Chapter 16 - The Hiddenness of the Devout Life
Mat 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
Mat 6:18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Bonhoeffer- 'When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh. How is it possible to live the life of faith when we grow weary of prayer, when we lose our taste for reading the Bible, and when sleep, food and sensuality deprive us of the joy of communion with God?'
My thoughts-
Bonhoeffer -'The life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.'
Joh_6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Rom_6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
Rom_7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Rom_8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Rom_8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom_8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Rom 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Rom 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Rom 8:11 But 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 bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Rom 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Mortify the deeds of the body.
The only way to mortify the deeds of the body is THROUGH the SPIRIT. Our flesh cannot mortify flesh.
We have to pray to GOD our Heavenly Father and we have to pray that the Spirit lives in US and the SPIRIT works in us and that work is MORTIFYING the DEEDS of the BODY. And only the deeds that are contrary to our God need mortifying. It's no mystery, our God has told us over and over what is acceptable and what is not acceptable to Him. The things that are the lust of the flesh are NOT acceptable to Him and we need to allow the SPIRIT to mortify those unacceptable things in us.
IF YE through the SPIRIT do mortify the deeds of the body.
YE- that word means WE have a part in this. WE have to THROUGH the SPIRIT- MORTIFY the deeds of our bodies!
So why does anyone, anywhere believe that they can do ANYTHING they want, that they can indulge SELF and it doesn't matter at all.
If we live after the flesh- we DIE eternally.
If we live after the SPIRIT we live in CHRIST eternally!
Please LORD, please teach us to live THROUGH the SPIRIT, and THROUGH the SPIRIT mortify the deeds of our bodies.
Bonhoeffer -'The life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.'
TRUTH!
An UNENDING STRUGGLE!
You will NEVER get to a place the struggling stops.
We are in a WAR.
We forget that, we forget we are in the middle of a war, the ultimate war.
We want peace and an easy life- easy in all respects- emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually. When we are being tortured we long for that peace, and we expect peace in the form of our problems going away. The peace can only come from the SPIRITUAL knowledge of our SAVIOR and HIS LOVE, no where else! Our TREASURE and that is a treasure - PEACE - must be laid up in HEAVEN with our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!
All in HIM! By HIS GRACE, HIS MERCY, HIS LOVE!
Mat 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
Mat 6:18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Bonhoeffer- 'When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh. How is it possible to live the life of faith when we grow weary of prayer, when we lose our taste for reading the Bible, and when sleep, food and sensuality deprive us of the joy of communion with God?'
My thoughts-
Bonhoeffer -'The life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.'
Joh_6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Rom_6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
Rom_7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Rom_8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Rom_8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom_8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Rom 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Rom 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Rom 8:11 But 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 bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Rom 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Mortify the deeds of the body.
The only way to mortify the deeds of the body is THROUGH the SPIRIT. Our flesh cannot mortify flesh.
We have to pray to GOD our Heavenly Father and we have to pray that the Spirit lives in US and the SPIRIT works in us and that work is MORTIFYING the DEEDS of the BODY. And only the deeds that are contrary to our God need mortifying. It's no mystery, our God has told us over and over what is acceptable and what is not acceptable to Him. The things that are the lust of the flesh are NOT acceptable to Him and we need to allow the SPIRIT to mortify those unacceptable things in us.
IF YE through the SPIRIT do mortify the deeds of the body.
YE- that word means WE have a part in this. WE have to THROUGH the SPIRIT- MORTIFY the deeds of our bodies!
So why does anyone, anywhere believe that they can do ANYTHING they want, that they can indulge SELF and it doesn't matter at all.
If we live after the flesh- we DIE eternally.
If we live after the SPIRIT we live in CHRIST eternally!
Please LORD, please teach us to live THROUGH the SPIRIT, and THROUGH the SPIRIT mortify the deeds of our bodies.
Bonhoeffer -'The life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.'
TRUTH!
An UNENDING STRUGGLE!
You will NEVER get to a place the struggling stops.
We are in a WAR.
We forget that, we forget we are in the middle of a war, the ultimate war.
We want peace and an easy life- easy in all respects- emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually. When we are being tortured we long for that peace, and we expect peace in the form of our problems going away. The peace can only come from the SPIRITUAL knowledge of our SAVIOR and HIS LOVE, no where else! Our TREASURE and that is a treasure - PEACE - must be laid up in HEAVEN with our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!
All in HIM! By HIS GRACE, HIS MERCY, HIS LOVE!
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