The
Spirit of the Word
"The words that
I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life."-- Jesus
"The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life."-- Paul
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by Ray and Doris
Prinzing
No. 2
A PURIFYING HOPE
"Behold, what manner of love the Father has
bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world
knows us not, because it knew Him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and
it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that when He shall appear,
we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that has
this hope in Him purifies himself, even as He is pure." (1 John 3:1-3).
We
are admonished to "Buy the truth, and sell it not." (Prov. 23:23). As I
pondered this one day, in my thoughts came the question, What is truth? And the
answer was right there, "Your Word is truth." (John 17:17). So then the
question came, "What is the Word? And the Spirit spoke into my thoughts─"The
Word is the REVEALED WILL OF GOD, anointed and made internally yours." We need
more than "just words" from a black bound volume-- for "the letter kills, but
the Spirit gives life." (2 Cor. 3:6). So when the Spirit of God quickens a word
in your heart, that becomes HIS WORD TO YOU for that day. It does not have to
be formed into "King James Version" vocabulary, but when HE speaks, receive it,
and let it work in you more of His purpose.
Now, our "text verse" begins, "Behold..." The word is plural, behold you, ALL OF
YOU! Let us all ponder together on His special love bestowed on us.
"WHAT MANNER..." The Greek is "potapos" meaning: of what sort or kind, and it
holds within it the thought of being foreign to those around. For sure, the
love of God is of a KIND that is utterly foreign to the world, though among
believers it is becoming a little more familiar. "Agape"─ a love that is
self-sacrificial and unconditional, freely giving without a thought of any
return. No wonder the world questions "What manner of love is this?"
It
is the same word that is used of our Lord, in Matthew 8:27, when they asked,
"WHAT MANNER of man is this?" He was so extremely different from all other men,
in His word, and in His deed; in His authority, and in His power; that they
could only stand in awe, and ask, "What manner of man is this?" In the midst of
the storm, He could stand up in the boat, and command the storm to abate, which
it did, and left them asking, "What manner of man is this?" He could speak words
of love and compassion, tenderness and care, coupled with a firm authority; He
could cause the blind to see, the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the dead to
rise up again, until they said, "WHAT MANNER of man is this?" He is utterly
foreign to the natural realm. They could not understand Him with their carnal
mind.
"What manner of love the Father has bestowed..." Bestowed─ the word is "didomi,"
in the perfect tense, and thus speaks of giving something to someone, so that
the gift becomes a permanent possession. The unconditional love that He imparts
to us becomes eternally ours, nothing can take it away from us, not even our
sins and short-comings. "God so loved the world that HE GAVE..." And there is
nothing that can ever diminish or take away what He has bestowed. You might
fashion your own little world of unbelief, but that does not change God's action
and love toward us. "If we believe not, yet He abides faithful: He cannot deny
Himself." (2 Tim. 2:13).
Paul confirms this word which John gives, and states, "For I am persuaded, that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord." (Rom. 8:38-39).
What love He has bestowed upon us, "that we should be called..." Not just in the
sense that the "divine call" is placed upon us, but literally, TO GIVE A NAME
TO, to be NAMED. "Called the sons (children) of God." Thus HE SHARES WITH US OF
HIS IDENTITY. He names us, acknowledges us to be His own children─ a part of
the family of God, so that we share in His identity.
I
remember many years ago, when the Doctor carried a little baby down the hallway,
placed him on a blanket at the Nurse's station, and said to me, "Here is your
boy, count his fingers and toes, etc. he is all there." And I looked at the
baby, and said, "That is Daniel Prinzing," and he immediately was identified as
being of the Prinzing lineage. He was NAMED─ given an identity, and he
belonged to us.
The
very moment we receive the SEED OF GOD'S LIFE into us, and He bestows His love
upon us as a permanent possession, naming us as His children, we are immediately
identified as being of the God-lineage.
Long ago God said to Israel, "The Lord has avouched (guaranteed, affirmed) you
this day to be His peculiar people, as He has promised you, and that you should
keep all His commandments; And to make you high above all nations which He has
made, in praise, AND IN NAME, and in honor; and that you may BE A HOLY PEOPLE
unto the Lord your God, as He has spoken."(Deut. 26:18-19).
"AND IN NAME." The name speaks of the nature and character of a person. In that
our God is so marvelously great, He has many names, each revealing to us another
facet of His nature and character, etc. We ascribe unto Him many titles: He is
Wonderful, Counselor, Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, etc.
Then we have all the compound names of Jehovah─ as our Healer, our Banner, our
Righteousness, our Provider, our Defender etc. All of these names and titles
help us to identify Him to us. But now He states that He will make a people
high above all nations "IN NAME." He is ready to share His identity with
humanity─ it is utterly awesome and amazing!
