Sunday, December 15, 2013

Father of Spirits

The Father of Spirits.

Heb 12:9  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
Heb 12:10  For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
Heb 12:11  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

The Father of Spirits.

There are fathers of flesh, we know all about that don't we. We are flesh, and every man who impregnates a woman becomes a father. They've contributed to creating another human being. Those fathers are our birth fathers, fathers of our flesh. The fathers of our flesh correct us in order to teach us obedience, teach us to behave in the proper manner. If we misbehave then we need instruction to teach us how to behave and the consequences of our not behaving.  We understand this without any problem, don't we? We've all as adults (those of us who are) have had that sort of correction from a father or if not a father, a mother, or if not a mother then another authority figure raising us from childhood. 

The Father of Spirits .

We have to be spiritually born to have a spiritual Father. 

Remember Jesus telling us that we must be born again? Born of Spirit and born of water.  When we are born of Spirit we have a Spiritual Father.

Our Spiritual Father will only ever chasten us for our PROFIT.  Our flesh fathers often chasten us without any real standard but their own. They feel annoyed they chasten us, and they can chasten us unjustly as happens all too often.  Our Spiritual Father will NEVER chasten us unjustly. The ONLY reason our Spiritual Father chastens us is so that we may become His sons and daughters and partake in the holiness of Him, the love that is Him.

Chastened. 

Chastening is grievous, not joyous.  IF, when we are chastened we are EXERCISED by that chastening- meaning we LEARN from that chastening- then we will have the righteousness of Christ as the result. The fruit that results from the experience is peace and righteousness all found solely in Christ.

We MUST accept our Spiritual chastisement and learn from it, let it be a part of us. Our Savior alone is righteous and He will live in us! He loves us! He died for us! He wants to live in us and us in Him.

Chastened.

Remember the definition--
1. the whole training and education of children (which relates to the cultivation of mind and morals, and employs for this purpose now commands and admonitions, now reproof and punishment) It also includes the training and care of the body
2. whatever in adults also cultivates the soul, esp. by correcting mistakes and curbing passions.
a. instruction which aims at increasing virtue
b. chastisement, chastening, (of the evils with which God visits men for their amendment)

We are chastised when we have our mistakes corrected, our passions curbed. We don't like having our passions curbed or being corrected. We want to do what is right don't we, but our flesh nature seems to steer us towards doing things that aren't good for us. Because isn't that what it boils down to?  The things we do that aren't what our Spiritual Father wants us to do so that we may be with Him, are only things that are harmful to us- if not in flesh, then in spirit.

Please Lord, let us NOT despise Your chastening! We need our Spiritual Father to bless us, to keep us, to teach us, to chastise us as often as is needed so that we may be HIS. We won't like it, it's not pleasant, but LORD help us to LEARN and be exercised by YOUR chastising. Please LORD, please.

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