His Will

Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

To continue on from yesterday, once again, what does God expect of you? The question gets asked and answered so many times in so many ways, I begin to doubt if man is capable of truly understanding God’s will. Obviously there is command will, all those things which God lays out for us in “thou shalt” instructions. How well does keeping the law work for you?

No matter how hard I try I fall short of perfection. Even in loving others I know I can do better, I just don’t. Grace is extended, thank you very much. Mercy is shown, thank you very much. Forgiveness is found, thank you very much. Therein I find God picking up the broken pieces of my failed life, over and over again.

If you want to take the position that Habakkuk is talking about an Old Testament position, then why does he use a New Testament expression of faith? Is it because the issue of faith hasn’t changed since Abram first believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness? My soul is flesh it cannot in this present state stand on its own. Even lifted up, it is not upright. Thank God He has quickened our Spirit so that there is something in us that is upright.

Let me put Galatians 2:20 in more contemporary language: Christ does not want us to live His live, He wants to live ours. That is the great mystery that the Jews rejected and still deny today. The indwelling of Christ, being born of the Spirit, being given everything with which our souls, which are still ours, can live according to God’s will.

Live by faith. This is God’s will.

TBC

To be continued was the intention of TBC, so I will pick up where I left of yesterday. As before, reading yesterday’s devotional will give you context.

The Spirit is given by God, breathed into us, is quickened at the moment we are born again. It is perfect and this too is beyond our control. We do not control Spirit, it is perfect in oneness with God. That leaves us with our soul to deal with.

The soul is in fact connected to and part of the body. The mind is the primary facilitator of the soul. Without the mind, we are brain dead, whether the body remains with a beating heart or not. So there is a tenuous connect of the body and soul but the body does not control the soul and only has influence upon it.

So also is the Spirit a tenuous connection to the body and the soul. His influence is far greater because He is of God, is powered by God who can and does exert His will over both body and soul. So where does the problem exist if God is in control? The answer to that comes into play in the nature of Who God is, His character, His will, and His plans for us.

1 John 3:2c when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

This transformative life we live has to be one of cooperation. The reason that forgiveness is paramount in approaching perfection is that we cannot approach perfection without it. We are a failed creation that can only approach perfection by cooperating with God.

Therein lies the problem. What is God asking of us?