This is probably the most crucial passage in the New
Testament for understanding the dynamics of the spiritual life.
a)
Efficacious
grace: the ministry of God the Holy Spirit to the believer at the moment of
salvation—Romans 8:28-30. This is the specific ministry of the Holy Spirit who
acknowledges the faith of the unbeliever and transforms the faith of that
spiritually dead person into something effective for salvation. Remember we are
not saved because of our faith, we are saved through faith. Ephesians 2:8,9
makes that clear, it is the preposition DIA [dia] plus the genitive of PISTIS
[pistij].
Genitive means “through”. DIA
plus the genitive means “through.” If it was the accusative case it would mean
“because.” God the Holy Spirit is very precise. We are not saved because we
believe, that would put the location of the merit on us because we were wise
enough to believe. But when it is through faith, faith is simply the means of
appropriating salvation and it puts all of the merit in the object of faith
which is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.
b)
Regeneration
is defined as spiritual birth or being born again—John3:3-7; Titus 3:5. At that
moment we pass from spiritual death to spiritual life, and at the same instant
that the human spirit is imparted to us God the Father imputes to it His very
own life, eternal life. So we have eternal life as a possession that can never
be lost.
c)
Baptism
by means of the Holy Spirit—1 Corinthians 12:13. This occurs also at the
instant of salvation and at that instant every believer is identified with
Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. At the moment of faith lone in
Christ alone God the Holy Spirit identifies us (that is the significance of
baptism. The literal meaning of baptism is to dip, plunge, or immerse, but the
significance is identification) We enter into an eternal union with Christ. He
places us into Christ, into His body. At that instant we are created a new
spiritual species, 2 Corinthians 5:17. So the believer is placed in a permanent
union with Christ and this is the basis of our positional sanctification.
d)
The
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. There is a difference between the indwelling of
God the Holy Spirit, the baptism of God the Holy Spirit, and the filling of God
the Holy Spirit. They are distinct words and they are distinct ministries.
Unfortunately, especially in the Pentecostal holiness camp, they have viewed
those words as synonyms, so they really get confused because they think the
indwelling and the baptism are all the same. The indwelling of God the Holy
Spirit is a Holy Spirit is a permanent possession of every single believer—1
Corinthians 3:16; 6:19. At the moment of salvation God the Holy Spirit takes up
permanent residence in the believer. He transforms our bodies into a temple for
the simultaneous indwelling of Jesus Christ as the Shekinah Glory. We are
indwelt by God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. This has never
happened before in human history. In the Old Testament the filling of the Holy
Spirit was not based on a relationship with God the Holy Spirit because they
did not have a relationship with God the Holy Spirit. Only a very few people,
less than a hundred, in all of the Old Testament were endued by God the Holy
Spirit and it was always related to their job or their function in terms of
theocratic leadership. It could be lost and it was a ministry that was designed
to give them wisdom and skill in the arena of leadership. The best illustration
is the temple and tabernacle craftsmen. The basic mean of the Hebrew word is
skill, and it came to mean wisdom because wisdom is the ability to learn
information and then to transform that and apply it skillfully in life, to
create something beautiful with your life that glorifies God. But its root
meaning is skill and we see that in the craftsmen who worked on the tabernacle
and temple. Enduement was simply to give them that skill, and it was the same
thing with the rulers, the prophets and priests under the ministry of inspiration.
In the Old Testament it was a temporary ministry of God the Holy Spirit; in the
New Testament it is permanent. No believer can lose the indwelling of God the
Holy Spirit, it is a permanent possession.
e)
The
filling of the Holy Spirit. However Old Testament enduement is contrasted with
the New Testament filling ministry of God the Holy Spirit mandated in Ephesians
5:18. Because it is an imperative mood there for PLEROO [plhrow] that means you either will or you will not be
filled. The believer is always indwelt but he may or may not be filled. The
filling ministry of God the Holy Spirit, therefore, is going to be related to
the believer’s volition, because whenever you have an imperative that is
directed toward your volition and you can either apply it or not apply it, obey
or disobey, it is specifically related to the recall and application of Bible
doctrine. So we see that the two sources of power in the Church Age relate to
the filling of the Holy Spirit and Bible doctrine.
f)
The
sealing ministry of God the Holy Spirit. This takes place at the moment of
salvation and is related to the doctrine of eternal security. The seal is an
analogy taken from the Roman empire where it was a signature of ownership. At
salvation the believer has the seal of God placed upon him. This is a signature
guarantee which means that he can never lose his salvation because he is in
Christ—Ephesians 1:13; 4:30.
g)
The
distribution of spiritual gifts. At the moment of salvation every believer is
given at least one spiritual gift. Do not confuse the spiritual gifts with
natural abilities, to natural talent. Spiritual gifts are specific ministries
to be used in the local church. That means that their development and use is
going to be related to the believer’s advance to spiritual maturity.
In this passage there is an
initial mandate given in verse 16: “walk by means of” is an instrumental
dative, “the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” So
here in verses 16-18 we see the initial command from the apostle Paul to believers
to live on the basis of the power of God the Holy Spirit. This is contrasted
with carrying out the desire of the flesh. In verses 17 and 18 he explains the
nature of this conflict. “For the flesh [a term for the sin nature] sets its
desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in
opposition to one another, so that you may not do that which you please. But if
you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.” That is the basis for the conflict in the
spiritual life that we have to overcome if we are going to advance spiritually.
The next paragraph is verses
19-21 which list the deeds of the flesh. “Now the deeds of the flesh are
evident.” Then we have what is basically a grocery list of characteristics that
are produced by the sin nature” “immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry,
sorcery [the use of drugs], enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger,
disputes, dissensions, factions, envyings, drunkenness, carousings, and things
like these …”
In verses 22-23 we have the
list of the production of God the Holy Spirit. We have to distinguish this from
false production, counterfeit production, which comes from the sin nature.
Obviously unbelievers can have some kind of love, some measure of happiness,
some level of contentment and tranquility. They can be patient, gentle, good;
they can have these characteristics to some degree. So when the Scripture says
that these are the production of the Holy Spirit we have to understand what the
dynamic is so that these characteristics are produced in our life, not in the
sense of holding ourselves up by the bootstrap type of approach, but in
understanding that this is the Holy Spirit doing this in our life and not
ourselves. If we are doing it from the flesh it doesn’t count.
Verses 24-25—a conclusion.
“Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its
passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the
Spirit.” In the English this looks like a restatement of what we have in verse
16 but it is a different Greek word for “walk” in verse 25.
