ONE WITH CHRIST
A Bible Study Series
SERIES ONE
Faith and
Reality
G B Woodcock
Now to the King eternal,
immortal,
invisible,
the only God,
be honor and glory
forever and
ever.
Amen.
Unless specified, all English definitions of Greek and Hebrew words are taken from:
- Online Bible Greek Lexicon © 2010 Online Bible North America. All rights reserved.
- Online Bible Hebrew Lexicon © 2010 Online Bible North America. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are taken from:
The New American Standard Bible ® (1995 Update) Copyright ©1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version, ©1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, © 1989 by the division of Christian Education of the National Council of the churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (Amplified Version) are taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
One with Christ | Series One (Smashwords Edition)- G B Woodcock
A Bible study series on experiencing love and unity with God
Copyright © 2012 Geoff Woodcock. Freely receive, freely give. Permission is given to reproduce, distribute and share this material for non-commercial purposes.
Web www.onewithchrist.com
Email
info@onewithchrist.com
ISBN: 978-0-9864695-6-5
Published by Studyword Media
Contents
Introduction
My heart stands in awe of Your word. I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure.
Psalm 119:161b-162 (NKJV)
The living word of God has the power to leave our hearts in awe. It is like great treasure, revealing to us the riches that are found in the life, presence and love of Jesus. But how do we find the riches of Christ? How does the knowledge of spiritual wealth and abundance become our actual experience?
Life in Christ is not based on a set of theories or theologies. Life in Jesus is found in the reality of a living relationship. As such, if we are to grow and mature in Christ then we need our knowledge of the truth to be completed by real experience. For example, we can know the theory about God’s love, but without the experience of His love in our lives, all we have is a theory or idea. And theory is not reality. The only way to know the reality of God’s love is to personally experience His love. In this way, experiencing God is a key aspect of living and growing in Christ.
Spirit and Life
As we grow in Christ, we will go through different spiritual seasons. In these seasons God will do His work in us, leading us to experience different aspects of His life and nature. If we are to stay in step with the Spirit as He works in us, then we need to focus on what God is doing now. Anything, no matter how good, can be a distraction if it is not in His timing. This includes these studies: they will only be helpful if the Spirit of God is actively working through them. So how can we know if God wants to use the One with Christ studies at this time?
The words of Jesus are spirit and life.1 This is a basic but essential truth on which we can stand. If the Spirit of God is working through something, there will be a sense of life and freedom in it. So in terms of the One with Christ studies, if you find life in the studies, feel free to dive in and get as much life and blessing out of them as possible. However, if the studies are dry and lifeless, if they make no sense, are a struggle to read, or if they simply do not flow for you, then it is probably not the right time to do the studies. So leave them. Put the studies on the shelf and come back to them later when you find a sense of life in them. It may well be that God is doing something different in you at this time. So just seek God for what He is doing now. If He wants to use the One with Christ studies to draw you closer to Him, then He will bring you back to them when the time is right. Simply go where there is life.
Discovering More
As you do the studies, if you find a particular sense of life or enjoyment in any passage or study, feel free to take the study further. Read through the Scriptures in their entire context. Explore more of God’s word by finding related passages and see what the Spirit of God shows you personally from His word. As you study, remember that our goal is not just to build our knowledge of the truth, but to enter into and live in the reality of the truth. So as we learn more in the word, we need to seek God to lead us into the personal experience of His truth. As He leads us, we grow closer to Jesus and become more connected with Him.
It is important to realize that God shows different aspects of a truth to different people and this series does not claim to reveal the whole of any one truth. There is always more to learn and discover. These studies simply aim to offer a fresh perspective of Scripture with the hope that you would take hold of the truth and experience some of the awesome depths of Christ in your life.
Solid Foundations
The first few studies lay a foundation of reality. The next studies look at our inheritance in Christ and how we can go deeper into the life that He has for us. The studies following those focus on faith.
So what do all these things have to do with becoming one with Christ? What does it mean to be one with Christ?
One with Christ
1 Corinthians 6:17
But
the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
The term One with Christ comes from this Scripture. When we join ourselves to the Lord, we become one spirit with Him. Thus it is a promise of God that when we connect ourselves deeply and intimately with Him, we will become one spirit with Him. It is certainly one of the mysteries of God, but a promise and a reality nonetheless. We can become one with Christ.
