to your
fathers to give them, as long as the heavens remain above the earth.
in the new testament, you'll see that teaching is central to the church - both in person and through the epistles.
on the positive side, acts 2:41,42
41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.
42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and to prayer.
on the negative side, 1 cor 4:14-21
14. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.
15. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers,
for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
16. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.
17. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord,
and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church.
18. Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.
19. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those
who are arrogant but their power.
20. For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.
21. What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?
finally, the biggest expression of the desire to seek god by following his revelation anywhere, ps 119 (excerpts).
psalm 119:1-16 (aleph and bet)
1. How blessed are those whose way is blameless,
Who walk in the law of the LORD.
2. How blessed are those who observe His testimonies,
Who seek Him with all their heart.
3. They also do no unrighteousness;
They walk in His ways.
4. You have ordained Your precepts,
That we should keep them diligently.
5. Oh that my ways may be established
To keep Your statutes!
6. Then I shall not be ashamed
When I look upon all Your commandments.
7. I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
8. I shall keep Your statutes;
Do not forsake me utterly!
9. How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word.
10. With all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
11. Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
12. Blessed are You, O LORD;
Teach me Your statutes.
13. With my lips I have told of
All the ordinances of Your mouth.
14. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches.
15. I will meditate on Your precepts
And regard Your ways.
16. I shall delight in Your statutes;
I shall not forget Your word.
ps 119:97-112
97. O how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day.
98. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
For they are ever mine.
99. I have more insight than all my teachers,
For Your testimonies are my meditation.
100. I understand more than the aged,
Because I have observed Your precepts.
101. I have restrained my feet from every evil way,
That I may keep Your word.
102. I have not turned aside from Your ordinances,
For You Yourself have taught me.
103. How sweet are Your words to my taste!
Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104. From Your precepts I get understanding;
Therefore I hate every false way.
105. Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
106. I have sworn and I will confirm it,
That I will keep Your righteous ordinances.
107. I am exceedingly afflicted;
Revive me, O LORD, according to Your word.
108. O accept the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD,
And teach me Your ordinances.
109. My life is continually in my hand,
Yet I do not forget Your law.
110. The wicked have laid a snare for me,
Yet I have not gone astray from Your precepts.
111. I have inherited Your testimonies forever,
For they are the joy of my heart.
112. I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes
Forever, even to the end.
a survey of prohibitions:
exodus 20:13-17
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male
servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
1 cor 6:18-20
18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God,
and that you are not your own?
20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
eph 4:17-19
17. So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk,
in the futility of their mind,
18. being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is
in them, because of the hardness of their heart;
19. and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of
every kind of impurity with greediness.
a survey of positive commands:
continuing our earlier eph reading, eph 4:20-32 (yeah, it has positive and negative. i knows.)
20. But you did not learn Christ in this way,
21. if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,
22. that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted
in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
23. and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24. and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
25. Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.
26. BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
27. and do not give the devil an opportunity.
28. He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good,
so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
29. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according
to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
30. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
32. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
phil 2:3-7
3. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;
4. do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
5. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
6. who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7. but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
ex 20:3-12
3. "You shall have no other gods before Me.
4. "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth
beneath or in the water under the earth.
5. "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,
6. but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7. "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished
who takes His name in vain.
8. "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9. "Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10. but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your
daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.
11. "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on
the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
12. "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
attitudes
if we could look at things as negatives and positives, we could also look at things that are action and thins taht are attitude.
most of the attitudes are expressed positively, perhaps as removing a bad attitude requires replacing it with a good one?
galations summarizes this really nicely to me.
16. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
17. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in
opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
18. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
19. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,
20. idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
21. envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned
you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23. gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
the work of the spirit
this is less a focus for us, as it is a promise not a command (we are focusing on our requirements, not what god has done and is doing).
but it feels incomplete to not have the encouragement that god is working within us, to both guide us into truth and to remove our sin
which prevents our obedience.
1. ministry is part of christianity.
matt 25-28
25. But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and
their great men exercise authority over them.
26. "It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,
27. and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave;
28. just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
1. Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there
is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,
2. make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
3. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;
4. do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
if you have missed this in the new testament, well...i'm not sure where to start.
you should be focused on serving christ - and as he cares for and serves his body, so should we.
unfortunately, christians all nod their heads at this point and then do absolutely nada.
2. there are different forms of ministry that should be done.
eph 4
11. And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
12. for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
13. until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man,
to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
14. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every
wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
15. but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
16. from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according
to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
not everyone does the same job.
heinlein said:
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship,
design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying,
take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure,
program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
i'm down with that. but like it or not, people are different, and people are good at different things.
further,
3. there are different forms of service that should be done.
