The Spirit of reality


The writings of John reveal that the Spirit is the Spirit of reality—John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 5:6, 20. In the whole universe, only One is real, that is, the Triune God. He is the reality (John 14:6; 1 John 5:20). In the New Testament, the Spirit has the attribute of reality (John 14:17; 15:26).

What is reality? Reality is an all-inclusive attribute of the Spirit of God, for it includes the Father, Christ the Son, and all the divine items and entities. It is one of the most marvelous attributes of the Spirit (1 John 5:6). According to the context, the reality in John 16:13 refers to all that the Triune God is and has. Apart from the Spirit of reality, in our experience we cannot have the Triune God or any of the divine attributes. The reality of the Triune God and of all His attributes is the Spirit of reality.

The Spirit of reality guides us into all the reality - John 16:13-14

Only that which is in the Spirit of reality is spiritual reality (John 14:17; 15:26). All spiritual things must be in the Spirit of reality before they can be real, living, and organic (1 John 5:6). He [the Spirit] is the Executor of all spiritual things (John 16:13-14). He guides us into all the reality of the Triune God and of all divine
matters (2 Cor. 13:14).

In John 16:13 the reality refers to what the Father has, what the Son has, and what the Spirit receives of the Son and of what the Father has. This can be seen in the Triune God.

What the Father has is reality, what the Son [as the embodiment of the Father] has is reality (John 14:6, cf. 9), and what the Spirit receives is also reality (John 14:17). What the Father has becomes the Son’s, what the Son has is received by the Spirit, and what the Spirit receives is disclosed to us (John 15:26).

Maybe I add a bit more.

Both men were used by God, but both had a tragic ending. It is a lesson we must draw from spiritually.

1) The old prophet was a prophet who was once used by God; however, God could not use him any longer. In our experience, some spiritual condition of many believers are the same as their condition let say, ten years ago. They have not made any spiritual progress before the Lord. They speak what they do not understand. Even as they are speaking, they do not understand what they are saying.

2) The old prophet did not see any sin in the worship at Bethel. In Bethel, Jeroboam sacrificed to the calves he made, appointed priests of the lowest people, who were not of the sons of Levi, made offerings upon the altar, and burned incense on the days and months that he had devised of his own heart (1 Kings 12:28-33). All these things offended the Lord. Jeroboam was afraid that the people would offer sacrifices in Jerusalem. Therefore, he set up another place of worship outside Jerusalem. This causes a division among God's people. This proves that something was wrong with him [the old prophet] for not saying anything as he should be as prophet.

3) But what was tragic was not just the condition of the old prophet but the damage the man of God suffered under the old prophet! The man of God disobeyed the Lord's charge because of the word of the old prophet. Once a servant of the Lord has received a clear commandment from the Lord, he should never listen to an old prophet whose word does not match the Lord's charge.

This is same, for example, in Paul's charge to the Galatian believers was along the same principle. "If even we or an angel out of heaven should announce to you a gospel beyond that which we have announced to you, let him be accursed" (Gal. 1:8). The gospel which Paul preached was not according to man but according to the revelation of Jesus Christ (vv. 11-12). But there was another group of people who tried to change the gospel of Christ.

4) When they were sitting together at the feast, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet. Does this mean that he had become spiritual again? No. God was dealing with the man of God who had disobeyed His word. He no longer had any demand on the old prophet; God already had put him aside..

Today, we may suffer spiritual death [instead of the physical death in the Old Testament] in our serving God but that is because God still cares and has demands on us. If nothing happens, it is already Very SERIOUS. God has put us aside for a while.

After the man of God was killed by the lion, the old prophet buried him in his own grave and charged his sons to bury him next to the man of God when he died. The old prophet believed that the word which the Lord charged the man of God to speak against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places which were in the cities of Samaria would surely come to pass. Yet he himself simply waited to die there! What a contradiction ... he is really old

This post has been edited by pehkay: Jan 29 2019, 08:45 PM

Wah if like that Stephen will be sinless too

You meant Enoch and Elijah?