Having unity with God as our goal, Series One starts by building a foundation of faith. It establishes an understanding of growth and experience, and how the Spirit and the word work together to draw us into reality. Series Two then builds on this foundation and looks more at becoming one with Christ. Thus doing the studies in order is advised to gain the most benefit from the series. However, as with all things, let the Spirit lead you as you study His word.
My prayer is that you would grow in love, faith, life and truth as you do these studies. May God bring you to a point of abundantly overflowing in these things. May He be faithful to His word and lead you into the reality of all He has prepared for you.
Author, One with Christ
Chapter 1
Truth and Reality
Buy truth and do not sell it, get wisdom and instruction and understanding.
Proverbs 23:23
Scripture calls us to buy the truth and hold on to it. As we mature in our spiritual life, we grow in the truth that is found in Christ. But what is truth? And having come to know the truth, how do we experience it in our lives?
What is Truth?
Truth:
aletheia
Denotes
veracity, reality, sincerity, accuracy, integrity, truthfulness,
dependability, and propriety. Is the opposite of fictitious, feigned,
or false.
In early Greek culture, the word aletheia was used to express reality as opposed to fantasy or illusion.2 In this sense, truth is reality. So to gain a deeper understanding of truth, we can look at what Scripture says of truth in terms of reality.
The Word
John 17:13-17
“But
now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they
may have My joy made full in themselves. I have given them Your word;
and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even
as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the
world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world,
even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word
is truth.”
The word of God is truth. It is the written expression of reality. The Scriptures reveal the truth of Jesus and describe the experiences that we can have as we grow in Christ.
For example, the word describes the truth of forgiveness. It reveals the forgiving nature of God and the reality of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. The word then shows us how to receive the forgiveness of God. When we follow its instruction and we repent and call on God in faith, we experience the reality of being forgiven. In this way, the truth of the word builds a foundation for our experience in Christ.
Jesus Christ
John 14:6
Jesus
said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one
comes to the Father but through Me.”
Jesus is the truth. All reality flows from Jesus because He is the ultimate reality. He is also the way. It is only through Jesus that we can experience the reality of God and live in the truth. Thus if we want to know reality and life, we need Jesus.
Colossians 1:16-17
For
by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or
authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
Jesus is the creator and sustainer of all things. Things only exist because Jesus causes them to exist. He is reality and He makes things real. All things are made through Him and for Him. This means we are created not for ourselves, but for Christ, to live our lives in love with Him. Thus Jesus is the reason, meaning, goal and fulfillment of our lives.
To live in Christ means to live in reality, for He is reality. In this sense, to live apart from Jesus is to live apart from the truth, in a fantasy or false reality.
The Spirit
John 14:16-17
“I
will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may
be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world
cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know
Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”
John 16:13
“But
when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the
truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He
hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”
1 John 5:6
This
is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the
water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit
who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
The Spirit of God is the Spirit of truth and reality. God has sent the Spirit to abide in us, which means that He is always present to take us deeper into truth. It is the Spirit’s role to lead us into reality and He has the power and desire to do it. He wants to do it. We simply need to yield to His will, His way and His timing to experience more of the reality of Jesus.
Our Reality
The word of God describes reality and Jesus has given us His Spirit to lead us into reality. In this way, God has given us everything we need to know and experience the truth. We have knowledge through the word and power by the Spirit.
Knowing that we have what we need to live in truth and reality, we can start by seeking to discover our present reality. Where are we spiritually? What are we currently experiencing of God?
Revelation 3:14-19
“To
the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and
true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: ‘I
know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you
were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor
cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, “I am rich,
and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not
know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and
naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you
may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself,
and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye
salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I
reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.’”
A key part of growing in the truth is learning who we are now and who we can actually become in Christ. Knowing our spiritual condition gives us a starting point in our spiritual growth. Knowing who we can become in Christ gives us a vision and goal for our growth.
The reality we live in is defined by our present experience. Yet like the Laodiceans, at times we can become out of touch with our own spiritual life. We can let our natural experience and the daily demands of life cloud our spiritual vision and desire for Jesus. We can start to believe the theory without seeking the reality. As a result, at times our perception of our spiritual state can become distorted. We can believe that we are doing well, when in reality we are spiritually poor, lacking the riches found in Jesus. Conversely, at times we may feel discouraged, thinking things are not going well, when in reality our spiritual life is better than we think. Thus a key part of knowing the truth is discovering the reality of our own spiritual condition.
