I Corinthians 2
Spiritual truths taught plainlyverses 1-5
And I – brethren – when I came to you
came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom
declaring unto you the testimony of God
FOR I determined not to know any thing among you
save Jesus Christ and HIM crucified
AND I was with you in weakness – fear – much trembling
and my speech and my preaching was not with
enticing words of man’s wisdom
BUT in demonstration of the Spirit and of power
that your faith should not stand
in the wisdom of men
but in the power of God
Paul reveals spiritual truth to the matureverses 6-9
Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect
yet not the wisdom of this world
nor of the princes of this world
that come to nought
BUT we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery
even the hidden wisdom
which God ordained
before the world
unto our glory
which none of the princes of this world knew
for had they known it
they would not have crucified
the Lord of glory
BUT as it is written
Eye has not seen – nor ear heard
neither have entered into the heart of man
the things which God hath prepared
for them that love HIM
Holy Spirit reveals truth to individual believersverses 10-12
BUT God has revealed them unto us by HIS Spirit
for the Spirit searches all things
YEA – the deep things of God
FOR what man knows the things of a man
save the spirit of man which is in him?
EVEN so the things of God knows no man
but the Spirit of God
NOW we have received – not the spirit of the world
but the Spirit which is of God
that we might know the things that are
freely given to us of God
Natural man vs. Spiritual manverses 13-16
Which things also we speak
not in the words which man’s wisdom teaches
but which the Holy Ghost teaches
comparing spiritual things with spiritual
BUT the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God
for they are foolishness to him – neither can he know them
because they are spiritually discerned
BUT he that is spiritual judges all things
YET he himself is judged of no man
FOR who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct HIM?
BUT we have the MIND of Christ
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. (3981 “enticing” [peithos] means persuasive, convincing, skillful, or winning)
DEVOTION: When a sermon is given in church it should be in the language of those who are in attendance. Most newspapers are written so that a sixth grader can read them. Many in our society cannot read or chose to read little. So when they are listening to a sermon they need to be able to listen and learn.
Paul didn’t come with fancy theological terms. If he used them he defined them for the people. He wanted everyone in the congregation to understand what he was teaching. He didn’t speak over their heads. He also didn’t just teach small truths regarding the Godhead. He taught the people the deep things of God in a language that they could understand.
He wanted them to know all they could about Jesus especially. They needed to know that the cross covered all their sins. They needed to know that once they repented of their sins they were forgiven. They needed to know that the Holy Spirit came into their life with the power to help them live their life in a way that was pleasing to God.
If you are a follower of Jesus because you have asked him to forgive your sins and come into your heart you will have enough power to live the Christian life with the help of the Holy Spirit.
CHALLENGE: Are we demonstrating the power of the Holy Spirit in our daily life?
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 9 But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love HIM. (2090 “prepared” [hetoimazo] means make ready, to prepare the minds of men to give the Messiah a fit reception and secure HIS blessings, equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some us, or provide)
DEVOTION: God is in the business of instructing HIS people in what HE expects of them. HE does this through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. As an individual, moves from “baby stage” to “maturity” HE instructs them with what they are able to handle. One of the requirements for these instructions according to this verse is that they are given only to those who “love” the LORD. Love is something that many people don’t understand. Love is an emotion that can cause many problems in a believer’s life.
Believers are commanded to love the LORD their God with all their mind, body and spirit. They are to love HIM first and foremost. This love has to be more than emotion. It has to be a commitment that beats any other commitment in our life.
Too often those who say they are committed to love the LORD do it only half-heartedly. They are committed on Sunday but the rest of the week they are more committed to others things.
Sometimes people think they can compartmentalize their life. They can put God in a box that they only take out at certain times. They have a work box. They have a home box. They have a relationship box. God is just put into one of those boxes at a time.
CHALLENGE: God’s desire is to reach into every part of our life and have complete control. That is HIS definition of “love.”
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. (5483 “freely given” [charizomai] means to grant a favor, grant, deliver, forgive, hand over into custody or to give graciously)
DEVOTION: Is there really any difference between those who are followers of Christ and those who are not? When a Christian, walks down the street can people tell they are different? When a Christian speaks can they if there is a difference? When a true believer attends a church service can people tell that they are genuine?
