A Bigger Picture, Part Seven

There are five steps or phases included in the lectio divina, which in Latin, means “holy reading” or “prayerful reading”.[1] This practice has roots in ancient history and it focuses on feeling and listening to God speaking to us and transforming our lives.[2] When used alongside the inductive approach to biblical interpretation, these steps are meant provide revelation from the Spirit in accordance with God’s written Word. However, it is important to remember that our feelings are not necessarily always in alignment with the Spirit, rather, we must conform our emotions to what the Word of God shows us through the Spirit.[3]

   

The first step, Silencio, refers to the reader setting a quiet time aside to prepare his heart to enter the Lord’s presence.[4] This step should be helpful in any sort of devotional time, because in this fast-paced 21^st century, people often forget how to sit alone in the quiet to study the Word and pray. Reading the Word is hearing God’s voice, and prayer is communication with Him, so it’s vital to set aside regular time to worship the Lord.

  

The second step, Lectio, focuses on choosing a Scripture passage and reading it slowly out loud.[5] The reader needs to concentrate on allowing God’s words to say what they say, rather than reading his own words into it. Also the reader needs to apply the words specifically to himself and not to others, as is so easy to do. This aspect would definitely be vital for a Christian, because it is important to make sure that one is right with God before calling others out.

   

Meditatio directs the reader to connect the Scripture with some part of his current life situation. Reading the passage slowly again and allowing the words to sink into his heart and mind, the reader can more closely focus on what principles God is teaching. This step could be concerning, as it may lead some readers to overspiritualize the text, but through careful study, the reader can glean the principles that God has revealed to us.[6]

   

After concentrated study on the passage, the fourth step, Oratio, tells readers to use this time to pray through the passage, asking God to show His truth and point out areas where actions and attitudes need to be aligned to His Word.[7] Praying to God allows the opportunity to speak honestly with the Lord and often times helps to pinpoint areas of struggle.

   

The last step, Comtemplatio, includes the aspect of prayer in surrendering the past, present, and future to God in light of the passage that was read. Through prayer the reader also should ask that the Lord would continue His transforming work in his life, and then thank God for all He has done and continues to do.[8]

In conclusion, these five steps pointed me back to the meaning of my personal devotions—that of time

alone with God through reading and prayer. In choosing the passage from Psalm 62, I was reminded of God’s eternal character. He is our rock and our salvation and our fortress. Our hope rests in Him alone. Our glory comes from Him being our one refuge. It is in the needed silence that we learn to trust in Him. He desires our prayers and He is pleased to answer them in His timing and His way for His glory and our good. Through these verses, God instructs us to entrust our life to Him and to render to Him the cries of our heart, because He will be a refuge for us. He has promised that, and because of that promise we can remain unshaken and steadfast in our hope.

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[1] J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays, Grasping God's Word (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 231. /12.2.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid., 230./12.2.

[4] Ibid., 231./12.2.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

No Condemnation

An excerpt from a devotional series I wrote two years ago.

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,

but after the Spirit.

Romans 8:1

Even though the law condemns us as guilty, the flesh serves the law of sin, and Satan attempts to throw our righteousness back in our faces—we have been redeemed from eternal damnation. The law has been fulfilled, and in Christ, we are free from the bondage of that law. Once in Christ we are no longer slaves to the flesh or to the Devil, but children of the Spirit. We are warring against principalities and powers of darkness, but the Spirit of freedom will guides us and teaches us as we abide in Christ. We are sinners, and we live in a sin-cursed world, but we are not of the world, but of Christ. And because our lives are hidden in Christ, there is no condemnation. Our sins have been as far removed as east is from west and buried in the depths of the sea. There is no remembering of them, for your name is in the Lamb’s book of life.

There is no judgment for wrong, for our lives were purchased and our sin was atoned for by the ultimate sacrifice. There are no arguments the devil can use against us. Condemnation is reserved for the unrighteous. The moment the Innocent Substitute died, the temple curtain was torn in two: no

longer was a priest needed to intercede for the people. As His redeemed, we come boldly to the throne of grace to find mercy. When the devil haunts you with your past, discourages you with the present, and threatens you with the unknown future, then you will face him and say “My condemnation has been removed. The One who paid the ultimate sacrifice will mete out justice fairly. I have nothing to fear. I am in Christ Jesus!”

