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Because Jesus Christ in fully human form is fully God Who is Spirit...
Aug 16, 2021 18:35:30   #
Zemirah Loc: Sojourner En Route...
 
God is Spirit (John 4:24).

Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human.

Without oxygen, the human body will die, and without "spiritual oxygen," the human spirit cannot come alive. Only the Lord can give life to your body, and only the Holy Spirit can give "spiritual oxygen" to the spirit of man.
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During His earthly ministry, when the Lord Jesus had gone into Galilee with His disciples, He did not taken the route which was usual for the Jews of His day, crossing the Jordan at Jericho, north along the east side of the Jordan river, and back into Galilee, thus avoiding crossing into Samaria. Jesus said he must cross into Samaria (John 4:4). The disciples did not understand this, for the Jews and Samaritans were long estranged, distant cousins, now enemies, but they went without grumbling, soon learning there were Thirsty souls awaiting Him there.

During that trip through Samaria, in a conversation with a Samaritan woman, at a well by the side of the road near the little village of Sychar, Jesus taught a basic truth about God. The woman had been married five times, and was living with a man to whom she was not married.

Jesus had broached the subject of spiritual things and responded to the woman’s comment about where people should worship: “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father. You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews.

But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers” (John 4:21-23). It was at that point in the conversation that Jesus said something about God which had never been clearly stated before. The truth was apparent from what had been revealed in the Old Testament, but it had never been put into plain words. “God is spirit,” He declared, “and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).

God is spirit. There is no article in the Greek text before the word spirit, and that emphasizes the quality or essence of the word. Furthermore, the word spirit occurs first in the sentence for emphasis. The literal idea would be, “Absolutely spirit in His essence is God.” Jesus did not leave any doubt about this truth. God is spirit!

Some lack understanding of what a spirit is, or what it means for God to be spirit. Examine what it means, as well as how it applies to our lives:

1) He Is a Living Person.

2) We can know Him.

It is quite obvious that a spirit is alive. Our God is not an inanimate object, not like a pagan idol with a mouth that cannot speak, eyes that cannot see, ears that cannot hear, and hands that cannot accomplish anything (cf. Psalm 115:4-7). He is alive. The very word spirit also means “breath,” and breath is the evidence of life in all God's earthly creatures, human and animal.

Throughout Scripture God is called the living God (e.g. Joshua 3:10; Psalm 84:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:9).

A spirit is also a person, not an impersonal force which acts without purpose or reason. The British Columbia Appeal Court ruled God to be a nonperson. A suspect was observed by hidden camera praying, and in his prayer he admitted that he was guilty. The court ruled that privileged communication, which would be inadmissible in court, must take place between two people, but that since God is not a person, comments made to Him are considered to be admissible evidence.

The judges who rendered that decision seemed unfamiliar with God’s revelation of Himself. The essential nature of personality is self-consciousness and self-determination, and God has both. He is conscious of His own being. He told Moses that His name was, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). Only a person who is aware of Himself could make that statement. He also has the freedom to choose His own course of action according to what He considers best. He demonstrated it when He subsequently told Moses to return to Egypt, gather the elders together, and inform them that the nation was about to be delivered from Egyptian bondage (Exodus 3:15-17). An impersonal force does not speak and give logical directions.

God also has the basic characteristics of personality — intellect, emotions, and will. He thinks, He feels, and He acts, which is good news. Because He is a living person we can know Him personally and communicate with Him freely. Were He an inanimate object or an impersonal force there could be no personal relationship with Him.

He Is Invisible.

We can know Him apart from our physical senses. A spirit cannot be seen, not even see a human spirit. The most intimate of friends cannot see each other’s spirit and none of us can see God. Paul called Him “the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), and “the King eternal, immortal, invisible” (1 Timothy 1:17).

John assured us that “no man has seen God at any time” (John 1:18). Mortal men have seen visible manifestations which God used to reveal Himself and to communicate with them, as when God the Son took human form in a Bethlehem manger, but no one has ever seen Him in His spiritual being, for Spirits are invisible.


