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Tuesday, December 29, 2009 Thoughts on the law and the spirit, and obedience You wrestle with me for truth, and I love you for that. I don’t have the fullest understanding of this yet, but you hit on something the other day about what we list as Psalm 119. I want to tell you that what this Psalm says is almost verse by verse about God’s word. We live in the Spirit and this by faith, giving credit that it is by God’s grace–All of it. Yet then do we neglect the Word? No way! And His Word contains commands, precepts, laws, wisdom, and understanding: I can’t list all! Friend I know we receive grace through faith, grace coming and resting on us before the foundation of the world–God knowing His will before we had a will. But it does say through faith, and this faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ. Now Christ is named The Word, and we know Jesus was and is the Word made flesh. All scripture is The Word of Christ. Even the law of Moses, the ten commandments being written with the finger of God, and the law and prophets are The Word. Now we live under the new covenant, but the Spirit says through Paul, “All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” So I see two things in this. All scripture is God breathed, so it is from God by the Spirit. Men of old spake as God carried them along by the Holy Spirit. Not only this, but the Spirit revealed to us the Word. Now if we are in Christ, it is His Spirit that makes us alive, and we believing and hearing by faith receive the Spirit of Grace, and the same Spirit–the Spirit of the Son. We do receive grace by faith, apart from works–all credit and glory to God for His salvation of us. We are no longer under the law if we are led by the Spirit. This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. This I state though, faith comes by God through all of His Word, what was written before Christ points to Christ, just as what is after. Scripture explains the New Covenant, and requirements of the New Covenant. The requirements of the Law of Moses are fulfilled in Christ, and in light of Jesus and Paul and the scripture after Christ His Word explains the new conditions. You know as well as I that we don’t throw away the part of scripture before Christ, but we have a fuller light written in scripture of what we should obey. Paul’s letter to the Romans declares all food clean but unless in the presence of a weak brother. We learn in light of all God’s word. Now, if a man only has parts of scripture and believes in Christ, but his part does not tell him not to murder, if he has and follows the Spirit, will he murder? No! Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law. The only way to obey God, and all his commands, in view of all scripture is by faith, and then understand this, the ability to fight the law of sin and flesh is only by God’s Spirit. So we are free, yet gladly enslaved to righteousness–righteousness only by the Holy Spirit. This is what is alive: Christ, and it is by His Spirit. Now I want to say, we abide in Christ’s love if we obey His commands, and this is in light– the light of all scripture. But the only way to do this is to obey the Spirit, and to follow where He leads. In this way we obey Christ. We don’t forget that it is the word that gives us faith, from the gospel to the deepest of secrets. So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? With faith. For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. We don’t throw out God’s Word because by it we receive faith, and therefore salvation, and therefore the promised Spirit; by hearing the Word. But we live and obey by God’s Spirit alone, understanding that that means Christ within us. So we read this Psalm embracing God’s word and precepts, and we do so gratefully and full of grace, because in Christ’s Spirit we can obey God. To not spit on grace we do not enter back into the law, rather we obey God, whose Spirit wells up in us giving us eternal life. Love you Bubba, Greyson |