“‘Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth’ [John 17:17]. The great objective of God’s Word is to make us holy. No diligence or success in Bible study will really profit us unless it makes us more humble and holy. In our use of Holy Scripture, this must be our main objective. The reason there is often so much Bible reading with so little real result in a Christlike character is that ‘…salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth’ (2 Thessalonians 2:13) is not truly desired. …
“It is God Himself who alone can make us holy by His Word. The Word, separate from God and His direct operation, cannot accomplish anything in us. The Word is an instrument: God Himself must use it. God is the only holy One. He alone can make holy. The unspeakable value of God’s Word is that it is God’s means of holiness.
“The terrible mistake of many people is that they forget that God alone can use it and make it effective. It is not enough that I have access to the office of a physician. I need for him to prescribe a cure. Without him, my use of his medicines could be fatal. This was true of the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day. They made their boast in God’s law. They delighted in their study of Scripture and yet remained unsanctified. The Word did not sanctify them, because they did not seek for this in the Word and did not yield to God to do it for them [John 5:39-40]. …
“‘There is none holy as the Lord…’ (1 Samuel 2:2). All holiness is His, and He makes things holy by His holy presence. The tabernacle and temple were not holy in virtue of cleansing, separation, or an indwelling God. His taking possession made them holy. God makes us holy through His Word, bringing Christ and the Holy Spirit into us. The Father can only do this as we wait before Him and in deep dependence and full surrender give ourselves up to Him. When we pray by faith, ‘Sanctify [me] through Thy truth; Thy word is truth,’ our knowledge of God’s Word will truly make us holy.” —Andrew Murray
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.
I know we’re not supposed to judge by appearances, but the fact is that we do make quite a few mental assessments by what we see.
I heard about a recently-hired flight attendant who hadn’t received her uniform from the airline before she worked her first flight. Can you imagine what passengers were thinking when someone dressed just like them was giving pre-flight instructions, passing out snacks and beverages, or asking passengers to buckle up? I’m sure they made an assessment about her because of what she wasn’t wearing.
The first mention an article of clothing is when God clothes Adam and Eve to cover the shame of their sin (Genesis 3:21).
There is no mention of the garments and accessories that would be worn by kings, but we see how these things had become recognized outward symbols (1 Samuel 18:1-4). And then there were the kingly crowns (2 Samuel 12:29-30). As we saw last week, David knew God had chosen him to lead Israel, and whether it was symbolic or literal, David saw his kingly crown as coming from God (Psalm 21:1-3, 5).
Swords and crowns were mostly symbols of authority, but there are also garments that show intimacy. We first see this with the priests who were to serve before God in the Holy of Holies. They were given special garments to distinguish them from everyone else (Exodus 28:1-3). These robes would also be saturated with the aroma of the unique incense that the priests offered in God’s presence. So both the appearance and aroma spoke of close intimacy with God.
For a period of time, the ark of the covenant of the Lord was housed in a temporary location, but David wanted to bring it to Jerusalem. As he undertook this, notice his clothing choice (1 Chronicles 15:27). David then offered praise to God extolling His glory (16:8-10), His strength (vv. 11-12), and His majesty (vv. 24-29).
Psalm 93 is a royal psalm—taking what people knew about King David and pointing past him to the King of kings. Notice the same themes in this psalm of this eternal King’s glory, strength, and majesty as David mentions in 1 Chronicles 16. God is referred to exclusively as YHWH (5 times) in this psalm.
David recognized his kingly majesty came from his intimacy with the majesty of God.
God’s clothing of Adam and Eve—the covering of the ravages of sin—was a foreshadowing of what Jesus would do for us. Check out this prophecy in Isaiah 61:1-3, 10. Jesus quoted this in His very first recorded sermon.
Jesus has a royal crown and robe that shows both His royalty and His intimacy with His Father’s majesty (Revelation 6:2, 19:13). And Jesus gives this same crown to His saints (2:10, 3:11).
Remember we said earlier that we naturally make an assessment of people by their robes? What do people assess about you? In the middle of the Isaiah 61 prophecy about what Jesus would do for us is this testimony—
Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed(v. 9).
Our soiled robes have been exchanged for the King of king’s robe of pure righteousness (Ephesians 5:25-27). Because He is also our High Priest, our robe of righteousness is saturated with His aroma (2 Corinthians 2:14 NKJV; 1 Peter 2:9).