It is a comforting truth that although God is invisible, we can know Him apart from our physical senses, for each of us has a spirit, housed within our physical bodies. When our spirit is made alive toward God through our new birth, and the indwelling Holy Spirit, we have the capacity to spiritually commune with Him, anytime, anywhere, under any circumstances.

Communion with God does not depend on external things because it takes place internally in the spirit. That was the point of Jesus’ comment to the woman at the well. Since God is spirit we must worship Him in spirit. Worship is not a matter of physical location, surroundings, form, ritual, liturgy, or ceremony. It is not a matter of creating a certain ambiance, environment or atmosphere. Worship is the response within our spirit to God’s revelation of Himself.

It is difficult for us to grasp this truth because our spirit lives in a physical body and our physical body inhabits a physical universe. Because of our preoccupation with the physical and external, we attempt to place our relationship with God within that realm... to be inspired to worship Him by lavish cathedrals, great art, pleasant sounds, lovely aromas, and beautifully worded liturgies. Our human natures crave religious symbols, images, and pictures to create a physical emotional mood for worship, in a church building with prescribed procedures.

Physical fellowship with fellow believers is desirable, and beneficial, as iron sharpens iron, but God says, “You cannot reduce me to physical things that can be experienced with your senses. I dwell in the realm of spirit and that is where I want to meet with you.” Physical things may direct our attention to God, particularly things He has made, but we meet with Him in our spirit. We can enjoy communing with Him while riding to work, pushing the vacuum cleaner in the living room, or walking from one class to another. We know Him and love Him in the spiritual realm, apart from our physical earthbound senses.

Because He Is Nonmaterial, knowing Him frees us from religious bondage to material trappings.

The major thing we learn about God as spirit is that He is nonmaterial. By that we do not mean He is insignificant or unimportant, but rather, incorporeal. He does not have a body. Jesus reaffirmed that fact to His frightened disciples shortly after the resurrection. When He entered the room in His resurrected, glorified body they thought they had seen a spirit. He calmed them by saying, “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones (No longer flesh and blood) as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39). Spirits do not have bodies.

This seems to present a problem, however, since Scripture does refer to God at times as though He has a body. For example, it mentions His hand and His ear (Isaiah 59:1), His eye (2 Chronicles 16:9), and His mouth (Matthew 4:4). Theologians call these anthropomorphisms, a word meaning “human form.” They are symbolic representations used to make God’s actions more understandable to our finite minds. But God has no material substance and He is not dependent on any material thing. He dwells outside the boundaries of His creation, outside time and space, in the realm of spirit.

That has some pertinent implications for our lives. If we know, love, and serve a God who does not have material substance, that should diminish our own interest in material things, making us different from the people around us. We live in a culture of consumerism that continually feeds our desire for the things money can buy and the security money can provide. It is nearly impossible to escape that influence. Yesterday’s luxuries become today’s necessities, and the more we obtain, the less satisfied we are. If we would ever get everything we want, we would find that none of it brings any real contentment.

A man who established as his goal in life to be a millionaire by the time he was forty-five years of age made it two years early, but it did not satisfy. His business had crowded out his time for God, leaving him empty and unfulfilled. His oldest son was killed in an automobile accident, leaving him despondent and disheartened. He decided to let God have a place in his life again, but as he drove to church one Sunday after the tragedy, he admitted to himself that he didn’t want to go to church, but didn’t want to stay home either. There was only one thing he now wanted in life, - to better know God. To his amazement, the minister that morning announced a series of messages on the attributes of God. His growing knowledge of God brought him gratification that his money and worldly accomplishments could never provide.

Because the knowledge of God is so inadequate within our society-at-large, and is increasingly lacking within the Christian Church, it is difficult to believe that material things cannot satisfy. To acquire more has simply become the American dream of the churched and the unchurched, - our goal and lifestyle, as we continually ask ourselves, “How can I invest this money so as to make more money?” There are now hundreds of thousands of millionaires in our country, many of whom are Christians. Christian friends invite them to meetings to tell folks how God has materially blessed them, equating God’s blessing with net worth. That appears inconsistent with our God who is Spirit, and in need of nothing.