Chafer in his theology says that twenty- two things happen the moment we follow Christ. These are gifts from God to us. These gifts help us mature in our faith. They are given graciously. We don’t deserve any of the gifts the LORD gives us. HIS main teaching gift is the Holy Spirit that indwells all those who believe. HE gives us understanding into the truths of Scripture. HE gives us understanding into the signs of the times. HE gives us understanding into the mysteries of God that were established before the world was created.
One of the gifts is the mind of Christ. This is the gift that keeps on giving. With the mind of Christ, we can be spiritually discerning. As we mature in the knowledge of God, our life looks more like Christ. The natural man or the unsaved man doesn’t have the mind of Christ.
The natural man thinks everything about the Christian life is crazy. He does not understand the Bible. He cannot understand the Bible without the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not working in his life.
The Holy Spirit is only working in the lives of those who are or will be followers of Christ. Once we have accepted Christ as our Savior, HE granted us HIS SPIRIT to live by each day. The Holy Spirit grants us guidance to face each challenge that comes our way.
The unsaved world has the spirit of this world or Satan as its guide and we all know which direction he is headed. He is not presently in hell. He is presently the prince of the power of the air. The world looks at followers of Christ with disdain.
We have a message to share and we need to be sharing it with those around us as they are dead men walking. Let’s help our friends and relatives see the light.
Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to instruct us in the ways of the LORD? Are we daily looking into the Word of God with a prayerful attitude?
CHALLENGE: Do we realize the privilege we have to have the mind of Christ? Did we thank HIM today for this gift?
: 14 But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (350 “discerned” [anakrino] means examine, judge, search, investigate, study thoroughly, evaluate, seek to learn the truth by the process of careful study, or determine)
DEVOTION: There are two types of men in the world. The two types are those who are followers of Christ and those who are not. All of us are born into this world as individuals who need to make a decision regarding our relationship with Christ. As was stated in the Gospel of John those who don’t have a relationship with Jesus stay in the family of the devil. They are headed for eternity in the lake of fire with the devil and his angels.
The other group is those who make a decision to become a follower of Christ. God knows who is in this group before the foundation of the world. Their names are written in the book of life.
Those who are outside of the family of God are called the “natural man” in this verse because they don’t understand spiritual things. In fact, spiritual things are considered foolishness to those who want nothing to do with Jesus. They think anyone who is a Christian is deceived. They think that those who become a Christian need to have their head examined. They think they are the only ones who really understand this world. Most of them think that after death there is no life. We all just turn into dust.
Now the other group wants to know more about Jesus Christ. They want the Holy Spirit to influence their life. They want to know more about what is really going on in our world.
All those who repent of their sin are included in the family of God. The Holy Spirit gives them the ability to seek the truth of the Word of God through careful study. Those in this group want to understand thoroughly what God expects of them and how to have the strength to fulfill their responsibility.