Revelation 22:14 should be our desire—Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.
But we should also desire what Jesus desires: That no one misses out on this—
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. (John 3:16-17).
So let’s make sure our robes are clean and bright, and that the aroma of our life is a pleasing aroma that points others to our King!
If you would like to check out the other Royal Psalms that we’ve already looked at, you can find those here.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.
I’m going to spoil some of the surprise right up front. We’re going to look at two questions about death, and the answer to the question, “Is that in the Bible?” is “No” for both questions.
Persisting to do unbiblical things is a sin because we are trying to point out why God is wrong and why our opinion is right.
But there is also a danger in pursuing non-biblical things, when we try to give our non-biblical opinion or preferencebiblical weight, and then look down on anyone who doesn’t believe or act like we do. The Bible does tell us tobe peacemakers (Romans 14:13-21).
Statement #17—Cremating a loved one exempts them from heaven. Is that in the Bible?No.
The preferred method in the Old Testament appears to be burial. Sometimes in the ground, but more typically in a cave or man-made crypt. There were exceptions. For instance, the bodies of Saul and Jonathan were cremated (1 Samuel 31:11-13), and King Jehoram could have been cremated, but certainly he wasn’t interred the same way that his father and grandfather were (2 Chronicles 21:1, 4-6, 18-20).
In the New Testament era there was an end-of-life process the Greeks adopted called ossilegium. The Greeks frequently anointed the body with oil and wine and burned it until just the bones were left. The Jews wrapped the dead body in burial shroud and anointed it with spices—as with Lazarus (John 11:38-44) and Jesus (John 19:38-41). About a year after death, the bones would be collected and placed in an ossuary. Most often, multiple family members’ bones would share the same ossuary.
Statement #18—Suicide is an unforgivable sin. Is that in the Bible?No.
We don’t see suicide a lot in Scripture:
Saul died by his own sword—1 Samuel 31:4
Zimri died by self-immolation—1 Kings 16:18
Ahithophel and Judas both hanged themselves—2 Samuel 17:23; Matthew 27:5
But no where does Scripture speak to this form of death as being a reason to exclude that person from Heaven. These deaths do seem like last-ditch, hopeless acts. Because they are the very last act, it seems like these people have utterly rejected God. It has been a misconception for a long time that the way you die determines your eternal home. Consider a scene in Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Hamlet will not kill Claudius while he’s praying and send him to heaven—
And now I’ll do ’t.
⌜He draws his sword.⌝
And so he goes to heaven,
And so am I revenged. That would be scanned:
A villain kills my father, and for that,
I, his sole son, do this same villain send
To heaven.
Why, this is ⟨hire⟩ and ⟨salary,⟩ not revenge.
He took my father grossly, full of bread,
With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May;
And how his audit stands who knows save heaven. …
To take him in the purging of his soul,
When he is fit and seasoned for his passage?
No. …
⌜He sheathes his sword.⌝
When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage,
Or in th’ incestuous pleasure of his bed,
At game, a-swearing, or about some act
That has no relish of salvation in ’t—
Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven,
And that his soul may be as damned and black
As hell, whereto it goes.
Here are the truths we see in Scripture:
We are created in God’s image and given a body—Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7.
Yet our body is called a temporary tent—2 Corinthians 5:1-3.
We will be raised either to eternal life or a second and eternal death—Luke 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 15:42-54, 20-21; Revelation 20:11-15.
How we die and how our body is disposed of makes no difference to where we will spend eternity. The only thing that matters is if our name is written in the Book of Life. Our name is written there only if we are covered by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:10, 17-22).
Check out more of the questions we have covered in our Is That In The Bible? series by clicking here.
In my book review of Spiritual Leadership, by Henry Blackaby and Richard Blackaby, I commented that this book combines two of my favorite topics: Leaders and the Bible. I highlighted so many passages in this book, but here are a few quotes that show that merging of leadership and biblical studies.
“Spiritual Leadership is moving people on to God’s agenda. … Spiritual leaders cannot produce spiritual change in people; only the Holy Spirit can do that. Yet through the Spirit, God often uses people to bring about spiritual growth in others. … That is the crux of spiritual leadership. Leaders seek to move people on to God’s agenda, all the while being aware that only the Holy Spirit can ultimately accomplish the task.”
