My efforts vs. God’s enabling

 
In our small group Bible study, my focus is often on the flesh vs. spirit issue but received as if I’m saying we don’t do anything — all of our obedience is God’s doing. But I’ve not made clear that there are two “we’s” in the discussion. The flesh is dead and useless. To obey God, I must be walking in the Spirit, not the flesh which is my old nature. The problem is that I have not been clarifying which “we” is helpless and which is able to obey.

Another confusion is that many Christians do not recognize when the flesh is at work (even though it is dead to God) or what being filled with the Spirit is like. Many do not want to examine their motivations but it seems vital to me that I know why I do what I am doing.

Today’s reading begins with a question about pursuing faith. Since it is a gift from God, do i try to increase it? As with anything else He grants, I cannot make it happen without faith or by my human efforts, but God is eager to enable me to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” so that He is glorified “both now and to the day of eternity.” (2 Peter 3:18) Certainly faith is a gift from God.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9)
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (Romans 12:3)
For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake… (Philippians 1:29)

Other verses show that faith is granted to us by a revelation to our hearts. That is, He makes it possible for me to believe. This is also a gift as Jesus told Peter: “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17) Otherwise, flesh remains in darkness. We need the gift of new life and the light from God which He shines “in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Even though faith is a gift, the Bible says it needs to grow so I am trusting Him all the time. What is true for salvation — “faith comes from hearing through the word of Christ” — is also true after that new life comes. Being in the Word, spending time with Jesus and with His Body, and obeying Him are important, yet also must be activities of the new nature. The flesh can go through the motions but is not the way to build faith or express it. If I do anything, even what seems like ‘good works’ I am not honoring God nor producing fruit without His enabling.

So faith is about walking in the Spirit, not the flesh, and about glorifying God and not doing things to make the old nature feel good or be praiseworthy. I now see when I talk about being useless, I need to better clarify that all that talk is about the old me — and my flesh needs to be ignored. The new nature listens to God and obeys. This means that I need to be able to discern which is which. The old nature wants to rule things and can imitate or fake godliness and render my actions useless to serve or honor God.

PRAY: Jesus, Thank You for clarifying how to better explain when I make comments about passages like John 15:1-5 or 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 and how ‘I’ am useless yet I can do all things through Christ. Most Christians tend to be unaware of the flesh-spirit conflict because they have not recognized the differences or do not want to admit how the flesh messes with their faith. You want me to be clear about my battles so all of us are better at walking in Your Spirit and enable to do so by Your amazing grace.

Building spiritual stability . . .

 

Simon, who is called Peter was a fisherman by trade when Jesus called him to be a fisher of men. His first encounter with the Savior indicated that this man would be a “new creation” because of the transforming work of God as Jesus gave him a new name:

One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). (John 1:40–42)

This new name means “rock” which contrasts Simon’s nature. He was impulsive and vacillating, unlike the man he would become as a leader in the church. When he sinned, Jesus called him by his old name, and when Peter acted in strength, Jesus called him by this new name. And He often called him “Simon Peter” as he drifted between sinful Simon and spiritual Peter.

I identify with Peter, and other Christians do also. We get annoyed with ourselves for taking matters into our own hands, forgetting to pray, being fearful or being proud, displaying old traits instead of living in the joyful power of God. We also complain about our spiritual instability and regret our fleshiness, wondering if we will ever ‘grow up’ and be more like Jesus and less like that old person.

Jesus worked with Peter and transformed him into a true spiritual rock. When He asked, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied,

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:15–18)

Jesus used this profession His identity to bless Peter and to affirm that this impulsive man’s declaration of it would be the foundation of His church. In other words, even those who complain about their instability are kept, not because they have earned it by being consistent but because faith in Christ, the Son of the living God, has secured their eternal future.

It is faith that transforms our lives. Hearing and believing the Gospel changes us from self-focused, self-centered sinful people to servants of the most High as we realize our efforts apart from Jesus are useless. Failure in self-effort is also used by God to teach us how much we need to rely on His Spirit.

God wants me to be a spiritual rock, just as He wanted that for Peter. Peter later wrote:

You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5).

That occurs as I “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18) and as I realize the truth of: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20) and learn to:

Walk by the Spirit, and not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep me from doing the things I want to do. But if I am are led by the Spirit, I am not under the law . . . . because those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If I live by the Spirit, let me also keep in step with the Spirit. Let me not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:16–26, personalized)

An important part of walking in the Spirit is confessing sin and asking the Lord to refill me: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness . . . .” (1 John 1:5–10)

Jesus, don’t let me neglect confession, or resist putting sinful selfishness to death. This is for my good. You can forgive and remove that sin and enable me to put it out of my life. Better to obey in the first place, yet when that does not happen, may I be quick to get on my knees.

READ 1 and 2 Peter. Note all that God gives me to be a ‘rock’ from these words that were written by a  man who once was anything but!