Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Quick, on the double!

Hebrews 4:12 tells us “the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
Jordan explains, “When it says it’s powerful, that means it’s energetic; it’s got a transforming, dynamic in its life that will transform you from the inside. It changes your attitudes, which changes your actions. It transforms your heart and renews your mind.
“When He says it’s quick, that word ‘quick’ means alive, but don’t be so quick to jump over the quick concept because the word alive means it’s functioning in every part. The Word of God doesn’t function lethargically. It’s not that it functions eventually.
“What’s in view is that it’s in a state of activity. The word function has the idea of being able to respond without hesitation and delay. God’s Word will respond to your faith quickly. It’s alive, and when you believe it, it works!
“It doesn’t take six months to work. It’ll work the moment you believe it. That’s why it says ‘quick.’ It’ll do it now! The part about the quick I like is I didn’t have to do anything but believe it and it worked. He isn’t waiting on me to do something. He’s just waiting on me to believe it! The word becomes the sustaining internal compulsion with the life of Jesus Christ that gives victory.”
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Paul writes in Romans 8:27, “And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
The ‘he’ in the verse is a reference to the Holy Spirit. As Jordan points out, “Your Bible has no problem attributing the male pronoun ‘he’ to the Spirit. Isn’t that interesting? You say, ‘Well, why does it refer to the Spirit as ‘itself’ in verse 26? Because that’s the proper translation of the verse.
“In a first year Greek grammar book, you learn that the Greek word for spirit is the word ‘pneuma.’ We use it in the words ‘pneumatic’ and ‘pneumonia,’ for example. The word in Greek means ‘neuter.’ Just in case you would misunderstand the personality issue, verse 27 has it as ‘he’ and the reason for that is the textual reason about the pronoun.”
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The term Holy Ghost is used to refer to the third person of the godhead and every time it’s emphasizing, in the context, the person of the Holy Spirit.
“When you see Him called the Holy Spirit the focus is going to be on the work that He is doing,” explains Jordan. “The part of you that hosts the presence of the Spirit of God is not your flesh or your soul; it’s your spirit.”

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