Backing up to verse 16 –
this clearly indicates a shift in topic. Paul uses the particle DE [de] which is translated “but,”
“I say” – he is emphasizing this – “walk by the Spirit.” The command is a present
active imperative of the verb PERIPATEO
[peripatew],
the standard word for walking. When you have a present imperative (an
imperative is the mood of command; this is a mandate for the spiritual life)
the present tense is usually continual action, but when you have the
combination of a present tense and an imperative mood it looks at the action as
continuing, and the present imperative as opposed to the aorist imperative is
used with general principles related to the spiritual life, specifically for habit
or behaviour patterns that should characterize our life. The active voice means
that you and I, each believer, is the one who performs the action. The Holy
Spirit does not do this for us; He does not override our volition. God always
respects our volition and never makes us conform. So we have to make the
decision as to whether or not we are going to walk by means of the Spirit. This
means that the ultimate issue is a volitional issue. The thrust of the mandate
is ingressive progressive, i.e. we are to begin doing it and to continue doing
it and making it a customary pattern in our life. To “walk” is used as a
metaphor basically for living life or the conduct of one’s life. We are to
conduct our lives “by means of the Spirit”. This is the dative case of PNEUMA [pneuma], the standard word for the
Holy Spirit, and here it does not have the modifier HAGIOS [a(gioj] for “holy”, but we know
from the context it is always talking about the Holy Spirit and not the human
spirit. This is a dative of means or an instrumental dative. The Holy Spirit is
the means by which the walk, the life, the conduct of the believer is advanced.
The emphasis is on dependency on God the Holy Spirit as opposed to the flesh.
1.
The
word PERIPATEO [peripatew] is usually used of forward
step by step motion. Learning to walk as a small child takes concentration.
Eventually it requires less thought. At the beginning of the spiritual life
there has to be a lot of focus and concentration on just who you are depending on
in this thing called the spiritual life. The word PERIPATEO is used metaphorically to
represent the entire panorama of a person’s life, both his thought life and his
overt activity.
2.
The
second word that is used is STOICHEO
[stoixew].
It means to walk in a straight line and it is used metaphorically to march in
step, to march in rank, to walk in agreement with, to walk forward in an
orderly manner. It is primarily used in this passage for advancing in the
spiritual life in relation to the mandates given in the Word of God under the
inspiration of God the Holy Spirit. So it is used for advancing according to a
standard, following the footsteps of the Spirit. What are those footsteps? The
steps are the mandates of Scripture. God’s Holy Spirit specifically lays out a
track down which we are to walk, and that track is spelled out specifically for
us in all the mandates and prohibitions in the New Testament.
3.
A
third word is ORTHOPODEO [o)rqopodew], and it means to set
something straight. In Galatians 2:14 it was used in a negative sense n
challenging Peter because he was no longer walking a straight course, he had
caved in to the gospel of legalism.
4.
A
fourth word is a very general word, POREUO [poreuw], and it means to walk about, to journey, to
travel. Sometimes it is used in the sense of going about one’s daily activity.
5.
We
are told in Romans 6:4 that we are to walk in newness of life. “Walk according
to the norm of the Spirit and not the flesh—Romans 8:4. “Walk in
honesty”—Romans 13:13; “Walk by means of faith and not by means of sight”—2
Corinthians 5:7 (faith-rest drill); “Walk in the sphere of good works” –
Ephesians 2:10; “Walk in love—Ephesians 5:2; “Walk in wisdom”—Colossians4:5;
“Walk in truth”—2 John 4; “Walk according to the norm of divine mandates” – 2
John 6; “Walk in the light”—Ephesians 5:8. Negatively, we are not to walk
according to the standard of the sin nature—Romans 8:4; not according to the
standard of men—1 Corinthians 3:3; not in craftiness—2 Corinthians 4:2; not by
sight—2 Corinthians5:7; not in the emptiness of the mind—Ephesians 4:17; not in
a disorderly manner—2 Thessalonians 3:6.
One of the greatest areas of
confusion is in the whole realm of sanctification. What makes this so confusing
for many people is that about ninety per cent of what people say is the same
thing. It is that small ten per cent or five per cent difference that is so
difficult to pin down, so when you listen to any three, four or five people
they are all basically saying the same thing or sound like they are saying the
same thing; and yet, if you know what you are listening for you will pick up on
a few things and perceive a few things that will distinguish them one from
another. But unfortunately most people do not always understand these minor
differences, and they are not always minor because what we discover is that it
is in these one or two or three distinctions between the different schools of
theology that make all the difference in the world.
When
we get into this particular section of Galatians the apostle Paul has been
building an argument, from the beginning of chapter three, related to the
spiritual life. Verse 3 of chapter 3: “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the
Spirit, are you now being matured by the flesh?” What that implies is that
there is a way that is really a pseudo-spirituality, and that is too often what
happens when people confuse morality with spirituality. They do not understand
that whatever the unbeliever can do is not part of the spiritual life. The
spiritual life of the Church Age believer is a supernatural way of life and
demands a supernatural means of executing that spiritual life. No one is asking
the question, much less answering the question, How do you distinguish morality
which is a product of the flesh (sin nature) and spirituality? What is the
essential difference? What is going on in your life? Is it production of God
the Holy Spirit or simply a production of your own flesh and your own ability?
So
we begin in 5:16 where we have the mandate: “But I say, walk by means of the
Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.” This section is
bracketed by two different commands which appear to be the same in English but
are different in the Greek. In verse 25 we read: “If we live by the Spirit, let
us also walk by the Spirit.” The word for “walk” there is STOICHEO [stoixew] which means to follow in
the track of someone, to follow in the path of someone, follow in the footsteps
of someone, and so there is a slightly different nuance between the two.
Walking
is one of the best forms of exercise. Whenever you walk it develops a
circulation of your bloodstream; it improves your breathing, it has an aerobic
effect on your cardiovascular system; it supports the regular elimination of
waste; and it strengthens your heart muscle. So let’s take those factors and
develop the analogy to the spiritual life.
a)
When
it comes to walking in the spiritual life, first of all it works out all the
muscles of the spiritual life which are the spiritual skills. So when you walk
by the Spirit you are exercising all of the spiritual skills; you are
developing the muscles of the spiritual life.
b)
It
increases the circulation of doctrine in your soul. The more you use doctrine
in your soul the more you will develop the ability to utilize it. The less you
use it the more you will lose it.
c)
Just
as physical walking has an aerobic effect on the body it has a spiritual
aerobic effect and improves the inhale and exhale of Bible doctrine. The more
you walk by means of the Spirit the more you will be taking in the Word of God
and the more you will be applying the Word of God.
d)
It
will eliminate the waste of human viewpoint in the soul as you renovate the
thinking of the soul. It will eliminate the waste of human viewpoint and
replace it with the divine viewpoint of Bible doctrine.
e)
In
the process your soul will be strengthened and edified through the construction
of the soul fortress which protects and defends the soul from the outside
pressure of adversity and prosperity.
STOICHEO means to walk in a straight line and it is used
primarily for moving forward in the spiritual life, following the mandates
given in the Word of God
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
The
central issue of walking in the Scripture is that it is one of the key terms
used to describe the characteristics of the believer’s life. The overall
mandate is to “walk worthy.” This is repeated three times in the Scriptures,
and whenever the Holy Spirit repeats something we need to pay attention to it.
The mandate is repeated in Ephesians 4:1; Colossians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians
2:12. We are to walk in a manner worthy of that with which we have been called.
That is motivated by grace orientation. When we have grace orientation that
means that we understand the grace of God, that God has done everything for us,
and that we merely accept it or receive it by faith. As a result of
understanding what God has done for us we are moved to gratitude, and we
realise that we should live our lives in a manner consistent with His plans and
purposes for us. He saved us for the purpose of production of good works. When
we analyze the use of the word “walking” in the New Testament there are three
categories that we can summarize. First, we have the phrase EN [e)n] plus the dative, or
sometimes just the dative, of sphere. We are to walk in the day—Romans 13:13;
in the light—Ephesians 5:8; and negatively, we are not to walk in the sphere of
darkness—1 John 1:7. So our Christian life is to be in a certain sphere.
