USE THE PLAYER ABOVE TO LISTEN TO THIS POST
Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.(Luke 10:21)
Jesus rejoiced “in the Spirit” it is rendered in some translations, which fits our discussion here. Whenever we are praising God for His sovereign will having being done, we can rest assured that we are doing this “in the Spirit”, for no man calls Jesus Lord but by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3 / Matthew 16:17).
Here Jesus reveals one of the principles of the Kingdom, that God’s spiritual laws are unlike man’s laws. We think that we can and that we must become wise in our own fleshly ways, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27). A person can quote every single scripture ever written, but only if the Spirit has opened their heart will they ever understand the spiritual truth contained in them.
Most never come to the realization that God’s economy works inversely to man’s laws (such as give and it shall be given to you, you must die to live, etc.) because no man can understand the things of God but by the Spirit of God, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14). The carnal mind is enmity toward God (Romans 8:7), and is not subject to (read: submitted to) God’s spiritual laws, and so only benefits by them through circumstance, not through a purposeful seeking after God.
The key to understanding the laws that govern God’s Kingdom is to realize that the processes of the kingdom are inverted; they are exactly the opposite of what the world teaches, and at first glance, they seem to be counter-intuitive. To obtain what we desire, we have to do the opposite of what we would normally do. When the world says stop, Jesus says go. When the world says go for it, Jesus says no. The laws of inversion are actually the fruits of a Christ-centered life, and this, as Christians know, is diametrically opposed to the world’s views.
The world says that tolerance is the highest virtue, it says “don’t fence me in”, and “don’t tread on me”, or “it is my right to do with my body what I want”. Jesus says that our bodies are not our own. The world says that you must have self-esteem, build up your self-image, and be self-actualized. Jesus says that you must empty yourself to be truly fulfilled by Him. The world says that you have to “grab all you can, can all you grab, sit on the can, and poison the rest”. Jesus says that you must give things away before you can truly have anything worthwhile.
The world says you have to be aggressive, that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, that you must be a self promoter to get ahead, that you have to step over people, or step on them, to advance in life. Jesus says that we must humble ourselves, and God will lift us up. The last shall be first, He says. The world says that we must stay on the cutting edge of technology, be at the vanguard of New Age thinking and postmodern philosophy, and go with the flow. Jesus says that we must become fools to the world’s ways to become truly wise. The world says that might makes right, but Jesus says that when we are weak we are strong. The world says you have got to “go for the gusto”, and have a “lust for life”. Jesus says that we must lose our lives if we are to find them. Jesus truly wants to turn your life upside down, and inside out.
13 comments:
I've been away and without a computer all day. That was wierd...let's not do that ever again, okay?
"Most never come to the realization that God’s economy works inversely to man’s laws..."
I love that! That's a lot better than saying something like waambulance.
JD, I also like that you generously apply scripture throughout your writing. I expected that I would have done the same, but upon revisiting recent posts, I just don't have a lot of Bible references there.
Excellent points. I was especially struck by A person can quote every single scripture ever written, but only if the Spirit has opened their heart will they ever understand the spiritual truth contained in them.
I preached the Sunday Morning service last week (Pastor Patrick was out of town) and one passage I quoted was Matthew 7:21-23 ("I never knew you"). That, I think, is why we are charged to make our calling and election sure.
Which, to tie that back into your main point, is why so many don't get the inverse principle. Because they have not understood that we are called to a theology of the cross, not a theology of glory (yes, I've been listening to the White Horse Inn). And I fear too many don't do that because they have never really been regenerated by the Spirit.
hey, this post sounds like someone stole my next Surrey Place sermon- " 'Only the Strong Survive,' Ha!"
Oh well, all good fruit is picked from the same tree anyway.
Indeed...
I too like Mr. Horton, et al, have drunk deeply, some say way too deeply, at the well of Luther....
You know, guys, if ML were alive today he would be throwing lightning bolts at most of the church world...and I am quite certain he would be using very very very mean language...
I want to go home...
" ..you must have self-esteem, build up your self-image, and be self-actualized."
I here this on Christian radio as well. Sad, that many in the Church teach this worldly self-love, instead of self-denial. Loving ourselves is a given.
Thanks JD for this excellent lesson. I read it a couple times.
Great stuff, and right where my head is at... I preached on 'Hallowed Be Your Name' yesterday, and one of the points was that we are quite busy hallowing OUR name (within the Christian community), and spend almost no time glorifying God.
Truly the culture has injected it's insidious poison in the church, and we have apathetically watched the needle go in!
Right on Ray...we watch the needle go in, and we feel like it is okay to have a dose if we just get a little Bible verse or two sprinkled in with it...
I cannot say that I've never been guilty, may God help us all...
10-2006
10-1-2007
Once again, we are reposting many of our old articles because they now have audio included, with addtional material for listening...
Once again, good word.
Post a Comment