The Word of God, Christ-likeness and Personal Spirituality

There is a tendency in the church to think that we can become Christ-like and spiritual outside of a real vigorous pursuit of the Word of God. The tendency is to be passionate in worship, prayer and fellowship sessions without firstly pursuing the Word in our personal context.

The Word of God defines true Spirituality

John 1:1

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. NIV

God is defined by His Word. We of course know that in John 1 the Word is Christ Himself (John 1:14). So God who is Spirit (John 4:24) is defined through His Word. So we can say that:

• God is Spirit.
• The Word defines God.

If we bring these two realities together we can say that we access true spiritual, Christ-like life through the revelation of the Word of God in our lives.

Remember the definition of the word “logos” (the Word) in part 1 of this series:

Logos: “something said; words as the expression of intelligence; reasoning; thought; motive; computation” (Strong’s Greek Dictionary).The word “logos” comes from the verb “lego” which means: “to utter definite words, connected and significant speech equal to discourse; to speak intelligently”. The idea or meaning carried in the word “lego” is that of putting forth a systematic argument with intended meaning as one engaged in a discourse. So therefore it is reasonable to say that there is intelligence and wisdom behind the Word of God.

If Spirituality is defined within the confines of God’s word then spirituality cannot be mistaken for emotionalism. While passion and zeal are good and important, Paul still warns of zeal without knowledge (Rom 10:2) – meaning that at the centre of true spiritual advance is the issue of a possession of knowledge (the Word) from God.

The Pursuit of God’s Word is the basis for Dynamic Worship

Relooking into this issue is critically important in a time where we are obsessed with producing a spectacular church service that appeals to big audiences. The idea in such environments is that the “Word” is boring; rather we should focus on just worshipping and may be prayer to a certain extent. Prayer and Worshipping are absolutely Biblical and important in maintaining vibrancy and momentum in our spiritual lives but worship outside of God’s word can be a deadly poison in the churches. It was in this context that Jesus rebuked the Samaritan woman and the Samaritans for “worshipping that which they don’t know” (John 4:22). This was the same issue that Paul dealt with in Athens:

Acts 17:23

23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. NIV

The altar with an inscription: “to an unknown God” very clearly speaks of Christianity that is full of worship and yet without a deeper revelation of God. Such environments tend to carry a very elementary-generic understanding and are never able to “go on to maturity” as the word demands (Heb 6:1).

The Word of God defines true Spirituality (cont…)

God is Spirit and God is the Word. The Word of God is reasoning, knowledge, mentality and principles. What then is spirituality?

• Primarily, spirituality is the extent to which we possess understanding of the Word of God.
• Spirituality is the application of the principles of the Word of God in our lives.

Spirituality cannot be defined outside of (a) an understanding and (b) application of the principles of the Word of God.

John 1:14

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. NIV

Christ teaches us that true spirituality is the convergence of the principles of God’s word into human life. We therefore express our spirituality not just during the worship service but in the very conduct and structure of our lifestyles.

Confronting the Corinthian Element

1 Corinthians 3:1-4

1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly-mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? 4 For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men? NIV

The Corinthian church experienced the manifestation of the Spirit to a greater measure. It was in this church that Paul taught about the gifts of the Spirit and yet it was in the same church that Paul dealt with issues of sexual immorality. The Corinthian church therefore had an immoral element even though there were prophets who often prophesied during the meetings. The dilemma of spiritual giftedness and morality (gifts and fruits) has always been an issue that the church has had to confront, especially back in the Charismatic dispensation. As God enforces His kingdom in a greater measure in the church, there is a realisation that spiritual giftedness that is not founded on Christ-likeness is really death, even though it may produce results on Sunday morning. We therefore cannot keep gifted but immoral people anymore. We have to correct, adjust and rebuke such people (beginning with scrutinising closely our own lives) and if they don’t want to change, we have to expel them just as Paul did in the Corinthian church.

