Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; then that which is spiritual [1 Corinthians 15:46].
This Scripture has bothered me for a very long time. I knew that this verse was wrong and that the Bible must be inerrant because I knew for a fact that God created man in His image [Genesis 1:27], which was spirit [John 4:24]. Man was first, a spirit (little “s”).
Today, this verse resurfaced as it does from time to time, but this time, the Lord began to show me what it all meant. I love it when He does that. I am elated this morning that God would take time out of running a universe to give me rhema about His Word.
After the Lord told me of the Corinthian’s meaning, He presented me with a picture in my mind of the difference between logos and rhema. Now I already knew the meaning of both but the analogous picture given to me was perfect (and why not, it came from God), so I felt led to share. I hope this helps somebody out there.
The picture was this: Christ is standing in front of a huge crowd of people reciting Scripture to them. While He speaks, His focus is about two feet above their head, which in and of itself, is cool because it appears that He is covering them all with His Word. This is logos, God covering us all with His Word.
Today, as I stood in that crowd, the Lord gave me the meaning of a puzzling Scripture by looking me straight in the eye. That word was for me. This is rhema. When the Lord gives us a rhema word, it is Him looking us straight in the eye and sharing.
Logos is for everybody and rhema is for an individual.
Oh, and for those who do not know the meaning of the 1 Corinthians Scripture or are just interested in what God said, here is a paraphrase of what He told me.
God DID create man in His image. . .Adam. He then created Eve from Adam’s rib. Adam was perfect in every way. All other men and women after Adam and Eve came from them, which was flesh (natural). However, because of the sin nature inherited by all mankind, we are first all flesh but we are all also still spirit, and in God’s image. Image means copy. The real Spirit of God comes at salvation. We are all still triune beings.
After our salvation it is our perfecting [Romans 12:2] that we return to the perfection afforded us in the Garden of Eden. Christ was even born first from flesh (Mary and Joseph), and then became spiritual.
Read 1 Corinthians 15:46-49.
Well, it looks like the Bible was right -- again.
God = 31, 102 [Number of verses in the original Bible KJV.]
Jim = 0
LOL
Lord, thank you for your logos Word that you cover us daily with wisdom, healing, and salvation. Thank you for the perfecting works of the Cross and Lord, I thank you for your rhema word and time spent with me this morning. I pray God’s wisdom, healing, rhema, and salvation over each and every one of you in the name of Jesus, amen.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Saturday, February 15, 2014
ABSENCE OR ABSENCE, YOUR CHOICE
Poor little Johnny has really been getting a bad rap over the years and has been blamed for all sorts of wrong doing and mishaps just so we could make a point. Well. . .here’s my point, but first, I’d like to give little Johnny a reprieve from any further impunity and direct our thoughts toward little Jimmy.
Here’s the thing, little Jimmy was a good boy but nonetheless, he was just that. . .a little boy. He was still full of mischief, tested his parents, and was sometimes downright disobedient. . .some innocent, some not. It’s not that little Jimmy wanted to be disobedient; it was just something that he wanted to do at the time that garnered the warning of his earthly parents. He just did not see any harm or danger in doing that action.
What it all boiled down to was that he didn’t trust his parents when they told him “No.” He subconsciously wanted to find out for himself if they had any justification or credibility in saying no to that really fun thing that he wanted to do or didn’t they want him to have any fun? Like little Jimmy, we had to learn for ourselves the pain of doing wrong, whether the pain was physical, emotional, or spiritual. At one time or the other, we all did the opposite of what our parents told us.
As followers of Christ, we also do the opposite of what is right. We indulge in the above attributes of our earthly youth counterparts while we were young. In like manner, when we test and disobey our earthly parents, we also spiritually test God and are disobedient [1] to Him. In essence, when we disobey God, we are saying that we do not trust you Lord [2]. We also raise ourselves above God and become idolatrous.
When man grows spiritually, he feverishly tries not only to conform to the image of Christ [3], but he tries to remove all the bad things that are in his life [4]. So much so that he has a tendency to sometimes lose focus and perspective in the one he is trying to emulate [5]. In Christ, we have the truth and the guidance, but like earthly children who are still on milk [6], we ignore the truth and the guidance [7].
“. . .and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free [John 8:32 KJV].”
Ridding oneself of the bad things that saturate and destroy our life is a good thing. However, it is not the absence of the wrong things in our lives, but it is the absence of the right things in our lives that causes the turmoil. We will always have the bad things in our lives that plague and tempt us, but hallelujah, we will always have Jesus Christ who will never leave or forsake us [8] and who will always save [9], deliver [10], and heal us [11].