“Spiritual leadership is taking people from where they are to where God wants them to be. Because God’s agenda drives spiritual leaders, it is God, and not the leader, who determines when His will has been accomplished (1 Samuel 15:13–24).”
“An important truth that is often overlooked is that spiritual leaders can influence all people, not just Christians.”
“According to the Bible, God is not necessarily looking for leaders, at least not in the sense we might think. He is looking for servants (Isaiah 59:16; Ezekiel 22:30).”
“It is generally in tumultuous times that people make the greatest difference in their world. The greater the crisis, the greater is the opportunity for leaders to make a difference. Those who complain about their difficulties or shrink from crises prove they are not leaders regardless of whether they hold such an office. But people who recognize the opportunity history affords them and boldly accept the invitation will change their world. … True spiritual leaders do not wring their hands and wistfully recount the better times of days gone by. Genuine leaders understand they have but one life to live and so they expend it with purpose and passion. God placed you on the earth at this particular crossroad in history. You live in a time of great challenges but enormous opportunity.”
“God has the vision of what He wants to do. God does not ask leaders to dream big dreams for Him or to solve the problems confronting them with their own best thinking. He asks leaders to walk with Him so intimately that when He reveals His agenda they immediately adjust their lives and their organizations to His will and the results bring glory to God.”
“Leadership development is synonymous with personal development. As leaders grow personally, they increase their ability to lead. As they increase their capability to lead, they enlarge the capacity of their organization to grow. Therefore, the most crucial objective for any leader is personal growth. … The most important thing spiritual leaders do is cultivate their relationship with God (John 15:5; Jeremiah 7:13).”
More quotes from this amazing book are coming soon, so stay tuned!
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
My book When Sheep Bite is a manual of help for church leaders who have been hurt by the very sheep they are attempting to help. This book was birthed from a very painful chapter in my own ministry.
But as dark as that time was, there was a ray of light that helped me to smile during the dark times and for years and years afterwards. Here is an excerpt from the chapter ‘Cry Before Your Confront’ in When Sheep Bite—
We used to have a funny saying in our family. Our puppy would be straining to get free and one of us would cry out, “Release the hound!”
After reading the previous chapter about imprecatory prayers, and hopefully putting that into practice, I hope you felt some relief from your anger. But when you read my reminder that David’s “Get ‘em, God!” cry was for God’s ears only, perhaps you were a little disappointed. Maybe you were hoping for someone to give you a green light to “release the hound” on those biting, kicking, and wayward sheep.
Wouldn’t it be so wonderful to unleash something—anything!—on those difficult sheep? As shepherds, we have so many ways we can dress up our unleashed hounds in biblical-sounding language. Maybe a righteous rebuke like the psalmist recorded: “You rebuke the arrogant, who are accursed, those who stray from Your commands” (Psalm 119:21). Or perhaps a well-timed prophetic thunderbolt like when Samuel was praying and “the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic” (1 Samuel 7:10). Or even a strategic lightning strike from God’s throne as when the soldiers from King Ahaziah came to forcibly take Elijah to the king (2 Kings 1:11-12).
One of my favorite prayers is a prayer of David’s that is given added emphasis since it is recorded twice in the Scripture (2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18)—
In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came before Him, into His ears. The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because He was angry. Smoke rose from His nostrils; consuming fire came from His mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under His feet. … Out of the brightness of His presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot His arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning He routed them. (Psalm 18:6-9, 12-14)
Wow, how good it must have felt for David to unleash these words! And yet we still see that they were words only for God’s ears, spoken when David was alone with the Almighty God. Isn’t there something we can say or do to our obstinate sheep? Yes, there is, but there is something we need to be reminded of first.
After a particularly grueling day of being bitten, kicked, and attacked by the angry sheep in my pasture, I came home and announced, “Tomorrow is ‘Be Kind to Craig Owens Day!” While driving home and licking my wounds, I had determined that I needed a day off—a day to unplug from all of the madness and make sure I was taking care of myself.
Let me add a very important truth here. In fact, it’s so important that I’m going to print it in bold letters: Self-care is not selfish! Far too many shepherds think that taking time off to care for themselves, especially in the midst of all of the chaos, is a selfish thing to do.
