The Spiritual Hope

Scripture : James 1:17

” Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. “

The apostle James wrote, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning”

(James 1:17) God is the Father. As the Father, He loves to give gifts to us His children. There are two kinds of the Father’s gift: The good gift and the perfect gift. The good gift is the gift for temporal use while the perfect gift is the gift for eternal use.

Why is God called the Father of lights (James 1:17)? The picture that the apostle James used to describe God is the sun. The sun is the source of all lights for the earth (the light of the moon is actually from the sun). The sun gives its light freely to the earth. God is the source of every good gift and every perfect gifts for us (the good gifts that we receive from people are actually from God). God freely gives His gifts to us because He is the Father who loves us so much. The apostle Paul wrote, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

The sun which is used by the apostle James to give the picture of God as the Father of lights is not the sun in the morning until noonday or the sun in the afternoon until the evening, but the sun at its zenith at noon. When the morning turns into the afternoon, there is variation in the position of the sun, resulting in the turning of the shadow on the ground. But when the sun is at its zenith, it shines in its strength and there is no variation nor shadow of turning. Unlike man who is fickle, who easily changes in his heart from so ready to give to not so ready to give, God is always so ready, even eager to give. There is never any shadow from God that will make us feel that He is not always so ready to give His gifts to us.

The apostle Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) The gift of God is not something that we are entitled to receive or we can work for; but it is His grace, something that He freely gives to us out of His great love and mercy for us. The nature of this gift is spiritual although it can have a physical manifestation. Forgiveness of sins, eternal life, the Holy Spirit, are examples of the gifts of God that are purely spiritual. Healing and provision are examples of the gifts of God that are spiritual but have physical manifestations.

As the Father of lights God has given  two greatest gifts for us. One is His own Son whom He gave about two thousand years ago. When Jesus asked for a drink from a woman of Samaria  at Jacob’s well, He said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” (John 4:10) Jesus referred to Himself as the gift of God. The other is the Holy Spirit whom He has been giving since about two thousand years ago. When Simon Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, he  said to the people, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38-39) Simon Peter said that the Holy Spirit was the gift that God promised to give to the people in every generation, as many as He would call.

The only begotten Son of God Jesus Christ is the greatest one time free gift ever from God because this gift is eternal life. The apostle Paul wrote, ” For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) He is the greatest gift because He opens the way for us to receive all other free gifts from God. The apostle Paul wrote in another place, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) How do we receive this greatest gift from God? Because God actually gave this gift about two thousand years ago, so we do need to ask for it. All we have to do is believe that God has given this gift for us. When we believe this, we shall receive this gift. What about if we have believed and received this gift? We should be thankful and continue to believe.

The Holy Spirit is the greatest  continuous free gift from God ever because this gift is divine nature. The apostle Peter wrote, “by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Peter 1:4) He is the greatest  gift because He opens the way for us to receive other free spiritual gifts and His manifestations. The apostle Paul wrote, “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:” (1 Corinthians 12:7) How do we receive this greatest gift from God? Because God gives this gift continuously, so we can ask for it at any time. The Lord Jesus said, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13) If we have never received the Holy Spirit, then we should ask God to give us the Holy Spirit. If we have received the Holy Spirit, then we should continue to receive the Holy Spirit by continual asking. To always receive the Holy Spirit every time we ask God, we must have a fully surrendered heart.

God gave us His Son, so that by believing in Him we pass from death to life. The Son of God Himself said, “Most assuredly, I say to you,  he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment,  but has passed from death into life.” (John 5:24) God has been giving us His Holy Spirit, so that by receiving Him we experience abundant life. In another place, the Son of God said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) When we are in death, we are slaves of the devil. Spiritually, we are poor and miserable. When we are in life, we are free. Spiritually, we are prosperous and happy. When we are in abundant life, we reign. Spiritually, we are very rich and overflowed with joy.

Does God as the Father of lights also give us physical and material gifts, such as food, clothing, money? Yes, He does. They are God’s good gifts for temporal use. But, God gives the physical and material things as “spiritual” gifts from Him. It is like the Lord Jesus. He is a Man, but He does not come from men. He is God who became a Man. He is the perfect spiritual gift from God that manifests physically. So, the physical and material gifts from God may come through men, but they do not come from men. They will be given as free gifts, not as the things purchased by money or obtained by works.

