Long Weekend Quotes, Part B
Now the works of the flesh are obvious ...
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit ...
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It will be observed that the contrast between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit is their initiator:
The Flesh
I (initiate) = Works
The Spirit
God (initiates) = Fruit
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Self-control is the by-product of a self-forgetfulness that looks away from itself to God for meaning and purpose to life.
The New Covenant revelation is not that God has given us His gifts, His power or anything else that He possesses. Rather, He has given us Himself. The clarity with which this internal reality becomes externally visible depends upon, if you will, the quality of the resolution in the revelation and not in personal resolve.
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Proximity is determined by "knowing". There are degrees of knowing and knowing in its most intensive form is " epiginosko " where knowledge perfectly unites the subject with the object.
However, my experience is that most Christians give for one of two reasons and neither is very honourable:
1. Insurance : God will get me if I don't
2. Investment : God will bless me if I do
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Perhaps now I am parodying the point but it seems to me at least that what we are doing in the main is on the one hand, we are paying God protection money to leave us alone and on the other hand, we are investing into the Kingdom with a view to maximizing our returns. We are seeking to protect and/or increase our asset base. What we are not doing is GIVING without any expectation of reward other than the reward of giving.
Life is uncreated and eternal. In a sense God is life, for just as there was never a time when God was not, so there was never a time when life was not.
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To the Jew the Cross was a scandal; to the Greek it was simply absurd. It was foolishness. Thus, those who were saved by trusting in the cross manifested a faith that was not grounded in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Surrender of the life to Jesus means more than one's merely trying to do better according to a new code of rules and regulations. It is not the turning over of a new leaf, but one's turning up with a new life.
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What is set before man is not a variety of lifestyles from which to make a selection. God is not operating on a glorified cafeteria basis.
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The word "know" so often used in the Scripture does not refer to an accumulation of facts about another but personal identification with him.
posted by GBT at
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