Secondly, we are to walk in [the sphere of] newness of life—Romans 6:4. We are
to walk in the sphere of love—Ephesians 5:2; 2 John 6. We are to walk in [the
sphere of] good works [divine good produced by the Holy Spirit] and were saved
for that purpose—Ephesians 2:10. We are to walk in wisdom—Colossians 4:5. We
are to walk in truth—2 John 4; 3 John 3,4. Negatively, we are not to walk in
the emptiness (vanity—the vacuum in the soul created by human viewpoint) of the
emptiness of the mentality of our soul “like the Gentiles do”—Ephesians 4:17.
We are not to walk in craftiness—2 Corinthians 4:2, the Greek word means
deceitful cunning, and the context refers to utilizing the Word of God for our
own personal gain, power, prestige, financial gain, or personal approbation.
The
next way this preposition EN plus
the dative is used is to express instrumentality or means. There are two
concepts here: we are to walk by means of faith, the faith-rest drill in 2
Corinthians 5:7, and this is contrasted, “not by sight.” This is empiricism and
relates to the ultimate way in which we think, the basis for our thought. Do we
base our thinking on the Scriptures or do we base it on human viewpoint systems
of knowledge such as rationalism or empiricism? This is a reference to the
ultimate, the final basis for our thinking: Is the final authority in our life,
the Word of God, or is it human experience or human thought? When the Word of
God is more real to us than our feelings, experience, or what we have been
taught in school, then we are beginning to understand what it means to exercise
the faith-rest drill. The second is in Galatians 5:16 & 25, and that is by
means of the Holy Spirit. So we have EN plus the dative of sphere to describe the sphere in which we are to
walk, and then we have EN plus
the instrumental dative of means—“by means of faith, not by sight,” and by
means of God the Holy Spirit.
Then
we have another prepositional phrase that is often associated with walking, and
that uses the Greek preposition KATA [kata], and that means to walk according to a norm or standard. We are to
walk according to the norm of the Holy Spirit and not according to the norm or
standard of the flesh—Romans 8:4. According to the standard of love—Romans
14:15. Negatively, Not according to the standard of men—1 Corinthians 3:3,
referring to carnality and the unbeliever (not according to normal human
standards); not according to disorderly or licentious manner—2 Thessalonians
3:6; not according to the course of this world—Ephesians 3:2, referring to the
lifestyle of the unbeliever.
So
that is a summary describing how critical walking is in the Christian
life.
3.
In Galatians 5:16 walking by means of the Spirit is contrasted with walking by means
of the flesh. The point is, throughout Galatians and the New Testament walking
is used of one of two states. You always have this contrast between two states
of condition. One is in the sphere of the Holy Spirit or by means of the Holy
Spirit and the other is flesh. But there are other words that are used. In
terms of the spiritual life other terms that are used are light, promise, faith
and grace. These are all contrasted with darkness, law, and antinomianism
(without law), referring to unrestrained immorality. Always in the Scripture is
this stark contrast between two states. The question we are going to ask is how
much sin does it take to really violate the righteousness of God. The idea that
we are a little bit righteous, a little bit spiritual, and a little bit carnal
doesn’t take into account the nature of sin in relation to the integrity of
God, and its impact. So we have to realize that the Scripture clearly
identifies two spheres or states in which we can live.
4. The basis for the believer’s walk is his new
position in Jesus Christ—Romans 6:4. How shall we who died to sin still live in
it? The passage is talking about positional death which is defined as the
believer’s identification at the point of salvation with the death of Jesus
Christ on the cross. We are positionally identified with His death so that His
death on the cross is tied to and produces our separation from the enslaving
power of the sin nature. This is not talking about the eradication of the sin
nature. We have been baptized into His death, and the significance of baptism
is always identification. There is a reason, a purpose for the believer’s
identification with Christ’s death on the cross: “in order that as Christ was
raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in
newness of life.” The word “walk” is the aorist active subjunctive of PERIPATEO [peripatew], and the reason it is in
the subjunctive is because it expresses the contingency of the believer’s
volition. It is potential. You may choose not to walk in the newness of life
that you have.
Summary of point 4:
a)
The
basis for walking, i.e. the Christian way of life, is our identification with
Christ’s death (our positional death) which happens at the instant of
salvation. At that instant the power of the sin nature in the believer’s life
is broken. The issue now is volition.
b)
Positional
death frees us from the slavery to the sin nature, according to 6:6, but it
does not free us from the sin nature.
c)
The
potential is there for every believer but it is activated only by his volition.
Whether or not you walk in newness of life is up to you.
d) The goal or purpose is to no longer obey the
dictates of the sin nature, so that you can advance spiritually.
5. The sphere of light in the believer’s life—Ephesians 5:8, “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of the light.”
The emphasis is on the believer’s present state: you
are light. Then there is a command: “walk”, present active imperative of PERIPATEO [peripatew], “as children of light.”
This is crucial because here we learn that even though we are positionally
“light” we can live a life that is not discernably different from the
unbeliever because of living in carnality and the power of the sin nature. This
is very important because it establishes two categories. In the positional
category you are light, and it establishes the experiential category of walking
consistently with your ultimate reality. So here we see the two spheres of
operation, positional and experiential. In verse 9 we see that the production
of walking in the light is comparable to the fruit of the Spirit. Here we see
the parallel that walking in the light and walking by means of the Holy Spirit
are tantamount to the same thing and both have the same production.
a)
Light
represents absolute perfection in the Scriptures, whereas darkness represents
all that has been tainted by sin. Light, in fact, represents the absolute
righteousness and perfection of God—1 Timothy 6:15,16; 1 John 1:5.
b)
We
become sons of light at the moment of salvation, so that becomes a description
of our position in Christ. That is, we have positional righteousness, we have
the imputation of Christ’s righteousness at the moment of salvation.
c)
We
are transferred positionally into light—1 Peter 2:9; Acts 26:18—so that we can
receive an inheritance. Colossians 1:13—“He delivered us from the domain,” and
here we have the word EXOUSIA
[e)cousia]
which means authority or power. When you were an unbeliever you were under the
authority and the domain of Satan, the domain of darkness no matter how good,
how wonderful, how pleasing you were. The same is true for everyone who is not
a believer.
d)
Scripture
clearly affirms that believers still possess sin natures and thus still perform
works of darkness. Even though they are sons of light they can live in
darkness—Romans 13:12. Paul would not say “lay aside the works of darkness” if
we were not performing deeds of darkness. This is the aorist middle subjunctive
of the verb APOTITHEMI [a)potiqhmi]. This word is used
sometimes for removing clothing. It means to put away, to put out of the way,
to remove, to take off. So the imagery here is of someone changing clothes,
taking off one set of clothes and putting on a set of armour. The subjunctive
mood is the mood of potentiality and it is sometimes used in certain
constructions to emphasize a certain kind of command, and this is called a
hortatory subjunctive—hortatory refers to the fact that it is an exhortation.