Once the Spirit reveals the nature of our state before God, we can start to grow. Jesus will show us where He is taking us and what we need for our next step. If we are spiritually blind, He will offer us eye salve that we may see. If we are spiritually naked, He will offer us white garments. If we are poor, He will offer us His true wealth. Jesus will meet our need so that we can change, grow and live in the reality of the spiritual wealth of Christ.
So do we really want to know our current spiritual state? Do we want to live more in the truth of God?
Summary
Truth is reality and Jesus is the ultimate truth. He is the center and source of all reality. So to live more in the truth is to live in deeper connection and relationship with Jesus. It is to experience more of the life, love, nature, presence and power of Christ.
The word of God describes the reality that is found in Jesus. Because the word is truth, the experiences we have of God will always be consistent with the word. It is the standard of reality. It is the foundation for our spiritual experience.
God has given us His Spirit to lead us into reality. The Spirit of God takes the truth of the word and leads us into the personal experience of that truth. In this way the Spirit and the word work together to draw us into reality.
But how does all this really work? How does the Spirit work with the word? How does He lead us into all truth and reality? And is this something we really want?
Questions
What are the sources of truth in my life?
Where am I spiritually now? Where am I going?
How can I enter more into reality?
Chapter 2
Spirit and Reality
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth.”
John 16:13
Truth is reality. The word of God is truth and the role of the Spirit is to guide us into truth. But what does it actually mean to enter into truth and reality?
God is Spirit
John 4:24
“God
is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and
truth.”
God is Spirit and so our relationship with Him is primarily spiritual. Thus if we want to enter into reality then we need to look to our inner, spiritual growth in Jesus rather than our outward, natural life. The physical realm is not neglected, but it is secondary to the reality that is found in the Spirit. As such, our spiritual growth is of more value than our material wealth and needs to be given our highest priority.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Therefore
we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our
inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light
affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond
all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but
at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are
temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
The spiritual is more important than the physical and so spiritual realities are more important than physical realities. This is because the unseen spiritual is eternal and is therefore of eternal value. The physical however is temporal and only has passing value.
The eternal includes the present. Thus because spiritual realities are eternal, they are available for us to experience now. For example, peace is a reality that is eternally available; we can experience God’s peace now. The same is true for all the qualities of God. His love, joy, passion, life, presence, strength, humility, wisdom, and zeal are all realities that are present and available to us now.
Spiritual Reality
Galatians 5:22-34
But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things
there is no law.
The reality of each fruit of the Spirit is found in Jesus. Each quality is an aspect of His nature. So as we grow spiritually, we enter into more of the nature of Christ. For example, when we experience love, we experience Jesus for He is love.3 As we enter into joy, we enter a deeper realm of Christ who is the source of joy.4 As we grow in freedom and life, we grow in Christ for He is our freedom and life.5 Every aspect of our spiritual life flows from Jesus. He is the reality.
So how do we experience these different qualities of Jesus?
Within our Hearts
Romans 5:5
...and
hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out
within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
As Scripture shows, we experience the love of God poured out in our hearts through His Spirit. The same is true for all the spiritual realities or qualities of God: we experience them in our hearts.
Heart:
kardia
That
organ in the animal body which is the center of the circulation of
the blood, and hence was regarded as the seat of physical life;
denotes the center of all physical and spiritual life; the vigor and
sense of physical life; the center and
seat of spiritual life.
In Scripture, the word kardia (heart) is almost entirely used in a spiritual sense, referring to the center of our spiritual life.6 Thus the heart is a metaphor for the inner being of our spirit.7 It is the center of our spiritual life and experience.8 So when God pours out His love within us, it is a spiritual experience of the heart.
Without the spirit, we have no life. So just as our heart is the center of our spiritual life, it is also the underlying essence of our physical life. In this way, the effects of our spiritual experience are not confined to the heart. The love that we receive in our heart flows into our mind and body. It shapes our thinking and changes the way we feel in our body. The connection between our mind, body and spirit, means that our whole being is changed with our spiritual experience.
Often we can be tempted to associate the spiritual with the supernatural. However according to Scripture, our spiritual experiences should be as natural and common as love. Every day we can experience more of the reality of Jesus.
Concept to Reality
To enter into a spiritual reality is to personally experience the truth of the word in our hearts. If we know the word of God, then we have an intellectual knowledge of the truth. However real knowledge comes by experience. So for our intellectual knowledge to be of any value, it needs to be completed by personal experience. Our experience of truth is what matters.