A Bigger Picture, Part Five

What are the differences between inspiration and illumination? Does the Holy Spirit still “speak” to believers today? How should you respond to somebody who says that the Holy Spirit “told them” to do something?

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Inspiration is defined as the Holy Spirit’s work in the Biblical authors’ lives causing them to communicate the word of God to us.[1] The Scriptures are God-breathed, and as a result, they are perfect and sufficient for every person and every situation. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 states that Scripture is inspired by God and have “the power and authority to shape our lives because it comes from God himself.”[2] Illumination refers to the “ongoing work of the Spirit”[3] to bring people to Christ and receive the truth of the gospel. The inspiration of the biblical canon is complete and closed, but illumination still carries on. Jesus’ teachings continue to work in hearts and minds. The Spirit and the Word go together. Because of the inspiration of the Scriptures and the illumination of the Spirit, personal experience, emotions, situations, or general opinions do not stand above the Word of God. We do not add meaning to Scripture; rather, we discover the meaning already there in the inspired text.[4]

The Holy Spirit does indeed still speak to believers today. However, this is not typically by hearing an audible voice, as some people suggest. The Bible is sufficient for everything, and the Word of God, through the illumination of the Spirit, continues to speak to believers and unbelievers. Peoples’ emotions, opinions, needs, and wants do not always line up with what the Bible teaches, so when people say “God spoke to me and told me to do this”, they must be sure that it does not contradict Scripture in any way. Many of our desires are God-given and are good desires, but that does not necessarily mean that God spoke to us in a dream, revelation, vision, etc. It may simply mean that the desires we have (the good ones) reflect the image of God in us, and must be used for His glory. God continues to speak to us, but through His inspired Word. “The Spirit enables us to grasp the meaning of the Scriptures at a deeper level.”[5] He gives us the ears to hear and the heart to understand what the revelation of the Word means, thus helping us to hear “God speak to us”. This isn’t new revelation, but new understanding for the individual. It enables Christians to align their emotions and thoughts to the Word in a new way, and it helps new believers know the differences between their feelings and what the Holy Spirit commands. The Spirit and the Word never contradict one another; therefore, if what someone feels, desires, does, or thinks, goes against Scripture, then it is not of or from God.[6] To quote Steven Lawson, “Do you want to hear the audible voice of God? Read the Bible out loud.” 

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[1] J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays, Grasping God's Word (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 226.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid., 230.

[6] Ibid.

Verse Study: Ephesians 2:10 (Part Two)

If you haven't read Part One, click HERE.

Ephesians 2:10

For we are his workmanship,

created in Christ Jesus for good works

which God prepared beforehand,

that we should walk in them.

Prepared beforehand
-This word comes from the Greek work proetimazo meaning, "predestine, appoint, or ordain".
-This word is only used twice in the New Testament, once here and once in Romans 9:23. Both instances speak of God preparing something for us before our time, before the time of the world, before the time of creation.
-Other versions translated it as "prepared in advance" (NIV), "planned for us long ago" (NLT), "before ordained" (KJV), and "prepared ahead of time" (HCSB).
-It was the good works that were prepared beforehand for us. "Good" has the idea of bearing honest, geniune fruit, and "works" are our actions and deeds. As a believer, our fruitful actions were known and ordained before we existed.

-"Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him." (Ephesians 1:4)

-God chose us for salvation and for the accompanying good works that would result from our salvation. He saved us not by our good works, but for them. Salvation and good works cannot be separated. 

-We have only to ask God for wisdom in doing and applying these good works. Because they have been prepared beforehand, God promises to offer wisdom to those who ask for it. (James 1:5)

-Our good works are already known. They have been forseen and planned before our salvation, and once saved, we are responsible, though the help of the Spirit, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, known that ultimately it is God who will complete His good work in us. 

Walk

-This word is found frequently in the NT in 20 of the 27 books, but the most being found in the Gospel of John. 

-This word has the idea of fellowship, or going in a complete circuit. 

-It comes from the Greek word peripateo meaning "to walk around", "to live" (fig.), and "to conduct life".

-Other versions translated it as "for us to do" (NIV), "as our way of life" (BSB), "so we may do them" (NETB), "for us to practice" (WNT).