1 Corinthians 5:9

9 I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people- NIV

1 Corinthians 5:10-12

10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? NIV

1 Corinthians 5:13

13 God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you." NIV

What do we see in 1 Corinthian 3?

• Spiritual giftedness does not mean that one is spiritual.
• The manifestation of the Spirit (through His gifts) does not mean that the environment in which He manifests Himself is spiritual. This is true also of the children of Israel, they saw the glory of God and yet God was angry with them (Heb 3:7-15).
• To be spiritual has to do with living life according to the principles of Christ and not of the world. In the case of the Corinthians, there was jealousy and quarrelling.
• Spirituality and Christ-likeness can therefore be measured through one’s conduct of life.

Spirituality can be measured through lifestyle and not in the manifestation of a gift on Sunday morning. The tendency again in the church is to think that those manifesting a gift of word of knowledge or prophecy on Sunday morning are the spiritual ones. We see in the case of the Corinthian church that this is not so.

The Holy Spirit and the Word of God

In the Charismatic dispensation, the Holy Spirit was subjected to a limited sphere of the gifts on Sunday morning. The Word does teach about the gifts of the Spirit:

1 Corinthians 12:1

1 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. NIV

1 Corinthians 12:7

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. NIV

This (the gifts) is a true and a valid dimension of the Holy Spirit but the work of the Spirit of God in the church is broader than just the gifts.

The Holy Spirit was given primarily for the development of the life of the believer on a daily basis and not simply for the manifestation of the gifts on Sunday morning. And so the doctrine on the Holy Spirit does not begin in 1 Cor 12 it actually begins with the teachings of Jesus in the gospels.

John 14:15-17

15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. NIV

John 14:26

26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. NIV

John 16:7-8

7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: NIV

John 16:13-15

13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. NIV

Key issues to note:

• Jesus talks about “another Counselor”: The word “another” in the Greek means “another of the same kind”. So the Holy Spirit is no freaky spooky spirit. He does not lead people to do crazy things. He is the same in quality and character as Jesus. The Jesus we read about through the gospels demonstrates the character of the Spirit.

• “Counselor”: is the word “parakletos” and the word means: a consoler, a comforter, an intercessor, an advocate. Parakletos comes from the word “parakaleo” which means “to comfort, to encourage, to exhort”. The word means “one who provides an aid or help”. The word defined “an advocate or one who comes forward in behalf of and as a representative of another”. In what context is the Holy Spirit providing help? The context is one of living a life of Christ. So therefore the Holy Spirit is ministering to our conscience in the daily conduct of our lives not just on Sunday morning. His grace or anointing is with us so that we can live correctly in the midst of the darkness of this world. This has somehow not been emphasised in the teachings about the Holy Spirit and as a result the saints are not equipped to “hear the Spirit” directing their lives. This in turn continues to produce a weak church that is strongly only on Sunday morning.

• He will “teach” you: The word “teach” is the Greek word “didasko” and it means: to instruct, to tutor, to advise, to put in mind, to shape the will of the one being taught through the communication of knowledge; to influence or shape the understanding of another”. To what extent are believers aware that the Holy Spirit is teaching them things in the daily conduct of lives. If the Holy Spirit is teaching then we can say that at the centre of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in our lives is the impartation and revelation of the Word of God. We therefore cannot disconnect the Holy Spirit from the Word of God. The Holy Spirit is here to guide us into all truth and so when we have the Holy Spirit we will continue to be on a journey of discovery of God’s nature. We need to be careful of any spirit that manifests gifts on Sunday morning but leaves us shallow and sometimes leading immoral lifestyles.

The Holy Spirit is here to reveal God through the Word (to teach) so that our lives can be developed in Christ. But also the Holy Spirit is here to demonstrate the divine power of God.