Or *wink* all these presupposes there is a role called the pastor

What if, all the believers should shepherd each other mutually. After all, elder denotes the person, and overseer denotes the function.

And that sister should not define the truth with authority but be under the covering of the brothers.

This post has been edited by pehkay: Feb 28 2019, 07:22 PM

**nod**

The practice of the universal priesthood.

You should start with v.7 in Eph 4.

v.7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Grace actually is the divine life that both produces and supplies the gifts. God has given grace to each one of us according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Following this, Christ gave these gifted ones to His Body. This was so not only during the apostles' age but also throughout the generations. Some became apostles, some became prophets, some became evangelists, and some became shepherds and teachers. These the Lord gives to the church for the building up of the Body of Christ (v. 8-12).

These gifted ones, the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers, are perfected by the Head, Christ; these are needed by the Body. Their work is not to build up the church directly but to perfect the saints so that they can also do the work of the ministry, to build up the Body of Christ (v. 12; 16)

Although the direction of the work of these four groups of people is different, their goal is the same, that is, the building up of the Body of Christ, yet not directly but through the perfecting of the saints.

What I am saying is controversial (muahahha), is the tradition of Christianity is to have a pastor do the preaching and a sanctified class of people do the holy work; the church is built by a clerical class, and the thousands of congregational members are not the builders.

However, the way ordained by God is carried out by a few gifted members who do not build up the church directly but perfect every saint to do their work, which is the work of the ministry, the building up of the Body of Christ. Every saints can do the work of an apostle, prophets, teachers and evangelists.

Just like your physical body.

Cheers!

If everyone speaks and shares, no one will fall asleep.

Everyone is prepared with a portion .... that they experienced during the week.

It's when the saints comes with this mentality that someone else should do the job, that they do

This post has been edited by pehkay: Mar 1 2019, 08:57 AM

So is the pattern of the universal priesthood especially in Exodus 19 where God called the children of Israel, saying, “Now therefore if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My personal treasure from among all peoples, for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the children of Israel” (vv. 5-6a). But it is Israel's failure on the golden calves, that the priesthood is only given to the Levitates (sad to say). But the original intention was this.

I think we are talking about the practicality of the different kinds of meeting. Surely, we have the ministry meeting where someone to speak (the scriptural basis for this relatively simple meeting is found in Acts 20:7). However, in this verse there was first a bread-breaking meeting and then the ministry of the word). At other times, like the Lord's table meeting, there is the mutuality depicted in 1 Corinthians 14.

But the principle still holds, there could be Ezra #2, Ezra #3 ... (there is no particular position). This is needed because the Israelites were still unruly, for they had become Babylonian in their constitution. Therefore, there was the need for an Ezra, a priest who served God, and also a scribe, a scholar, who was skilled in the Word of God, skilled in the law of Moses (Ezra 7:6, 11). He bore the totality of the heavenly and divine constitution and culture. Ezra called the people together and confessed not only his own sin but also the sin of Israel, to bring them back to the Word of God.

In the church life today, the main responsibility of the elders is to teach the saints with the truths. The Bible says that one of the qualifications of an elder is being apt to teach (1 Tim. 3:2). They are today's Ezras to produce more Ezras. It could not necessarily be on the podium but a genuine simple house to house too. Paul did this too for 3 years in Ephesus (Acts 20) both publicly and house to house

This post has been edited by pehkay: Mar 1 2019, 02:25 PM

Hmm? You can see it in v.16 ... and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body.

Each one part refers to each member of the Body. Through the growth in life and the development of gifts, each member of the Body of Christ has its own measure, which operates for the growth of the Body.

This post has been edited by pehkay: Mar 3 2019, 02:12 PM

More can be said about the law as the testimony of God.

IMHO, it is always missed by stressing its negative aspect (keeping it and its status as a concubine).

The Ten Commandments were called the testimony of God (Exo. 25:16). As the testimony of God the Ten Commandments are a picture, a portrait, of God. We may say that the law is a photograph of God, portrait of God in His divine attributes: love, light, holiness, and righteousness.

