January 2nd, 2015. THE NEED TO BE SUPPLIED For I know that this shall turn out to my salvation, through your supplication and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:19 (ASV) The very nature of the Christian life requires that we spend time with the Lord, because the Christian life is a supplied life. It is a life that is supplied to us. It has nothing to do with our own resources or any potential in ourselves. It has everything to do with our opening up to Another life to be supplied by that life from beginning to end. The Christian life is a life that has been prepared for us and is then furnished to us by God. He intends to continually supply Himself to us. It is for this reason that we need to spend time with the Lord-- to receive the supply. When we hear the truth from the Scriptures or from others, we may take it as a personal demand upon us and feel threatened. We may think, Im not like that. I could never do that. I cant imagine that I could ever feel that way. I just cant live up to that. With these kinds of thoughts and feelings, if we do not realize that the Christian life is a supplied life, we may conclude that this life is not for us and give up. But listen to this. Every word that God has spoken in the Bible, whatever it is, whatever apparent demand it brings, God wants to supply that very thing into our being. It is not that we are expected to measure up, or come up with the ability to perform in ourselves. No, God intends to continually supply Himself to us. We must understand the Christian life in this way-- it is a supplied life. From beginning to end, it is supplied to us. And this supply comes to us and is dispensed into us in a very special and enjoyable way-- by spending time with the Lord. FOR I KNOW THAT. As some published the gospel with the view of rendering Paul odious, in order that they might kindle up against him the more the rage of his enemies, he tells them beforehand that their wicked attempts will do him no harm, because the Lord will turn them to a contrary design. Though they plot my destruction, yet I trust that all their attempts will have no other effect but that Christ will be glorified in me — which is a thing most salutary to me. For it is evident from what follows, that he is not speaking of the safety of the body. But whence this confidence on the part of Paul? It is from what he teaches elsewhere, (Romans 8:28,) — that all things contribute to the advantage of Gods true worshippers, even though the whole world, with the devil, its prince, should conspire together for their ruin. THROUGH YOUR PRAYER. That he may stir them up to pray more ardently, he declares that he is confident that the Lord will give them an answer to their prayers. Nor does he use dissimulation:for he who depends for help on the prayers of the saints relies on the promise of God. In the mean time, nothing is detracted from the unmerited goodness of God, on which depend our prayers, and what is obtained by means of them. AND THE SUPPLY. Let us not suppose, that because he joins these two things in one connection, they are consequently alike. The statement must, therefore, be explained in this manner:— I know that all this will turn out to my advantage, through the administration of the Spirit, you also helping by prayer, — so that the supply of the Spirit is the efficient cause, while prayer is a subordinate help. We must also observe the propriety of the Greek term, for ἐπιξορηγία is employed to mean the furnishing of what is wanting, just as the Spirit of God pours into us everything of which we are destitute. He calls him, too, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, to intimate, that if we are Christians, he is common to all of us, inasmuch as he was poured upon him with all fullness, that, according to the measure of his grace, he might give out, so far as is expedient, to each of his members.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 16:15:44 +0000
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