CHALLENGE: The Bible makes sense to those who are genuine believers. They have a burning desire to learn more about Jesus. The Holy Spirit fulfills their desire
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
As it is written [Isaiah 64]verse 9
Job 15- Isaiah 40 – Jeremiah 23verse 16
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Godverses 1, 5, 7, 9-12
Testimony of Godverse 1
Power of Godverse 5
Wisdom of Godverse 7
God ordainedverse 7
Creatorverse 7
Deep things of Godverse 10
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Jesus verse 2
Christverses 2, 16
Jesus Christverse 2
Crucifiedverses 2, 8
Lordverses 8, 16
Lord of gloryverse 8
Mind of the Lordverse 16
Mind of Christverse 16
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Spiritverses 4, 10-12
Reveals truth to believersverse 10
Spirit searches all thingsverse 10
Spirit searches the deep things of Godverse 10
Spirit of Godverses 11, 14
Holy Ghost verse 13
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Princes of this worldverses 6, 8
Spirit of manverse 11
spirit of this worldverse 12
Man’s wisdomverse 13
Natural manverse 14
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Faith in wisdom of menverse 5
Wisdom of worldverse 6
Crucified the Lord of Gloryverse 8
Foolishnessverse 14
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Power in preachingverse 4
Faithverse 5
Faith stand in the power of Godverse 5
Wisdomverse 6
Ordainedverse 7
Love Godverse 9
Truth revealed by Holy Spiritverses 10-13
Receive the Spirit of Godverse 12
Compare spiritual things with spiritualverse 13
Spiritual discernmentverse 14
Spiritual believer judges all thingsverse 15
Mind of Christverse 16
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Church (New Testament people of God)
Brethrenverse 1
Not with excellency of speechverse 1
Not with excellency of wisdomverse 1
Know only Jesus Christ and HIM crucifiedverse 2
Paulverses 3, 4
Weakness
Fear
Trembling
Speech
Preaching
Not with enticing words of man’s wisdomverses 4, 5
Demonstration of the Spirit and powerverse 4
Not wisdom of this worldverse 6
Speak in the wisdom of Godverse 7
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
16 This verse is confirmatory of v. 15. In quoting the LXX of Isaiah 40:13, Paul establishes further that the Christian is not subject to man’s judgment in spiritual things. The quotation in the form of a question casts doubt on man’s knowing God’s wisdom, but the statement (v. 16b) gives reassurance that the Christian does know it. This explains v. 15b—the person who has God’s Spirit is not subject to judgments by one who does not have the Spirit.
Paul introduces the “mind of Christ” terminology in order to relate it to the OT expression he has just quoted—“the mind of the Lord.” The verse implies that we and all God’s people can understand spiritual truths and spiritual wisdom in a way similar to the way the Lord knows them. Verse 16 climaxes Paul’s argument about his preaching God’s “foolishness” (the cross of Christ) without ostentation. Let the philosophers of Greece (cf. Acts 17:18, 32) and the Jews in their sign-seeking jeer and mock. They cannot really judge the message of Paul, who has the mind of Christ, because they do not have the Spirit of God and cannot judge spiritual truths. (Mare, W. H. (1976). 1 Corinthians. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Romans through Galatians (Vol. 10, p. 203). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
For who hath known the mind of the Lord (Τις γαρ ἐγνω νουν Κυριου; [Tis gar egnō noun Kuriou?]). Quotation from Isa. 40:13. That he should instruct him (ὁς συνβιβασει αὐτον [hos sunbibasei auton]). This use of ὁς [hos] (relative who) is almost consecutive (result). The πνευματικος [pneumatikos] man is superior to others who attempt even to instruct God himself. See on Acts 9:22 and 16:10 for συνβιβαζω [sunbibazō], to make go together. But we have the mind of Christ (ἡμεις δε νουν Χριστου ἐχομεν [hēmeis de noun Christou echomen]). As he has already shown (verses 6 to 13). Thus with the mind (νους [nous]. Cf. Phil. 2:5; Rom. 8:9, 27). Hence Paul and all πνευματικοι [pneumatikoi] men are superior to those who try to shake their faith in Christ, the mystery of God. Paul can say, “I know him whom I have believed.” “I believe; therefore I have spoken.” (Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (1 Co 2:16). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.)
2:15–16. On the other hand a person possessing the Spirit and guided by Him is able to evaluate and apply all things the Spirit reveals (v. 10).
The spiritual man can be judged only by God (4:3–5), not by unregenerate people (2:15) or by worldly Christians (3:1–3). To have the mind of Christ is to be obedient to God’s revelation (Phil. 2:5–8), as were the spiritual people in the Corinthian church.
3:1–4. However, this was not true of all at Corinth. When Paul came and preached Christ to them, they believed. By faith they were justified and granted peace with God (Rom. 5:1–2). No doubt Paul taught them all the blessings that came to them as Christians, what Paul called milk. At that time their way of thinking and living was only beginning to be transformed (Rom. 12:2). They were still greatly influenced by worldly thinking and behavior—they were infants in Christ.
