SPIRIT OF TRUTH
THE NATURAL MAN
In a natural man's thoughts regarding the Word being made flesh would be totally an impossibility. The difference in the Bible and all other books is that all other books were written by the inspiration of man's own natural thought; however, the Bible was wirtten by the inspired Word of God. "All scriptrre is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instructionin righteousness" (II Timothy 3:16).
A man with his own natural understanding has no way of knowing what the Word wants to reveal; therefore, on his own, could not have written the Bible without God telling him what to say. "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy cae not in old time by the will of man: but holy ment of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (II Peter 1:20-21).
Therefoe, it stands to reason that if man did not write the Bible with his own natural thoughts, he would have to have spiritual discernment to understand what God is saying to him. "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14).
There seems to be many who teach the Bible is in error. How can that be? You cannot pick and choose which is true and which is not. If you are led by the Spirit of God, you will understand that there is no error. I even hear some ministers teach there are errors. What if that was even so, which I do not believe, you are putting yourself out there to believe a lie. You will become confused on what is right and what is wrong. You either accept it totally or you do not. We have probably all been guilty at one time or another to try to justify something that goes against what the Word is saying. I do not believe God will allow us to get by with this behavior. We cannot retrieve parts from the Bible to fit into our lifestyles. When we do this, we are creating new Bibles; you have yours and I have mine. There is only one. It is either all or nothing. Think about it. It makes sense. "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into te race of Christ unto another gospel. Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto, let him be accursed. As we saifd before, so say I now again, if any many preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ: (Galatians 1:6-10).
When we try to accomplish this, we are trying to serve two masters and it won't work. It goes against everything that God is. "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (St. Matthew 6:24).
I don't want to be misunderstood with what I am trying to explain in this particular area. I am a true believer in education in every aspect. I respect an intellectual mind and promote education wherever possible. However, some clergy and laity abuse this in the offices they hold within the church.
Although education is a great asset in any walk of life, when it comes to the spiritual things of God, we must not become bogged down into intellectual and theological ignorance. Only "holy revelation" by God can guide us into the knowledge of the truth. Only Chirist has the power to renew our minds and out mind set. Christ asked his disciples, "He saith unto them But whom say ye that I am?" And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven" (St Matthew 16:15-17).
There are things in scripture tht only God can make known to us. It is not humanly possible through any type of education. "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speakc of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come" (St. John 16:13).
Have you ever heard a sermon that was eloquently given, but you felt no presence of the Holy Spirit? Basically, it was a dead sermon. It is not always the ones with the eloquent words who are effective in their presentation of the Gospel. Education can ride on the coattails of the Holy Spirit; however, the Holy Spirit cannt ride on the coattails of education. It is an imporribility. Paul spoke to the church at Corinth and said, "And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with ecllency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any things among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God" (I Corinthians 2:1-5). This is one of my favorite scriptures because it expresses humility. Paul was not speaking from that educated man that he had been but from his heart with huility. We need to get our ungodly egos out of the way. It is okay to be real. This has its own natural beauty.
Let us never have a private interpretation of the scripture. If one cannot back up the Word with Word, your thoughts and opinions do not account for much. It merely becomes just that, a thought or an opinion. "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: by holy men of God spake as they weremoved by the Holy Ghost"(II Peter 1:20-21).
We must also use counsel in our interpretations of scriptures. One should not stand alone bevause, "For by wise counsel thou shalf make the war: and in multitude of counselors thee is safety"(Poverbs 24:6)
Many intellectual minds have come up with major distortions of the truth when it comes to interpreting the Wod of God. The only interpreter of the Word is the Holy Spirit.
Even though we are Christians, we can look to our own intellectual thinkg instead of leting the Holy Spirit lead us into the truth. When we allow this to happe, there is a great possiblity of making erroneous interpretations of the Word which could be devastating to our listeners and with which we are left accountable. We should always be care what we peach and teach because, "But I say unto you, that every idle word that me shall speak, they shall give account therefore in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justiied and by thy words thou shlad be condemned" (Matthew 12:36-37).
Let's be careful who we are following. If something your pastor, teacher, friend, etc., says that does not fit with scripture, be careful not to disceived. We must gain spiritual knowledgeand understanding by studying His Word and praying for the unveiling of His truth to guard against this endtime behavior. We should always make sue we are being led by the Holy Spirit, not the spirit of another individual. "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesseth that sus Christ is come in the fleah is of God. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world" (I John 4:1-3).