"God at the first did visit the nations, to take out of them A PEOPLE FOR HIS
NAME." (Acts 15:14). And the call goes forth, "Bring My sons from far, and My
daughters from the ends of the earth; Even every one that is called by My name:
for I have created him for My glory." (Isaiah 43:6-7).
No
wonder we read, "Therefore the world knows us not, because it knew Him not."
Obviously, if they do not know Him, neither will they know anyone called by His
name. And Jesus said, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the
world." (John 17:16). The more you lose your world-identity, and take on the
new creation identity in Christ, the less you fit into this world. Your
citizenship is in another realm─ the heavenly, and this is a realm that is
utterly foreign to the world. Indeed, it is quite foreign to a lot of religious
realms too, for they actually know Him not.
"Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord,... and then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you." (Matt. 7:22-23). Know─ the Greek word is "ginosko"
meaning: to know by experience. To have an intimate understanding and knowledge
of another, based upon experience with them. When you have a deep communion
with one, sharing the secrets of their heart, you come to know the nature and
character of a person. This is far more than merely sharing surface opinions,
like "it's a nice day," or, "looks like it might rain," "let's go for a cup of
coffee and chat a bit." That's not coming to KNOW a person. But when you walk
with them through deep trials, share their grief and joy, and become vulnerable
because you are openly exposing your inner self to them─ then you get to really
know someone.
When you KNOW HIM by experience, in the intimate knowledge of His love, of His
grace, of His mercy, and He reveals to you an understanding of His plan and
purpose, then other people can impute to Him all sorts of strange ideas of what
"God is like," with doctrines that deny Him as He truly IS, and you can simply
say to them, "You do not KNOW Him! He is nothing like you say. You charge Him
with false motives and gross distortions of His character."
When there is nothing in common, no intelligent appreciation for the same
things, no mutual understanding of things, then we are AS FOREIGNERS, of a
different breed, a species that they cannot relate to, and they will look at
you, and simply say, "I don't know you." You are a stranger.
Certainly HIS NATURE is foreign to the world, and as it becomes our nature also,
we are to them as "pilgrims and strangers." But, John writes, "Now are we the
sons (Greek, children) of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be. It
is not yet made manifest! This WHAT suggests something unspeakable, contained
in the likeness of God. There are marvels in Him which are yet to be revealed,
beyond all we can ask or think. "We don't know what we shall become in the
future. We only know that, IF REALITY WERE TO BREAK THROUGH, we should reflect
His likeness, for we should see Him as He really is!" (Phillips translation).
Ah,
no man can tell you today the real WHAT─ what we shall be. There are various
speculations─ where revelation ends, speculations begin─ but the mind of man
cannot conceive THE WHAT of God. He is so ALL GOD, and we are yet so human,
that except for the small glimpses He gives of Himself to us, we do not know
what we shall become. But this much we do know, BECAUSE WE ARE HIS CHILDREN, WE
SHALL BE LIKE HIM. And when reality breaks through, "Then shall I know even as
also I am known." (1 Cor. 13:12).
"And every man that has this hope in Him purifies himself, even as He is pure."
(1 John 3:3). What a hope we have IN HIM, and it challenges us, it energizes
us, it woos us onward towards purity, even as He is pure.
Purify─ to cleanse, make clean, and very akin to the word holy, holiness. It
is HIS STATE OF BEING─ HE IS pure! It is an attribute of God by which He
maintains the integrity of His whole nature. He is HOLY, He is WHOLE. He is
ETERNALLY COMPLETE, never one part missing. We are so fragmented-but the
promise remains, "Whenever that which is complete comes, that which is
incomplete and fragmentary will be done away." (1 Cor. 13:10, Wuest).
What hope we have in Paul's prayer, "That you may be FILLED through all your
being unto all the fulness of God." (Eph. 3:19, Amp.) AMEN!
Now, just a brief thought from a cognate word study (words of the same or
similar nature). In the 11th century they used the word "HAIL." If you drop the
"i" you have HAL, or HOL. Literally saying, "how are you? or, howls your
health?" Bespeaking of physical well-being. If you take this word HOL and place
a w in front, and an e after, you have our present day word, WHOLE, as to our
mental soundness. And when you take the word HOL and add a y, you have the word
HOLY, which refers to our spiritual state of being. How is your physical
well-being? He is our life! "If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from
the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken
your mortal body by His Spirit that dwells in you." (Rom. 8:11). How is the
wholeness of your mental state? Ah, "God has not given us the spirit of fear;
but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Tim. 1:7). And how is your
spiritual state? He processes us "that we might be partakers of His holiness."
(Heb. 12:10).