The “Man” who did not understand

Matthew 13:19

19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. NIV

In Matt 13, the parable of the Sower in its primary context has to do with the proclamation of the Word of God and not financial giving (there are scriptures that more appropriately speak into issues of finances and giving). And so the “good soil” is not a minister or preacher but represents the required quality of the heart of a believer if the kingdom of God is to be established in one’s life.

Jesus talks then about the seed sown along the path as a man who hears but does not understand. How many people sitting in the churches and who are passionately worshipping God every Sunday and yet cannot sit down and explain the concepts and principles of the kingdom of God.

1 Peter 3:15

15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, NIV

How many believers can give valid satisfactory answers if asked about God, the Kingdom of God, Christ, the purpose of God and the pursuits of the faith? If as leaders we do not have confidence in people’s understanding of these issues then we know we have not gone far in establishing them in the most holy faith. The issue about Matt 13:19 is that understanding is the foundation of spirituality and spiritual advance. The word that Jesus uses in verse 19 has a very interesting meaning.

The word “understand” is the Greek word “suniemi” and it means the following: to put together mentally; to perceive; to understand. The comprehending activity of the mind denoted by suníemi entails the assembling of individual facts into an organized whole, as collecting the pieces of a puzzle and putting them together. The mind grasps concepts and sees the proper relationship between them.

This man who did not understand (suniemi) the message of the Kingdom could not establish himself spiritually. The enemy snatched away that which was sown in his heart. So understanding is the pathway so sustainable spirituality and Christ-likeness.

Discipleship as a Mechanism for Christ-likeness & Spirituality

Matthew 28:18-20

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." NIV

The phrase “make a disciple” has following meanings: “a process of making one a pupil, to enrol as a scholar; to be a disciple or a follower of another’s doctrine; to instruct someone with a purpose of making them a disciple; to become attached to one’s teacher and to become his follower in doctrine and in conduct of life”.

A “disciple” (mathetes): a pupil; a learner; an adherent who accepts the instruction given to him and makes it his rule of conduct.

The word “disciple” (mathetes) comes from the word “manthano” which means: “to learn, to understand”.

We can therefore observe that the issue of discipleship is not defined primarily by being a church member but by (a) understanding of things being taught and (b) adhering or obeying such things.

So therefore if we use discipleship as the things that truly characterises a spiritual person we realise that a discipleship-based spirituality is one rooted on processes of learning, understanding and obedience.

Heb 5:11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.

Heb 5:12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!

Heb 5:13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.

Heb 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Heb 6:1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation…

These verses in Hebrews 5&6 so clearly indicate to us that true spirituality, spiritual advance and Christ-likeness are all based on the extent of our understanding of the principles of the kingdom of God. If we compromise the issue of “learning” inside the church we will also compromise spiritual advance.

All these things teach us this one thing that spirituality and Christ-likeness in the kingdom of God are not purely based on zeal, activity, giftedness emotionalism but on knowledge, learning, understanding and application of the principles of Christ in our lives. True spirituality is therefore measured in the context of insight-based lifestyle and not in the context of Sunday morning. We go to the church meeting in order to be taught on how to become spiritual and we exercise spirituality in the daily conduct of life.

Interacting with the Word of God, Part3

The Word of God and the Development of Inner Life

Hebrews 8:10 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel

after that time, declares the Lord.

I will put my laws in their minds

and write them on their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they will be my people. NIV

What we see in Heb 8:10 is that God’s focus in developing human life is not primarily the external but inner life (the heart and the mind). Jesus speaks in Mathew 23 about blind builders who focus on the external.