In a natural man's thoughts regarding the Word being made flesh would be totally an impossibility. The difference in the Bible and all other books is that all other books were written by the inspiration of man's own natural thought; however, the Bible was wirtten by the inspired Word of God. "All scriptrre is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instructionin righteousness" (II Timothy 3:16).
A man with his own natural understanding has no way of knowing what the Word wants to reveal; therefore, on his own, could not have written the Bible without God telling him what to say. "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy cae not in old time by the will of man: but holy ment of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (II Peter 1:20-21).
Therefoe, it stands to reason that if man did not write the Bible with his own natural thoughts, he would have to have spiritual discernment to understand what God is saying to him. "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14).
There seems to be many who teach the Bible is in error. How can that be? You cannot pick and choose which is true and which is not. If you are led by the Spirit of God, you will understand that there is no error. I even hear some ministers teach there are errors. What if that was even so, which I do not believe, you are putting yourself out there to believe a lie. You will become confused on what is right and what is wrong. You either accept it totally or you do not. We have probably all been guilty at one time or another to try to justify something that goes against what the Word is saying. I do not believe God will allow us to get by with this behavior. We cannot retrieve parts from the Bible to fit into our lifestyles. When we do this, we are creating new Bibles; you have yours and I have mine. There is only one. It is either all or nothing. Think about it. It makes sense. "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into te race of Christ unto another gospel. Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto, let him be accursed. As we saifd before, so say I now again, if any many preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ: (Galatians 1:6-10).
When we try to accomplish this, we are trying to serve two masters and it won't work. It goes against everything that God is. "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (St. Matthew 6:24).
I don't want to be misunderstood with what I am trying to explain in this particular area. I am a true believer in education in every aspect. I respect an intellectual mind and promote education wherever possible. However, some clergy and laity abuse this in the offices they hold within the church.
Although education is a great asset in any walk of life, when it comes to the spiritual things of God, we must not become bogged down into intellectual and theological ignorance. Only "holy revelation" by God can guide us into the knowledge of the truth. Only Chirist has the power to renew our minds and out mind set. Christ asked his disciples, "He saith unto them But whom say ye that I am?" And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven" (St Matthew 16:15-17).
There are things in scripture tht only God can make known to us. It is not humanly possible through any type of education. "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speakc of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come" (St. John 16:13).
Have you ever heard a sermon that was eloquently given, but you felt no presence of the Holy Spirit? Basically, it was a dead sermon. It is not always the ones with the eloquent words who are effective in their presentation of the Gospel. Education can ride on the coattails of the Holy Spirit; however, the Holy Spirit cannt ride on the coattails of education. It is an imporribility. Paul spoke to the church at Corinth and said, "And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with ecllency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any things among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God" (I Corinthians 2:1-5). This is one of my favorite scriptures because it expresses humility. Paul was not speaking from that educated man that he had been but from his heart with huility. We need to get our ungodly egos out of the way. It is okay to be real. This has its own natural beauty.
Let us never have a private interpretation of the scripture. If one cannot back up the Word with Word, your thoughts and opinions do not account for much. It merely becomes just that, a thought or an opinion. "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: by holy men of God spake as they weremoved by the Holy Ghost"(II Peter 1:20-21).
We must also use counsel in our interpretations of scriptures. One should not stand alone bevause, "For by wise counsel thou shalf make the war: and in multitude of counselors thee is safety"(Poverbs 24:6)
Many intellectual minds have come up with major distortions of the truth when it comes to interpreting the Wod of God. The only interpreter of the Word is the Holy Spirit.
Even though we are Christians, we can look to our own intellectual thinkg instead of leting the Holy Spirit lead us into the truth. When we allow this to happe, there is a great possiblity of making erroneous interpretations of the Word which could be devastating to our listeners and with which we are left accountable. We should always be care what we peach and teach because, "But I say unto you, that every idle word that me shall speak, they shall give account therefore in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justiied and by thy words thou shlad be condemned" (Matthew 12:36-37).
Let's be careful who we are following. If something your pastor, teacher, friend, etc., says that does not fit with scripture, be careful not to disceived. We must gain spiritual knowledgeand understanding by studying His Word and praying for the unveiling of His truth to guard against this endtime behavior. We should always make sue we are being led by the Holy Spirit, not the spirit of another individual. "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesseth that sus Christ is come in the fleah is of God. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world" (I John 4:1-3).