Tag: Christ

27.m. “I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called”

 

Ephesians 4:1  I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

 Romans 12:1   I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

 Acts 9:31   So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

 Colossians 1:10  so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

 1 Thessalonians 2:12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

 2 Timothy 1:9    who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

What does it mean to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called?  Our salvation is in Jesus Christ alone.  Nothing we could do or did do would add or take away from His complete work on the cross.  There is not a single “Good” person who has done good enough to merit what Christ did on the cross.  There is not a single “Bad” person who has done such vile bad things that the work of Christ on the cross will not save them completely.  The good and bad people are both sinners, lost, apart from God, walking in flesh and doing fleshly things, and in need of redemption, forgiveness, and salvation.  Once they have come to the saving grace knowledge of Jesus Christ, repent of their sin, and trust in, cling to, and rely on Jesus Christ they are saved, born again, a new creation.  The Holy Spirit is given to each one of them, to lead, comfort, and die them unlimited power to live in this world in a manner worthy of the price Jesus Christ paid for their sin.  So I ask again what does it mean to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called?

This is an ever-changing goal in the life of a Christian.  As we grow, here a little there a little, precept by precept, line upon line.  As we grow in our knowledge and understanding of God and His grace, mercy, and love, our understanding of what walking in a manner worthy will also grow.  That is why it is an ever-changing upward goal.  We do well to grow in our knowledge and understanding, precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little.  Too often our attainment of growth is limited because of our lack of knowledge and understanding of God’s Word.  Too often we neglect it.  Too often we are complacent.  Too often we get caught up in the busyness of life and worry about walking worthy of what our neighbors and family will think rather than the one who freely gave His life to redeem you.

27.k. “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.”

 

Ephesians 3:17  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

 Job 11:7-9   “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?  It is higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?  Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.

 Psalms 103:11-12  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;  as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

 Isaiah 55:9   For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

 Psalms 139:6    Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

How wide is the love of God in Christ? Wide enough to include every person.

How long will the love of God in Christ last? Through all of eternity.

How deep is the love of God in Christ?  Deep enough to reach the worst of sinners.

How high is the love of God in Christ? High enough to take us to heaven.

We don’t ask these questions very much do we?  We do ask for blessings, healings, restoration, refuge, help, and there is nothing wrong with that.  However, there is something a bit off when we don’t seek to know and understand more about our heavenly Father.  Maybe we would rejoice more in who God is rather than what He gives.  Maybe we would be more thankful, generous, kind, peaceful, joyful, loving, hopeful, obedient………………  I think we would grow exponentially if we would seek to understand and comprehend how deep, wide, long, and high the love of God is toward His children.Think of the smartest person you know or have heard of and know that before this person has a thought in their head God knows it completely. Think of the most complex science in physics, chemistry, astrophysics, quantum physics, human anatomy……God created it by speaking it into being.  What we think is complex to comprehend and understand is less than elementary to God. Much about God will become clear in Heaven but for now, this side of eternity, we do well to honor and glorify Him.

27.e. “Having no hope and without God in the world”

Ephesians 2:12  remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

19- So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Without Christ: These are terrible words, and the implications of them are the sum of the woeful condition of the lost man or woman. To be without Christ means to be: without spiritual blessings, light, peace, rest, safety, hope, a place of refuge, purpose, satisfaction, lasting joy, discernment, wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and eternity in Heaven. Look around, be observant, and see if this is not true.  Read or listen to almost any news being stated, listen to family, friends, government officials, and people at large, and you will see they lack the peace of God that only comes through Faith in Jesus Christ. In the worst of them, they are greedy, boastful, arrogant, fearful, liars, creating division, confusion, and hatred.  In the best of them they are just plain lost and without a solid foundation that can only be found in and through Jesus Christ.  They have a form of purpose, peace, satisfaction, and joy, but there is no depth and lasting foundation on which it can stand.  

This is exactly where each of us was prior to believing in Jesus Christ.  Lost and without eternal hope.  We were alienated from God.  We were tools of Satan.  We were destined to eternal Hell.  And, somehow, through God’s grace, mercy, and love, our hearts were softened and our minds understood the gospel, our sinful nature, being separated from God, deserving Hell, and without hope in anything we could do to be made right before God, and we repented from our sin, turned away from self-worthiness and self-reliance, and we trusted in and relied upon Jesus Christ alone, by faith in Him alone.  

Paul is saying remember this.  You were “without Christ”.  In remembering this our hearts and minds should be in constant thankfulness and our lives surrendered to humbly serving Him for the single purpose of honoring and glorifying Him in all we say, think, and do.  