Matthew 23:25-26

25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. NIV

Sadly, the focus of preaching tends to be on the external-temporary issues. Preaching tends to service the external physical life when God is really focusing on the inner life of believers. The phrase “first clean the inside” indicates the priority of inner life in an authentic kingdom building. So therefore when we spend more time talking about external-physical issues like financial prosperity, we are talking about the right things but in an unbalanced way; and so essentially, we are preaching heresy or something that misrepresents God’s building process. The inside of the cup are issues of the heart and mind, the inner motivations, desires and attitudes that really shape the outward behaviour, character and lifestyle. In other words, it is no surprise that as church we have generally failed to produce the kind of human that must be seen by the nations, this is basically as a result of misdirected building efforts. Jesus calls this “blind-building” (Matt 23:26): meaning that although it is building but it is not inspired by sight of God’s system and process of building. In the Kingdom, internal-invisible life is much more important than external-visible life.

It is very clear that the focus of the New Covenant (NC) is internal building, see Heb 8:10. At the core of our building process (preaching, teaching, shepherding etc.) is the need to produce hearts and minds that are correct. Key issues coming out of Heb 8:10:

• I will put my laws: “Law” speaks of a system of regulation. The New Covenant does not exempt us from law. There is no scripture that supports such an idea. The New Covenant takes us out of one system of law to another. It takes aside the law of Moses and puts in the law of Christ. So Christ is the end of the law (Rom 10:4) but He is also a fulfilment of the law (Matt 5:17). The law was proclaimed until a certain dispensation (Matt 11:13). Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set us free from the law of sin and death…so that the righteous requirements of the law are met in us through Christ (Rom 8:1-4). The law of Moses was an external system of regulation that focused only on behavioural righteousness whereas the law of Christ is an internal system of regulation that focuses firstly on the quality of inner life and then also on the correctness of behaviour and character (first wash the inside and then the outside will also be clean). As an internal system of regulation, the law of Christ works through the mechanism of heart conviction (through the Holy Spirit) so that correct outer life proceeds from an internal alignment. Any thing outside of this is hypocrisy.

• I will put my laws in their minds: The word that is used for “minds” here is the Greek word “dianoia”. It comes from two words: The first word is “dia”: a preposition denoting separation. “Dia” is the English preposition “through”. The second word is “noeo”: to think over, to observe, to perceive with thought coming to consciousness, to understand, to discern. If combined, the two words (“dia” and “noeo”) mean “to think through”. The word “dianoia is defined as: the intellect, intelligence, insight, mode of thinking and feeling, the activity of the mind. The emphasis of this word is in the mechanism by which one thinks. In any human, there is the issue of “thinking” and there is the issue of “mode of thinking”. Every human thinks, whether educated or uneducated and every human has a mode of thinking. A mode or mechanism of thinking can be one’s culture, experience, prevailing popular perspective etc. If church is called to build and perfect a human as the scriptures suggest (Eph 4:11-13, Col 1:28) then church must build the mindset of the human also and not only “the spiritual dimensions”. God Himself says, “I will put my laws in their minds”. In the light of the definitions given above, this phrase literally means that God wants the Bible not just to be a bunch of scripture verses that are quoted on Sunday morning but as life principles that provide a framework and mechanism for how we think on Tuesday. In fact being spiritual also means developing a Christ-like mindset. In this sense, the Word of God is a system of thought. So great responsibility lies with the teachers of the Word, to present the Word as a system of thought to believers. If the mind is one major component of the human then we will be fooling ourselves if we think we’re building anything without actually focusing on developing kingdom mindsets within the church. Solomon says, “as a man thinks so is he” (Prov 23:7, NKJV). We can not therefore afford to channel the word of God to that which is external without firstly allowing it to re-engineer the inner life of a human.

• I will put my laws in their hearts: the word “heart” is the Greek word “kardia” and is related to the English word “cardiac”. This word “heart” is generally used in the scriptures not to mean the physical heart but the spiritual state of a person. The word is defined in the Greek dictionary as: the seat and centre of human life, the seat of the desires, feelings, affections, passions, impulses etc. Basically, the heart defines one’s desires, motives, feelings and attitudes. God identifies the need to allow the Word to purify or rearrange these. Solomon says the issues of life spring from the heart (Prov 4:23). The heart is the foundation of all human action, behaviour and lifestyle. If the desires, feelings and attitudes are evil then the inside of the cup is declared unclean even though the outer actions may look clean and pure.

