Bible League: Living His Word 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.Preachers and teachers of the word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ are sent out by God into the world. They proclaim the truth to those who have not heard the message. By God's grace the Holy Spirit is given to some who hear the message and the Spirit enables them to believe that the message is true. Those who believe that it is true call upon the name of the LORD and are saved (Romans 10:13-15). The Holy Spirit's work in those who accept the message is not a one-time event. Rather, the Holy Spirit remains with them and lives within them permanently. As a result, they have the permanent ability to recognize what is true and not true when it comes to the word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. They do not need to be taught this. If any anti-Christian false prophets come their way, they have the ability to recognize that the message they preach is wrong. However, the Apostle John is not saying that no Christian will ever need a teacher again. Since teaching is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:6-8), that interpretation doesn't make much sense. What he is saying is that the Holy Spirit within us helps us to recognize what is true and not true when it comes to the word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. We don't need another person, like a teacher, to take on this responsibility for us. Spirit-filled Christians that we are, we are capable of doing it for ourselves. Although Godly teachers and preachers can help us develop and deepen our understanding of the truth and can help us develop and deepen our faith in the truth, we don't need them to help us recognize truth. We don't need to frantically search for reliable people to tell us what is true and what is not every time there is a question. Given the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, we have what we need to keep from being fooled by the false prophets of the world. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingPsalm 145-147 Psalm 145 -- I will exalt you, my God, the King. I will praise your name forever and ever. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 146 -- Praise the Lord, my soul. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 147 -- It is good to sing praises to our God NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 1 Corinthians 11:1-15 1 Corinthians 11 -- Reverence in Worship; The Lord's Supper NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.” Insight Like other Jews, the disciples chafed under their Roman rulers. They wanted Jesus to free Israel from Roman power and then become their king. Jesus replied that God the Father sets the timetable for all events—worldwide, national, and personal. Challenge If you want changes that God isn't making immediately, don't become impatient. Instead, trust God's timetable. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon 1 John 1:7 If we walk in the light, as he is in the light.As he is in the light! Can we ever attain to this? Shall we ever be able to walk as clearly in the light as he is whom we call "Our Father," of whom it is written, "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all?" Certainly, this is the model which is set before us, for the Saviour himself said, "Be ye perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect;" and although we may feel that we can never rival the perfection of God, yet we are to seek after it, and never to be satisfied until we attain to it. The youthful artist, as he grasps his early pencil, can hardly hope to equal Raphael or Michael Angelo, but still, if he did not have a noble beau ideal before his mind, he would only attain to something very mean and ordinary. But what is meant by the expression that the Christian is to walk in light as God is in the light? We conceive it to import likeness, but not degree. We are as truly in the light, we are as heartily in the light, we are as sincerely in the light, as honestly in the light, though we cannot be there in the same measure. I cannot dwell in the sun, it is too bright a place for my residence, but I can walk in the light of the sun; and so, though I cannot attain to that perfection of purity and truth which belongs to the Lord of hosts by nature as the infinitely good, yet I can set the Lord always before me, and strive, by the help of the indwelling Spirit, after conformity to his image. That famous old commentator, John Trapp, says, "We may be in the light as God is in the light for quality, but not for equality." We are to have the same light, and are as truly to have it and walk in it as God does, though, as for equality with God in his holiness and purity, that must be left until we cross the Jordan and enter into the perfection of the Most High. Mark that the blessings of sacred fellowship and perfect cleansing are bound up with walking in the light. Daily Light on the Daily Path Luke 19:13 "And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, 'Do business with this until I come back.'Mark 13:34 "It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. Matthew 25:15 "To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. John 9:4 "We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. Luke 2:49 And He said to them, "Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father's house?" 1 Peter 2:21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, 2 Timothy 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 1 Corinthians 3:13 each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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