Selfish is different. Selfishness is self-centered. Selfishness is saying, “I’m going to take care of myself and I don’t care what happens to others while I’m doing what I want to do.” Self-care is a strategic withdrawal to take care of myself so that I can return to take care of others. It is like the instructions on an airplane to put your own oxygen mask on first before you try to help a small child with their mask. If I pass out, I’m no good to anyone else. Just as Jesus “often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16), we must find times to care for ourselves so that we are strengthened to help others when we return to the fray. This concept of self-care is so vital that I have dedicated all of Chapter 12 to explaining this idea to you in more depth.
My family still celebrates the Be Kind to Craig Owens Day “holiday” but we mainly remember it because of something else that happened in our family.
On this inaugural event, I planned a day of reading, praying, walking, and recuperating. I silenced my phone and withdrew for that entire Friday. After a nice evening with my family, I decided to extend my self-care time into Saturday. My daughter and I went out to breakfast, and because we both enjoy animals so much, we decided to stop into a new pet store and play with the puppies for a while.
Almost instantly, both of us were captivated by a very special dog. There was something about her that drew us to her. In short order, we were on the phone with my wife and my sons asking them to join us at the pet store. We ended up walking out of the store that morning with a new addition to our family.
My wife later remarked that this puppy was the best irresponsible decision we ever made. Part of the reason this was true is that this puppy became my constant companion. I took her to my office with me so that I would have a source of unconditional love to offset all of the brutal attacks I was absorbing.
When John Bradford saw a cartful of men going off to Tyburn to be hanged for their crimes, he said to a friend, “There goes John Bradford but for the grace of God.” When I stopped to think what was different between my behavior and the behavior of these biting sheep, I realized it was only the grace of God that had kept me from descending into the same ugly behavior. That’s when I decided to name our new puppy Grace. I wanted to say that name over and over and over again. I desperately needed to be reminded of God’s grace for me. I also needed to be reminded that God wanted my biting sheep to know His grace too.
When we cried out, “Release the hound,” it was because Grace was straining at her leash to overwhelm someone with her love. She wanted nothing more than to show them how much she welcomed them into her presence.
I’ll be honest with you: When some of my biting sheep came storming into my office to berate me for something and Grace wanted to run to them with love and acceptance, I wanted to scold her and keep her back. This, I think, was the attitude of the older brother when his wayward brother returned home and was lovingly welcomed back into the fold by their father (Luke 15:11-32). But when I paused to think of God’s amazing grace that “saved a wretch like me,” I was reminded that God’s grace also wants to restore other wayward, obstinate, unreasonable sheep.
Our annual reminder of this event is really remembering our dog Grace’s “Gotcha Day.” It’s our annual reminder that grace is best seen in times and places that it is least expected.
If you are a church leader, please pick up a copy of When Sheep Bite to help you on your healing journey. And if I can be of assistance to you, please get in touch with me.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
The apostle Paul’s letters to the church in Corinth show two things: a lot of correction and a lot of love. In fact, it’s in the middle of some correction and redirection about the misuse of spiritual gifts that Paul gives us the quintessential definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13.
Paul also wrote, “For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you” (2 Corinthians 2:4).
The truth does need to be spoken to wayward sheep, but it has to be birthed in love and spoken in love or else it will alienate more than help. People don’t care to listen to my counsel or correction until they know how much I truly care for them.
There needs to be a connection before attempting the correction.
I have an entire chapter in my book When Sheep Bite on this topic. Here’s an excerpt—
It is possible that our grace-filled response to our biting sheep may make the difference to their eternal home. The apostle Paul told Timothy that those sheep who were out of line were trapped by the devil, and unless Timothy did something those sheep may never break free—
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:24-26)
For some reason many shepherd leaders have made “confrontation” a dirty word, or have sullied its usefulness by confronting in an ungodly way. One thing that will help us handle confrontation the right way is to remember why we confront: The goal of confrontation is restoration, not destruction!
There is a cliché that says, “Once bitten, twice shy.” As I mentioned earlier, after we’ve been bitten we need to allow the Holy Spirit to search our hearts to point out anything in us that may have contributed to such a painful outburst from that sheep. Perhaps after doing all of that you attempted to confront a sheep and it didn’t go so well. As a result, you are now a bit shy to confront another wayward sheep. Dick Brogden wrote:
“Experience so easily leads us to cynicism. Information too easily leads to pain. Leadership often makes us jaded because we’ve seen so much junk, all the effects of broken people breaking people. … A strong heart determines that it will stay soft, that it will absorb hurt, disappointment, and reality, and yet believe that God can redeem people and circumstances.”
Handled correctly, confrontation can lead to restoration, a deeper intimacy, and newfound maturity. Handled incorrectly, and, well, let’s just say it can get very ugly!
I imagine we have all heard stories of the fallout from confrontation in another pasture, or perhaps we know the painful consequences in our own pastures. But let’s try for a moment to put those past experiences or secondhand stories out of our minds and take a fresh look at how to handle confrontation.
Samuel was going to be sent by God to confront King Saul about the sin he had committed. Look at this passage: “Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: ‘I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from Me and has not carried out My instructions.’ Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the Lord all that night” (1 Samuel 15:10-11).
Did you catch how Samuel responded? He cried out to the Lord all that night.
Perhaps if we, as godly under-shepherds, cried before we confronted the results might be more healthy. Billy Graham noted, “Tears shed for self are tears of weakness, but tears shed for others are a sign of strength.” (from Chapter 5 ‘Cry Before You Confront’)
If you have some difficult but necessary words to speak to someone, take time to cry before you confront. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the most loving way to handle this situation. Cry before you confront, and may your tears soften your heart to speak truthful words saturated in your love for God and your love for this wayward saint.
Please pick up a copy of When Sheep Bite to learn more biblical strategies for handling biting sheep and for healing from biting sheep. If I can be of help to you, please get in touch with me.
P.S. You may also be interested in a whole series about growing and showing our love called Loving the Unlovable.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
There are several psalms that are regal in their focus—talking about the King’s coronation, or the King ruling on His throne, or the ultimate victory of the King that is coming in the future. Although these royal psalms are extolling God as King, many of these psalms use King David as an object lesson. The idea is seeing how a man after God’s heart (1 Samuel 13:14) became the standard by which all other kings were measured:
Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done (1 Kings 15:11)
Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, butnot as his father David had done (2 Kings 14:3)
Unlike his father, Ahaz did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord, as his father David had done (2 Chronicles 28:1)
The people followed their king in both righteousness and evil. They were fiercely loyal to their monarch. We don’t really get that loyalty today. “We’re Americans,” we cry, “We live in the land of the free and don’t ever bow our knee to a king!”
That’s an appropriate response for those living in a democratic republic, but we would do well to learn to bow our knee to a true King.
After the United States Constitution was adopt adopted, Elizabeth Willing Powel asked Benjamin Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?“ Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Franklin went on to say, “In these sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution, with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a General Government necessary for us, and there is no form of government, but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered; and believe further, that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government.”
Because of our defiance as free people in our government, we have become lacking in our loyalty, which shows itself in a lack of proper reverence or respect. Just listen to how people talk so disrespectfully or even hatefully about those in “the other political party.” Benjamin Franklin also said, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”
Where are the days of the armor bearer who said to Prince Jonathan, “Do all you have in mind. I’m with you heart and soul,” even though Jonathan was proposing an impossible task? Or the loyalty of the men around David who heard him sigh about the water in Bethlehem, and they put their lives at risk to bring him a drink? This was even before he was on a throne, and yet they showed their loyalty to him. I fear that our lost culture of reverence for earthly leaders has eroded our reverence for the King of kings, and vice versa.
The first royal psalm (Psalm 2) practically open the Psalter. This psalm calls us to consider the differences between earthly kings and the King of kings.
Notice that earthly kings “conspire”—they angrily boast and rage. They plot (v. 1b) and scheme (AMPC). They take their stand together (v. 2).
Against Whom? Against the LORD (Jehovah) and against His Anointed One (the Messiah)!
Much like the fiercely independent people I described us as earlier, these earthly rulers want to call their own shots—they don’t want to take directions from anyone else because they think they know best (v. 3). But notice in v. 1 that the peoples have followed their leaders in their plot.
God doesn’t rage at them, but He laughs, He scoffs, He rebukes, and the people are terrified when they realize that they cannot overcome Him. In v. 1 we see their plots are “in vain.”
There is nothing men can do—no matter how powerful they may seem or how many of them “take their stand…together”—to thwart or even delay the plans of Jehovah.
All of History is His Story. Notice the phrase that God speaks, “I have … I will” (in vv. 6-7; c.f. Daniel 4:25).
In vv. 7-9 God speaks to His Son—the Messiah, the Anointed One, the King of kings. We hear this repeated in Acts 13:32-33 and in God’s own voice in Matthew 3:17. Then we see the fulfillment of this in passages like Philippians 2:9-11 and Revelation 11:17-18.
This royal psalm ends with an important conclusion: Therefore (vv. 10-12):
Be wise
Be warned
Serve the King with reverential fear
Rejoice with trembling
Kiss the Son with absolute loyalty and joyful reverence
Check out another “therefore” in Philippians 2:12-16. This is a call for righteous, reverent living for those who have acknowledged Jesus as their King. It’s only those who live this way who will know the blessed refuge in Him that is unshakable for ever and ever!
Follow along with our look at all of the royal psalms by clicking here.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Last week we talked about the Voice of the Holy Spirit. I love the phrase from 1 Samuel 9:15 where God “told Samuelin his ear” about Saul’s arrival and what he should say to Saul. Then the Holy Spirit’s Voice for all of us is foretold in Isaiah 30:21.
It’s great hearing the Spirit’s Voice, but He also empowers us to know the Mind of God.
This is not something that automatically comes to every Christian at the moment they invite Jesus to be their Lord and Savior, as we see mention of immature Christians throughout the New Testament.
Even after Jesus is resurrected from the dead, we see His followers as unsure, troubled men. We meet their…
This is all post-resurrection but pre-conversion, but look at what happens next. After Jesus breathes on them (John 20:22), they are peaceful (vv. 19, 21, 26) and they can now understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45-48).
As we’ve said, we shouldn’t stop at salvation. Certainly, Jesus wanted more for His followers than merely salvation. He wants His disciples empowered for witnessing and disciple-making (Luke 24:48; Acts 1:4-5, 8).
Check out these examples of the Holy Spirit sharing with us the mind of God:
Joseph—Genesis 41:16, 38-40
Daniel—Daniel 2:19-23, 27-28, 47
Peter—Acts 2:14f; 3:17-26; 4:8-12
Stephen—Acts 7
Philip—Acts 8:30-35
And just in case you think this is just for “super spiritual” people, look how the Holy Spirit helps the whole Church share the Gospel—
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly. … Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. (Acts 4:31, 8:4).
This was always God’s plan! Paul harkens back to prophecies like Isaiah 55:8-9, Isaiah 40:13, and Jeremiah 31:33 when he writes about Christians having “the mind of God” in 1 Corinthians 2:6-16.
He says, “These are the things revealed to usby His Spirit” (v. 10).
What things? “Things God has prepared for those who love Him”—things which human eyes haven’t seen, human ears haven’t heard, human minds haven’t conceived (v. 9). These are the the very thoughts of God Himself!
Just as my spirit is the only one that knows what’s really in my mind, the Holy Spirit is the only One Who knows the mind of the Father and Son (v. 11). We have been given the Holy Spirit “so that we may understand what God has freely given us” (v. 12). Contrast this with the dull, unfruitful minds of both unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4) and carnal Christians (Philippians 3:18-19).
This mind of God is given to us for our edification so that we can be empowered witnesses and disciple-makers. So don’t stop at salvation, but be baptized in the Holy Spirit, and then keep on being filled with the Spirit.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Here’s an interesting interaction between King Saul and David—
And Saul jealously eyed David from that day forward. … And Saul cast the javelin, for he thought, I will pin David to the wall. And David evaded him twice. Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. (1 Samuel 18:9, 11-12 AMPC)
This exchange in this well-known story got me wondering. I was thinking howSaul had the position of authority over David and he had a javelin in his hand, but the Bible still says that Saul “was afraid of David.” Why would that be? I think even the most atheistic of people intuitively know there is something other-worldly about those in whom the Spirit of God abides, which makes worldly people lash out at them in fear.
But those who fear God—as David did—don’t fear mortals. Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, Who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28 NLT). This reverent fearlessness is what galls those who fear the unknown, so they try to silence confident God-followers.