But “the message of the Cross” (1 Cor. 1:18) concerned more than justification. It also concerned sanctification. It called for a renewal of attitude and action in response to God’s revelation. It called for righteousness in thought and deed (Heb. 5:11–14). And this part of the message of “Christ … crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2), this solid food (3:2), the Corinthians had spurned. As a result they were still worldly (v. 3). Instead of mature behavior characterized by humility and concern for others—obedience to God—the Corinthians were infantile, self-centered, and therefore divisive (v. 4; cf. 1:12). They wanted lives of exaltation (4:8) without lives of humiliation (4:9–13) because they did not understand that “Christ … crucified” was a message concerned not only with justification but also with sanctification (cf. Phil. 2:1–8). This misunderstanding was at the root of their disunity (cf. 1 Cor. 1:10; 3:4), which error Paul wanted to correct. (Lowery, D. K. (1985). 1 Corinthians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, pp. 510–511). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
The Spirit matures the believer (vv. 14–16). The contrast here is between the saved person (called “spiritual” because he is indwelt by the Spirit) and the unsaved person (called “natural” because he does not have the Spirit within). In 1 Corinthians 3:1–4, Paul will introduce a third kind of person, the “carnal man.” He is the immature Christian, the one who lives on a childhood level because he will not feed on the Word and grow.
At one time, every Christian was “natural,” having only the things of nature. When we trusted the Saviour, the Spirit came in and we moved into the plane of “spiritual”—able to live in the realm of the Spirit. Then we had to grow! The unsaved man cannot receive the things of the Spirit because he does not believe in them and cannot understand them. But as the Christian day by day receives the things of the Spirit, he grows and matures.
One of the marks of maturity is discernment—the ability to penetrate beneath the surface of life and see things as they really are. Unsaved people “walk by sight” and really see nothing. They are spiritually blind. The maturing Christian grows in his spiritual discernment and develops the ability (with the Spirit’s help) to understand more and more of the will and mind of God. The Corinthians lacked this discernment; they were spiritually ignorant.
To “have the mind of Christ” does not mean we are infallible and start playing God in the lives of other people. Nobody instructs God! (Paul quoted Isa. 40:13. Also see Rom. 11:33–36.) To “have the mind of Christ” means to look at life from the Saviour’s point of view, having His values and desires in mind. It means to think God’s thoughts and not think as the world thinks.
The unsaved person does not understand the Christian; they live in two different worlds. But the Christian understands the unsaved person. First Corinthians 2:15 does not suggest that unsaved people cannot point out flaws in the believer’s life (they often do), but that the unsaved man really cannot penetrate into the full understanding of what the Christian’s life is all about. I like the New American Standard Bible’s translation: “But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man.” That “no man” includes other Christians as well. We must be very careful not to become spiritual dictators in the lives of God’s people (2 Cor. 1:24).
The Corinthian Christians were so wrapped up in the miraculous gifts of the Spirit that they were neglecting the basic ministries of the Spirit. And in their emphasis on the Spirit, they were also neglecting the Father and the Son.
Blessed are the balanced! And blessed are they who understand and share “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 576–577). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
16. For who hath known, &c. This passage is quoted from Isa. 40:13. The interrogative form is a strong mode of denying that any one has ever known the mind of the Lord. The argument of Paul is this, “No one can understand God. No one can fully comprehend his plans, his feelings, his views, his designs. No one by nature, under the influence of sense and passion, is either disposed to investigate his truths, or loves them when they are revealed. But the Christian is influenced by God. He has his Spirit. He has the mind of Christ; who had the mind of God. He sympathizes with Christ; he has his feelings, desires, purposes, and plans. And as no one can fully understand God by nature, so neither can he understand him who is influenced by God, and is like him; and it is not to be wondered at that he regards the Christian religion as folly, and the Christian as a fool.
The mind of Christ. The views, feelings, and temper of Christ. We are influenced by his Spirit. (Barnes, A. (1884–1885). Notes on the New Testament: I Corinthians. (R. Frew, Ed.) (p. 42). London: Blackie & Son.)