27.d. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.”

 

 

Ephesians 2:4  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

 Nehemiah 9:17  They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.

 Psalms 51:1   Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

 Isaiah 55:6-8    “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;  let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.

 Psalms 103:8-11   The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.  He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

 Romans 5:8    but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 Romans 3:24    and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

“As they were corrupt in their nature, and sinful in their practice, they could possess no merit, nor have any claim upon God; and it required much mercy to remove so much misery, and to pardon such transgressions.” (Clarke)  Every reason for God’s mercy and love is found in Him. We give Him no reason to love us, yet in the greatness of His love, He loves us with that great love anyway. Therefore, we must stop trying to make ourselves lovable to God, and simply receive His great love while recognizing that we are unworthy of it. This is the grace secret of the Christian life. (Guzik) He did not wait until we were lovable. He loved us even when we were dead in trespasses, providing nothing lovable to Him. The work of God’s grace, in no way involving man’s merit. Our salvation – our rescue – from spiritual death is God’s work done for the undeserving.

Stop trying to earn God’s love and grace.  You never can and never will.  Stop keeping a ledger book of all your good and bad deeds in your head hoping the good will outweigh the bad, but rather confess them, repent from them, and lean on Jesus Christ alone. When we willfully choose to disobey God, (knowingly sin), there is no other way to erase it but through trusting in Him alone and resting on His forgiveness, grace, and love. One way to see the greatness of the grace of God is to see how He begs man to receive it. When we offer a gift to someone and they refuse it, we are likely to allow them to refuse and leave them alone. God does not do this with us; even when we refuse His mercy He reaches into His storehouse of grace and persists with us, begging us to receive the free gift. He pursues us. He stands at the door of our hearts and knocks asking to be let in.  It is in the rejection of God’s grace and mercy whereby people will spend eternity in Hell.

27.b. “Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened”

 

Ephesians 1:15  For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

 Matthew 11:25    At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;

 1 Corinthians 2:10   these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God

 John 14:26   But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

 James 3:17-18   But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

Proverbs 2:1  My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, listening closely to wisdom and directing your heart to understanding; furthermore, if you call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Man will think the proper study of mankind rests in philosophy, science, cultural and social, studies.  There may be some truth to this but in its highest science, loftiest speculation, and deepest philosophy, it will never give wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of God apart from God’s Word. It may engage the attention of a child of God as a study of what man thinks they know or speculate to understand. (Spurgeon) It is good to know thy self but far more beneficial, glorious, and fruitful to know thy God. (Alford)

Our eyes of our heart need to be enlightened by God to understanding and knowledge of Him. Scripture speaks of “hearts of stone” and “hardened hearts) about those who intentionally choose to harden their hearts against the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of things of God.  They are ever hearing the Word of God but there is no enlightenment in their heart. It seems as though it comes in one ear and out the other. We all need to be mindful of not only hearing but seeking to understand.  Do we think we can we seek this understanding once per week on Sundays and have any growth, not to mention maturity, in God and things of God? Do we think we can gain this understanding and knowledge by osmosis – somehow it just filters in through all of the chaos and busyness of life? I can’t tell you how many times people quote what was on the news as if it was their own thoughts.  They believe the fear, hate, anger, division, worry, etc… because that is what the narrative of “News” tells them to do.  They actually believe they should fear or hate or worry or be divisive, or be angry and do not see that these are not their thoughts but the thoughts of those who do not know God or things of God.  They have allowed them into their hearts and minds. They have allowed them to take root and grow. They see the fruits of them in their lives and think it is proper fruit. It is not wrong to be informed but we need to be mindful of the source and the underlying message it is giving.  We can only do this if the eyes to our hearts and minds are seeking wisdom, knowledge, and understanding from and of God.  When you read a news article scan it for words like, it could, it might, it may, it is possible, it is conceivable, it may be, it is feasible, potentially it could, it is probable, it is likely,  you should worry about, etc…….. these are all enticing words to engage and develop your thinking toward a specific conclusion of the writer or speaker.  When our hearts and minds spend more time on things of this world and what it deems and says should be important to us, we will be filled with  dark clouds of thought and it will consume us.  How much time is spent catching up on the daily news compared to quality time in God’s Word?  How much of your thoughts are consumed with what someone else has determined for you to be worthy of your time and thoughts?  

Watch out for what your itching ears are listening to.  They will give you insight into what is filling your hearts and minds. Wouldn’t it be something if believers what believers spoke out of their hearts and minds was things of God rather than the vomit coming out of social and media outlets. 