Because the law is God’s portrait, God’s image, it is called God’s testimony. The ark in which the law was placed was called the ark of the testimony (Exo. 25:22).

In typology, the law is a type of Christ. The law is a type of Christ because Christ is God’s image (Col. 1:15).

The primary function of the law is not to expose us (really) but to reveal God to us. After God brought His people into His presence to have fellowship with Him, to serve Him, to contact Him, to worship Him, and even to feast with Him, He made Himself known to them. Prior to this time, God had not revealed to His people what kind of God He is. In typology, to keep the law means to express God.

So, firstly, the law show us the kind of God He is. Second, to show we have absolutely no power and no way to fulfill the requirements. We are unable to fulfill the requirements of God, and there is no way we can fulfill them by ourselves; only He can fulfill them, and only He has a way to fulfill them. With man this is impossible, but with God it is possible. Only He can meet His requirements. This points to the third reason. He wants to be received into us, and by contacting and touching Him, we allow Him to fulfill His requirements within us and through us.

So, after exposing us, by His grace and according to His economy, He also gave His people the ceremonial section of His law, through which the breakers of the moral law of God, could contact Him and enter into Him to enjoy Him as their everything. God prepared the ceremonial law to be our salvation, to save us from the condemnation under the moral law. This is the picture in typology protrayed by the children of Israel, in which, we are as the reality.

The entire law of God was decreed to His people by Him with the intention to expose and convict His people by the moral section of His law, that they would be conducted to the ceremonial section of His law, that is, shadow of the spiritual things in Christ, which are the things to come.

Jeng jeng jeng .... The Bible reveals both aspects: salvation by grace through faith and the reward of the kingdom is by works

Wah so fast to write me off. XD

Your premise on the word salvation is the initial salvation.

In Romans Paul tells us that justification is by faith. He feared that some might not know what God had done, what Christ had accomplished, and how effective the precious blood was. They might have thought that just believing was insufficient and that there was an additional need for man's works in order to be saved. Therefore, Paul used the case of Abraham to show that justification is by faith. James, however, also used the case of Abraham in speaking about justification by works. Consequently, we can see that there is a close relationship between justification by faith and justification by works. Paul and James actually spoke about the same thing; their words are not contradictory.

This work is the work of faith. Faith and works are inseparable; they are two sides of one thing.

Yet, I chose my words carefully ... .... salvation is not merely just initial salvation in which we see the two-foldness. I use "the reward of the kingdom" in that salvation is the life-long process.

This post has been edited by pehkay: Sep 12 2019, 02:30 PM

True. But unless we understand faith and grace in the reality of the union of Christ, we will go to two extremes:


1) We became dead passive thinking that Christ will do "everything".

2) Or, we will use our flesh to work out our on-going salvation (work).

This post has been edited by pehkay: Sep 12 2019, 02:47 PM

I don't disagree with what you are saying (hoping not to misunderstood you).

IMHO, in general (not talking about your comments but to all), we all need to take a step back .... always assuming that the other is hopefully not in the extremes that I mentioned.

The truth is always twofold (not digressing on how it can be reconciled). But most of us here are somewhat having the view of this *somehow* XD

It is not like we are 100% 0% VS 100% 0%

Another brother's presentation of (50% 50%) may appear to another as 10% 90% in which he tries to argue back. While the other's understanding in potraying 50% 50% may ... returns 0 100% or 10% 90% to the other.

------------------------

But back to your comment, yeah, gauging on the own obedience can unfortunately falls to the effort of the flesh. But that is unfortunately a lack of understanding of what faith is.

For example, justification by faith.

The Christ who is preached to us is infused into us through the word of the gospel. Faith is not merely a mental comprehension of the things preached. Rather it is the apprehended reality of what is preached; Faith comes from hearing the word of Christ, and this word is not simply about Christ but that which bears Christ into us. The ability to believe that is infused into us (work) is actually Christ as our faith.