It is an exhortation or a mandate and the subjunctive mood is used in order to
emphasize it is a potential. That potential is going to be activated by one’s
volition. The believer’s volition determines whether or not this action is
going to take place. He is going to make decisions regarding the application of
doctrine in his life, it is not automatic.
e)
In
principle, light and darkness therefore are clearly seen as absolute,
inconsistent categories. You either walk in light or you walk in darkness. But
being in the light and walking in the light are not the same thing. That is
important. You are either light or darkness; that relates to salvation. And you
either walk in light or walk in darkness; that relates to spiritual life. You
cannot be walking with one foot in both.
The New Testament utilizes two different words to
describe what happens to our relationship with the Holy Spirit at the moment of
sin. The first is the phrase
“quenching the Holy Spirit.” You quench a fire by
putting it out. 1 Thessalonians 5:19. In the next verse, verse 20, they are
told not to despise prophetic statements. The immediate context of the command
is that you don’t put out the Spirit because there is a relationship between
the Holy Spirit and the giving of Scripture (prophecy). Prophecy has ceased
now, we have the completed canon of Scripture; so the direct interpretation of
that verse is that you quench the Spirit by ignoring or despising, treating
lightly, the mandates of Scripture. I terms of application you do that any time
you sin. The second phrase which is used to describe the destruction of our
fellowship with God is in Ephesians 4:30: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of
God, by whom you are sealed for the day of redemption.” Grieving the Holy
Spirit is an anthropopathism, which is applying to God a human emotion in order
to understand the policies of God—a human emotion which God does not possess.
If we look at the context of this verse and compare the various categories
there we see that these overt sins and mental attitude sins and sins of the
tongue are what grieves the Holy Spirit. Quenching or grieving the Holy Spirit
moves us out of the bottom circle, from walking in the light to walking in
darkness, referred to as carnality—1 Corinthians 3:1-3.
1
John 1:3-7, John is talking specifically about fellowship with God. The
emphasis here is that fellowship with God is the basis for human fellowship.
Real life in the spiritual
life doesn’t begin until we begin to get some spiritual maturity under our
belt, the same way that it happens in life. It is amazing that some believers
seem to just be happy knowing that they are going to heaven and yet have no
concept of what it means to really grow or advance to spiritual maturity, so
that they can really begin to live and operate and benefit from all of the
incredible assets that God has given us for living the spiritual life. So we
are taking some time in Galatians to really get a handle on this subject,
starting from 5:16 which deals with the spiritual walk. Walking by means of the
Spirit is the command in this verse, and this is a present active imperative,
which means this is to be the standard operating procedure for the believer’s
life. It is that step by step, day by day, moment by moment dependence upon God
the Holy Spirit as the energizing power and enabler in the spiritual life. So
we are taking a look at all of the passages related to walking.
1 John 1:6—John is going to
use three conditional clauses to represent different responses to God in the
life of believers. “If we say” [3rd class condition, emphasizing potentiality:
maybe it is and maybe it is not. It presents the condition as uncertain of
fulfillment]. In other words, you might say this or you might not say this. It
treats this as though it is a likely happening: “that we have fellowship with
him.” Someone comes along and claims to have fellowship with God, claiming to
be walking with the Lord; “and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not
practice the truth.” What is he saying here? First of all we have seen that we
are positionally in the light. We become a son of light at the moment of
salvation, this is the top circle. So walking in the light has to do with a
step by step process and progress. It is different from a status, which is “in
the light.” There are those who say that walking in the light or darkness are
terms for believer and unbeliever, but as we have seen that is completely
erroneous. Walking in the light and walking in darkness are terms that relate
to the bottom circle, the moment by moment life of the believer in terms of his
spiritual life.
The
word for practicing the truth here is the Greek word POIEO [poiew], and it means to do, to
make, to practice, to apply. This is the word seen time and again in James
chapter one from verse 21 down through 2:26. There it was translated “apply”
because it had to do with the application of doctrine. The second word in this
phrase is the Greek word ALETHEIA
[a)lhqeia],
meaning truth, absolute truth, not relative truth. So this is comparable to
doctrine and is John’s terminology. Whenever John is using this word he is
talking about absolute truth. So walking in the truth is tantamount to walking
in accordance with divine mandates, which we call Bible doctrine. In essence,
what John is saying here is what James is saying in James 1 & 2.
Contrast
in verse 7 – “but if we walk in the light.” So there we have a clear indication
that the believer can either walk in darkness or walk in the light; :as He Himself
is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus
His Son cleanses from all sin.” Blood is an analogy or metaphor for the
spiritual death of Jesus Christ on the cross. When God told Adam in the garden
that the day he ate of the fruit he would die, and he did, he died spiritually.
When Jesus died on the cross as our substitute it had to be a death in kind.
The penalty for sin is spiritual death, eternal separation from God the Father.
Then there is a penalty which has to do with the consequences in time, and this
comes under the category of whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap. It
is the negative consequences in time that are the results of sin. So that when
Adam and Eve sinned they died spiritually—penalty #1, but everything in life
was cursed and they lived in a fallen environment from that point on, suffering
from the curse of sin, and that was penalty #2. As a result God is going to
deal with this in two different ways. The spiritual death on the cross of Jesus
Christ is a judicial death. God judged Him judicially on the cross by imputing
to Him our sins. Jesus Christ remained sinless: “He who knew no sin was made
sin for us.” Our sins imputed to Him were not His experientially but they were
His judicially. The word theologians use to describe this is not only the term
judicial but forensic. Forensic has to do with the study of things that have to
do with the judiciary, with criminality, so it is called a forensic punishment.
But there is experiential punishment. We need to draw this distinction. There
are two kinds of punishment. We have a judicial forensic punishment at the
cross which dealt with spiritual death, and then we have experiential
consequences or penalties in time. When John says, “and the blood of Jesus
Christ cleanses us from all sin,” we have the verb KATHARIZO [kaqarizw], which means to purify or to cleanse. It is a word that was used in
the Septuagint to relate to all the cleansing that took place in the temple
before a priest could go into the presence of God. Because this is in the
present tense some people will come along and say that this is the standard
operating procedure here, and if you are believer in the Lord Jesus Christ then
you will always be cleansed from sin, so you don’t ever have to do anything
about it; whenever you sin just realize that whatever you do God is going to
cleanse because the blood of Christ cleanses you continuously and you don’t
have to do anything else. In other words, you never have to confess your sins
is what they are saying. But what about 1 John 1:9? John would be contradicting
himself if he meant by 1:7 that you don’t have to confess your sins any more.
What we realize here is that 1 John 1:7 is dealing with Penalty #1
consequences, spiritual death consequences. This means that when you enter into
the top circle and you are in a positional reality with Jesus Christ, that is
an eternal relationship and you can never lose it. Yet we sin! Five second
after you put your faith alone in Christ alone you sin. Do you die spiritually?
No, you don’t. Why? Because P1 has been taken care of on the cross.