God is not opposed to money, for He has allowed us to earn the money which we have. He gave us the health, the strength, the brains, and the opportunities to acquire it, but God, whose being is spirit, cannot measure His blessings to man in terms of bank accounts, investment portfolios, or land holdings. He measures it in terms of a meaningful relationship with Himself, bringing inner peace, contentment, joy, and purpose in life, and with loving, joyful relationships with other people who have eternal souls, having been born again in Him. Money cannot buy these things.

Carnal Christians without understanding of what true blessing consists, speak of how much God has blessed them materially, with the unfortunate inference that God’s people who lack wealth, God loves less. It would be more beneficial to testify of the satisfaction of having a personal relationship with God, for unbelievers often possess great wealth, with no implication that God’s blessing is upon their lives. If money were the measure of divine blessing, crime syndicates who profit from sex and drug trafficking must be considered blessed above all others. God, whose being is Spirit, does not measure our blessing by the monetary value of our material possessions.

Neither does He measure security in terms of how much we have managed to store away for our future. He can wipe out million dollar reserves as quickly as hundred dollar reserves (or ten dollar reserves). He expects our total trust, as we find our security in Him, not in money or material things. He wants our material wealth made available to Him, for although He may not require all of it, He has the right to do so. He asked everything of a rich, young ruler, and that troubled man relinquished the opportunity to serve Him, afraid of a discipleship's material cost to himself (Luke 18:18-27). God desires us to give up any possession, any investment, if he asks, and to fully trust Him with our future. We will be enabled to do so as we learn to know God, not through ritual and ceremony, but through spiritually communicating with Him, through His Word, as the Holy Spirit ministers spiritual wisdom and understanding to our own spirit.

The most important question we can ask is not, “How can I invest my money most profitably?” or even, “How can I obtain greater financial security for myself and my family?” A better question: “How can I best use any excess spendable income and available capital to glorify the Lord, advance His ministry, and help others in need?”
God gives us everything we have... To some He gives more than to others. Nothing in Scripture forbids modest savings or wise investments. The clear emphasis of God’s Word, however, is that money, primarily, is to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ to God’s glory.

That is the emphasis of Christ’s parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:16-21), in which a man hoarded riches for himself, but did not live to enjoy them. God said he was a fool, for his soul would be required of him that very night, for are not every man's days numbered (Psalm 139:16)?

After telling this story Jesus concluded, “So is the man who lays up treasures for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:21).

The Lord Jesus summed this up beautifully in the Sermon on the Mount: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

To be rich toward God is to invest that with which we have been blessed, over and above our own actual needs, for the salvation of souls, the spiritual strengthening of God’s people, and the alleviation of human suffering.
These reap a genuine blessing of personal peace and satisfaction, which the accumulation of earthly wealth and material possessions can never bestow.

Reply
Sep 3, 2021 17:09:12   #
Ricktloml
 
It is my understanding prosperity is a reward from God for pleasing Him and doing the work He requires. And is the blessing of working for the Lord that provides the satisfaction

Reply
Sep 4, 2021 00:40:29   #
Zemirah Loc: Sojourner En Route...
 
Matthew 6:19 [Jesus said] "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."


It is my understanding that God "prospers" those He can trust to use that earthly wealth to further the Great Commission, to further on earth the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the knowledge of God's only plan of spiritual Salvation.

To such men as Franklin Graham and His Samaritan's Purse Organization, whom He can trust not to squander the resources, He enables to set up kitchens, shelters, and hospitals after floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and for victims of wars, to demonstrate His love, that they may simultaneously preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, saving human souls, even as they relieve human suffering.

On the day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter, said of King David, Acts 2:31, "he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption."

Matthew 6:1-4:
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

Philippians 3:8-9:
The Apostle Paul said: "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith."

1 Corinthians 16:2:
"Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do.
On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come."

Matthew 6:24:
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."



Ricktloml wrote:
It is my understanding prosperity is a reward from God for pleasing Him and doing the work He requires. And is the blessing of working for the Lord that provides the satisfaction

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