MEASURING FORTH THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT

November 29, 2009 am
MF Blume
Galatians 5:16   This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Romans 8:10-12 KJV  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  (11)  But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.  (12)  Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

MEASURING OUT THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT

These two passages are providing us the same message of the ability of the Spirit of God to affect our lives so much that we cease fulfilling fleshly lusts, or in other words, cease living after the flesh.
  • Rom 8:11 is not speaking about the day the rapture occurs when it says the Spirit of God can quicken our mortal bodies.
  • This is true because the quickening of our mortal bodies makes the experiences of verse 12 possible.
  • And that means if the Spirit quickens our mortal bodies, we do not have to live after the flesh.

The Quickening our mortal bodies by the Spirit is what we need to experience rather than the dominating of our mortal bodies by sin.

Compare the extremes of what affects our mortal bodies:

Romans 6:12 KJV  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

Romans 8: (11)  But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.  

But this does not happen automatically just because we have the Holy Spirit in our lives.
  • How many have been frustrated about having God's Spirit in us, but still doing things that God does not want us to do?
  • And not knowing how to see these things stop?

This is because there is a LAW to how the Spirit works.
  • There is a particular way the Spirit works, and we have to comply with those requirements.
  • Otherwise, if we do not learn how the Spirit works and what it requires of us to work in us, we will never see victory over these problems in our lives as Christians.

Now I want to stop for a moment and say some folks do not care how they fail every so often.
  • They are satisfied with the opportunity God gives to pray forgiveness and be forgiven.
  • While many do not really believe they can have more victory than that, the effort we have to put forth in learning the law of the Spirit and the ways of the Spirit is something they simply don't have time for and are not that serious about, anyway.
  • But if God provided a way to overcome this life of failure, and it was paid for by the suffering of Jesus on the cross, then I think the least we should do is desire with all our hearts to understand the ways of the Spirit and to come into this real victory.

Romans 8:1-2 KJV  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.  (2)  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Notice it is not enough to be in Christ in order to see condemnation stop afflicting you.
  • You have to be in Christ and ALSO learn to walk after the Spirit.
  • I feel bad the modern translations of the bible cut out the qualification of "who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" from their texts.
  • This is a serious point.
  • Walking after the Spirit is THE ENTIRE point of this whole discourse in Romans 7 through 8.
  • The problems Paul described in wanting to do good but not being able to do it is solved by walking after the Spirit, instead of walking after the flesh.

I know I am throwing around a lot of biblical terms here, and it is easy to get lost in them if we really don't know what they actually mean.
  • It's like hearing techno-babble from a computer whiz and you're lost in translation.

Paul said that all the problems of trying to do good and not being able to do it are summed up in this explanation:  

Romans 7:25 KJV  ...So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Paul WANTED to do good.
  • So he served God quite well with his mind.
  • His mind was willing to agree with law and he did agree with it.
  • But how to fulfill that desire in his mind was not possible through his flesh,
  • So he said while his mind serves God's law, his flesh serves the law of sin.
  • This gives us the key to what he then said in 8:1 about not walking after that flesh, but after the Spirit.

Since the flesh serves the law of sin, while his mind is totally in line with the Law of God, WE MUST NOT WALK AFTER THAT FLESH.
  • Condemnation goes when we stop walking after the flesh in order to serve God.
  • And walking after the flesh is actually making yourself do good with your fleshly ability.
  • Your fleshly ability is the only ability you personally can say is yours.
  • But that ability is not powerful enough to overcome the pull that sin makes in our flesh.
  • So even DOING GOOD in your fleshly strength is called WALKING AFTER THE FLESH.

Whether we knew it or not before, we can actually walk after the Spirit.
  • IN other words, we can live a life for God apart from ,making ourselves do good in human effort.
  • We can live a life for God BY THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT's ability in us instead.
  • But there is a law to this Spirit of life.
  • And we have to learn that law in order for us to be able to see The Spirit successfully work victory in us.

Psalm 1 is a perfect starting point towards understanding how the Spirit works in a certain way that we must come to understand.

Psalm 1:1-6   Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  (2)  But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  (3)  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.  (4)  The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.  (5)  Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.  (6)  For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Notice there is a threefold regression here.
  • We begin reading about walking in the counsel of the ungodly.
  • That refers to listening to the advice or counsel of ungodly people.
  • This leads to the next step of no longer walking, but coming to a position of STANDING.
  • And after you heed the counsel of the ungodly, you're going to start standing int he way of sinners.
  • Now, this dopes not mean we block sinners from getting to God, as though we are standing blocking their way.
  • It means we are now on the WAY or the ROAD sinners exist in and use.
  • Their lifestyle becomes our lifestyle.
  • Their way becomes our way.
  • And then we not only stopped walking, but sit down in the seat of the scornful.
  • This regresses from listening to ungodly advice, to moving into the way of life the sinner lines, and finally to attacking and scorning the righteous way.
  • In fact, the counsel you got from the ungodly was from their place of sitting in the seat of scornful and scorning your good walk.
  • So you get into the place where the cycle starts all over, only this time with YOU giving ungodly counsel from the seat of the scornful.
  • And someone else begins to regress the same way you did.

