The Sanctifying Work of the Spirit

The opening statements in many of the letters of the New Testament always sound the same to me. As I was reading a few days ago, I came to the beginning of 1 Peter and noticed just how dense it is:

1 Peter 1:1-2

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God’s elect… who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with His blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

As my title may suggest, I'm going to focus on what this says about the Spirit, but first I want to cut through the syntax of these verses and highlight the important points:

Jesus Will Build the House for God’s Name

Recall from the previous snack that the book of Hebrews reveals that some of the prophecies concerning Solomon are also applicable to Christ. Of those that I examined, I’d now like to focus on 2 Samuel 7:13: “He is the one who will build a house for my Name.” Let’s notice first of all that Jesus referred to His own body as God’s temple when talking to the Pharisees:

John 2:19

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

4 Dual Prophecies of Solomon and Jesus

The introduction to the book of Hebrews contains A LOT of quotes from the Old Testament scriptures. It’s become my practice to stop my reading and look up any such quotes to see if any more significance can be gained by understanding the link between original context and the quoted context. An occasion such as this presented itself when I came to the following verse:

Hebrews 1:5

For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father?” Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son?”

The second quote being referenced here comes from 2 Samuel 7:14. In context, this verse is part of God’s response to David’s desire to build a temple for God to replace the Tent of Meeting. On one hand, 2 Samuel 7 appears to refer to David’s immediate son, Solomon, who became the next king of Israel and supervised the building of God’s temple. However, here we see the book of Hebrews states that this prophecy of Solomon is also a prophecy of Christ. The implications for Solomon are obvious, but what can we learn about Christ from examining these verses further?

The Fire of the Holy Spirit

In the midst of Paul’s closing remarks to the Thessalonians, he likens the Holy Spirit to a fire that dwells within us:

1 Thessalonians 5:19

Do not put out the Spirit’s fire

It’s easy to read this and say, “Oh, I get it. The Spirit is like a fire and we’re supposed to always have the Spirit in us, like not letting a fire go out” (this was my first thought, anyway). But then I remembered something from the Old Testament. God gave the Old Covenant law for very deliberate and specific reasons. Every sacrifice in Leviticus reveals something special about Christ. Every article of the tabernacle in Exodus reveals something about how we are to live, since we are now the temple of God. Recall one of the Lessons from Psalm 1: we should delight in God’s law, but we cannot delight in the law if we do not know the law. When we read that the Spirit is a fire that we must not put out, then we should remember what is written in the law:

Lessons from Psalm 1

Psalm 1 begins with the following list of actions that cause a man to be blessed:

Psalm 1:1-2

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.

These are instructions on how to “position ourselves for blessings,” as some have said. There are three things a blessed man does not do: if you want to be blessed, then stop taking advice from the wrong people, don’t live your life the same way that sinners live theirs, and don’t mock God with your attitude. Also, there are two things a blessed man does do: delight in the law of God and think about it all the time.

5 Ways to Conduct Yourself Wisely in Tough Situations

No matter what your life is like, you are eventually going to find yourself in a conflict. Two well-meaning people can find themselves on opposite sides of an issue. While they may be sincere, it is often the case that one or both parties are wrong in their approach to the argument. For those of you in the United Church of God, there have been such circumstances recently, but the principles presented here are of such a broad scope that even those who have no idea what I’m talking about will find them helpful. In such cases, we are all obligated to decide who and what to believe and how to react. God’s Word provides many more instructions than those listed here, but I have found these to be especially relevant.

Do You Need the Law?

Some people claim that the law of God that the Israelites were given on Mount Sinai is not the same law of God that applies to Christians today, while still others claim that no law at all is relevant for Christians today. In Romans, Paul writes to a mixed congregation of Jews and Gentiles who have had problems with certain Jews saying that salvation is by the law rather than by faith in Christ. Paul makes it clear that this is not the case, but notice that he simultaneously defends the keeping of the law:

Romans 2:10-12

But glory, honor, and peace go to every man who works good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. For as many as have sinned without the law will also perish without the law. As many as have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

Take careful consideration of what it says here: “as many as have sinned without the law will also perish without the law.”

Do You Trust in the Flesh or in the Spirit?

I've been remiss in writing during the Feast of Tabernacles, partly due to lack of internet and partly due to lack of time. Now that I'm back, I should have a fair amount of both, and I'm full of ideas from the Feast, so hang on tight! For today, a subtle point about the following scripture in Jeremiah occurred to me.

Jeremiah 17:5

Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

When I asked in the title, "Do you trust in the flesh or in the Spirit?" I can't imagine that many people would answer that they trust in the flesh - but the reality is that many people who call themselves Christians trust in the flesh rather than the Spirit!

6 Things Every Christian Should Know About the 1000 Years

Revelation 20 refers to a 1000 year period immediately following Christ's return. This period of time is pictured by the next of God's annual festivals: the Feast of Tabernacles, which is also called the Feast of Ingathering and the Feast of Booths. This feast begins this Wednesday night and lasts for 7 days. Here are some important points about the Millennium that we should be familiar with and keep in mind during this time:

7 Things Every Christian Should Know about the Day of Atonement

Tomorrow at sundown begins the Day of Atonement, the only day in the bible on which God commands His people to fast. This day has great significance for Christians today, and the following list contains just some of the important points that this festival of God represents.