"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the
Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in
heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name,
and done many wonders in Your name?"
"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart
from Me, you who practice lawlessness! Therefore , whoever
hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him to
a wise man who built his house on the rock; And when the rain
descended, the floods came and the winds blew and beat on
that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock."
"But everyone who hears these sayings of mine, and does not
do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the
sand; And the rain descended, the winds blew and beat on that
house, and it fell. And great was it's fall."
***************************************************************************
Then in Matthew 7: 28-29 we find this: "And so it was, when
Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished
at His teaching. For he taught them as one having authority, and
not as the scribes."
This verse closes Christ's teaching from the Sermon on the
Mount of Olives. When you read chapters 5, 6, and 7, you will
will find the seeming essence of the teaching of Jesus Christ
and there we find what our Lord expects of his followers. We
first find the behavior causing our Lord to bless in verses three
through twelve. We find his support for the Law of God from
Exodus 20. He reiterates his commitment to that Law. (He did
not come to annul the Law, but to fulfill it.) He also expounded
on it, as to just how one is to observe it. An example from the
law about murder, where He elevates that behavior to include
anger with a brother without cause or calling one a fool. This
teaching elevates an understanding of the Law to include one's
attitude and careless talk. I am convinced Jesus' interpretation
of Law raises the standard, not only of behavior, but takes our
thought lives to new levels.
Whereas, the Spirit of God would come upon the patriarchs
that were before Christ, enabling them to do his work, today the
Spirit of Christ is available in every believer. When one is filled*
with the Spirit of God, (In Christ,) he has abilities beyond those
that are innate. These gifts enable one to serve our Lord in His
power, and to live a life that is above reproach; does not reflect
poorly on the Lord God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit or Church
of Jesus Christ. As followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are
about good works He planned for us and are pleasing to Him.
Without the power of God, the Holy Spirit, on and in us, we are
incapable of doing "anything" that brings glory to Him and we
will, invariably bring reproach on our Lord, His Kingdom and His
Church. We would be operating in the "flesh," in our "wisdom,"
in weakness, not strength.
See below for a comment on the verb, filled. (Edited on 6.19.16)
In Ephesians 5: 15-21 we find, "See then that ye walk circum-
spectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because
the days are evil."
(Circumspect: "Careful to consider all relating circumstances
before acting, or deciding." Synonyms: Cautious, careful.)
"Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will
of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; or
(dissipation) but be filled with the Spirit;" (This passage may well
read; " ...be ye being filled with the Spirit;") So, being filled with
the Spirit (God) is not a once for all experience, but a continuing
act of God as the water in a moving stream constantly renews to
ensure freshness and vitality.
"Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord: Giving thanks
always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the
fear of God."
donporter,sr 4.11.15 ed. 4.14.15
*After posting this piece, there came a pastor on radio reminding
me of a principle I learned in 1972. As we were part of an event
sponsored by Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ, we
were taught the importance of being "filled" by the Spirit of Jesus
Christ, in order to serve our Lord. Along with other passages from
God's Word, we are reminded of Ephesians chapter 5. The Pastor
on radio said the verb translated "filled" in English, was more com-
prehensive in the Greek. (Apparently this is not unusual in trans-
lation.) In order to give a more perfect understanding, paragraphs
would be required. Briefly, there are three elements to this verb in
Greek, mood, tense and voice. In the Greek, the mood is impera-
tive, (a command) the tense is present or continuing, the voice,
passive. With additional understanding we find "...be ye filled."
Filled, might be translated as "...be ye being filled, or a continuous
filling." ..be ye being filled is required of us from our Lord, and we
cannot serve Him without the filling. The voice, passive, means we
cannot, of ourselves, effect a change in our lives. We must depend
on the Lord God. ("God is a Spirit...") This leads one to the con-
clusion; Everything the child of God does must be controlled or
empowered of the Lord. In ourselves we are unable to do a thing
of significance in the Kingdom of God. We must never attempt
Spiritual service within ourselves, for that would be iniquity; or
taking the name of the Lord in vain. One other element missing in
the life of an individual without Christ is the blessing of "wisdom."
A life controlled and empowered by the Spirit of Jesus Christ has
the wisdom of God, as it is refreshed by daily study of the Word of
God, Scripture. ("...with the washing of water by the Word." Eph.
2: 26) See Exodus 20 or:
http://biblicalclarity-don.blogspot.com/2014/07/thou-shalt-not-take-name-of-lord-thy.html
One other word; In order for one to have the power of the Lord
God on his/her life, he must confess and repent all known sin to
our Lord and He will cleanse from the sin. Secondly, one must
purposely ask the Lord to fill him with His Spirit. Finally we must
believe we are filled; and thank Him for the Gift. It is a gift and in
no way must we ever come to a place to believe we are qualified
for such a blessing. (Grace, Mercy & Love)
In 1 John 1: 8-9 we see, "If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
In 1 John 5: 14, "Now this is the confidence that we have in
Him, that if we ask anything, according to his will, He hears
us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we
know we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."
NKJV... Read, believe, ask, and thank Him.
donporter,sr 4.14.15
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