For example, in the natural realm we can learn about the theory of swimming. We can study the theory of how to float on water and propel ourselves through the water. Yet in itself, our knowledge is only knowledge. The theory of swimming is not swimming. Philosophy is not reality. We only begin to experience the reality of swimming when we go into the water and start putting the theory into practice. Then we can gain a true knowledge of swimming. It is then that the theory becomes our reality.
In terms of theory and reality, sometimes people say of a truth or promise, “I know it in my head, but not in my heart.” The heart is the place of spiritual experience and reality. So in this sense, what they are saying is: “I know the theory in my mind, but I am not experiencing the reality in my life. I have the concept, but not the experience.”
Only the Spirit of God can take the theory of the word and establish it as a reality in our hearts and lives. He is the bridge between the intellectual knowledge of the head and the reality of the heart. He makes it real.
Word and Spirit
John 8:31-32
So
Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you
continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you
will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
2 Corinthians 3:17
(NRSV)
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the
Lord is, there is freedom.
John 8:36
“So
if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”
If we abide in God’s word, then we will know the truth and be set free. And if the Son makes us free, we will be free indeed: we will experience the reality of true spiritual freedom. In these passages, the word, the Spirit and Jesus are all connected in bringing us into freedom. The word reveals the truth of freedom and the Spirit leads us to experience the freedom that is found in Jesus.
In this way, if we want to live in reality then we need to abound in both the word and the Spirit of Jesus. To separate the Spirit and the word, or value one over the other, is to undermine the purpose of both. We need to richly combine the Spirit and the word in us to experience the depths of Jesus.
Summary
John 1:3
In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being
through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come
into being.9
Jesus is the ultimate truth and reality. Everything that is real flows from the reality of Jesus. He is life and gives life. Jesus is the source and sustainer of reality.
Every aspect of our spiritual growth and life is found in Christ. All the spiritual realities that we can experience in God such as love, joy, peace, vision, passion, and so on, are simply aspects of the nature of Jesus. Thus to grow spiritually is to grow into Jesus. To live is Christ.10
To experience Jesus in these ways and live in His reality we need to unite the Spirit and the word within us. The word reveals the truth and the Spirit leads us into truth. So as we abide in God’s word and Spirit, we will experience more of Jesus in our lives. By His grace, we will live in reality of God.
Questions
What are some of the spiritual realities that I have already experienced in some way?
What do I know in my head, but not in my heart?
What are some qualities of God that I want to experience?
Chapter 3
Worship in Truth
…for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus…
Philippians 3:3
The word and the Spirit work together to lead us into truth. The word provides the theory and the Spirit leads us into the reality. To explore the difference between having theory and experiencing reality, we will look at what it is to worship in spirit and truth.
Spirit and Truth
John 4:23-24
“But
an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship
the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to
be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must
worship in spirit and truth.”
God is spirit and so it is in the spirit that we encounter and worship God. As we learned in the Spirit and Reality study, the spirit of a person is symbolized by the heart.11 Our heart is the center of our being. It is the power and substance of who we are and the place of our spiritual experience. Thus to worship God in spirit is to worship Him from the heart.
In the Truth and Reality study, we learned that truth is reality. In this sense, our call to worship God in truth is a call to worship Him in reality, with our worship being a genuine expression of our hearts. Too often we can worship God out of our minds, based on what we know of Him from the word. When we do this, we worship God intellectually rather than spiritually. This kind of worship is an adoration of our concept of Jesus rather than Jesus Himself. True worship is a spiritual act sourced in the spirit, not the intellect.
To move beyond the mind into worship of the heart, we need to discover the truth of worship in Scripture. We then need to seek God to lead us into the reality of true worship.
What is Worship?
Worship:
proskuneo
To kiss the hand to
(towards) one, in token of reverence; an expression of profound
reverence, kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make
obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make
supplication.
The word proskuneo shows that worship involves profound reverence and obeisance. Obeisance means an act of homage or reverence, expressing a heart that is ready and willing to obey. Thus in worship we recognize the nature and love of God and we revere Him. We humble ourselves in surrender to God and we give ourselves to obeying His leading and calling. In worship we acknowledge that God is supreme and worthy of all love, devotion and obedience.