27.a. “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out”

 

Ephesians 1:7  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

 Acts 20:28    Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

 Matthew 20:28     even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

 Hebrews 9:14      how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

 1 Peter 2:24    He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

 Daniel 9:9     To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him

 Acts 2:38   And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 Acts 3:19     Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,

 Acts 10:43   To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

 1 John 1:7-9    But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The redemption and forgiveness given to us come according to the measure of the riches of His grace. It is not a “small” redemption or forgiveness won by Jesus on the cross. It is immense. It is huge. It is all-encompassing. We don’t deserve it. We can’t earn it. We can never be good enough to be worthy of it. We can’t buy it. Such it is a free gift, to all who would believe.  If you can’t earn it and you aren’t good enough to deserve it how does it work that we can receive it? We or a least a majority of us were brought up knowing there are consequences for our actions.  We were taught that doing bad or wrong things got punishment.  We would know right from wrong and choose to do wrong hoping we might not get caught.  If we did get caught we knew there was a price to pay.  Sometimes we might even do something not a thing was bad but it was.  

When we start to become aware of God and His Holiness, and we realize our sinfulness, we see a huge gap. Scripture says “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, “No one does good, no not anyone”. We see our sin in the reflection of God’s Holiness.  Try as hard as we might there is nothing we can do to make ourselves right before God.  We know the consequence of sin is death and separation from God and the consequence of this is eternal hell.  What must we do?  How can a person be saved from this? When the people in Jerusalem heard the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ it says they were cut to the heart and asked; “What must we do to be saved?”  With mankind it is impossible but with God it is.  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that who so ever would believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  The debt no man can pay was paid in full by Jesus Christ for all who would believe, trust, rely on, and cling to, by faith, in Jesus Christ for their redemption.  

How many will end up in Hell because they choose to not believe?  How many will end up in Hell because they think they are good enough to be allowed eternal life in heaven?  How many voids their minds of thinking about eternity at all?  How many neglect this offer of salvation because of pride in themselves?  How many we be tormented forever and ever in Hell for eternity because they do not believe the consequences of their sin deserve Hell? 

There is but one way to Heaven.  Jesus Christ.  He paid the full price of your sin debt.  Humbly surrender, repent and turn away from what you once were, and fully trust, believe, rely on, and cling to Jesus Christ by faith.  At the moment you believe in Him you are born again and your sin before God is as if it were never there.  He has forgiven you and remembers it no more.  The new life begins and you are a new creation.  The life you will now live has a singular purpose, to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all you say, think, and do forevermore.  Do not neglect or reject the gift of salvation.

26.t. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only”

 

Galatians 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.

Proverbs 25:14    Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.

 Proverbs 26:12    Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

 Romans 12:3    For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

 1 Corinthians 3:18   Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.

 James 1:22     But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

 James 1:26   If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.

 Proverbs 14:14    The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.

As much as anything, pride is self-focus. Pride doesn’t necessarily say, “I’m better than you are.” Pride simply says, “I’m more important than you are, so I deserve more of my own attention and love than you do.” It also stifles ministry in another way. Out of pride, people will refuse to receive help when someone else reaches out to help bear their burden. Instead, Biblical humility tells us, “I am no more important than you are. Let me care about your burdens and needs.” Or to say, “I need help”. It is important to understand that Paul wrote to every Christian when he said, “When he is nothing.” In the sense Paul uses the idea here, it isn’t that some Christians are something, and others are nothing, and the problem is that the nothings think they are one of the somethings. Instead, Paul writes with the same idea behind Philippians 2:3b-4: In lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. If I esteem you above me, and you esteem me above you, a marvelous thing happens: we have a community where everyone is looked up to, and no one is looked down on. (Guzik)

“The meaning is more general and should therefore be expressed thus, ‘Since all men are nothing, he who wishes to appear something and persuades himself that he is somebody, deceives himself.’” (Calvin)

There are few things more self-deceptive than pride. To be proud is to be blind – blind to the freely given favor and gifts of God, blind to our sin and depravity, blind to the good in others, and blind to the foolishness of self-centeredness.

We often get angry when someone deceives us. Yet we don’t take the danger of deceiving ourselves as seriously as we should. It is a serious and terrible thing to deceive yourself. “The misery of most men is, that their minds are as ill set as their eyes, neither of them look inwards.” (Trapp)

Instead of deceiving ourselves, we must take a careful and sober examination of our lives (what we say, think, and do, where and what we spend our time on, am I seeking and desiring to honor and glorify Jesus Christ.) The Bible speaks of a day when our works will be examined before the Lord. Strive to have your works reveal humble humility, obedience, reliance, faith, and trust in Jesus Christ and in love, bearing the burdens on to another.

