OK, Ladies. Are you ready for this lesson? This one is a thought-provoker. I do not agree with everything she concludes, but I'll not prejudice you before you study for yourselves. Be careful to really look at each passage to see the context before accepting any conclusions. Then let us know what you think.
Meanwhile, it seems that many of us are having problems keeping up with the lessons. Do you want to continue at this pace, hoping that you will become accustomed to the study or do you want to slow down a bit? Before you answer, really think about your schedule to see if slowing down will actually help or if you just need to make study more of a priority. Now don't feel guilty if you need to slow down!!! I just don't want you to opt to slow down because it's easier instead of necessary. Only you can know that and I trust you will let me know.
Week two, day two.
6 comments:
Finally, I am caught up again. I am struggling to keep up, but it's my own lack of organization and a routine that does it, not lack of time. If I make sure I do the lesson first thing I can get it done daily. I am striving to accomplish this! Anyway, done for today. I will continue to work on my Rom. 12 passage...I have neglected it but i will try harder.
As for the study today, I will admit to being distracted by her, shall we say, "denominational" tendencies, with her implication that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is miraculous, and of course her total ignoring of the literal baptism in water. Several times she uses passages that were directed toward Jesus' apostles to apply to us, which I firmly believe don't...but still, I found much to think about and encourage me! I try to glean what I can from the study and not let the obvious errors bother me (although I can think of several new Christians that this study would only confuse!).
Wow! I get to comment on the tough stuff. Okay, I feel a little bit like the babe being presented with a bit of steak here, but here goes:
• The Spirit convicts us of our sin.
• The Spirit washes, regenerates and renews us.
• “We were all BAPTIZED by one Spirit.”
• Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit
• We should not be drunk with wine, but filled instead with the Spirit.
• Christ said, “You must be born again.”
• After my baptism, I felt the weight of sin lifted from me and a sense of freedom and unity with God. (She seems to completely ignore water baptism in this study).
• Paul’s way of writing often confuses me, but I think he was saying that the mystery God chose to make known was that Christ will dwell in me. This can mean two things: that I am a member of Christ’s body and that His word abides in me.
• David asked God not to take the Holy Spirit from him.
• I don’t think there necessarily is a huge difference. Even a small difference is not what she’s suggesting. David lived under the Law of Moses where animal sacrifices had to cover sin. Yet the sin he committed in this case was punishable by death. David was not put to death, so we might conclude that God offered him some kind of grace based on repentance. Our sins today are covered by Jesus’ sacrifice. She suggests that we cannot be separated from the Spirit and that simply isn’t true. I Tim 4:1: “The Spirit says some will turn away…”; II Tim. 4 demonstrates our ability to turn away to false doctrine, II Thess. 2:3 talks of apostasy. God cannot dwell with us if we do not abide in the teachings of Christ anymore than He could abide with David when he turned away from the teachings of the Law.
• If evil were completely “unleashed” we would see conditions similar to those Noah lived in as he built the ark; or conditions like existed in Sodom and Gomorrah. It sounds rather Hellish to me. Sometimes I wonder if Hell will simply be something like Earth without God’s presence. None of us, even the most degenerate, know what it is to exist without God’s providence available to us.
• Her list of the Spirit’s ministry is as follow:
o Convict
o Regenerate
o Baptize
o Indwell
o Seal
o Fill
o Restrain
(I don’t know what the difference is between “indwell” and “fill” though, frankly.)
• I believe that the Holy Spirit was doing everything possible for me at the moment I was baptized. I was convicted of my sin, I was baptized, with my sins washed away, I was regenerated. The Spirit is truth (I John 5:7) so He indwells me or fills me when I rely on God’s word and truth as I make my walk through life (I believe there’s more to that indwelling in the form of gifts/talents). I don’t know about the restraining talked of in II Thess. 2. I don’t see firm evidence that it is speaking of the Spirit
• I must be willing to let the Spirit of God dwell in me, or to relinquish my control to Him, if I am to be a true follower of God.
“Since we live by the Spirit, Let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not be conceited, provoking and envying each other.” Galatians 5:25-26
I forgot to weigh in on the daily lesson length. For me, the problem is a scheduling one. I was used to doing my lessons at night and these are too long for me to do then because I don't get to spend much time with my hubby after the girls go to bed. So I'm trying to do them during the day instead. I did that yesterday and today, and it worked out much better for me. Let's see if I can keep it up.
You did a good job with this lesson, Jennifer. I appreciated your comments. I don't know what version you used for Colossians 1:25-27 - the question about what the mystery is that God chose to reveal. In NKJ it says the mystery is "Christ in you, the hope of glory." The whole focus of the Spirit's teaching is on Christ. Isn't it interesting that so many today take the focus off Jesus and turn it on to the Spirit?
I came up with a slightly different list of what the Holy Spirit's ministry is than she did. I'll throw it out here for your consideration and critique:
1. Sealing (Eph. 4:30)
2. Reminding the apostles of all truth - teaching (Jn. 16:13)
3. Interceding (Rom. 8:26-27 - she will actually deal with this more in tomorrow's lesson)
4. Renewal (Titus 3:5 - the washing of regeneration mentioned here actually seems to refer to water baptism)
5. Convicting the world of sin, righteousness, judgement (Jn. 16:7-11)
6. Filling (Ephesians 5:18 - which I would equate with teaching instead of a personal indwelling. I'll comment more on this in tomorrow's blog.)
I am done for yesterday and today, just didn't get a chance to hop on the blog yesterday. So far the lesson lengths are okay, but I know the days I work it is going to be difficult for me to post, but I will try to keep up.
I agreed with Jennifer and Debbie on their comments. Some of the things on Beth Moore's list seemed duplicate, and others didn't totally fit. Also found it amazing that she blew by water baptism but talked about speaking in tongues. Humm.
Something that I have taken away from this study so far is that the H.S. is displayed in my God/Christ centered actions. I guess I have always had a hard time describing how the H.S. works in us today and this has become SLIGHTLY more clear. Still working on it though.
done for today
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