Bible League: Living His Word "God is spirit. So the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."— John 4:24 ERV God reveals Himself as spirit in the Bible. What does this mean? It means that God is revealed in the Bible as being spirit and nothing else. He is not a part of the material realm, even though He can reveal Himself within the material realm and in material terms if He chooses. Further, God is revealed in the Bible as an uncreated spirit that has created and sustains everything else. Unlike the angels, the rest of the spiritual realm, and the material realm, God does not have an origin. He just is. Everything else depends upon Him for its origin and existence. Even further, as uncreated spirit, God rules and reigns over the spiritual realm, over the material realm, and over human beings (who participate in both the spiritual and material realms). As uncreated spirit, God is unlike any other god that human beings have ever concocted as a substitute for Him. All other gods are mere created realities that have been unjustifiably elevated by people to god status. If you reject God as the source and sustainer of all things, then all you have left as an alternative is something from within the created order. That's why there is no god that has ever been conceived by the mind of a human being that has the same majesty and might as God. The false gods concocted by human beings are not much more than pale shadows of the God of the Bible. Since God is revealed as uncreated spirit, He must be worshipped in spirit and in truth. What does this mean? It means that the worship should come from the spirit of a person and should be directed to the one and only true God. Worship should be more than an external and disingenuous observance of a ritual or a rite. Genuine worship should come from the spirit, from the heart and be in line with what God has commanded. When it comes to the worship of God, going through the motions just doesn't cut it. The supreme uncreated spirit deserves worship in spirit and in truth. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJob 38, 39 Job 38 -- God, Speaks, Convinces Job of Ignorance NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Job 39 -- God Speaks of His Creation NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Acts 15:1-21 Acts 15 -- The Council at Jerusalem; James' Support; Barnabas and Paul Part Ways; Second Missionary Journey begins NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”Insight Overflowing love is the natural response to forgiveness and the appropriate consequence of faith. But only those who realize the depth of their sin can appreciate the complete forgiveness God offers them. Jesus has rescued all of his followers, whether they were once extremely wicked or conventionally good, from eternal death. Challenge Do you appreciate the wideness of God's mercy? Are you grateful for his forgiveness? Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Judges 16:6 Tell me I pray thee wherein thy great strength lieth.Where lies the secret strength of faith? It lies in the food it feeds on; for faith studies what the promise is--an emanation of divine grace, an overflowing of the great heart of God; and faith says, "My God could not have given this promise, except from love and grace; therefore it is quite certain his Word will be fulfilled." Then faith thinketh, "Who gave this promise?" It considereth not so much its greatness, as, "Who is the author of it?" She remembers that it is God who cannot lie--God omnipotent, God immutable; and therefore concludeth that the promise must be fulfilled; and forward she advances in this firm conviction. She remembereth,why the promise was given,--namely, for God's glory, and she feels perfectly sure that God's glory is safe, that he will never stain his own escutcheon, nor mar the lustre of his own crown; and therefore the promise must and will stand. Then faith also considereth the amazing work of Christ as being a clear proof of the Father's intention to fulfil his word. "He that spared not his own Son, but freely delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Moreover faith looks back upon the past, for her battles have strengthened her, and her victories have given her courage. She remembers that God never has failed her; nay, that he never did once fail any of his children. She recollecteth times of great peril, when deliverance came; hours of awful need, when as her day her strength was found, and she cries, "No, I never will be led to think that he can change and leave his servant now. Hitherto the Lord hath helped me, and he will help me still." Thus faith views each promise in its connection with the promise-giver, and, because she does so, can with assurance say, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life!" Daily Light on the Daily Path 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.Psalm 51:3,4 For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. • Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge. Luke 15:20 "So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. Isaiah 44:22 "I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud And your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you." 1 John 2:12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake. Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Romans 3:26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Ezekiel 36:25 "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Revelation 3:4 'But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 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. 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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