- Are we the Supernatural Bride of Christ empowered by His Holy Spirit?
- Are we the Bride for which Christ will return and claim as His own?
- Are we the "called out of God" who will be invited to the Wedding Feast on that Day?
- We cannot live the Christian Life on our own
- The Holy Spirit empowers us to have the close fellowship and relationship that God desires for His people
- All that we do in word or deed, we do in the name of the Lord as His advocates on this earth
- A Spirit-led Disciple will continually praise Him with life and lips
- The Spirit gives us courage, power, and all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus which no one can take from us.
Why don't we all interpret the Bible the same way? What are some rules for properly interpreting Scripture?
Example: How many of you have followed these commands?
—“As for you, lie down
on your left side and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel on it; you shall
bear their iniquity for the number of days that you lie on it. 5 For
I have assigned you a number of days corresponding to the years of their
iniquity, three hundred and ninety days; thus you shall bear the iniquity of
the house of Israel. 6 When you have completed these, you shall lie down a
second time, but
on your right side and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah; I have assigned
it to you for forty days, a day for each year.” (Ezekiel 4)
Hopefully you already understand that these commands were not for you personally. Context is the most important feature of learning truth in Scripture.
Rules of Context are followed when we know these 5 things:
- Who wrote it?
- When?
- For what purpose?
- To whom?
- What does it say to me?
How we study the Bible makes a big difference in how we interpret it. There are 2 major ways of studying Scripture: (1) Exegetical and (2) Eisegetical. Page 23 of Forgotten God explains these. Here is a brief summary:
—Exegesis – going to the Biblical record to
study the context, vision, and purpose of the text.
—Eisegesis – going to singular Scriptures to
prove a point or argue an opinion
—If
you believed that the only thing you had to do was to “confess Jesus” to be
saved you would pull Scriptures like
—Romans
10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as
Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be
saved; 10 for
with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the
mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
—Give
this Scripture the “Context” Test…
(1) Who was it written to? This letter was written to folks who were already saved, Saints (Christians in Rome) Romans 1:7
(2) When was it written? During a time of intense persecution when just admitting you were a Christian might have gotten you killed.
(3) Why was it written? It was written to "REMIND" ("or do you not know?" Rom 6) Christians not to forsake the Gospel (Rom 1:16) and not to be content with being "closet" Christians. Paul tells them that even at the threat of death, they are to "confess Him with their mouths". This was almost like giving Christians a death sentence, but Paul promises that they will be saved if they keep being transformed instead of conformed to this world.
(4) Who wrote it? Paul, the apostle, with a mission to "bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles". Rom 1:1-5
(5) What does it say to me? As a Christian there is never an excuse to hide my faith. I must proclaim Christ in word and deed among all nations. I must never be ashamed of the Gospel even when it is unpopular or life threatening.
BIBLE STUDY METHODS
There are many ways to study the Bible, but the most productive and less confusing ways are the following:
(1) Study Strands (themes) from Old
Testament to New Testament
—8
Strands to color in your Bible (God, Christ, Holy Spirit, Salvation, Kingdom-Ekklesia, Satan-sin, Heaven-Last Day, Christian Living)
For instance “salvation” from O.T.
through N.T. always associated with water and blood in a covenant relationship
with God. Work of God, not man!
Read your Bible through 8 times from Genesis to Revelation and mark each Scripture that deals with each of these: the Nature of God, Christ, Holy Spirit, or has the promise of Salvation, deal with both prophecy and fulfillment of the Kingdom, describes Satan and/sin, highlights Heaven or last Day Judgment, and Christian or Covenant Living. Such a study will give you the over-arching Big Picture of God's plan for mankind.
(2) Word Studies – Greek & Hebrew
(glory, praise, worship, sacrifice)
Resources: http://www.eliyah.com/lexicon.html
(3) Study exegetically – Study of James
is an exegetical study…spend time in the word comparing one book to other
passages in Scripture while identifying the context.
Go to the Scriptures asking, "What does God want me to know and apply in my life?"
Pray that God will open your eyes to His truth and remove the filters that traditions and culture have placed over your eyes. In Western culture we have many pharisaical traditions that we are not even aware of. Here are two videos that might challenge you to re-examine your walk with the Lord.
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Before you watch this next clip, please contemplate on this Scripture:
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the
kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the
covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom
of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were
sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in
the Spirit of our God.” I Cor 6:9
How were folks brought to Christ? How did they become Saints in the First Century-- By being ignored or shunned?
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySkB30rf5Ao Concerning Homosexuality (Greg Boyd)
What filters and/or pharisaical practices do you see in your life and community of faith that need to be corrected?
Join us for Part 2 The Supernatural Body of Christ
Join us for Part 2 The Supernatural Body of Christ
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