You do not die spiritually again. Jesus Christ’s blood continually cleanses you
so that that forensic application of the blood of Christ, meaning His spiritual
substitutionary death on the cross, continually cleanses you from the moment of
faith in Christ until you are absent from the body and face to face with the
Lord and minus the sin nature. 1 John 1:7 is talking about the continual effect
of the death of Christ in terms of never having to deal with P1
consequences of spiritual death ever again. That will not happen to you as a
believer, you cannot lose your salvation.
Verse
8 – “If we say [maybe we will, maybe we will not] that we have no sin, we are
deceiving ourselves.” In other words, there is no such thing as perfection in
the spiritual life, every believer is going to sin and continue to sin to some
degree or another. If you say that you have no sin you are operating on
arrogance and self-deception and the truth [Bible doctrine] is not in you, you
are not operating on doctrine, you are once again operating outside the bottom
circle. Truth is not in you, you are over in carnality denying the fact that
you are a sinner.
Verse
9 – in contrast. “If we confess (HOMOLOGEO [o(mologew], which means to admit or to acknowledge your sin)
our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins.” This means that
there are two categories of forgiveness. One category of forgiveness deals with
what happens at the cross and is judicial or forensic forgiveness that is ours
continuously because we are in the top circle. We constantly have that and we
can never lose it. But then there is experiential forgiveness which is related
to phase two, and this is related to the use of 1 John 1:9 and to P2
consequences, those consequences whether they are natural consequences, cause
and effect consequences, or divine discipline consequences, that are ours in
time as a result of the sin that we commit. The believer cannot sin with
impunity.
In
Ephesians 5 there are various absolute states mentioned. We have the command in
verse 8 to walk as children of the light. Verse 9 is the consequences of
walking in the light—production. The goal of all is this is production of
character, “all goodness and righteousness and truth.” This is the
transformation of character. It is designed to produce in us the character of
Jesus Christ. The fruit of the light is comparable to the fruit of the Holy
Spirit. In verse 11 it says “do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of
darkness, but instead even expose them.” Then we have in verse 14 a reminder of
rebound: “Awake sleeper, and arise from the dead [temporal death/carnality],
and Christ will shine on you.” Verse 15 – the unwise is the fool in carnality,
the wise is the believer operating on doctrine. Verse 17 – “So then do not be
foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” It is either one or the
other, not a little bit of one and a little bit of the other. Culminating in
verse 18: “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be
filled with the Spirit.” So we see that we have two states. Then we have a new
concept: the filling of the Holy Spirit. The term in the Greek is instrumental
dative of means. We are to be filled by means of God the Holy Spirit. The verb
is PLEROO [plhrow] and it means to fill up a
deficiency. The deficiency is the vacuum in our soul caused by a lack of
doctrine. What are we filled with? The phrase “filled with the Spirit” is
somewhat ambiguous. Does that means that the Spirit Himself fills us up, that
He is the content of the filling? That would have to be expressed in the Greek
with the genitive case because the genitive expresses content. The dative
expresses means. So it is the Holy Spirit who is the dynamic element that fills
us with something. This should be more accurately translated “filled by means
of the Spirit.” The content of the filling is doctrine—Colossians 3:16, “Let
the word of Christ richly dwell within you.” The result is going to be given by
a descriptive genitive using the Greek adjective PLERES [plhrhj] which comes from the same root as PLEROO. There is another Greek
word that comes in here. The verb PIMPLEMI [pimplhmi] also has to do with being filled. PIMPLEMI and PLEROO are translated the same way
in the English, yet they are two different words in the Greek and they refer to
two different kinds of filling. Failure to recognize that has led to some real
problems.
The reason the believer
moves from light to darkness is his volition, and there must be a mechanism
whereby he recovers and moves from darkness back to the light. That mechanism
is 1 John 1:9 and is volitional. The volition must be exercised for recovery.
As
we move further into Galatians 5 we will see that our natural ability produces
certain works. The Holy Spirit also has certain fruit and production in our
lives. We can also in the flesh produce ‘pseudo-works’—human good. It looks
like divine good and masquerades as divine good. If you do not have a
mechanism, a means of moving from walking in the darkness to walking in the
light how do you ascertain whether or not you are walking by the Spirit or
walking in the flesh? There has to be some means for determining the realm in
which you are walking and how you recover. 1 John 1:9 supplies that. Just
because you confess your sins and you move back into the sphere of light
doesn’t mean you are going anywhere, it just puts you in a position back where
you can go somewhere. Confession doesn’t move you anywhere other than back into
the sphere of light. It is from that point on that the issue is determined.
Summary
Introduction
Ephesians 5:18—the first verb is the negation of a
command, a present passive imperative of METHUSKO [mequskw]. With the negative it is an imperative of
prohibition, and this indicates in the present tense that this is a complete
prohibition for the entire life of the believer. That is followed by the dative
of means for the word for wine, OINO [o)inw]. The dative indicates
means, so the command is, “Do not get drunk by means of wine”; “for that is
dissipation”— wasting of time. In contrast there is a second command and that
is indicated by the strong adversative ALLA [a)lla], which indicates a strong contrast between the two statements, “but
be filled.” This is the positive command, also a present passive imperative.
The present imperative indicates a standard or general rule for the believer’s
life. It comes from the verb PLEROO
[plhrow],
and that emphasizes to fill something up. The question needs to be asked: What
are you filled up with? It seems in the English that the content of the filling
is the Spirit. In the Greek the dative is used to indicate means, and here we
have an instrumental dative: “by means of the Holy Spirit.” Colossians
3:16—“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.” If we compare Ephesians
5 & 6 with Colossians 3 and what comes after that command there are the
same consequences, all of which flow from both mandates. In Ephesians the
emphasis is on the means of filling and in Colossians the emphasis is on the
content of the filling which is Bible doctrine.
a)
Both
verbs are present passive imperatives indicating that the believer is acted
upon by that which is in the dative. The passive voice indicates that the
believer is the recipient of the action. In the first case he is acted upon by
wine and is made drunk. In the second he is acted upon by the Holy Spirit and
he is filled up with something. The imperative mood indicates that this is a
command or a mandate. The imperative is always addressed to the volition of the
individual. It is up to the believer as to whether or not he will implement the
mandate.
b)
In
the past in terms of the history of the interpretation of this passage
drunkenness has been taken as the key issue in the metaphor. Obviously we are
dealing with an analogy here and drunkenness has been taken as the key issue,
and the emphasis has been on the idea of control; that when you drink wine and
get drunk it is the wine controlling you. So the analogy would then mean that
the Holy Spirit is supposed to control you. What’s wrong with that? Recent
studies in the religious practices common in Ephesus at the time reveal that
one of the very popular cults in Ephesus was the worship of the god Dionysus,
also known by the Latin name Bacchus. Among other things he was the god of wine
and his worship was very much associated with the mystery religions at that
time in which participation in drinking enormous amounts of wine in order to
get drunk and get into some kind of altar state of consciousness so that you
could have communion or fellowship with the god. And of you really got lucky
then the god would speak to you in glossalalia or gibberish. In Ephesus they
had the same kind of problem. They were thinking that to become spiritual and
have fellowship with God was by getting drunk. In terms of their religious
background they were using wine in order to have a deeper fellowship with God.