The physical and material things that we have can either be given to us as spiritual gifts from God or as the things that we buy because we have money and we have money because we work. If we have them because we buy them with money or we work for them, then they are not gifts from God. God’s gifts are given in God’s ways and God’s way is always the spiritual way. He gives supernaturally and freely. Like it has been quoted before, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

Scriptures : 1 Corinthians 6:19; Romans 12:1

” Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ” I Corinthians 6:19

” I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. ” Romans 12:1

The apostle Paul wrote, “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Cor 6:19) Before the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we use our body for work. However, after the Holy Spirit dwells in us, our body has become the temple of the Holy Spirit and God wants us to use it for prayer.

If we use our body for work too much, although we may not be aware of it, we shall increasingly depend on ourselves. And, when we depend on ourselves, we unconsciously allow the spirit of the world to enter our lives. However, if we use our body for prayer much, we shall increasingly depend on God. We are open to the Holy Spirit and God will fill us with Him.

Before the Holy Spirit dwells in us, our body is our own. We use it as we please, fulfilling its desires and needs. However, after the Holy Spirit dwells in us, our body is no longer our own. Our body belongs to God and we must use it according to His will.

What is the will of God for our body? The apostle Paul wrote, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Rom 12:1) God wants our body to be presented to Him as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him. How do we present our body as a living sacrifice to God? By denying its desires and controlling its needs for His sake. The apostle Paul wrote, “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection.” (1 Cor 9:27)

The temple is the place of prayer and the lamb is the sacrifice in the temple. Our body is both the temple and the sacrifice. Therefore, we must use our body as a place of prayer as well as present it as a sacrifice of prayer.

What will happen if we use our body as a place of prayer, but we do not present it as a sacrifice of prayer? Our prayer will be without the spirit of sacrifice. It will either be carnal, that is, focusing too much on the things of the body, or religious, that is, with no fervency of the spirit. It is like doing service in the temple without a sacrificial offering. Praying without the spirit of sacrifice will never be answered by fire from God.

Prayer and fasting is the basic form of prayer with the spirit of sacrifice. We use our body for prayer and we deny our body of its basic need for food. We use our body as the temple of God by praying and we present our body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God by fasting. When we pray and fast, we shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire. Our body will become a holy temple for the Lord as well as a sweet smelling sacrifice to God. Our body will become a vessel for honor, set apart (sanctified) and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work (2 Tim 2:21). Our life will be holy and we shall be on fire for God.

Scripture: Exodus 5:1

” Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness. “

God told Pharaoh the king of Egypt through Moses and Aaron to let the children of Israel go from Egypt. The children of Israel are God’s people by the covenant He has made with their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But at that time they were in bondage as slaves to the Egyptians. God had promised to give them the land of Canaan, the land which is flowed with milk and honey, as their inheritance. But they would not be able to go to that land if they were not set free first from their bondages in Egypt.

The church are God’s people by the covenant He has made with their head who is Jesus Christ. We were all enslaved by sins in the world. God has promised to give us abundant life as our inheritance. However we will not be able to receive this abundant life if we have not been set free from our bondages to sins in the world.

To be set free from the bondage of sin means to be set free from the consequences of sin. The consequences of sin are all forms of death, which is separation from God: dead spirit, demonized soul, sick body, and lack of provision. Therefore, freedom from the bondage of sin is the destruction of death by life. It means dead spirit becomes revived spirit, demonized soul becomes liberated soul, sick body becomes healthy body, and lack of provision becomes enough provision.

To be set free from the bondage of sin we cannot only be set free from the consequences of sin but we must also be set free from the strength of sin. If not, then we will get the consequences of sin again after we are set free from it. What is the strength of sin? It is something that makes sin powerful, which is the law (1 Cor 15:56). To be set free from the strength of sin is to be set free from the law to be under grace. It means we no longer live by what we must do and what we must not do according to God’s laws but by what we love and what we hate according to God’s nature in us.

The apostle Paul wrote, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Rom 6:14) The key to overcoming sin is not to be under the law of God. Not to be under the law does not mean to be lawless but not to focus on it. The law demands us to live according to its commandments. We should not try to do them. Instead we should focus on God and His love, especially the love that He has shown through His Son who died for us on the cross. As we receive this love in our hearts, we shall love God and our neighbor, which is the fulfillment of the law. This is what it means to be under the grace of God.