26.e. “Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

 

Galatians 1:10   For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

 Acts 4:19-20    But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge,  for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

 1 Thessalonians 2:4    but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

 2 Corinthians 5:9-10     So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

 Ephesians 6:6   not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,

 James 4:4    You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

 “There have always been preachers who have sought popular acclaim above all else, and there are some still. It is part of fallen human nature that even those charged with the responsibility of proclaiming the gospel can fall into the trap of trying to be popular rather than faithful.” (Morris) 

Being faithful with the gospel of Jesus Christ means we do not add to it or take away from it.  The same is true of God’s Word.  People pleasers give lip service and head nods toward things of God but their heart is in being joined with the world in a way that does not honor and glorify God.  The gospel of Jesus Christ can not be separated from heaven and hell, righteousness and sin, forgiveness and guilty, and Judgment.  How can a person know of the need for Jesus Christ without an understanding of these?  To water down the need is to obscure the greatness of grace, love, and mercy Jesus Christ gave when He sacrificed Himself for sinners.  God’s Word is clear in regards to man’s separation from Him due to sin.  “All have sinned and fall short” – Sin is and will be judged by God – Eternity awaits us all – Heaven and Hell – Eternity in heaven is a promise of God just as eternity in hell.  I can think of no other scripture that is as clear as what is written in the Gospel of John.  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” There is no other way by which a man can be saved. There is no way to be good enough or do good enough things to be right before the holiness of God.  It is only when there is a humble surrender of all self-reliance and complete reliance, trust, faith, and belief in and through Jesus Christ will any person be saved from eternal hell. God has given mankind free choice to choose between self and Christ, heaven and hell, forgiveness and guilt.  The message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the absolute need should never be diluted or obscured.  Wide is the road that leads to Hell and narrow is the path to Heaven.  Never let it be accounted to you that the gospel of Jesus Christ was diluted or obscured in any way.

26.a “This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.”

2 Corinthians 12:19  Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and all for your upbuilding, beloved. For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.

 Galatians 5:15    But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

 Galatians 5:19-21   Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,  idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,  envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

 Ephesians 4:31-32   Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

 James 3:14-16    But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.  This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

 Proverbs 16:28    A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.

 Romans 1:29   They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,

The purpose of God’s Word is not to make us squirm, but to bring us to our senses, to help us rid ourselves of worldly influences, to cancel the narcotic effects of worldly pleasures/desires, to set our feet on solid ground, to light the path we are to walk, and to give us discernment between right and wrong, truth and false, good and bad, eternal and temporal, heaven and hell, Holy and unholy, Godly and godly, etc….When there is neglect or lacking desire for His Word our hearts will take on and be filled with what our culture and society think is right in its own eyes. We should not think we are immune to the troubles affecting the Corinthian church.  When God’s Word is being neglected all sorts of unholy thoughts and actions will manifest in our lives.  Our hearts, minds, and souls will be filled with something.  We get to choose what that is.  Intentionally choose to be filled to overflowing with His Word, the Grace, Love, and Mercy of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit for His honor and glory.

26. “Even though I am nothing”

2 Corinthians 12:11 I have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing. The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. For in what were you less favored than the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!

Luke 17:10    So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

Ephesians 3:8   To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

Romans 15:18-19   For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed,  by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ;

What would our lives be like if we would look at all we do, all we are able to do, and all we have done and know in our heart that we are nothing and it is by the grace of God that we exist and are able to do anything at all. Would we act differently? Would we be more thankful? Would we be more humble? Would we be more helpful to others? Would we see others in a different light? It is not a though we should be walking around with our head hung low and seemingly pouting or self-deprecating. Rather, we should walk with our head on straight with the knowledge that we are nothing in the flesh but in the spirit, we are a child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In the flesh we are but a tool of our Lord, that is if we keep the influences of fleshly desires and worldly temptations out of our mind. This is not easy when there is so much technology that feeds anti-christian worldly ideas at lightning speed continuously. There is but one way to keep from being drawn away. Staying in His Word. I am not saying this lightly but that it should be a desire of your soul. Why is this important? Because without feeding and digesting His Word the world has a way of dragging you into its lifestyle and way of thinking. Feeding and digesting His Word will manifest humbleness, trust, obedience, faith, hope, praise, honor, worship, and reliance in Him alone in your life.