So Paul is saying don’t get drunk with wine because that’s not going to get you
in fellowship with God, but be filled by means of the Spirit because that is
what gets you in fellowship with God. As long as the believer is in fellowship
with God and is learning the Word of God the Holy Spirit is going to be filling
up his soul with doctrine, making it understandable so that there is something
there for Him to bring to his mind at the proper time.
c)
Conclusion:
The filling of the Holy Spirit means to be filled by means of the Holy Spirit
and is the means to fellowship and spirituality.
d)
In
earlier writings by various theologians who fail to understand the original languages
an argument was made for repeated fillings. The imperative mood of Ephesians
5:18 indicates that you can lose the filling of the Spirit. Nowhere in Acts
does it indicate that you can lose the filling of the Holy Spirit. The reason
is that the word that is used in all of these passages is the word PIMPLEMI [pimplhmi]and the word that is used
in Ephesians 5:18 is PLEROO.
They are not synonymous. Luke 1:15 in reference to John the Baptist—PIMPLEMI.
What dispensation is John the Baptist living in? The dispensation of Israel,
not the Church Age where we have the unique filling of the Holy Spirit, PLEROO [plhrow]. Cf. Luke 1:41, 67; Acts
2:4; 4:8—there is a relation between filling and speaking, it has a revelatory
significance. This word PIMPLEMI
would have more in common with the Old Testament temporary enduement than it
does with New Testament filling, because it is temporary and exclusively
related to some kind of verbal utterance, just as the prophets in the Old
testament were filled with the Spirit in order to write the Scriptures.
e)
There
is a failure to distinguish between the verb PLEROO and the related adjective PLERES. PLERES is an adjective and
as such is descriptive. PLERES plus a genitive of description is going to give
us a character analysis of a person. Acts 13:10 is a description of one of the
various characters who were in opposition to the apostles in Acts. “You who are
full of all deceit and fraud”—PLERES. Another example is in Acts 9:36—“full of
good works and mercy [lit.].” This is a character description of the woman.
These descriptions are not related to the Holy Spirit at all. In Acts 6:3 they
are going to choose the deacons—“full of the Spirit and of wisdom.” Here it is PLERES again. He is not talking
about PLEROO, that these men are filled
with the Spirit. It is obvious from the passage that if you are going to choose
such men you are not going to choose men who are going to be filled with the
Spirit and the next moment not. Secondly, you are not filled with the wisdom
one moment and not filled with wisdom the next. That is clearly an adjectival
description of somebody whose whole life is characterized by the Holy Spirit
and wisdom. So PLERES is different from PLEROO. PLEROO is the means of filling; PLERES describes the ultimate, mature
result of filling. So what we would say is that the reason that they are full
of the Spirit and wisdom is because these men have grown to spiritual maturity
and they have spent a maximum amount of time being filled with doctrine under
the ministry of God the Holy Spirit, and it is exemplified in their life. Acts
6:8—“And Stephen, full of grace and power.” That describes his life. Cf. Acts
11:24. PLERES indicates the character results of PLEROO. The Bible is saying that character matters! The
ultimate goal is not to be filled with the Spirit, not to be in fellowship; it
is to advance to spiritual maturity and exemplify the character of Jesus
Christ. The fruit of the Spirit is PLERES, the result of continuous filling by means of God
the Holy Spirit. So the conclusion is that PIMPLEMI relates to the pre-Church Age enduement of the Holy
Spirit for special revelation. PLEROO
relates to the work of the Holy Spirit in filling the believer with doctrine.
The content of the filling is always doctrine and the result is expressed by
PLERES, and that is Christ-like character. So there we see the entire process
from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity. The means is the Holy Spirit
filling the believer with doctrine. The process is continuous walking. The
result is transformed character expressed by PLERES.
Contrary to the way
spiritual warfare is taught by so many people today the real battle, no matter
who the enemy is, whether the enemy is outside of you in terms of Satan or the
demons, or whether it is the cosmic system, or whether the enemy is the
internal enemy of our own sin nature, the way to respond to that enemy and
defeat that enemy is always the same. It never involves going out and taking
Satan captive or rebuking the devil, or any of that sort of nonsense, but it is
always related to thinking. The real battle takes place between your ears. So
the issue is ultimately and always volition.
Galatians 5:16—“Walk by means of the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.” The present active indicative indicates that walking by means of the Spirit is a standard operating procedure for living the spiritual life. We have to walk a moment by moment, day by day conscious dependence upon God the Holy Spirit, moving forward. Walking by the Spirit works because, first and foremost, we have made a decision to depend upon God the Holy Spirit. This is not something mystical, it is done primarily through learning and applying the Word of God. But we have seen that when we sin we grieve the Holy Spirit and we quench the Holy Spirit. We are then out of fellowship and the Bible says that this is walking in darkness. As long as we walk in darkness we do not have fellowship with God. The only way to recover is through 1 John 1:9, confession of sin. Then we begin to walk in the light, it puts us experientially back into the bottom circle. Here the issue once again is volition, obedience and application to divine mandates. These are mutually exclusive categories: either you are out in carnality, walking in darkness, or in walking in the light. There is no middle ground.
“Walk by means of the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh [lit.].” The verb is the aorist active subjunctive of TELEIOO [teleiow], which means to bring to completion. Often this is translated “perfect,” but not in the sense of sinlessness. The main idea is to bring something to completion. In Greek, if you wanted to say something and negate it in the strongest possible terms, what you would do is put it in the subjunctive mood because that is the mood of potentiality. What you are going to do in your negation is show that there is absolutely no potential here. So you would take two negatives, OU and ME [o)u and mh]. In English it is bad form to use a double negative. However in Greek if you want to say no and you mean it, then what you do is double your negative. So if you take the double negative plus an aorist subjunctive verb, what you are saying is that there is no possibility whatsoever that this can occur. It is the most absolute form of negation possible. So it indicates that these are mutually exclusive concepts: either walking by the Spirit or carrying out the desires of the flesh. You can’t be a little spiritual and a little carnal, it has to be one or the other. The Greek word for “flesh” is SARKOS [sarkoj] which can refer to the literal muscles and meat that wraps around the bones of the body, but it has a metaphorical meaning that relates to the sin nature.
1.
Terminology:
SARX [sarc] is used figuratively for
that which inhabits, or has as its source, the genetic structure of the human
being and produces the inclination and propensity to sin. Prediction: That any
day there may be discovered a gene that means that you will be an alcoholic, or
a certain gene that means that you will be a murderer, or a certain gene that
means that you will be a homosexual. The Bible does not negate that. But to say
that this is necessarily where you will be is wrong. The Bible says that the
sin nature has its source genetically and is transmitted genetically through
procreation, but that this genetic material is merely a predisposition in
certain directions. Ultimately it is your volition that determines whether or
not that is brought to fruition. So every person has certain proclivities of
their sin nature. Whether or not you activate those things depends entirely
upon your volition. An unbeliever is a slave to his sin nature and can do
nothing but obey his sin nature, but a believer is free from the power of the
sin nature. Cf. Romans 7:5, 18; 8:4ff.
2.
Definition:
The Westminster larger catechism defines sin as “any want or conformity to, or
transgression of, any law of God given as a rule to the reasonable creature.”