Confronting “the Eliab factor”

1 Samuel 16:6-7

6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD."

7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." NIV

Samuel, a prophet who walked in a higher ranking in his day (1 Sam 3:19-1Sam 4:1), who was training others as prophets (1 Sam 19:20-21), was rebuked by the Lord for wrong assessment and evaluation. Samuel basically walked in wrong areas of judgment and almost ordained a wrong guy. How many times does this happen in churches? How many times do we go for the one with an innocent look, one who looks the most passionate or still one who is educated and rich? Wrong assessment of people does lead to wrong appointments and ordinations. It is for this reason that we are given clear appointment characteristics in the word of God (1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, Exodus 18). And it is also for this reason that we are advised to take our time before we appoint, to test and assess. The word used as “test” in 1 Tim 3:10 is the Greek word “dokimazo” and it means: to try, to prove, to discern, to distinguish. The word has the notion of proving a thing whether it is worthy or not. The implication we get in 1 Tim 3:10 is that this should be done over a period of time, it is not a momentary instantaneous testing but it is checking someone’s attitude, genuineness and character through different various life situations. By implication, this examination demands relational proximity. There is a tendency to use people in the church when we don’t really know them There is a tendency to use people in the church when the state of their life and marriage are not really known. Often, the only thing that becomes a focus is the person’s Sunday giftedness, may be as a keyboard player or gift of healing etc. It is always sad to see situations where one’s gift and charisma are so important in a church that the person gets elevated “above the law” and never get disciplined even if their lives are clearly a misrepresentation of Christ. How many husbands are known as powerful preachers, gifted in the spirit or good keyboard players but whose wives live in a state of dissatisfaction, pain and hurt at home? That is, our focus on charisma, the need to produce a spectacular church service and numerical growth in membership make us vulnerable as leaders, so that we appoint the wrong people. Wrong focus and objective will always lead to wrong appointment. But if our focus is to build life, marriages, families etc. then we will appoint people who have the ability to exemplify these things.

Confronting “the Eliab factor” (cont…)

Eliab had a correct external profile but was disapproved by the Lord. He obviously had spent his time building his external life and by implication, he was walking in a Pharisee spirit that cleans the outside, leaving the inside dirty. What causes this situation?

Matthew 6:1

1 "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. NIV

Matthew 6:2

2 "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues... NIV

We can only start to focus on the quality of our inner life when we are set free from the need to be appreciated by those around us. We cannot live to please men because this corrupts our walk with the Lord. When we live in a position of pleasing men then the Holy Spirit’s conviction loses power in our hearts as we will tend to do what we think men like as opposed to what God wants.

This Eliab factor is really a characteristic of a Pharisee spirit.

John 12:42-43

42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved praise from men more than praise from God. NIV

The Pharisee spirit leads to a compromised Inner Life

There are two major characteristics of a Pharisee spirit that we have identified so far:

• Pharisees wash only the outside of the cup (Matt 23:25).
• Pharisees seek to please men than God (Matt 6:1).

God, on the other side, focuses on the development of our inner life:

Hebrews 8:10 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel

after that time, declares the Lord.

I will put my laws in their minds

and write them on their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they will be my people. NIV

Matthew 23:26

26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. NIV

So therefore since a Pharisee spirit is too preoccupied with external life and pleasing men, it cannot engage in an authentic kingdom building process. We therefore have to come to a place where we are focusing on Christ and are allowing Him to build us from within.

The Word of God is reconstructing our Hearts and Minds

Hebrews 4:12

12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. NIV

Heb 4:12 implies that interacting with God’s word must go beyond the mere gathering of revelation-knowledge and must look into the divine internal confrontation the Word is bringing in our hearts. It is in this dimension of living as believers that we can grow and become correct in God.