Ver. 16. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, &c.] The deep counsels of his heart, the scheme of salvation by Jesus Christ, as drawn in his eternal mind, the sense of the spirit of God in the writings of the Old Testament, the things of the spirit of God, or the doctrines of grace more clearly revealed under the Gospel dispensation; not any natural man, by the light of nature and strength of reason, has known any of these things. The apostle either cites or alludes to Isa. 40:13 that he may instruct him? not the Lord, who needs no instruction from any, nor can any teach and instruct him, nor would any be so bold and insolent as to attempt it; nor does the knowledge of the mind of the Lord qualify any for such a work; since if he knows ever so much of it, he can’t know more than the Lord himself: but the spiritual man, whom a natural man, being ignorant of the mind of the Lord, cannot instruct; and so the words give a very proper and sufficient reason why the spiritual man is not discerned, judged, convinced, and instructed by the natural man: but we have the mind of Christ; the same with the mind of the Lord; which proves that Christ is the Lord, or Jehovah, and so truly and properly God; and which is to be understood, not only of the apostles and ministers of the Gospel, but of all true believers; and therefore want no instruction, as they can have none from the natural man; though chiefly of the former, whereby they were abundantly qualified for the further instruction even of spiritual men. (Gill, J. (1809). An Exposition of the New Testament (Vol. 2, p. 612). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
Paul’s discussion of the illumination necessary before God’s secrets can be received concludes with a notable consideration (1 Cor. 2:15–16). “But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” The spiritual man has spiritual discernment. He judges all things. The word is anakrinō, meaning that he discerns all things. The “all things” here are the things of God. Nor is he much concerned when he is judged. Paul was able to shrug off as worthless the criticism he was receiving at Corinth (4:3–4). Paul was not adverse to self-judgment, to constructive criticism, or to community discipline. However, he argued, the believer is answerable only to God. Moreover, those who do not have the Spirit cannot even evaluate the values of the spiritual man.
Paul illustrates his point with a quotation from Isaiah 40:13. Who can know the mind of God? Who can instruct Him? Nobody! The natural man is equally incompetent to judge the spiritual man and his spiritual values. The spiritual man actually has “the mind of Christ.” He has the very thoughts of Christ! It is the Holy Spirit who imparts the mind of Christ to the believer. (Phillips, J. (2009). Exploring 1 Corinthians: An Expository Commentary (1 Co 1:10–4:21). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
A church that might easily be a source of power and strength for God in the community can become a monument to weakness simply because the divine gifts which its members possess are not being used to glorify the Lord. (p. 18, Living Wisely by J. Allen Blair)
Exodus 2
Moses is born and later flees to Midian.
INSIGHT
God is sovereign in all the earth; we must never forget that. Much inner distress in life comes from losing sight of that one fact.
The same God who cared for Moses promises to care for us — perhaps not as dramatically, but just as certainly. The peace that God promises — the peace which surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7) — is ours only if we embrace that fundamental truth. (Quiet Walk)
BECOMING HOLY
Be not conformed to this world. Romans 12:2
The Scriptures place great emphasis on our part in sanctification, on what you and I have to do. What is the point of the mighty arguments of Paul and the apostles in their letters if sanctification is something that I am to receive? Why the exhortations?
Here is one exhortation from the apostle Peter: “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11). Do you notice what he says? We do not receive our sanctification and are then delivered from these things. No; he tells us to abstain from them and to keep ourselves from them. And the tragedy is that so many people are spending their lives waiting to receive something, and in the meantime they are not abstaining from these fleshly lusts.
Take a statement from Paul: “Let him that stole steal no more” (Ephesians 4:28). That is what he is to do. He is not to wait to receive something; he is commanded to give up stealing. What can be more specific than that? And people who are guilty of foolish talking and jesting and other unseemly things are not to do them (Ephesians 5:4). “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2). You do not wait to receive something; if up to this moment you have been conforming to the world, you must stop.
People have often come to me about this and said, “You know, I’ve been trying so hard, but I can’t get this experience.” To which the reply is that the Scripture commands you to abstain: “Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded” (James 4:8). And I repeat that these injunctions are quite pointless and a sheer waste of ink if sanctification is something that I can receive. If it is, we would surely be told, “You need not worry about this question of sin—you can receive your sanctification in one act, and all you do then is to maintain it and abide in it.” But this is most certainly not the New Testament teaching.
