Encourage One Another

March 21, 2024

The Christian life can be compared to a journey with obstacles and trials. The goal is to finish the journey in faith. The danger is always present that we will stop along the way and maybe even choose a different direction for life – a direction that leads away from God. That means the Christian needs encouragement to persevere and live a life worthy of his calling. It is in the context of our need to persevere that Hebrews gives its command to encourage one another.

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24–25, ESV)

Translators attempting to give us a smooth English sentence can on occasion loose an important idea. The above translation of verse 24 is all too common.

 …and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,…Hebrews 10:24, NASB

 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:24, NIV

 The problem with the above translations is that the actual object of “let us consider” in Greek is “one another” as in the NKJV.

 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works… Hebrews 10:24, NKJV

The command to encourage then has one another as its focus. It is first of all selfless, and it is at this point also countercultural. We live in an age of the consumer mentality: what do I get out of it? We never get the worship assembly right if we begin with ourselves. We must always begin with God and the need of others.

A Korean parable about a visit to heaven and hell gives insight to this difference of perspective.

The visitor peeped in at the door of hell and saw an enormous banquet hall. In it were a number of long tables with bowls of rice and delicacies on them, well-flavored, smelling delicious, and inviting. The guests were sitting hungrily, opposite one another, each with a plate of food.

The guests all had chopsticks to use, but these were so long that, however hard they tried, not a grain of rice could they get into their mouths. This was their torment; this was their hell. “I’ve seen it, that’s more than enough for me,” said the visitor. Departing hell, he entered into heaven.

Inside, he saw the same banquet hall, the same tables, the same food, and the same long chopsticks. But the guests were joyful. All were smiling and laughing. Each one, having put the food onto his chopsticks, held it out to the mouth of his companion opposite, and so they managed to eat their fill. Joy, love, and fulfillment were found in heaven.

Following Jesus often involves paradoxes: losing our life to save it, the last shall be first, and greatness comes by humility. This is but one more. To be encouraged, we must encourage one another.

—Russ Holden

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Posted by Russell Holden

The Holy Spirit: Power for Your Life

March 12, 2024

I wonder if you realize that there is tremendous power available to you for your life.  God has made His power available to us to overcome sin in our lives, to bear up under difficult situations, to serve and not grow weary, to comprehend the deep things of God, and to grow in wisdom and in love. 

The apostle Paul prays for the church in Ephesus that they would know “what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.  These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might…” (Ephesians 1:19 NASB95) God has directed his immeasurable, boundless power toward us who believe in Him.  If only we could more fully realize the power that is available!

Paul continues in chapter 3, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us…” (Ephesians 3:20 NASB95) There is power that works within us! Through that power, God is able to do far more within us than we could ever ask or even comprehend. 

From where does this tremendous power come?  How does God deliver it into our lives?  It comes through the Spirit of God who dwells in our hearts.  Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian brethren is “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man…” (Ephesians 3:16 NASB95) You see, power flows from God into our inner being through the Holy Spirit.  As you continue reading in Ephesians 3:17 and following, you can see God’s intended purpose for this flow of power:  that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith (verse 17); that we would be rooted and grounded in love (verse 17); that we would be able to comprehend the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge (verse 19); and that we would be filled with all the fullness of God (verse 19)!

All of this power is only available to us through the Holy Spirit.  A “natural man” (one who does not have the Spirit) can read and understand some things about the word of God, such as what Christ did for them, and how to be saved, but it is only when the Spirit comes into the heart at the moment of salvation that the power of God in the inner being is made available.  Thank God for His power that He has directed toward us, and which works within us!

—Scott Colvin

Leave a Comment » | Ephesians 1:19, Ephesians 3:16, Ephesians 3:20, Holy Spirit, power of God | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Scott Colvin

The Spirit vs. the Law

March 5, 2024

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between the old and new covenants?  There are many similarities between the two.  They both came from God, they are both glorious, they both show us how God wants us to live, they both require obedience.  But what are the differences between them? 

Something radically changed when God instituted the new covenant, and in the third chapter of 2 Corinthians, Paul highlights the sharp contrast between the two.  He writes, “…our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:5b-6 NASB95)   The first difference we see is that the old covenant was “of the letter,” but the new is “of the Spirit.”  This is a major distinction, for the letter of the Law brought death, but the Spirit of God is able to make us alive.

Paul continues, “But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory?  For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.” (2 Corinthians 3:7-9 NASB95) The old covenant was “the ministry of death.”  It was very glorious, but it killed those who were under it.  The old covenant was “the ministry of condemnation.” The people under it were condemned because, under a system of law, only those who keep the letter of the law flawlessly will be deemed righteous by God.  In sharp contrast, the new covenant—the ministry of the Spirit—is much more glorious than the old and is actually able to impart righteousness to those who are under it.

Finally, while the old covenant was written on stone tablets, in the new covenant, God writes His laws in our minds and hearts by His Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:3, Hebrews 8:10) Because of this, under the new covenant there can be a real, inward transformation of our hearts and lives.  It is not simply external obedience to a written code (as was the view of many Israelites under the Law), but obedience from a heart that has been cleansed and renewed by God.  As we see at the end of chapter three, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NASB95) What a wonderful thought!  What hope this verse gives us!  In the new covenant, you and I are being transformed by the Spirit who dwells within us.  God is working on our hearts to transform us into the image of His Son, as we behold His glory.

Thanks be to God for His new covenant in which we can find true life, righteousness, and inner transformation.

—Scott Colvin

1 Comment | 2 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Corinthians 3:5-6, 2 Corinthians 3:7-9, Holy Spirit, new covenant, old covenant | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Scott Colvin