This faith is the faith of Jesus Christ in us, which has become the faith by which we believe in Him, as in Rom 3:22, 26; Gal. 2:16, 20; 3:22; Eph. 3:12; and Phil. 3:9. This can only be understood in the union of Christ as faith.

If we have this, then we will enjoy His Person (with all His attributes + accomplishments) *actively* and spontaneously, Christ is lived out of you in your living (work). The "flavor" is different! In that, one can sense the divine or touch God when contacting that person. Otherwise, we will just see his or her ethics ...

This post has been edited by pehkay: Sep 12 2019, 03:45 PM

Bro, indeed, we should focus on Christ being the vine.

Let's start with obedience. True obedience is the Person of Christ. When we say, a person touches God. Or come in contact with God, there is element of God that is infused into us. We all might have this experience, when he or she touches God in a certain matter, there is a sense, wow, we have met God, subdued by Him and we obey Him. It could be "small voice" or a Person, a sense that we should apologize to our wife. On the one hand, we apologized spontaneously (our work) yet it is the Christ as the Person living out of us in union with us through our faith. We cannot manufactor this by obeying the commandments in the Bible. It comes from faith of Christ infused into us.

To believe in God's promise is not merely means you and God are separate entities. Rather, as you walk, (work), (abide in Christ), cooperate with the Spirit, touching God; the spiritual reality of God's promise is infused into you in the experience of the uniting faith. Don't think that promises of God is something outside given to you by God. He gave only Himself as everything into us.

When we experience His promise or Christ finished work etc. there is an union between you and God, where His element is dispensed into you. Then, 1 John fulfils this: if we abide in Him and HE ABIDES IN YOU (the living of Triune God / live Christ). This is the true work of faith.

Another example, is love. Paul says in Romans 5:5, “The love of God (God is love) has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” From the day we believed in the Lord Jesus, the love of God has been poured out in our hearts. This is not merely a matter of feeling. On the contrary, something substantial, something essential, has been poured out into our hearts. This means that, as believers, deep in our hearts we have something of the divine essence, and this is God the Father as love. This is why Paul can love all men. He enjoyed the divine Love which is God Himself infused into him. Paul's loving is the Triune God loving through him by constitution.

But we cannot be passive. We have to cooperate with the Lord. Initially, someone has to work by faith (preach the Word). His faith (or Christ) is infused into you. Then you (work) believe. On the one hand, you freely believe (work) yet it is Christ as faith by which you believe (faith and grace). We definitely need to love God with our whole being (work) yet not with our own love ( faith). It is almost you don't know here God starts and we end in this union.

So, we have to ACTIVELY "abide in Christ", we walk, we (work), we work our salvation by enjoying Christ, then spontaneously, we lived not ourself but live out Christ (and He abides in you) because He is constituted into us.

Hope that helps in what I trying to convey in the union of Christ. It is only in this, that faith and work become the "two wings". They do not contradict but an expression of the divine and human.

This post has been edited by pehkay: Sep 12 2019, 08:55 PM

Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! XD

Just to add <wink>

1 Cor 1:30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification and redemption

Christ Himself is our sanctification. We can have sanctification only after we have Christ, and we can have the fruit of sanctification only after we have Christ. Our sanctification is a living person—Christ. Christ is our sanctification. The personified sanctification is realized in the Person of Christ coming to us as our enjoyment and experience.

Actually, both translations are fine and is not an issue.

Christ was in the form of God and actually was God Himself. Because He had such a standing, it was not robbery for Him to be equal with God. I believe that as Paul was writing this, deep within he had the feeling that some of the Philippian saints were committing robbery. For example, suppose I do not have the ability to be a leader; nevertheless, I desire to be a leader. In this matter, I rob others of their leadership.

Christ, however, did not commit robbery in being equal with God. Rather it is a robbery if He is not equal with God .

Although it was not robbery for Christ to be equal with God, He emptied Himself, not insisting on this equality. Furthermore, He humbled Himself, being found in fashion as a man and taking the form of a slave. This means that Christ gave up His high standing and took not only the form of a man but the form of a slave. This is an example and pattern for us.