Zoe: my spiritual life
ζωή — zoë — The divine life; the life that enlivens the human spirit; the spiritual life. This is about God’s search for man, and man’s search for God.
Real work versus idleness
In my daily Bible reading yesterday (I was catching up in Exodus), I was struck by a sharp contrast between how Satan and the world counts what is valuable work versus idleness, and how God counts it:
Exo 5:1 And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, Let My people go that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.
2 But Pharaoh said, Who is Jehovah that I should listen to His voice to let Israel go? I do not know Jehovah, and I also will not let Israel go.
8 And the quota of the bricks which they made previously, you shall still place upon them; you shall not diminish any of it, for they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
Pharaoh, signifying Satan ruling God’s people with his tyrranical world system, considers that when we take time to meet together and enjoy the Lord, we are idle in relation to the building up of his world system. This is in sharp contrast to what God considers productive work versus idleness:
read moreThe Ground of Oneness
The "ground of oneness" is a term that designates three key biblical truths: We receive all genuine believers whom Christ receives as members of the unique Body of Christ; we keep the oneness of the Body in reality as the oneness of the Spirit; and we practice the oneness (that is, we actually do it, not merely pay lip-service to it) by practicing one church in one city. Here are some brief details:
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An eternal redemption
Heb 9:12 And not through the ablood of goats and calves but through His bown blood, centered donce for all into the eHoly of Holies, 1obtaining an feternal 2redemption.
13 For if the ablood of goats and bulls and the bashes of a heifer csprinkling those who are 1defiled sanctify to the purity of the flesh,
14 How much more will the 1ablood of Christ, who through the 2eternal Spirit boffered Himself cwithout blemish to God, purify our 3dconscience from 4edead works to fserve the 5gliving God?
As I was pray-reading Heb 9:12 and reading the Holy Word for Morning Revival on it this morning, I saw much more clearly than ever that the eternal efficacy of Jesus’ redemption is guaranteed by the fact that He has the Spirit of divinity in Him. As a real and genuine man, He could provide real and genuine human blood to pay for the sins of men. But if He were merely a man, then His blood would be like the blood of one goat, which could only cover the sins of one man up to that point. Maybe being perfect human blood, it could truly expitate–pay for–the sins of one man, not just cover it. But then it would only be the sins of one man up to the point of the man’s repentance. Sins after that would require fresh sacrifices:
read moreThe Spirit of Jesus in Act 16
In my Bible reading of Acts 16 this morning, I enjoyed seeing that Acts 16 shows Paul experiencing the Spirit of Jesus in the following ways:
- The Spirit of Jesus is the consummated, compound Spirit applying to us the human living of Jesus, in particular His experiences of suffering and crucifixion. I believe it also very much includes Jesus being the Son of Man, a human being not doing things by Himself but doing things only by the Father.
- In Act 16:6-7, Paul experienced the Spirit of Jesus restricting him from going to Asia or Bithynia. The Man Jesus is restricted; He does not go wherever He wants; He only goes where the Father leads Him. Thus, Paul experienced the Spirit as his restriction to not go where God was not going.
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New Testament Grace
Grace is often defined as “unmerited favour.” This is certainly true, but this definition is not complete. You could say that this is an Old Testament definition of grace–that God smiles on undeserving people with His favour. However, Joh 1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and reality came through Jesus Christ.Here, we see that in the time of Moses, there was not the grace and reality that existed when Jesus Christ appeared. (Actually, “came” in Joh 1:17 is “come into being” in the...
read moreThe harvest is white in Montreal, and the blending is so sweet!
Praise the Lord! Here’s a report of the really busy time we’ve had here in Montreal the past few weeks with lots and lots of blending. From July 21 to 28, we renovated our meeting hall. From July 31 to August 2, we distributed the French and English NT Recovery Version at various Metro (subway) stations in Montreal. From August 4 to 9, we hosted the Eastern Canada Children’s Camp (like a regional SST for elementary school kids). I’ve only been able to participate part-time in all these activities, since I’ve been working, but I gave hospitality to some brothers and stayed overnight with the children in the camp (in the meeting hall).
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God is Homeless
God is homeless–who will let Him in?
Who can let Him in?
Any fallen sinner, like you and me, may let God in (Acts 2:21). No matter what you have done or what material possessions you have, you were made in God’s image so that you can contain Him. By inviting Him in, you become a vessel containing God.
read morePeople are Thirsty
Everyone is thirsty. Everyone is on an endless search for something that satisfies. We seek for more knowledge; we dive into higher education, and then a professional career. We also strive to accumulate riches. We engage in sports, music, and leisure. We organize social gatherings, nurture friendships, and so on. Each of these things is a kind of “water” that cannot quench our thirst. Every human being tastes this “water”, but is never satisfied. In fact, the more we drink this water, the thirstier we become. The words that Jesus spoke to a thirsty woman, mentioned in the Gospel of John, explain this experience: “Whoever drinks of this water will still be thirsty” (4:13). These words are simple, but their meaning is very profound. The “water” here symbolizes the enjoyment of material things and the happiness that the pleasures of the world give. These things cannot quench the thirst that we feel deep within us. In fact, the more that we “drink these things”, the more our thirst grows. Thus, we need another kind of water.
read moreDistributing the Recovery Version: Proclaiming Christ as the Jubilee of Grace
Praise the Lord! We just finished distributing the French and English NT Recovery Version at various Metro (subway) stations in Montreal from July 31 to August 2. I’ve only been able to participate part-time, since I’ve been working, but I gave hospitality to some brothers and spent half days Thursdays and Fridays, and all day Saturday.
read morePs 45:3-4: Being Headed Up by Beholding the Meek One
I’ve been quite frustrated by Concordia’s new policy that no computer user would have administrative access to their own computer; the university’s computer technicians have to come and install any software for us that we might need. Since I install software almost every day (especially now that I’m just getting back to the swing of things), this means I’m limited from doing a lot of things on my work computer. The Lord has already shown me that I need to be headed up in this matter, and realize that I am under the authority of my school’s computer policies. As long as I see man, then I will be frustrated by the restriction. But when I see that these men are making arrangements under God’s authority, then I see that this is God’s governmental arrangement for me. So, I need to see God, not man.
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