Ardent Love
Various dictionaries define worship in similar ways:
Love unquestioningly and uncritically or to excess; to regard with deep or rapturous love; a feeling of profound love and admiration12
To regard with ardent or adoring esteem or devotion13
Extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem 14
To show profound religious devotion and respect to; adore or venerate15
Worship in this sense is an expression of extravagant love and devotion. When we combine this with proskuneo, we find that worship is an expression of reverence, obedience, humility, devotion, and excessive, extravagant, rapturous love.
Thus true worship can only flow from a transformed heart. As such, if we are to worship in truth, we need to focus on our hearts. How can we possess such a surpassing love for God?
The Heart of Worship
Psalm 51:15-17
O
Lord, open my lips,
That my mouth may declare Your praise.
For
You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You
are not pleased with burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a
broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not
despise.
David recognized that God does not delight in outward acts of sacrifice, but looks at the heart. So David asked God to open his lips that he may declare God’s praise. David needed the Spirit of God to make his praise real and His worship a sincere offering of the heart.
Like David, we also need God’s grace to worship in truth. We cannot create profound reverence, humility or awe by our own efforts.16 We are powerless to break our own spirit that we may offer the sacrifice of a contrite heart. In short, without His grace, we simply cannot worship God.
So if we truly want to experience real worship, we need God to transform us. We need to seek God to release His love for Jesus into us.17 We need to ask the Spirit to reveal to us a measure of God’s awesome glory so that true reverence and awe may rise within our hearts. And so our worship can flow from a contrite heart, we need to cry out to God to humble us. Then we need to prepare to be broken.
Matthew 21:44
“And
he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever
it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”
Being humbled and broken is a gift of God. When Jesus breaks us, He overcomes the elements within us that resist His grace. He conquers our independence, insecurity, religiousness and pride. In their place, He establishes His love and humility.
So if we want a heart that passionately loves Jesus, we can call out to God for His grace. We can fall on the rock of Christ and let Him break us. As we give ourselves to worship, He will create in us a humble and contrite heart. He will break our pride and prepare our hearts for His love.
John 17:26
(NKJV)
“And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare
it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in
them.”
Just as we cannot break our own hearts, so we cannot create real love by ourselves. Only God is love.18 Only He can lead us to love Him with a deep and rapturous love. And He wants to. Here Jesus prays that the Father would fill us with His love for Jesus. It is a prayer that God wants to answer. If we are willing, God will give us His Spirit and fill our hearts with His love for Jesus. But are we willing? Do we really want to be humbled, broken and filled with love? Is this even possible?
Worship in Action
Luke 7:36-38
Now
one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He
entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. And there
was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that
He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought
an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet,
weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping
them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing
them with the perfume.19
Here we see true worship. It is pure adoration from a broken heart, poured out before God. It is an expression of devotion, humility and passionate love for Jesus. It is the fragrant aroma of a costly sacrifice; a precious, irretrievable offering made in blessing to Jesus.
Thus as this passage shows, by God’s grace, true worship is possible. When our hearts are touched by Jesus, our worship will flow naturally through us. The love He pours into us will compel us to love and worship Him.
Worship is like a precious and beautiful perfume, creating a pleasing aroma to God. When we express our love in true worship, we minister to Jesus. Having received His love, we anoint Jesus with our love. Through worship, we return to God a measure of the blessing and love that He has given us.
Living Worship
Ephesians 5:1-2
Therefore
be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love…20
Romans 12:1
Therefore
I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a
living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual
service of worship.
We are called to worship God as a living sacrifice. Worship is more than an occasional act, song, or offering. It is more than words. Worship is a way of life.
So like the woman who anointed Jesus, we too can have times of deep, expressive worship. But worship does not end with the last drop of perfume. A heart that is devoted to Jesus continues in love. It is in this sense that we are called to be living sacrifices of worship. Our worship is to flow into our everyday lives. We are to carry the sense of love, humility, obedience and devotion to God into every part of our lives. We are to live in love.
Summary
In Scripture truth is reality. We are called to walk in the truth, by living in the reality of God.21 This means as we discover the truth of the word, we need to seek the Spirit of God to fulfill the word in our lives. Only He can take the truth of the word from our heads and establish it in our hearts through personal experience. As the Spirit works in us, we enter into more of His truth and experience more of Jesus, and we are changed.