L. S. Chafer modified that a little. Instead of saying it is a want or
conformity to the law of God it was better to put the character of God, because
the law of God is the verbal expression of the character of God. Further he
said that the general term for sin is the Greek word HAMARTIA [a(martia] meaning that a prescribed
mark or ideal has been missed. This mark or ideal is the essential character of
God which is made known to man by God’s revealed will or law. John Calvin had a
very extended comment on sin: “Original sin, then, may be defined as a
hereditary corruption and depravity of our nature, extending to all the parts
of the soul, which first makes us obnoxious to the wrath of God, and then
produces in us works which in Scripture are termed “works of the flesh.” So
clearly talks about sin as not some illness but a corruption and depravity. He
concludes by saying, “Nay, the whole nature, as it were, is a seed-bed of sin
and therefore cannot be but odious and abominable to God. Hence it follows that
it is properly deemed sinful in the sight of God for there could be no
condemnation without guilt. Next comes the other point, that this perversity in
us never ceases. It constantly produces new fruits, just as a lighted furnace
sends forth sparks and flames, or a fountain without ceasing pours out water.
Hence, those who have defined original sin as the lack of the original
righteousness which we ought to have had, though they substantially comprehend
the whole case, do not significantly enough express its power and energy. For
our nature is not only utterly devoid of goodness but so prolific in all kinds
of evil that it can never be idle. Those who term it concupiscence [modern
definition: sexual lust, and not a good term for the sin nature] use the word
not very inappropriately provided it were added that everything which is in man
from the intellect to the will, from the soul even to the flesh, I defiled and
pervaded with this concupiscence, or to express it more briefly, that the whole
man is in himself nothing else than concupiscence.” In other words, we are
totally depraved. So when we talk about sin we will define it this way: Sin is
any mental, verbal or overt act which violates the character, standards and
will of God which are revealed in the Word of God. What that tells us right
away is that there is an absolute standard, and that is in the person and
character of God. We live in an age which rejects the notion that there are
absolute standards. The technical term for the ideology dominating our current
culture is postmodernism. It walks hand in hand with something called
“multiculturalism” which says that every culture is equal and has equal value,
and all parts of each culture are equal and have equal value. So if you are a
Satanist or an animist in the darkest of Africa, or if you are an intellectual
at Harvard university, or if you are a white male European or a female Asian,
whatever your culture is the greatest sin you can commit is to say that one is
better than the other. What lies behind that is a system of values which says
you cannot say something is right or something is wrong anymore, because that
simply reflects your own cultural bias. And if you are the” worst of all
sinners,” a white male, then you can never use terms such as right and wrong
because that simply reflects your chauvinistic bias! You don’t hear today that
behaviour is right or wrong anymore, especially in the schools. What you hear
over and over again is something is “appropriate” or is “inappropriate.” The
root of that terminology is postmodernism: there is nothing right or wrong
anymore. The second definition we need to address is the sin nature. The sin
nature is the capacity, the propensity and the inclination in every human being
to make life work independently of God. Sin in its essence says, “I make the
decision, I am the authority, not God. I will determine what right and wrong is
and not God.” It is an assertion of independence, and that is exactly what took
place in the original angelic fall and also in the garden of Eden.
3.
Sin
originated in the universe when Lucifer first sinned—Ezekiel 28 & Isaiah
14. If we look at the beginning of Ezekiel we see that the word of the Lord
comes to Ezekiel to address an oracle of condemnation against the “leader” [NASB] of Tyre, but it is really
the “prince” of Tyre as in the King James version. Today, most Old Testament
scholars don’t think either of these two passages have anything to do with
Satan/Lucifer. It is absurd. If we look at what is said here in relationship to
the prince of Tyre in verses 2-10 that obviously will apply to a human ruler.
But what is said starting in verse 11, and what is addressed t the king of
Tyre, is something else again. The king of Tyre cannot be a human being. In
fact it refers to the power behind the throne, someone who is not up front but
who is manipulating things behind the scene. That is the scenario we have
starting in verse 12. The human king of Tyre is really a puppet who is being
manipulated by someone else, and this someone else is identified as the true
ruler of Tyre. And this personage cannot be a human being because of what is
said about him, and must refer to an angelic personage. “You had the seal of
perfection,” past tense; “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” This
terminology in Hebrew indicates that this creature was at one time the most
perfect creature ever to come from the hand of God—the most beautiful, the most
brilliant, the most intelligent creature. That describes Lucifer, the highest
of all of the angels. Then in verse 13, “In Eden you were,” Eden being a term describing
the throne room of God; “the garden of God,” not to be confused with the garden
of Eden where man was placed; “every precious stone was your covering…” The
jewels mentioned remind us of the jewels that the high priest of Israel was to
wear in his breastplate. If you were Jewish and read this what would come to
your mind is the breast of the high priest of Israel. So from this we get the
hint that in his original function before he fell Lucifer had something of a
priestly function in relationship to all of the angels. Then in verse 14, “You
were the anointed cherub who covers …” This is a pregnant verse in terms of the
implications here. First of all he is called the “anointed” cherub, the Hebrew
word mashiach—messiah. Messiah
relates to Jesus Christ, it simply means the anointed one; but it shows that
this role that Lucifer held prior to the fall is a special role, he had a
unique role. The cherubs are almost always implicated in the throne of God and
associated with His righteousness and justice. The word “covering”: remember
there is the covering of sin on the mercy seat in the ark of the covenant, so
this is a term that carries with it the sense of atonement. So there are all
kinds of nuances to these words that are used here to describe Lucifer’s function
prior to the fall that speak of some kind of a priestly role. God create
Lucifer perfect, but like all rational creatures that God creates he had
volition. He exercised his volition against God one day and unrighteousness was
discovered in him. Verse 16 is interesting: “By the abundance of your trade” –
talking about Tyre, a major commercial centre in the ancient world; “you were
internally filled with violence.” What was Lucifer trading? We can’t say for
sure but the suggestion is that because of the priestly terminology used to
describe him that what he is trafficking in is that he is carrying the praise
and worship of the angelic host to God, just as the high priest of Israel would
be carrying the praise and worship of the people of Israel to God. The high
priest is the representative of all the people and they approach God through
him. So all the angels would approach God through Lucifer as their high priest.
As he trafficked in that trade what happened was that he decided he wanted all
of that praise and worship for himself instead of giving it to God. So he
begins to want to be like God. The result is give” “you sinned; therefore I
have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O
covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up
because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor.”
Isaiah 14:12—“How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning [Lucifer],
son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You have weakened the
nations!” This starts off where Ezekiel 28 stops. Here we have the sin of
Lucifer, the five “I wills.” This is asserting his will over against God’s
will. That’s why the sin nature may be defined as essentially that inclination
towards asserting independence from God: I am the final authority, not God.
4.
Sin
is an act of volition against God, producing sin in four categories:
commission, omission, ignorance, cognizance. Sins of commission are when you
actively perform or engage in overt, mental, or verbal acts which violate the
character of God. A sin of omission is a sin because you fail to attain the
high standards revealed by God. For example, you have the opportunity to
demonstrate impersonal love toward someone. You don’t hate them or hurt them,
you just don’t do anything and you ignore the situation. You fail to do what
you should have done. Sins of ignorance is doing those things which you did not
know was a sin. Because you wanted to do it you are culpable. Ignorance is not
an excuse. A sin of cognizance is where you know it is a sin, you want to do
it, and you do it.