So the person who is blessed does not walk in the ungodly counsel, stand in the sinners' way and sit in the seat of the scornful.
  • INSTEAD, his delight is in God's law.
  • Let's apply this to the LAW OF THE SPIRIT.
  • Those who walk after the Spirit, have learned how the Spirit works, or learned the Law of the Spirit of life.

This brings us to another vision.

Recall last week that we spoke of Revelation 22's river of living water.

Revelation 22:1 KJV  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

This river comes from the THRONE OF GOD AND THE LAMB.

Revelation 21:22 KJV  And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

God and the lamb are a TEMPLE from which a RIVER OF LIFE flows.
  • This river is the HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD.
  • It is a RIVER OF LIFE.
  • Rivers of living water.
  • And there is a LAW OF THE SPIRIT OR RIVER OF LIFE.

This river flowing from the throne of God and the lamb is the same river that Ezekiel saw flow from the HOUSE/TEMP:LE OF GOD, because God and the Lamb are the temple!

And the three levels of water to which Ezekiel saw the river rise on his body are perfectly related to the three stages of regression noted in Psalm 1.
  • think of the RIVER as the SPIRIT.
  • And as the river REACHES the three parts of Ezekiel's body, it affects those Ezekiel in those parts so that the three stages of REGRESSION do not occur in a person's life.

Ezekiel 47:1-6   Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.  (2)  Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.  (3)  And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.  (4)  Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.  (5)  Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.  

I believe the MAN that led Ezekiel through the deepening River of Life is JESUS CHRIST.
  • He is distinctly called a man, because when GOD manifested in the FLESH, He showed us a LIFESTYLE OF WALKING IN THE SPIRIT that we are to FOLLOW in our lives.
  • We can learn HOW TO LIVE AS A SON OF GOD by looking at Jesus the Son of God AS A MAN.
  • AS A MAN, he was our example.
  • AS GOD He is the one we worship!

Following Jesus as He measures the water represents learning from Him as to who the Spirit works.
  • Measuring it for us is teaching us about it.
  • Educating us about it.
  • And as we learn from Him, we can experience THE EFFECTS OF THE SPIRIT UPON the very areas of life that SIN USES.
  • Since WALKING is done by our ankles, in order to stop walking in the counsel of the ungodly, the first step of regression in Psalm 1, Ezekiel FIRST walked in the water 1000 cubits until the water reached his ANKLES.

The ankles represent the part of us that walks in the counsel of the ungodly.
  • Now this is not talking about literal walking with ankles, but it is speaking about FOLLOWING THE ADVICE ungodly people give.
  • The River touching your ankles represents the Spirit affecting the part of your life that causes you to TAKE THE ADVICE OF UNGODLY PEOPLE.
  • If the part of you that takes their advice and counsel is affected by the Spirit of God, then you are going to stop taking their advice because the SPIRIT OF GOD breaks that evil work and causes GOOD THINGS to occur in our lives!

Then, because it is a further work of the law of sin to cause you to not only walk in the counsel of ungodly people, but then to STAND in the way of sinners, Ezekiel must go DEEPER in the river so that it reaches his KNEES, THE PART THAT CAUSES US TO STAND.
  • Standing in the lifestyle of sinners refers to adapting your way of life to a sinful way of life.
  • The river rising to the knees represents the Spirit's affect upon the part of us that adapts us to ways and lifestyles of sinners so that it destroys the sinful work of putting us in a lifestyle of sinners.
  • And we instead stand in the lifestyle of GODLY PEOPLE.
Thirdly, the experience of sitting in the seat of the scornful is affected by God to change our lives so we do not do so any more, or keep away from ever doing so, as Ezekiel went another 1000 cubits until the RIVER rose to his LOINS.
  • Your loins are what you SIT with.
  • And the Spirit affects the part of our lives that sit in the seat of the scornful so that we cease doing so.
The work of the Spirit affects us distinctly to stop doing sinful things.

The law of the Spirit makes us free from the law of sin and death.
  • It makes us free from the very three wicked things that cause people to lose their place with God.
  • The Spirit quickens our mortal bodies in the very areas that sin reigns in our mortal bodies.
  • The river touches the very parts of Ezekiel that are used in experiencing the very three things that people who delight in God's law DO NOT DO.

Notice what else Psalm 1 says. 

IT EVEN MENTIONS THE RIVER.

Psalm 1: (3)  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.  

THE RIVERS OF WATER are mentioned in Psalm 1 just like the river of life in Ezekiel 47.
  • And the three stages of walking, standing and sitting are noted in Ezekiel 47 in the ankles, knees and loins.

Gal 5:16   This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

WALK IN THE RIVER, and you will not commit the sins that will cause this to happen:

Walking in the river is experiencing what you learned the Spirit can do when you abide by the way the Spirit works and what you must do in order for it to work.
  • It all goes back to stop walking after the flesh.
  • Stop trying in your own fleshly power.
  • Pray for and believe for the Spirit to empower you instead.