-The idea here is one of a life beginning and ending (a complete circuit) in good works. We are to live our lives doing these good works, and they should consume and utterly take up our lives. 

-"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." (Colossians 1:10) 

-These good works evidence our salvation and walk with God. They provide proof of the God we serve, and they cause us to live in a manner that merits our standing with God. 

Putting It All Together

God is our Creator. Through his own physical act of constructing us, He caused us to be made; thereby making us belong to Him. He becomes our Master Artist. As believers He continually is creating a new spirit nad good works in and through us. He shaped us ex nihilo, but also renews good works in us ex nihilo before and after salvation. Only God can do this, and because we are created by Him, we are owned by Him personally. Our relationship to God is Creator to creature. We can never repay our debt to Him. He acted to make us act in good works. These good works is what our life should practice. It's our way of life, and it was appointed for us before He made us. Before earth, before birth, before salvation, the good works were prepared in advance by God. Our conduct and life as a Christian begins and ends in a complete circuit: good works. We practice them--it's active labor. To live in this way is to walk worthy of our calling in light of the debt we ow to Him as our Creator. He chose us for salvation and prepared good works beforehand, so that we could live in gratitude for what He has done. We cannot separate good works from salvation. They do not save us, but they evidence the Spirit's work in our life. Our way of life is to evidence us as God's handiwork.

***Due to my previous blogging break, I will be posting the June Quotes on the last day of this month, Thursday. There will be no post the Friday immediately after, but I will resume regular blogging the Friday after, Lord willing. 

Verse Study: Ephesians 2:10 (Part One)

Last month a few of my friends and I did a verse study on Ephesians 2:10, so I thought I'd write out a bit of what we got through. We basically picked apart the verse's phrases and studied the words, and then put it all back together again. Though we didn't have time to study this verse within its surrounding context, the fellowship was sweet and much needed and we came away with a greater understanding of what it means to dig deeply to find the treasure.

Ephesians 2:10

For we are his workmanship,

created in Christ Jesus for good works

which God prepared beforehand,

that we should walk in them.

Workmanship

-This word comes from the Greek word poiema. It means "to do, act, cause, manufacture, or construct."

-Other translations of Scripture translate it as "handiwork" (NIV), "masterpiece" (NLT), and "creation" (HCSB).

-This word translates as "creation" or "made"; literally "thing that is made."

-This Greek word is used only twice in the New Testament (Ephesians 2:10 and Romans 1:20).

-"For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).
-A cross-reference, Deuteronomy 32:6, communicates the idea that it is God who creates and establishes people. Mankind's debt to God can never be repaid. Therefore He is our rightful and sole Owner: we belong to Him.
-Cross-reference: Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture (Psalm 100:3).

Created
-The Greek word ktizo means "I create, form, shape, or make" and properly only applies to God because only He can create something ex nihilo--out of nothing.
-It is translated as "created us anew" (NLT) or past tense "having been created" (NETB).
-This particular word has 15 references in 8 books. The first use of it is in Matthew 19:4 where Jesus answered the questioning Pharisees referencing the creation account of Adam and Eve in Genesis.
-The only place in the NT where it is translated as "Creator", speaking specifically about God, is in Romans 1:25: "...they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen."
-All instances of this word in the NT say that God created something or someone or that He is the Creator.
-Colossians 3:10 says "and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator." Here we see God as Creator of our external and internal beings. Our bodies and minds were made in the image of God. We have companionship and eternity written in our hearts, but because of sin, God as Creator must continually be empowering us to put off the old self and renew the new self in His image.
-We weren't just created absent-mindedly. We were created for something. For good works. Our specific purpose was to do the will of God--the good works that Scripture speaks of. These are the good works that Jesus and the believers' gone before also did. These good works shape our character and they will stand before us at the consummation of the age.
-We were created in Christ Jesus, meaning that as believers our life was fixed permanently in His death and resurrection. We are everything in Him, and nothing outside of Him. His power, love, compassion, strength, and holiness are present in us right now. It's not something we have to pray for more of (though we can pray to demonstrate it more), because it's already there.

That's just the first half of the verse. I'll post about the latter half next week and write a conclusion to it all. God bless! :)