Thus in terms of worship, the word reveals the true nature of worship. As we respond with faith and desire, the Spirit of God begins to transform us. He reveals to us the awesome nature of God and creates reverence and awe in us. He breaks us and frees us from our pride and independence. He pours out His love into us and establishes the humility and love of Christ in our hearts.22
As the Spirit of God works in us, we start to change. As the love and revelation of Jesus grows, our worship naturally becomes more profound, genuine and sincere. In this way, we do not have to try to worship in spirit and truth. We simply need to seek God for His grace and love, so that we can truly worship Him. As we seek God, He takes us where we are and gently leads us into the reality of worship. By His grace, we are transformed more and more into true worshippers, true followers, and true lovers of Jesus.
Questions
What does it mean to be broken and transformed?
Do I want to be filled with love, even if it comes with tears?
What would a life of worship be like?
Chapter 4
The Living Word
…for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.
1 Peter 1:23
Scripture is the written word of God. It is the record of the gospel—the revelation of God’s love, forgiveness, power and life, made available to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The word describes the nature of God and the life we can have in Him. As such, the written word of God provides the theoretical basis for life in Christ. But theory is not reality. Reality only comes as we enter into the personal experience of truth. To experience reality in our lives, we need the written word of God to become the living word.
The Living Word
Hebrews 4:12-13 (NRSV)
Indeed,
the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from
marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare
to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.
The word of God is not locked in the past, but is living and active. It can come to life and take effective action in us. So how do we experience the living and active word of God?
Word of Life
John 6:63
“It
is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words
that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”
2 Corinthians 3:5-6
Not
that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from
ourselves, but 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.
All life flows from the Spirit. Our physical and spiritual life is sourced in and sustained by the Spirit of Jesus. The same is true of the word. The word of God only comes to life when the Spirit gives it life.
The Spirit of God also performs the word and brings it to pass in our lives. Thus the Spirit is the living and active power of the word. As such, to experience the living word we need to unite the Spirit of God with the word of God. We need the Spirit to breathe life into His word and fulfill that word in us. The life that the Spirit breathes into the word is the life of Jesus. So when we receive the living word, we receive the life of Christ. Through the living word, the presence of Jesus is released into us and we are connected more with Him.
Life in the Word
Our spiritual growth in God begins with faith and desire. Once we believe the word can come alive, we need to desire it. We can then follow our desire and ask the Spirit of Jesus to bring His word to life for us. And He will, because He wants to. It is His desire is to lead us to know the reality of His living and active word.
Luke 24:32
They
said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while
He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the
Scriptures to us?”
When the Spirit breathes on the word, we will find a sense of life in the Scripture and this can be a uniquely individual experience. Sometimes or for some people it may be like a burning within the heart. For others, the living word may bring a feeling of excitement or anticipation; a quickening that occurs on reading a certain passage of Scripture. At other times it may come as a quiet peace or a sense of the presence of God. Sometimes the Spirit may move in the word to bring a fresh renewal or release. Regardless of how the Spirit brings life in the word, there will always be an underlying sense of love, life and freedom. The living word will always be edifying, drawing us deeper into God.
In whatever way the Spirit brings the word to life for us, we can be sure that the life we sense in God’s word is more than a simple emotion or feeling; it is a spiritual connection with the Spirit of God. It is the personal experience of the word coming to life for us.
Deeper into Jesus
So why does the Spirit bring the word to life? The Spirit of God brings His word to life because He wants to fulfill that word in us. The living word reveals the will of God for us. So when we encounter the living word, we can be sure that the grace of God is present to make it a reality in us.
For example, at times the Spirit may bring life to Scriptures that expose sin within us. As we receive His word, we can enter into the reality of forgiveness and freedom from that sin. At other times, Scriptures about wisdom may come to life for us. As we take hold of the living word, we can experience the power of the Spirit to create more of His wisdom in us.
In this way, the Spirit brings the word to life to help us grow in God. Through the living word, we discover what God is doing in us at this time.
Our Natural Face
Thus the living word reveals the heart and will of God to us. His heart for us is one of surpassing love. His will is that we become who He created us to be. In this way, the living word lets us grow closer to God and shows us the truth of who we can become in Jesus.
James 1:22-25
(emphasis added)
But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not
merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of
the word and not a doer, he is like a
man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;
for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately
forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at
the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having
become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be
blessed in what he does.
Natural:
genesis
Source,
origin; used of birth, nativity; that which follows origin , viz.
existence, life.