1 cor 12
1. Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware.
2. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.
3. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is
accursed"; and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
4. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.
6. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.
7. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
8. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word
of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
9. to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
10. and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the
distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.
11. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
12. For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though
they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.
13. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or
free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
14. For the body is not one member, but many.
15. If the foot says, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason
any the less a part of the body.
16. And if the ear says, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any
the less a part of the body.
17. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing,
where would the sense of smell be?
18. But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.
19. If they were all one member, where would the body be?
20. But now there are many members, but one body.
21. And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet,
"I have no need of you."
22. On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary;
23. and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and
our less presentable members become much more presentable,
24. whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more
abundant honor to that member which lacked,
25. so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.
26. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27. Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it.
28. And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles,
then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.
29. All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are
not workers of miracles, are they?
30. All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?
31. But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way.
rom 12
4. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function,
5. so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
6. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them
accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;
7. if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;
8. or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence;
he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
see
the gifts study
what you shouldn't believe:
- supernatural only
- one or two only
- your gifts are listed in these passages
what you should believe:
- you are unique, and necessary to others
- other people are unique, and necessary to you
- gifts are your way of uniquely loving the body of christ
other stuff:
sign gifts? cessasionalism?
wisdom vs knowledge: what's the difference?
this is a rough breakdown - i believe these definitions to be true, but they are based on readings of how the bible
uses the words, and what the words mean elsewhere. no glossary provided with the bible...
also, occasionally they may be used as linked concepts, where one stands for both, etc - i don't have any examples, but
no promises that such doesn't occur.
knowledge:
data. things you 'know'.
wisdom:
analysis. the ability to make good decisions.
knowledge:
what's so great about knowledge:
reread a few passages from way back:
deut 11:18-21
18 “You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them
as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.
19 “You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along
the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.
20 “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,
21 so that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the LORD swore to your
fathers to give them, as long as the heavens remain above the earth.
in the new testament, you'll see that teaching is central to the church - both in person and through the epistles.
on the positive side, acts 2:41,42
41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.
42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and to prayer.
knowledge is core to knowing what we need to do.
abstract note: 1 cor 2:3-16 (a spot where wisdom/knowledge used very similarly)
3. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling,
4. and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5. so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
6. Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of
the rulers of this age, who are passing away;
7. but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the
ages to our glory;
8. the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they
would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
9. but just as it is written, "THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD,
AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN,
ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM."
10. For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
11. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even
so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
12. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know
the things freely given to us by God,
13. which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit,
combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
14. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him;
and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
15. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.
16. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM ? But we have the mind of Christ.
god has revealed things about himself that can only be known through revelation. knowledge of these things
is required to know god.
we need to study them.
we need to proclaim them.
this is in huge contrast to our natural tendency - to believe that enough wisdom is enough.
this is why we believe in missions, in preaching, and in the importance of the bible and inspiration. (rom 10:14,15)
with that as basis, you can see why knowledge is so important to maturity:
col 1:9-12
9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask
that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing
fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all
steadfastness and patience; joyously
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
knowledge -> walk in a worthy manner -> bearing fruit -> etc
wisdom:
what it looks like:
james 3:13-18
13. Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
14. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.
15. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.
16. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
17. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy
and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
18. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
good decision making: 1 cor 6:1-8 (similar to exodus 17)
1. Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before
the unrighteous and not before the saints?
2. Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you,
are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts?
3. Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?
4. So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges
who are of no account in the church?
5. I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will
be able to decide between his brethren,
6. but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers?
7. Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another.
Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?
8. On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brethren.
job / prov / ecc / song of solomon(?) / psalms(?)
prov 31 esp
an example of it in non-godliness: 2 sam 15:30-37, 16:20-23
30. And David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went, and his head was covered
and he walked barefoot. Then all the people who were with him each covered his head and went up weeping as they went.
31. Now someone told David, saying, "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom." And David
said, "O LORD, I pray, make the counsel of Ahithophel foolishness."
32. It happened as David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, that behold,
Hushai the Archite met him with his coat torn and dust on his head.
33. David said to him, "If you pass over with me, then you will be a burden to me.
34. "But if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, `I will be your servant, O king; as I have been
your father's servant in time past, so I will now be your servant,' then you can thwart the counsel of Ahithophel for me.
35. "Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? So it shall be that whatever you hear from
the king's house, you shall report to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.
36. "Behold their two sons are with them there, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son and Jonathan, Abiathar's son; and
by them you shall send me everything that you hear."