If we follow Christ with a passion, have Him at the forefront of our minds, and are obedient to Him, we should be able, theoretically, to repel the temptation from coming to fruition. Nevertheless, since obedience is all a process, we will eventually fail [12]; but greater is He who is in us than he that is in the world [13]. Nevertheless, when we fail, repentance is in order. However, repentance is not the act of worrying about the consequences of our sin, but true repentance is the act of wanting to restore the presence of God in our life. The former is not true repentance.
Christ is the right thing and if we focus on Him [14] in these days, we will be victorious [15], because Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life [16].
Let me leave you with this:
The enemy is an idiot, the more he persecutes us, the closer we get to God, and if Satan would just leave us alone, we’d destroy ourselves.
_________________________________
[1] Romans 3:23
[2] Mark 9:24
[3] Romans 8:29
[4] proverbs
[5] Ephesian 5:21
[6] Hebrews 5:13
[7] 2 Timothy 3:5
[8] Hebrews 13:5
[9] Matthew 1:21
[10] Galatians 1:4; 2 Timothy 4:18
[11] Exodus 15:26
[12] Isaiah 64:6
[13] John 4:4
[14] Psalms 22:3
[15] 1 Corinthians 15:57; 1 John 5:4
[16] John 14:6
Here’s the thing, little Jimmy was a good boy but nonetheless, he was just that. . .a little boy. He was still full of mischief, tested his parents, and was sometimes downright disobedient. . .some innocent, some not. It’s not that little Jimmy wanted to be disobedient; it was just something that he wanted to do at the time that garnered the warning of his earthly parents. He just did not see any harm or danger in doing that action.
What it all boiled down to was that he didn’t trust his parents when they told him “No.” He subconsciously wanted to find out for himself if they had any justification or credibility in saying no to that really fun thing that he wanted to do or didn’t they want him to have any fun? Like little Jimmy, we had to learn for ourselves the pain of doing wrong, whether the pain was physical, emotional, or spiritual. At one time or the other, we all did the opposite of what our parents told us.
As followers of Christ, we also do the opposite of what is right. We indulge in the above attributes of our earthly youth counterparts while we were young. In like manner, when we test and disobey our earthly parents, we also spiritually test God and are disobedient [1] to Him. In essence, when we disobey God, we are saying that we do not trust you Lord [2]. We also raise ourselves above God and become idolatrous.
When man grows spiritually, he feverishly tries not only to conform to the image of Christ [3], but he tries to remove all the bad things that are in his life [4]. So much so that he has a tendency to sometimes lose focus and perspective in the one he is trying to emulate [5]. In Christ, we have the truth and the guidance, but like earthly children who are still on milk [6], we ignore the truth and the guidance [7].
“. . .and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free [John 8:32 KJV].”
Ridding oneself of the bad things that saturate and destroy our life is a good thing. However, it is not the absence of the wrong things in our lives, but it is the absence of the right things in our lives that causes the turmoil. We will always have the bad things in our lives that plague and tempt us, but hallelujah, we will always have Jesus Christ who will never leave or forsake us [8] and who will always save [9], deliver [10], and heal us [11].
If we follow Christ with a passion, have Him at the forefront of our minds, and are obedient to Him, we should be able, theoretically, to repel the temptation from coming to fruition. Nevertheless, since obedience is all a process, we will eventually fail [12]; but greater is He who is in us than he that is in the world [13]. Nevertheless, when we fail, repentance is in order. However, repentance is not the act of worrying about the consequences of our sin, but true repentance is the act of wanting to restore the presence of God in our life. The former is not true repentance.
Christ is the right thing and if we focus on Him [14] in these days, we will be victorious [15], because Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life [16].
Let me leave you with this:
The enemy is an idiot, the more he persecutes us, the closer we get to God, and if Satan would just leave us alone, we’d destroy ourselves.
_________________________________
[1] Romans 3:23
[2] Mark 9:24
[3] Romans 8:29
[4] proverbs
[5] Ephesian 5:21
[6] Hebrews 5:13
[7] 2 Timothy 3:5
[8] Hebrews 13:5
[9] Matthew 1:21
[10] Galatians 1:4; 2 Timothy 4:18
[11] Exodus 15:26
[12] Isaiah 64:6
[13] John 4:4
[14] Psalms 22:3
[15] 1 Corinthians 15:57; 1 John 5:4
[16] John 14:6
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