The word of God is like a mirror. When we look at Scripture we can see our natural face. Our natural face is who God created us to be. It is His original design for us; the image of who we truly are in Christ.
Thus through the word we see our potential in God: a life of holiness, godliness, love, joy, peace and wholeness. Yet simply having the promise of who we can be in God is not the same as living the reality. So if the Spirit brings the word to life then we need to take hold of the word and seek Him to fulfill it in us. For if we fail to act on what we see in the word, we can miss out on the personal experience of the word and forget what kind of people we truly are in God. As such we need to focus on the word, abide in it, and become doers of the living word, allowing God to bring His word to pass in our lives.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18
Now
the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
liberty. 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.
But we, beholding His glory through the word of God, are being transformed into His image. The living word is the transforming word. Through the word, the Spirit fills us with the life and presence of Christ, and we are changed. His life transforms us from within. We are united with Jesus and we become more like Him.
Summary
As we grow in Christ we can experience the living and active word of God. The word of God comes to life when the Spirit breathes His life into it. In this way, the Spirit of Jesus is the life and action of the word; He makes His word alive and He brings it to pass in our lives. As such, we need to combine the word with the Spirit to experience the power of the living and active word of God.
The living word is a personal encounter of God that carries the life and presence of Jesus. So as we receive His living word, the Spirit imparts more of Jesus into us, transforming us into who we truly are in God: people who are created in His image, designed to live in love and unity with Him.
Questions
When has the Spirit brought the word to life for me? What was that like?
Do I want to experience more of the living word?
How can I unite the word and the Spirit in my life?
Chapter 5
The Spoken Word
“It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:4
The Voice of God
John 10:1-5
“Truly,
truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold
of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a
robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To
him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls
his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his
own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they
know his voice. A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee
from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”
Those who follow Jesus will know His voice. It is a promise of God that we will hear His voice if we believe. In order to hear Jesus’ voice we need to have a living and real relationship with His Spirit. Our life in Christ is not to be built merely on theology and religion, but on a two-way relationship with God in which we speak with Him and He speaks with us.
The Spirit of Jesus can speak to us in many different ways, but for the purposes of this study we will focus on hearing Him speak through the written word of God. In Series Three we will look at hearing God in other ways.
Every Rhema
Matthew 4:1-4
Then
Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by
the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He
then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You
are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He
answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread
alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
We shall not live on bread alone, but on every word (rhema) that proceeds out of the mouth of God. In this passage we find that real life does not come from having enough food to survive. True spiritual life comes from God as we receive every rhema that comes from His mouth.
Word: rhema
That
which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing spoken, word.
The Greek word rhema means a spoken word from a living voice. The rhema word of God is the sound of His voice speaking to us. God is not silent, but active and vocal, longing to speak into our lives. If we let Him, He will speak directly to us. Then, as we hear Him speak, we will live on more than bread alone; we will find life in every word that comes from the mouth of God.
When we combine the word and Spirit, we find new life as God speaks to us through His word. When this happens the written word becomes the living word. The words we read are more than just words; they are the living voice of God.
Learning to Hear
John 10:27
“My
sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”
Psalm 95:7
For
He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of
His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice…
Jesus wants to be our Shepherd and teach us how to hear His voice. To know Jesus’ voice we firstly need to believe that He speaks. Really believe. Then we need to learn to hear Him.
John 16:13
“But
when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the
truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He
hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”
God has given us His Spirit to speak to us and lead us into truth and reality.23 So if we want to know the reality of hearing God, then we start by asking the Spirit to open our ears and teach us how to listen to Him.
In learning to hear God, it can be helpful to remember that the Spirit of Jesus is on our side. He wants to help us to hear Him clearly. So if we feel that we are unable to hear God then it is a problem for the Spirit. And He will solve it. Our part is to eagerly desire to know His voice. His part is to teach us, speak to us, and lead us into the reality of hearing His voice.
Once we believe that God speaks, we need to continually yield any doubt to God and maintain a heart of faith and desire. As we open the Scriptures, we need to give our time to God and let Him lead us. Then, when the Spirit breathes life into a particular verse or passage, it will ignite something in our spirit. Our spirit will witness with Him and we will know that God is speaking directly to us through His living word.
For example, as God forms His humility in us, He may speak to us through Scriptures that focus on humility such as Colossians 3:12-13. As He takes us deeper into His peace, He may breathe life into passages like Philippians 4:7. When God speaks to us through His living word, we can be sure that the power of the Spirit is present to take us into the reality. But how do we know that we are really hearing God’s voice?
