Spiritual maturity – Page 14 – Wisdom From the Word

Joined to the Head Part 1

We are likely familiar with the idea of Jesus being the head of the body.

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. ¹⁸ And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. Colossians 1:15-18 (NKJV)

In the above passage it is clear that all things point to Jesus. Everything was created both by Him and for Him. This includes the visible and invisible. While we may recognize that the creatures in the spirit realm are part of the invisible, another aspect to consider is that the structure of relationships is part of the invisible realm Jesus created.

While not obvious or visible Jesus in fact created the ways we can relate to Him. Look at what He says. ¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. John 15:15 (NKJV)

Here Jesus is speaking to the 11 (Judas has left to betray Him) and He identifies a change in His relationship to them. What is clear in the text is the relationship changed over time. I believe this is Jesus desire for all of us and it is not automatic, particularly given His warning in Matthew 7 that people could appear to follow Him but not really know Him (Matt. 7:21-23).

Jesus has built into the structure of relationships that when we seek Him and choose to spend time with Him we have the privilege of becoming His friend. I think if we could see in the spirit realm we would be able to see a change in us, we would know when we moved from servant to friend.

What would others see if they could look at us?

Walking in the Word

We are likely familiar with the exhortation to walk in the Spirit yet there is a need to see the link between walking in the Spirit and our walk in the word, the scriptures.

¹ I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You. ² I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name. Psalm 138:1-2 (NKJV)

Here we are told that the Father has exalted His word above His name. Many want to be led by the Spirit, as do I, yet our walk in the Spirit needs to be anchored in His word. To use an analogy think of our walk in the Spirit like a kite flying high in the sky. The kite can soar, dip, flutter, swing, all because it is anchored by the person flying it, in this case, the scriptures. Release the kite and it will soon crash.

In a similar manner many have crashed over the years because they exalted their experience over the scriptures. The scriptures do not tell us whom to marry nor what house or car to buy. They do however give us principles by which to weigh what we are hearing or sensing in our decision making.

There is an expression, ‘you can’t give what you don’t have.’ I have learned some things over the years and can share them with others. In terms of our individual walk it is harder to be led by the Spirit if we have not taken the time to sow the scriptures into our lives. The Spirit says to us;

¹⁷ Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your heart to my knowledge; ¹⁸ For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; Let them all be fixed upon your lips, Proverbs 22:17-18 (NKJV)

¹⁵ And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Colossians 3:15-16 (NKJV)

So, as we seek to soar in the Spirit may we deeply value first being anchored in His word.

Walk in the Spirit

Scripture encourages us in many ways. One encouragement Paul provides is as follows.

¹⁶ I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16 (NKJV)

In our Christian walk the Holy Spirit is our leader. His job is to lead, ours is to follow. At times we will be on a well-established trail with clearly marked directions. At other times the trail will be faint or very difficult to follow. As a general principle we need to always be paying attention to His leading to walk with Him. We need to hear when He tells us to pause, to turn, to press on, to stop and rest.

His leading will not always make logical sense. Years ago a fellow shared a story of how the Holy Spirit trained him to listen. He said he was directed to drive around town and given a sense of when to turn and where. This may seem like it was a pointless exercise but he said he learned to be attentive to the Holy Spirit leading him. The benefit came when one day he was driving and had a sudden sense to stop as he came to a green light. He hit the brakes and someone came tearing through the red light and would have broadsided him had he not stopped.

I’m not suggesting this is the way He will train all of us. Just as good coaches develop individualized plans based on the developmental needs of their players, so He knows what we need to learn and seeks to draw us into His specific training program for our lives. I know in my walk it is more about my thought life and speech. At times I have a sense, ‘say this’ or ‘don’t say that.’ I find when I listen I experience His peace resting in and on me.

While peace is one indicator if we want a broader look at how well we are doing He has provided us with a diagnostic tool in Gal. 5:19-23. Here Paul shows the fruit of walking after the flesh in contrast to walking after the Spirit. While we may be in and out of either way of walking at times, the more we submit to His leading the deeper the habit of waling with Him becomes established in our lives and the more of His fruit we manifest.

Recently I was walking with a younger man on an established trail and I was breaking off some overhanging branches that were in the way. I explained why and he joined me. Whenever I hike, even if I don’t think I will ever be on the trail again, I habitually clear branches and remove small rocks and sticks. I believe it is a basic function of leadership to improve the path for others. In a similar manner the Holy Spirit is always leading us in ways to better clear and establish the path of our lives. He wants us to work with Him to remove branches that will entangle us or rocks and sticks that may trip us up. So, let’s focus on staying in step with Him.

The Law of the Spirit of Life

Paul uses an interesting little phrase in Romans, “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.”

² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2 (NKJV)

It is one thing to know intellectually that we are free from condemnation and sin and death. It is another to know it experientially. When we were born again the seed of God was planted in our lives. This seed contains our spiritual genetics. We now have Jesus nature within us. If we wonder what the seed looks like as it matures Paul describes it in Galatians 5:22-23. We call it the fruit of the Spirit.

The juxtaposition Paul uses is that there are two laws at work and the power in the law of the Spirit of life frees us from power of the law of sin and death. The law of the Spirit of life is able to overcome sin and death at work in us. Great news if that is our experience.

Let me digress a bit. A law as a general principle is there to create boundaries regarding what it is safe to do. To experience the benefit of the law we need to submit to it. In this case the law of the Spirit of life. This means there are two parts, ours and His. He will work in us, in fact He is always at work in us. The degree of effectiveness comes back to our focus. Paul tells us that if we set our minds on the things of the Spirit we will walk in life and peace and if on the things of the flesh, death (Rom. 8:5-6).

Practically this ‘setting of the mind’ often comes down to the little things. When in conversation if we start to head in a certain direction and the Spirit is saying stop (this is an internal sense, a check in our spirit) and we keep going we are heading toward sin and death. If we stop we experience life and peace. We can apply this in a variety of areas of our life – what we think about, what we watch, how we treat others.

When we set our mind on the things of the Spirit we experience the law of the Spirit of life overpowering the law of sin and death. Let’s fix our minds there and show the world Jesus.