Yes, HE IS OUR HEALTH, OUR WHOLENESS, AND OUR HOLINESS. This is not something
we try to make happen, but it is the outflow of His life in us. The Spirit is
the Source of life. It is not a "mind-control-thing." It is not mind over
matter, as we try to work out whatever it is we need. We are HIS workmanship,
and He works in us whatever is needed in every dimension. It is a principle of
genetics. YOU SHALL BE HOLY, BECAUSE YOUR FATHER IS HOLY.
His character traits are to be found in you─ holiness is guaranteed!
Holiness is not something we set about to do, but it is what we are IN HIM,
BECAUSE of what HE IS! We are in the process of BEING BORN AGAIN, and while it
does not yet appear what we shall BE, when He has finished His working in us,
"like ones to Him we shall be." (Wuest). It is not our self-effort, it is WHAT
HE IS that counts. Holiness is hereditary. Phillips makes this very clear:
"The man who is God's son does not practice sin, for God's nature is in him, for
good, AND SUCH A HEREDITY IS INCAPABLE OF SIN." (1 John 3:9). God's nature
within a people! What a tremendous hope in Him!
King James Version: "Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for HIS SEED
remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is BORN OF GOD."
What manner of love is this, to make us His sons? Born again, partakers of the
divine nature, by genetic heredity we shall possess HIS SEED OF LIFE in true
holiness. This is far different than the erroneous doctrine that some teach on
our being "adopted into the family of God." Men take the natural happenings of
our day, and try to build a spiritual truth on it, and they err. They say that
God is going about gathering to Himself these children of men, carnal-minded
creatures that we are, and He adopts us, places us in His family, and we are now
to be called by His name─ notwithstanding that they all still have the same old
nature and character of the flesh. If you adopt into your natural family a
child of another culture, etc. you will find many things in their nature that
are far different from your own. It is because they have a "different father"
and his nature is being revealed.
God
is not calling us "sons" if we have been begotten by the spirit of the world.
He calls us HIS SONS WHEN WE ARE BEGOTTEN OF HIM─ and born of His Spirit,
possessing His character and nature. Paul does speak of receiving "the Spirit
of adoption," (Rom. 8:15), so what does he mean? We note that the word
"adoption" comes from a Greek word that means: placement as a son. It does not
mean that orphaned children, begotten by other fathers, having other natures,
are suddenly accepted into a family, as our present day way of adoption goes.
Rather, the Word is clear, "That the heir, as long as he is a child, differs
nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; but is under tutors and
governors until the time appointed of the father." (Gal. 4:1-2). When he has
been fully trained and developed, disciplined and grown, then the father
specifically PLACES HIM IN THE POSITION OF A SON with all the rights and
privileges of maturity. He was begotten by the father, he had the father's
nature, but he needed to GROW UP. He was not a bastard, he did not have some
other man's lineage in him, but though he was born AN HEIR, he could not
exercise the rights of that position until placed there by the father. A vital
part of our hope is this PLACEMENT AS A SON. His children are generated by His
Spirit, and all have His nature.
Christendom proposes an amalgamation of the children of all the religious
fathers (denominations, etc.), to make them one big happy family, supposedly
called "the family of God," Then they wonder why they are not happy when
they come together─ all of different natures, different cultures, birthed by
these different spirits, and they cannot harmonize with each other. They fight
and split over all these inner characteristics which are but expressions of
their religious lineage. Only as each of us are BORN FROM ABOVE, with our
heavenly Father's nature, can we come together─ because of our ONENESS IN/WITH
HIM. If you are ONE WITH CHRIST you cannot be far from others who are also one
with Him.
It
is when HIS SEED (nature, essence) is in us, that we are rightly His. Thank God
for this personal ministration of His Spirit as HE PLANTS His seed in each of
us, so that which is "born of God" has the heredity of the Father, and as they
are nurtured, processed, matured, they will show forth His image and likeness─
expressing HIS righteousness, His love, etc.
Let
there daily be a submission, a yielding to His INDWELLING, for IN HIM we have
our hope for the ultimate fulness of the NEW BIRTH PROCESS. "It pleased God, who
separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace, to reveal His
Son in me ..." (Gal. 1:15-16). Methinks that in the final analysis, when we
stand before God, He will have one major question to ask of us─ "HOW MUCH OF MY
SON IS IN YOU?" He would reveal His Son (in all His image, likeness, nature) in
and through us to His glory and praise.
The
question is not, how much have you done? How many have you converted to some
theology? For looking past all the peripheral involvements, and at the heart of
the matter He will look to see HIMSELF reproduced in you! In that day, may He
also be able to say, "These are My sons in whom I am well pleased," for it will
be the Christ-life manifested in each one.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy we
have been BORN ANEW TO A LIFE OF HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead." (1 Peter 1:3, Moffatt).
