03/06/2025
Today I am contemplating one of the longer sentences in the Bible. It gives us instruction on how to conduct ourselves as Christians and ministers of the gospel, and if you ever have a question regarding good spiritual behavior then you can probably find it listed in this sentence. But, what would it take to live these attributes to the full pleasure of God? How much interaction with the Holy Spirit will it require to achieve this level of sanctity?
“Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.”
2 Corinthians 6:3-10 KJV
Every day we struggle to live good Christian lives, and quite often this means that we have questions regarding what is truly expected of us. Sometimes verses seem to be at odds with each other. We read commandments telling us to keep the Sabbath holy...
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
Exodus 20:8-11 KJV
And then we are conflicted when reading scripture such as this one in which Jesus says...
“And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.”
Mark 2:27-28 KJV
What do we do when we are confounded and don't know how to interpret what God means in His Word?
There have been many scholarly papers and books written on this subject, and they tell us to do things like: understand the context in which it is delivered, ask yourself what the author meant, determine the literary type the author is employing, think about the history and culture of biblical times, consider the grammar, compare it to other similar scriptures, and ask yourself how it fits within the Bible as a whole.
These are all good ways that man has developed to interpret scripture, but what happens when we reach the end of our own logical approach and the question lingers? How do we understand when we don't seem able to put all the pieces together?
It is then that we do with scripture what we do each day within our lives... we employ prayer, and discernment. We take our question to the Lord and ask His help. God sent us a teacher for times such as these; He sent us the Holy Spirit to give us understanding.
“These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
John 14:25-26 KJV
So we pray, but aside from making a simple request for help, what else should we pray for? We should pray for more love, knowledge, and judgement; simply put we should pray for discernment.
“And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;”
Philippians 1:9-10 KJV
When our best efforts to understand fail we look inward to determine how we feel... if I look at scripture in a certain way, is my heart conflicted, am I uneasy? What is my heart telling me about this? What is the Holy Spirit revealing to me?
“But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7 KJV
The heart... it is beyond being quantified and makes scientists uneasy, but it is a gauge of spirit and feeling that is unsurpassed. It tells us when we are doing good or evil, it reveals to us the spirit of those around us, it is the source of love, and it is the place from which intuition and discernment emanates.
So what do we do when we are confounded and our own human understanding and intellect fails to give us an answer? When all else fails we should go to God, employ prayer and discernment, and we should do so fervently, and with determination, until the Holy Spirit speaks to us, and our heart is put at ease.
“My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.”
Psalm 49:3 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your Word, and the gospel of Jesus Christ, I pray Lord that you give me wisdom and knowledge as I seek to understand your scripture, but I also ask that you instill within my heart the ability to discern the spiritual things that words fail to define. Show me those truths about you that are not of this world through the use of my heart and its ability to know the moving of the Holy Spirit which my physical self is unable to fathom. Open to me, through your Holy Spirit, and in your due time, all the wisdom which is contained in your Word and to where it leads us. Lord in this way I will praise you more, because in my heart I will understand your greatness and glory, with an understanding that is well beyond my ability today. My love will swell with this understanding which is made possible by your Spirit, and my heart's feeling and rumination will blossom. Father, I thank you again for the provision of your Word and the understanding of it that you lead me to. Praised be your name now and forevermore for your mercy, grace, goodness, and your Son Jesus Christ who commands and has redeemed me. But thank you even more Abba for Your Holy Spirit who resolves the conflicts that exist between me as a physical man, and my spiritual self that completes me. Help me to walk this bridge between the divine and earthly with you at my side and hear me as I praise and worship you as we travel this way. Let all of creation join me as I give you all the honor and glory for transforming me through the understanding of your Word, and self, into a more perfect image and embodiment of you. You are merciful and full of grace Lord, and through your Word, your Son Jesus, and your Holy Spirit, you have not only made eternity in your presence possible for me but have softened my heart and given it to me in warm embrace… heart to heart. Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, and Holy, Holy, Holy are you my god who was, and is, and is to come. Glory to you in the highest for in you I abide, and am made whole, perfect, and holy, forevermore. I pray that all mankind will understand your Word and your heart, and join with me by saying…
Amen! Amen! Amen!
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”
Proverbs 3:5 ESV
“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
1 John 5:20 ESV
“They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.”
Ephesians 4:18 ESV
Rich Forbes