A Thought to Ponder: The Scriptures place great emphasis on our part in sanctification.
(From God the Holy Spirit, pp. 215-216, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
In the African country of Zimbabwe, war trauma and high unemployment can leave people in despair—until they find hope on a “friendship bench.” Hopeless people can go there to talk with trained “grandmothers”—elderly women taught to listen to people struggling with depression, known in that nation’s Shona language as kufungisisa, or “thinking too much.”
The Friendship Bench Project is being launched in other places, including Zanzibar, London, and New York City. “We were thrilled to bits with the results,” said one London researcher. A New York counselor agreed. “Before you know it, you’re not on a bench, you’re just inside a warm conversation with someone who cares.”
The project evokes the warmth and wonder of talking with our Almighty God. Moses put up not a bench but a tent to commune with God, calling it the tent of meeting. There, “the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend” (Exodus 33:11). Joshua, his assistant, wouldn’t even leave the tent, perhaps because he so valued his time with God (v. 11).
Today we no longer need a tent of meeting. Jesus has brought the Father near. As He told His disciples, “I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). Yes, our God awaits us. He’s our heart’s wisest helper, our understanding Friend. Talk with Him now.
By Patricia Raybon (Our Daily Bread)
Haste Makes Waste
“Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” (Isaiah 28:16)
This is one of the great Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, promising a Savior who would be the sure foundation of the eternal temple of God; yet it was 700 years before the promise was fulfilled. God did not “make haste,” but His promise, nevertheless, was sure. No doubt many believing Jews wondered why it was taking so long, but in the “fulness of the time” (Galatians 4:4), Christ came.
It is so easy to rush ahead of God instead of waiting for His leading. With good intentions and admirable zeal, Christians plan great programs, establish new organizations, promote legislation, and become involved in a thousand-and-one good activities, all in the name of Christ and His kingdom. Such activism is urgent, they believe, because the time is short. Nuclear war is coming; maybe even Christ is coming; and we must hurry
But the Scripture says: “Therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him” (Isaiah 30:18).
We must not fail to follow when He really leads through His Word, but all too often undue haste results in confusion and collapse. When our text is quoted by Peter (1 Peter 2:6), the phrase “make haste” is rendered by “be confounded,” or “be ashamed.” It is not honoring to God for Christian projects and activities to “be confounded,” so Christian believers must be careful not to “make haste.” “Wait, I say, on the LORD” (Psalm 27:14). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
Lawmakers in Virginia voted to approve a number of pro-LGBT laws.
According to the Virginia Mercury, the Virginia Senate voted to ban health professionals, such as counselors and psychologists, from performing conversion therapy on anyone under 18.
In that vote, 18 Republican members of the Virginia Senate voted against the ban on conversion therapy.
“I think if we looked at 95 percent of it, we could all agree on it,” said Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg. “There has been some activity over the past decade that we’d all want to ban. That would include shock therapy and … some odd camping where they took people to camps to do some odd things.
“But if you happen to be a counselor and happen to be a Christian, you are being told what you can and can’t say.”
In another approved law, the Senate voted to create uniform policies for transgender students attending public schools.
Under the law, school boards would be required to adopt policies and dress codes to prevent bullying and harassment.
In another law, the Senate voted to approve a change that will make it easier for transgender people to change their gender on their birth certificates.
The law requires “an affidavit provided by a health care provider from whom the person has received treatment stating that the person has undergone clinically appropriate treatment for the purpose of gender transition.” The law does not require that the person obtaining a new certificate to provide evidence they’ve undergone medical procedures.
The fourth law that was approved is a decision that would remove language from the state code banning gay marriage. Gay marriage was approved in 2015 by the Supreme Court, and the law change would change the language of the code to reflect that update.
“Right now same-gender marriage is legal in Virginia as it is throughout the country, and the code of Virginia needs to have legal ambiguity removed,” said Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, who sponsored the proposal and is the first openly gay person elected to the Virginia General Assembly.
The four laws now head to the House of Delegates for consideration. If approved there, Gov. Ralph Northam can sign them into law.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Christian Ouellet
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