5.
As
we have seen from all of this sin is ultimately a sin of independence against
God, so all sins are first and foremost sins against God no matter who else
they might affect.
6.
When
God created Adam and Isha, man was originally created in the image and likeness
of God, according to Genesis 1:26, 27. Being created in the image of God they
were created perfect and had absolute righteousness, even though this was an
untested and unconfirmed righteousness. They were placed in perfect environment
and God provided everything that they would need to supply every single
necessity that could be imagined. There are a couple of things to note with
regard to the prohibition in the garden. First of all, God supplied all kinds
of food for Adam and Isha. There was nothing inherent in the fruit of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil that made it wrong. It was not poisonous.
There was not something in it that changed them. It was not physically wrong.
It was wrong because God said it was wrong. And it was not some sort of
allegory for sex. The issue was obedience or disobedience to God. That is what
made it sinful, not that there was something inherently wrong with the fruit. For
man to eat that fruit was to say, I know more than God knows, and I will make
the determination for my life in opposition to God. So there was a test: the
test of the tree. And there was a penalty, which is stated in a very strong
Hebrew phrase, the use of the qal imperative plus the qal infinitive absolute.
When you take a qal imperative of prohibition plus a qal infinitive absolute
that emphasizes the certainty of the prohibition. It has been said that because
of the double verb here, it should be translated, “Dying you will die.” But it
has been demonstrated that if you translate it like that anywhere else in the
Scriptures it is nonsense. What this means is that at the moment of eating the
fruit death would occur. The death that occurred was spiritual death which is
defined as separation from God, the essential meaning of death, not a failure
to exist. Spiritual death is the cause of all other kinds of death, of which
there are six other kinds in the Bible. Spiritual death affects the entire
dimension of creation. There are certain consequences spelled out by God in
Genesis 3:14-19. This is called the curse. These are not simply consequences,
it is a negative curse that God places on the planet and on creation and on man
because of sin. First of all to the serpent, verse 14. At this moment there was
a major physiological transformation in the serpent. From this moment he would
no longer move about the way he did before. Then to the woman, verse 15. “Your
seed” – all that would follow Lucifer, all that would be involved in the cosmic
system; “her seed” refers to the coming Messiah. This is the first promise of
the gospel. “He shall bruise you [Satan] on the head” – a fatal wound. Jesus
Christ bruised Satan on the head at the cross. “And you shall bruise him [Christ]
on the heel.” It would be a temporary but not a permanent wounding. That is
what took place at the cross. To the woman: “I will greatly multiply your pain
in childbirth”. This doesn’t say that childbirth is part of the curse. God
intended for the woman to bear children from her inception. “Yet your desire shall be for your husband”—not
sexual desire, the Hebrew word means desire for control. It is the same word
God used when He was speaking to Cain in Genesis 4:7 when God told him about
the temptation he was going through, and He told Cain that “if you do not do
well sin is crouching at the door, and its desire
is for you.” It is a desire to control, a desire to master, a desire to
manipulate So what we see here is that sin is going to impact on human
relationships, so that rather than peace and harmony there will be continuous
struggle for dominion, authority and leadership. “And he shall rule over you.”
The word for “rule” there is a word that implies tyrannical control. So what we
see here is that generally speaking in history (it doesn’t mean that every lady
is a contentious woman who wants to go out and dominate her husband) this is
the tendency throughout the species. Of course, to whatever degree a woman has
been taught biblical principles this can be overcome. The whole purpose of
sanctification is rolling back various aspects of the curse. The same thing is
true for the husband. The indication here is that men will want to gain a
tyrannical position over women. That also is played out in history and is going
to be radically transformed by the application of doctrine. Then man has to
deal with the fact that nature is being transformed, so there is an aspect of
sin that impacts creation, verse 18. As a result of sin every aspect of
creation was radically transformed. What the earth was like after the fall bore
little resemblance to what it was like before the fall. And God provides the
perfect solution in Jesus Christ who begins the process of rolling back the
curse because He is the one who dies and pays the penalty. This is rolled back
sequentially, it starts with the redemption of mankind, and then we see
historically it takes place at a second stage in the Millennial kingdom where
part of the curse is rolled back so that the lion lies down with the lamb, etc.
7.
At
the instant of Adam’s sin he died spiritually and acquired a sin nature which
inhabits the cell structure or DNA code of the human race. So the sin nature is
passed on genetically to every member of the human race through the male of the
species. As a result of that sin Adam’s basic nature was transformed. Prior to
the fall he was to subdue the earth; now it would be covered with thorns and
thistles, there would be warfare on the earth, and conflict between man and
nature. So sin has a certain physical consequence.
8. The result of this is that every person is born physically alive and spiritually dead. It is the sin nature that produces spiritual death, separation from God. The reason it is called spiritual death is because man was originally created trichotomous—three parts: body, soul, spirit. The body is the material part of mankind, the soul is the immaterial part (self-consciousness, mentality, emotion, volition, conscience), the soul is that immaterial part of man which is intimately linked to the soul (the spirit doesn’t think, it is the mentality of the soul that thinks and makes decisions) and allows the soul to have a relationship with God and to understand the things of God. When Adam sinned the human spirit was lost; he became spiritually dead, so that man was divorced from an understanding of spiritual reality. That is why it is important for man to be born again because at the instant he puts his faith alone in Jesus Christ, at that instant God the Holy Spirit creates a human spirit, and instantly and simultaneously imparts that to the believer so that he becomes spiritually alive at that particular point and is then able to grow spiritually, to have a spiritual life, and to understand the things of God. The technical theological term for this is total depravity, and it is often misunderstood. By total it does not mean that man is as bad as he can be, it means that man’s soul or being in its entirety—every aspect—is affected by sin. This means that we are absolutely helpless to do anything about our fallen status. There is nothing that man can do to gain God’s approbation. That does not mean that God cannot do relatively good things, but what good things he does cannot gain the approval of God. Depravity also means that every aspect of our being is corrupted and polluted by sin. That means that if we look at our self-consciousness our concept of who and what we are as creatures, as human beings, is going to be distorted by sin. It means that in our mentality, in the thinking part of our soul, even the very starting point of our thinking (rationalism, empiricism) is affected. The only other alternative is revelation, that God directly instructs us and teaches us what the starting points are. That doesn’t mean that God tells us everything but He gives us the starting point and then we work it out from there, but always consistent with the revelation of God. Our mentality id affected; our emotions are affected, so that we are constantly living in emotional reaction and emotional sin. Our volition is affected and our conscience is affected, the norms and standards of our soul are distorted. And every human being who is born is obnoxious to God, something that runs counter to the natural inclination of mankind. We want to think somehow that after a child is born that he is not really obnoxious to God until he reaches a certain point when maybe he commits certain sins or he is at the age of God-consciousness or accountability, and it is only at that point that he becomes a sinner. But that is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that at the point of birth every human being is minus-R, lacking the perfect righteousness of God. We also learn that as unbelievers, fallen