37. So Hushai, David's friend, came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.
20. Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, "Give your advice. What shall we do?"
21. Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Go in to your father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; then all
Israel will hear that you have made yourself odious to your father. The hands of all who are with you will also be
strengthened."
22. So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and Absalom went in to his father's concubines in the
sight of all Israel.
23. The advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if one inquired of the word of God;
so was all the advice of Ahithophel regarded by both David and Absalom.
1. Furthermore, Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Please let me choose 12,000 men that I may arise and pursue
David tonight.
2. "I will come upon him while he is weary and exhausted and terrify him, so that all the people who
are with him will flee. Then I will strike down the king alone,
3. and I will bring back all the people to you. The return of everyone depends on the man you seek;
then all the people will be at peace."
4. So the plan pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
5. Then Absalom said, "Now call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he has to say."
6. When Hushai had come to Absalom, Absalom said to him, "Ahithophel has spoken thus. Shall we carry
out his plan? If not, you speak."
7. So Hushai said to Absalom, "This time the advice that Ahithophel has given is not good."
8. Moreover, Hushai said, "You know your father and his men, that they are mighty men and they are
fierce, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. And your father is an expert in warfare, and will not
spend the night with the people.
9. "Behold, he has now hidden himself in one of the caves or in another place; and it will be when he
falls on them at the first attack, that whoever hears it will say, `There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.'
10. "And even the one who is valiant, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will completely lose heart;
for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man and those who are with him are valiant men.
11. "But I counsel that all Israel be surely gathered to you, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that
is by the sea in abundance, and that you personally go into battle.
12. "So we shall come to him in one of the places where he can be found, and we will fall on him as the dew
falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men who are with him, not even one will be left.
13. "If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it
into the valley until not even a small stone is found there."
14. Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel
of Ahithophel." For the LORD had ordained to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the LORD might bring calamity on Absalom.
15. Then Hushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, "This is what Ahithophel counseled Absalom and
the elders of Israel, and this is what I have counseled.
16. "Now therefore, send quickly and tell David, saying, `Do not spend the night at the fords of the
wilderness, but by all means cross over, or else the king and all the people who are with him will be destroyed.' "
17. Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel, and a maidservant would go and tell them, and they
would go and tell King David, for they could not be seen entering the city.
18. But a lad did see them and told Absalom; so the two of them departed quickly and came to the house of
a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard, and they went down into it.
19. And the woman took a covering and spread it over the well's mouth and scattered grain on it, so that nothing was known.
20. Then Absalom's servants came to the woman at the house and said, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?"
And the woman said to them, "They have crossed the brook of water." And when they searched and could not find
them, they returned to Jerusalem.
21. It came about after they had departed that they came up out of the well and went and told King David;
and they said to David, "Arise and cross over the water quickly for thus Ahithophel has counseled against you."
22. Then David and all the people who were with him arose and crossed the Jordan; and by dawn not even one
remained who had not crossed the Jordan.
23. Now when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and arose and went to his
home, to his city, and set his house in order, and strangled himself; thus he died and was buried in the grave of his father.
can the 'unregenerate' be wise? seems like yes.
how does this work with prov 1:7
7. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
the fear of the lord is the most important decision to make correctly - the ultimate 'end'.
how to get it:
james 1:5-8
5. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach,
and it will be given to him.
6. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea,
driven and tossed by the wind.
7. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
8. being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
the most famous case of someone asking for wisdom is...solomon. 1 kings 3:6-14
6. Then Solomon said, "You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according
as he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have
reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
7. "Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am
but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.
8. "Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are
too many to be numbered or counted.
9. "So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil.
For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?"
10. It was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing.
11. God said to him, "Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life,
nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for
yourself discernment to understand justice,
12. behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning
heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you.
13. "I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not
be any among the kings like you all your days.
14. "If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then
I will prolong your days."
so...ask. regularly and in faith.
also. it is freely available.
prov 1:20-33
20. Wisdom shouts in the street,
She lifts her voice in the square;
21. At the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:
22. "How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded?
And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing
And fools hate knowledge?
23. "Turn to my reproof,
Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.
24. "Because I called and you refused,
I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;
25. And you neglected all my counsel
And did not want my reproof;
26. I will also laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when your dread comes,
27. When your dread comes like a storm
And your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.
28. "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,
29. Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the LORD.
30. "They would not accept my counsel,
They spurned all my reproof.
31. "So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way
And be satiated with their own devices.
32. "For the waywardness of the naive will kill them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them.
33. "But he who listens to me shall live securely
And will be at ease from the dread of evil."