Isaiah 11:2e
2 And the spirit [ruwach] of the LORD [Yahovah] shall
rest [nuwach] upon him, the spirit [ruwach] of wisdom [chokmah] and
understanding, [biynah] the spirit [ruwach] of counsel [`etsah] and
might, [gabuwrah] the spirit [ruwach] of knowledge [da`ath] and
of the fear [yir'ah] of the LORD; [Yahovah] KJV-Interlinear
2 And the
Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the
Lord. NASB
Only believers in Jesus
Christ have an opportunity to have a relationship with God through Christ.
Only believers who are in
fellowship have a functioning spiritual environment in which to have a
spiritual life.
Only believers have a
functional supernatural mechanism for advancing them in their spiritual lives.
Spirit 1 - fellowship.
Confession of sins demanded by God in order for you to first be obedient to His
rules and second for you to accept responsibility for your life, and third for
you to humble yourself and cancel out your arrogance.
Spirit 2 - perception
through a daily study program. This is your daily meal of Bible doctrine for
your soul. If you do not eat properly, you do not grow up nor will you stay healthy
(spiritually healthy).
Spirit 3 - understanding
of what you have learned, by means of application, of what you have learned, to
your daily life. You pray, you give, you support, you are obedient to Gods
commands and so forth. This is the early stage of maturing, of being
responsible, of being accountable for all that you think and do.
Spirit, 'ruwach,' means
wind, exhale, breath of life, blast, power by means of its function. God is the
source and power of the wind. Mans soul is the recipient, the destination of
the wind. The Holy Spirit is the conduit for transmitting the wind. The human
spirit is the gateway through which the wind travels into mans soul.
Spirit 4 is the counsel
stage of ones spiritual life. As you have learned through a daily study plan
then you begin to set a pattern for your life by means of the principles which
Gods teaches you through Bible doctrine.
The legitimate norms and
standards of life come only from Gods Word.
Man in society can set
his own norms and standards, but they are fickle, they are polluted with
prejudice and fads, they are filled with whatever happens to be popular or
expedient at the moment. Man can justify burning witches. Man can justify
abusive governmental, religious, or social policies. All of mans patterns of
life are controlled by their popularity or their acceptability. And, these are
driven by mans sin nature and its influence on their thoughts and actions.
The only standard which
can put mans thinking back on a normal track is Bible doctrine. The only way
that anyone can know what it right and what is wrong is through learning and
understanding Bible doctrine. Once this knowledge becomes a part of ones life,
then the individual begins to look first to what Gods expectations are and not
what the world expects.
It is then for the
individual to become proactive in their own spiritual life and then 'want' to
do that which God expects.
Here then is the next big
barrier to ones advancement in the spiritual life - obedience to Gods Word. It
is too easy to slip back into the former patterns of life - the little sins
that one has become accustomed to - rather than to take the next step in
maturity and become more responsible first and then trust in Gods advice
second.
For example, it is easier
to eat the wrong things than to eat right or to go on a diet if needed. Diets
are a drag, but if necessary because you have a heart problem or a fat problem
or some reason as to why you should watch your eating habits, then you have the
mental battle within yourself to do what is right for yourself or to ignore it
all.
So now take this example
into your spiritual life and apply your lifestyle to that which God expects.
First there is sin as it applies to the laws of establishment verses the laws
of the jungle. Volition is the first establishment. Your thought pattern is
controlled by what you know. Second there is marriage between a man and a
woman. This excludes abnormal relationships or shacking up with each other.
These might be convenient or an expedient in your life but then you have to
decide whether you will obey God or ignore Him.
Obedience brings great
happiness and a great life. Disobedience brings problems.
You can step through the
many other establishment principles (family, authority, free enterprise,
nationalism, due process, charity and so forth) and compare your beliefs to
those of God. Choose Gods, and you'll do fine in life. Choose the worlds and
you will be headed for problems.
One of the great enemies
of Gods counsel are the many false beliefs that present themselves as Gods
counsel. These are generally disguised in politics, in the acceptable or
popular beliefs of society as society takes upon itself to define that which is
right and that which is wrong.
This can affect attitudes
concerning things like interracial marriage (should it be tolerated or not),
abortion (society defines when life begins and what is really life), or things
like dancing on Sunday, or what you should or should not eat, or what you
should or should not wear in public. Society also takes it upon itself to
define that which is acceptable and pleasing to God and that which is not.
Society tries to define the spiritual life by means of 'what' people do and
what people accept as proper, rather than what they think.
What you think is what
you really are. The content of your soul defines what kind of a person you are
and what you will be.
The content of your soul
is determined by what you bring into your soul through your daily thought
process, regardless if your studies come from the television or from a Bible
study or both, or whatever.
To whom do you look for
guidance in your life? To God? Or, do you know enough in life to make your own
decisions such that you don't need anyone or anything else, much less God?
Spirit number four.
Counsel from God.
Counsel is the sum total
of Gods advice, guidance, warning as to the direction and content of your life.
Bible doctrine guides you correctly.
The lack of a daily bible
study will lead you off into directions that are compromising, convenient,
popular, and certain failure.
