07-10-2009, 11:26 AM
:heartbeat: Hope you're having a good Friday, dear friends! Our Scripture for study today is Hebrews 5:14 ---
Hebrews 5
8 Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.
9 And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,
10 being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
11 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.
14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.[NASB]
Here Paul was having to chastise the Hebrew congregation for not progressing in the truth about Christ Jesus. They were remaining as 'babes' in Christ, still doubting and questioning even the elemental things of their shakey faith. 'Solid food', 'the deep things of God', were still beyond their comprehension since they hadn't yet been able to get a firm grasp on the 'milk' of the Good News. (This is what I felt like coming out from under the teachings of the WT - I had to go back to the basics and re-learn Gospel truths. So it's not always a bad thing to have to do in "making sure of all things", but one should progress forward in their learning of Christ and not allow their faith to become stagnant or stunted.) We all, every day, progress step by step in our understanding and should 'grow up' living in God's Way - which naturally builds stronger and stronger faith and trust in Him and His Son.
Hebrews 6:1
Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
1 Timothy 4:7
But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;
We get plenty of help in strengthening our perceptions of good and evil, through prayer, asking our Father for His discerning Spirit so that we may glorify Him by having "the mind of Christ" ---
Philippians 1
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
1 Corinthians 2
1 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
Wisdom From the Spirit
6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"[Is.64:4]— 10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: 16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?"[Is. 40:13] But we have the mind of Christ.[NIV]
:heartbeat:Much love to you ALL from
Your sister in faith,
Willa:heartbeat:
Hebrews 5
8 Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.
9 And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,
10 being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
11 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.
14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.[NASB]
Here Paul was having to chastise the Hebrew congregation for not progressing in the truth about Christ Jesus. They were remaining as 'babes' in Christ, still doubting and questioning even the elemental things of their shakey faith. 'Solid food', 'the deep things of God', were still beyond their comprehension since they hadn't yet been able to get a firm grasp on the 'milk' of the Good News. (This is what I felt like coming out from under the teachings of the WT - I had to go back to the basics and re-learn Gospel truths. So it's not always a bad thing to have to do in "making sure of all things", but one should progress forward in their learning of Christ and not allow their faith to become stagnant or stunted.) We all, every day, progress step by step in our understanding and should 'grow up' living in God's Way - which naturally builds stronger and stronger faith and trust in Him and His Son.
Hebrews 6:1
Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
1 Timothy 4:7
But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;
We get plenty of help in strengthening our perceptions of good and evil, through prayer, asking our Father for His discerning Spirit so that we may glorify Him by having "the mind of Christ" ---
Philippians 1
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
1 Corinthians 2
1 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
Wisdom From the Spirit
6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"[Is.64:4]— 10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: 16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?"[Is. 40:13] But we have the mind of Christ.[NIV]
:heartbeat:Much love to you ALL from
Your sister in faith,
Willa:heartbeat: