Aug
1
Written by:
Bob Flynn
8/1/2008 3:46 PM
Gospel Light OR Gospel-lite Our understanding is totally dependent upon the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit NOT intellectual prowess. Therefore, we are without excuse and misunderstanding is no longer an option.
Understanding Salvation, the God Factor
Without the Holy Spirit we cannot "know!" "Knowing" is the illumination of human heart trapped in utter darkness! This is more certain than the warmth of the sun upon your face or the gravity that holds your feet to the Earth.
But people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can't understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. (1 Corinthians 2:14 NLT)
Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.
(John 3:3 NLT)
If you had really known Me, you would know who My Father is. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him!
(John 14:7 NLT)
If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
(2 Corinthians 4:3-4 NLT)
Since God in His wisdom saw to it that the world would never know Him through human wisdom, He has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.
(1 Corinthians 1:21 NLT)
Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others.
(1 Corinthians 2:15 NLT)
And we have received God's Spirit (not the world's spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
(1 Corinthians 2:12 NLT)
When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own but will tell you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring Me glory by telling you whatever He receives from Me. All that belongs to the Father is Mine; this is why I said, 'The Spirit will tell you whatever He receives from Me.'
(John 16:13-15 NLT)
But you have received the Holy Spirit, and He lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what He teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as He has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.
(1 John 2:27 NLT)
That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him." But it was to us that God revealed these things by His Spirit. For His Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets.
(1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NLT)
Our understanding is totally dependent upon the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit NOT intellectual prowess. Therefore, we are without excuse and misunderstanding is no longer an option.
By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God's command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.
(Hebrews 11:3 NLT)
Likewise, the terms upon which men may now be saved and thus receive the Spirit are as clearly defined in the Scripture. Salvation is by grace through faith. It is the result of the transforming work of God for man, and not the result of the work of man for God. It is that which God does for the one who trusts the Saviourhood of Christ. By that trust, Christ is personally received as the divine, Redeemer who shed His blood as a sufficient ransom for the guilt and penalty of sin, as the One who reconciles by having taken away the sin of the world, and as the divine Propitiation who, as Substitute, met every indictment brought against the sinner under the holy government of God. Grace, Lewis Sperry Chafer