The word is our authority as the Spirit is our power.
Jesus submitted to the word of God. The Word of God made flesh submitted to the word of God that was written. Upon Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. When tempted Jesus responded, “It is written…”
When we read our daily scriptures, we are submitting to the word of God. It is not about our doing the scriptures, as if we could. It is about our keeping and valuing the word of God above all else. The word is alive, powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword, it will accomplish what God pleases and prosper in the thing God sends it. All we do is read, receive, value, and abide; the word of God does the rest.
WATCH – That I May Know Him Week 5
GOSPELS
Mark 1 – 7
Mark is the first gospel written and we will see a lot of similarities to Matthew. Mark is concise and loves the word “immediately.” He skips the birth of Jesus and begins with John’s baptism. After Jesus’ temptation, we see a day in His life: He begins in the synagogue casting out a demon, healing Peter’s mother-in-law, and then, after sunset, healing all who came with various diseases and demons. Next morning Jesus is up before dawn to pray, where His disciples find Him. Then off to another city. All seven chapters are rich with demonstrations of the Holy Spirit, parables, amazing faith, healing, and resurrection miracles. By chapter 7 the Pharisees have caught up with Him bringing their religious nonsense.
EPISTLES
1 Corinthians 13 – 16
We begin in the love chapter where there are 15 attributes of God’s love; 7 are what God’s love does, and 7 are what God’s love does not do, with one final attribute, “Love never fails.” Chapter 14 covers prophecy and tongues, order and freedom to be with God, and not drawing attention to one’s gifting. Chapter 15 is the gospel declared and resurrection explained. Chapter 16 ends with salutations and final exhortations.
2 Corinthians 1 – 3
2 Corinthians is one of my favorite books. Paul begins with his honest struggles, the comfort he received, the help their prayers brought, and his testimony of his conscience. All the promises of God are “Yes and Amen” in Jesus Christ. Chapter 2 is the call to comfort the repentant saint, Paul seeking Titus and 3 is the comparison between the first covenant and the new covenant; the letter kills – the Spirit gives life, ministry of death – ministry of the Spirit, and ministry of condemnation – ministry of righteousness. Transformation happens in beholding the glory of the Lord in the mirror of His word, being changed from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord.
TORAH
Genesis 29 – 35
Jacob flees Laban after 20 years of servitude, with 11 sons, Rachel pregnant, and her hiding the household idols. In chapter 32 Jacob hears of Esau coming with 400 men and freaks out. Double-minded he schemes and finally is left alone with the angel of the Lord with whom he wrestles all night until he obtains the blessing of the Lord – a new name! Chapter 33 everything has changed with Esau and peace has been won. Chapter 34 Dinah is raped, loved, and sought after for marriage, the brothers deceive with covenant and murder all of Shechem, but the fear of God is with them. In chapter 35 Jacob takes all the idols they have and buries them, God re-affirms the covenant to Jacob, and decrees again His new name: Israel. Rachel dies in childbirth, Benjamin is born, and the 12 sons are listed. Isaac dies, and Esau and Jacob bury their father.
POETRY
Job 29 – 35
Job 29 through 31 are Job’s summary defense. He is full of himself. He shares his past position, his current state as a “byword”, and then goes into “If I have…”, where his final defense is telling God to strike him if he has done this and that. It is thick, as self-righteousness and self-justification have now risen to their height. Chapter 32 Elihu, who has been present the whole time but has never spoken, speaks. His wrath is aroused against Job because Job justified himself rather than God, and also against Job’s three friends because they found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. Job’s myopic vision is about to be supersize-challenged in its absurdity. By chapter 35 Job’s self-righteousness is coming apart.
PROPHETS
Isaiah 29 – 35
In these chapters, Isaiah prophesies the condition of God’s people—many words Jesus later quotes to illustrate our pride. He speaks to future redemption and calls us to “returning and rest” unto salvation. The unwillingness is exposed and God’s remedies are declared. Idolatry is exposed and the reign of righteousness is celebrated. All these chapters apply to us, the Church, as they did to Judah, a nation. I love these chapters because they provide me with a plethora of convictions filled with returning and repentance. Isaiah chapter 35 is the glorious picture of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Highway of Holiness He has become. “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 35:10).