In these attacks, Jesus tells us not to respond naturally, but supernaturally. “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you” (Luke 6:27-28 NLT).
Peter picked up those words from Jesus and instructed Christians: “Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when He judges the world. … For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in His steps.” (1 Peter 2:12, 21 NLT).
Although Saul feared the presence of God in David, he also had to acknowledge the success that came to David because of God’s abiding presence in him, and also, by extension, the success that came to Saul’s kingdom. On the one hand, Saul wanted David dead; on the other hand, he wanted David close by—
So Saul removed David from him and made him his commander over a thousand; and [David] went out and came in before the people. David acted wisely in all his ways and succeeded, and the Lord was with him. When Saul saw how capable and successful David was, he stood in awe of him. (1 Samuel 18:13-15 AMPC)
When Christians are supernaturally empowered by God, they never have to respond in natural fight-or-flight from those who lash out at them. Let your faithfulness to God be your testimony that points others to Him.
Jesus said, “If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would treat you with affection and would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world [no longer one with it], but I have chosen (selected) you out of the world, the world hates (detests) you.” (John 15:18-19)
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I would like you to think about a wise, loving friend. One who has years of godly wisdom, empathy, loads of patience, and loving boldness. When you talk with them, you know that you will always get good counsel—even if you may not like exactly what they have shared with you, deep down you know it is still sound wisdom. This is what the Holy Spirit—as our Counselor—does for us.
The Holy Spirit is not merely a force, but He is a Person. Jesus Himself give the Spirit the pronouns “He / Him / His.”
I especially want to key in on those last two attributes where the Holy Spirit is speaking to us.
Samuel grew up during the time of the judges, where everyone did whatever they thought best. This is a time that is described like this, “In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions” (1 Samuel 3:1). Visions in the Hebrew language is two words: open communication. In other words, people just weren’t listening for God’s voice.
Samuel had to learn to hear God’s voice as well (see this passage and all of the other biblical references in this post by clicking here).
God doesn’t reveal His heart to those who are unwilling to obey. His persistent call is for obedience to His Word and reliance on His provision. So the word of the Lord had to be revealed to Samuel (v. 7). When Samuel said he was listening (v. 10), that was a posture of readiness to obey.
God wants to reveal His heart to His obedient people. I love how God does this later for Samuel, “Now the Lord had told Samuel in his earthe day before Saul came…” (1 Samuel 9:15).
This is how Jesus described the Holy Spirit in John 7:37-39, as streams that flow continuously out of our being. And Jesus also calls Him Counselor (John 14:16).
Isaiah described our Counselor like this, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a Voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isaiah 30:21).
Let’s call this GPS = God’s Personal Spirit in us!
Those who are baptized in the Holy Spirit—utterly yielded to His wisdom—will experience:
More insight into God’s Word—Psalm 119:18
More timely application of God’s Word—2 Timothy 3:16-17
More boldness in prayer—2 Samuel 7:27 (same word for in his ear as Samuel experienced)
All Christians have a deposit of the Holy Spirit in their lives at the moment of salvation. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a completed yielding to the Counselor’s influence. So don’t stop at salvation, but ask Jesus to send you what the Father has promised (Luke 24:49; Acts 2:33).
Check out all of the messages in our series leading up to Pentecost Sunday by clicking here.
“‘Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth’ [John 17:17]. The great objective of God’s Word is to make us holy. No diligence or success in Bible study will really profit us unless it makes us more humble and holy. In our use of Holy Scripture, this must be our main objective. The reason there is often so much Bible reading with so little real result in a Christlike character is that ‘…salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth’ (2 Thessalonians 2:13) is not truly desired. … 
“‘There is none holy as the Lord…’ (1 Samuel 2:2). All holiness is His, and He makes things holy by His holy presence. The tabernacle and temple were not holy in virtue of cleansing, separation, or an indwelling God. His taking possession made them holy. God makes us holy through His Word, bringing Christ and the Holy Spirit into us. The Father can only do this as we wait before Him and in deep dependence and full surrender give ourselves up to Him. When we pray by faith, ‘Sanctify [me] through Thy truth; Thy word is truth,’ our knowledge of God’s Word will truly make us holy.” —Andrew Murray 
Craig T. Owens 