Blessed─ eulogetos: to speak well of, celebrate with praises. It comes from
the same root as our English word "eulogy." Often a eulogy is given at a
funeral─ when one would speak well of the one who has died. From the person's
life they draw out the good points, and offer these praises to honor the
deceased. Or, at the end of one's career they have a testimonial dinner and say
good things. But with God it is different, He does not have to wait to see what
good things might evolve, of which a eulogy might be made. But HE CAN SPEAK THE
GOOD WORD, and then proceed to fulfill it. He can give the eulogy beforehand,
and guarantee that it will come to pass, because HE will be the One who works it
all into you. He speaks the plans He has for you, and then He sets about to
fulfill every detail in you.
Now, Peter writes, "Blessed be the God...." We can speak well of Him, we
celebrate Him and His goodness, for HE has brought us INTO A LIFE OF HOPE, by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Based upon this security of HIS LIFE, we now
have tremendous hope for our own well-being. Considering that it was the
compelling constraint in the merciful heart of God that purposed our
redemption─ we have hope for a TOTAL NEW BIRTH, into His fulness.
Our
hope, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, are linked together. "If in this
life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is
Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept." (1
Cor. 15:19-20).
All
that we are BECOMING is BECAUSE OF HIM─ based upon His life freely given into
us. It is BECAUSE He lives, that we shall live also. And His resurrection─
His being the firstfruit from the dead─ becomes the basis of our hope for the
same resurrection life. Firstfruit is a PROMISE, for it assures us there is a
glorious harvest to follow. HE opened the gates of death and arose triumphant.
IN HIS RESURRECTION lies the hope of all creation. "For as in Adam all die,
even so IN CHRIST shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order." (1
Cor. 15:22-23).
The
Adamic nature is unto death. "By one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and
death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." (Rom.
5:12). But IN CHRIST is life, and "by the righteousness of One (Jesus Christ)
the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." (v. 18). Thus, IN
HIM SHALL ALL BE MADE ALIVE!
So
it is─ He has bestowed His love upon us, named us as His own, and proceeds to
work out in us all that He has purposed for us. We would GROW UP INTO HIM.
"And every man that has this hope in Him purifies himself, even as He is pure."
(1 John 3:3).
All
of our HOPE is set on Him, rests on Him─ His work, His grace, His love, His
finishing our faith. We are not our own purifiers. "Apart from Me you can do
nothing." (John 15:5). "It is God which works in us both to will and to do of
His good pleasure." (Phil. 2:13). It signifies that WE YIELD OUR WILL TO HIS
WILL. Therefore, the man who purifies himself has his hope resting upon God.
This very fact implies a will to purify himself, not out of, nor independent of,
this hope, but ever stirred up by his hope, he does "Press toward the mark for
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 3:14). The will
within us to press on, IS GOD'S WILL working in us. HE also empowers us to give
ourselves to His purification. Thus in utter dependence upon the holy Spirit,
we shun the evil, and choose the good─ choose to walk in the way He has set
before us, choose to yield ourselves in daily surrender to Him, and this works
to our purification.
"Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit
unto unfeigned love of the brethren." (1 Peter 1:22). Read the phrases in a
reverse order─ THROUGH THE SPIRIT, by His enablement, OBEYING THE TRUTH as He
reveals it to us, YOU PURIFY YOUR SOULS. Active daily obedience to the truth
works its own purification. What a marvelous working of God!
Jesus said, "If you continue in My Word, then are you My disciples indeed; and
you shall know the truth, and THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU free." (John 8:31-32).
The transforming power is in the truth─ and HE disciplines us, prepares us to
receive the truth, and as it works in us, we are "Changed into the same image
from one degree of glory to another ACCORDING AS THIS CHANGE OF EXPRESSION
PROCEEDS FROM THE LORD, the Spirit." (2 Cor. 3:18 Wuest)
"That HE might sanctify and cleanse with the washing of water BY THE WORD."
(Eph. 5:26). And also, "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all
sin." (1 John 1:7). Wrought through the Spirit, along with the Word, and the
continually cleansing of the blood, PURIFICATION IS TAKING PLACE, and we are
made partakers of His holiness, yes, and of HIS WHOLENESS.
Since it does not yet appear what we shall be when this transformation is
complete, therefore daily OUR HOPE stirs us up to follow on. "For we are saved
by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man sees, why does he yet
hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for
it." (Rom. 8:24-25). Truly, "We through the Spirit WAIT FOR THE HOPE OF
RIGHTEOUSNESS by faith." (Gal. 5:5). It well behooves us to "Gird up the loins
of our mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought
unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." (1 Pet. 1:13). Hope to the end─
hope right into the RESULT of His inworking. O the wonder of it all, God's
redemption process in man. We praise HIM!
_________________________________________________
(1)
Prinzing, Ray and Doris "Letters of Truth"
Boise, Idaho 83705, P.O. Box 5822
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