2 Corinthians 13:1
This
is the third time I am coming to you. Every fact [rhema]
is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
Every rhema is confirmed by two or three witnesses. So when God speaks to us, He will confirm His voice at least two or three times. These confirmations can come in a number of different ways, just as we can hear God’s voice in various ways.24 When God confirms His word, we can have complete confidence in what He has said. We can be sure that the Spirit will fulfill the word He has spoken and lead us into the reality. What He says goes. His word will never fail.
Summary
It is a promise of God that we will hear His voice. Hearing God speak is not a privilege reserved for mature believers, but a promise made to everyone who follows Jesus. We can all hear Jesus speak personally to us.
One of the many ways that God speaks to us is through His written word. As His word comes to life we can hear Him speak directly to us. By speaking into our lives, the Spirit of God releases the creative power of God into us. So if the Spirit wants to impart the zeal of Christ into us, He may lead us to Scriptures that speak of His passion and zeal. When we read these Scriptures, we find a sense of life in them and know that this is God’s desire for us at this time. We can have complete confidence that God is leading us into the reality of His zeal because He has spoken. And when He speaks, things happen.
Thus hearing God’s voice is a key to growing in Christ. If we genuinely seek God to teach us to hear Him with clarity, He will fulfill His promise to us. We will hear His voice and know the power of His spoken word in us.
Questions
Can I hear God?
Do I want to hear God more?
In what ways have I heard God speak?
Chapter 6
Word of Power
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
Genesis 1:3
God Speaks and it is Done
Psalm 33:6-9
By
the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
And by the breath of
His mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters of the sea
together as a heap,
He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
Let
all the earth fear the LORD;
Let all the inhabitants of the world
stand in awe of Him.
For He spoke, and it was done;
He
commanded, and it stood fast.
God spoke and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. The Scriptures are clear: when God says something, it is done. When He spoke forth light, there was light.25 When He spoke forth healing, there was healing.26 So to grow in Christ, we simply need to invite God to speak into our lives. Then, as the Spirit speaks forth love, there will be love in us. If He speaks of healing, we will experience healing. When God speaks, His word will be done in our lives.
Isaiah 14:24-27
(NKJV)
The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, “Surely, as I have
thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it
shall stand: That I will break the Assyrian in My land, and on My
mountains tread him underfoot. Then his yoke shall be removed from
them, and his burden removed from their shoulders. This is the
purpose that is purposed against the whole earth, and this is the
hand that is stretched out over all the nations. For the LORD of
hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out,
and who will turn it back?”
As I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand.
God is awesome in power. As He thinks, so it comes to pass; as He purposes, so it happens. God simply has to think something for it to happen. So if the thoughts and plans of God come to pass, how much more will His living words be fulfilled in our lives? Every word that He speaks to us will come to pass, for nothing can defeat Him or His promises. God keeps His word.
The Word Works
Isaiah 55:8-11
“For
My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,”
declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your
thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do
not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and
sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so
will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to
Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding
in the matter for which I sent it.”
1 Thessalonians 2:13
For
this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the
word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word
of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also
performs its work in you who believe.
The word of God performs its work in those who believe. The word which God speaks to us will always accomplish its purpose and fulfill its goal. So what is the work of the word of God?
The work of the word of God’s peace is to draw us into the reality of His peace. The word of His joy is given that we might experience His joy. The same is true for every word that God speaks, whether it is the word of His love, holiness, forgiveness, boldness or life. He speaks forth His word to lead us into the reality of what He has spoken.
Words of Life
John 6:60-63
Therefore
many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a
difficult statement; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, conscious
that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause
you to stumble? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to
where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh
profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and
are life.”
The words that Jesus spoke were spirit and life. The Holy Spirit infused Jesus’ words, so that what He said carried the life and creative power of the Spirit. Whoever received His words received the spiritual power of God.
In the same way, if we receive and believe the word that God speaks to us, we will know the power of God to fulfill His word in us. His word will no longer be a theory but a reality in our lives. We will experience the reality not because we know a secret method or formula, but simply because God is true to His word. Through the Spirit, God will fulfill His word in us.
Power in the Word
John 15:1-3
“I
am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in
Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that
bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are
already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.”
Ephesians 5:25-27
Husbands,
love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave
Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed
her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to
Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any
such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
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