As sons of men when we are in bondages we have no power to set ourselves free. We can try to help ourselves to get better but we just cannot get out of our bondages. Likewise, when we see people in bondages we have no power to set them free. We can try to help them and they may get better but we just cannot get them out of their bondages. Why? What is the problem? Because in ourselves we only have the knowledge of good and evil, and this knowledge cannot make us or the people free. Only truth can make us or the people free. The Lord Jesus said, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

The Lord Jesus said, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36) The sons of men cannot give freedom because they do not have the truth in their lives. They only have the knowledge of good and evil which can only give some help but cannot give freedom. Only Jesus the Son of God can give freedom because He is the truth (John 14:6). The freedom that Jesus gives is true freedom, like a slave released from the bondage slavery and becomes a free man. It is freedom indeed.

The knowledge of good and evil does not bring freedom, only the truth does. But what is the truth? The truth is actually not a thing but a person. So, the right question is not ‘what is the truth?’ but ‘who is the truth?’ Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6). Because the truth is a person, Jesus, then we need to come Him to receive freedom in our lives and then to have relationship with Him to receive more freedom in our lives. Therefore, if we do not come to Jesus, we will not be made free from our bondages. If we have come to Jesus and have been made free from our bondages but we do not have relationship with Him, then we will be back in our bondages again.

Scripture : Revelation 2:4

 ” Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

The Loveless Church

One of the seven churches in Asia which the Lord Jesus told John the Apostle to write to is the church of Ephesus (Rev 2:1). The church of Ephesus had some virtues which the Lord Jesus commended. Firstly, they could not tolerate evil and those who were evil (Rev 2:2). Secondly, they had the ability to discern true ministers from the false ones as they had tested those who said they were apostles and were not, and had found them liars (Rev 2:2). And thirdly, they had the patience and perseverance to labor for the sake of the name of the Lord and had not become weary (Rev 2:3). Nevertheless, the Lord had something against them. He was not pleased with them because they had left their first love (Rev 2:4).

The First Love

First love is the love that the people of God have and feel as soon as they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for the first time. It is the spontaneous love for the Lord Jesus springing up in our heart as we come to know Him. This first love for the Lord is like the love that we feel when we fall in love with someone for the first time. We always want to be with the person we fall in love with. We keep thinking and seeing this person in our mind. We always want to show this person how much he or she means to us and to do those things that pleases him or her. We are quick to say that we are sorry when we feel that we have hurt him or her. This person becomes the focus of our attention and our life revolves around him or her. We were like that when we first came to know the Lord Jesus. He became the focus of our attention and our life centered and revolved around Him. Thoughts of the Lord Jesus were always in our mind. We always wanted to spend much time with the Lord Jesus and showed Him how much He meant to us by doing those things that are pleasing to Him. Whenever we felt that we sinned against the Lord, we were quickly to repent and asked His forgiveness. When these things are missing from our life, then we have left our first love for the Lord.

The Danger of Leaving the First Love

Having the first love is very important for us because the Lord Jesus considers His people who have left their first love as having fallen although they still possess some virtues. Moreover, the Lord also warns that leaving our first love will eventually cause our lampstand to be removed from its place, meaning that we shall lose our testimony as His people (Rev 2:5). We may still have some forms of godliness, knowledge of the truth and diligence of labor for the Lord, however, the Lord will no longer use us as His testimony. People will not see God in us, let alone, come to Him because of us.

Restoring the First Love

The Lord wants us to always have our first love for Him. However, if we find ourselves that we have left our first love, how then can it be restored? There are three things in our part that we must do (Rev 2:5). Firstly, we must remember from where we have fallen. We need to look back at our life when we still had our first love. We should ask the Holy Spirit to revive those memories until they can stir our emotions so that we want that love again. Secondly, we must repent before God. As the Spirit brings to remembrance those memories into our mind and we realize how deep we have fallen, then we should humbly acknowledge that we have left our first love and we are sorry for that. Thirdly, we must do the first works again. These first works are the works that people are supposed to do as soon as they come to know the Lord for the first time. We must spend a lot of time in the presence of God waiting on Him, reading and meditating on the Word of God, praying and worshipping God until we receive the fresh revelation of His love for us. We must stop being like Martha, busy with much activities (including serving), worried and troubled about many things, and be like Mary, sitting at Jesus’ feet and hearing His word (Luk 10:39-41).

The Love of God

The only thing which can restore our first love is God’s love. We cannot generate our love for God by ourselves. Instead, we must receive His love because our love for Him is actually the response of His love for us that we feel. Therefore, this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us (1 Jhn 4:10). We love God because He first loved us (1 Jhn 4:19). In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into the world and laid down His life on the cross for us while we were still sinners that we might live through Him (1 Jhn 3:16; 4;9; Rom 5:8). Thus, we must receive the revelation of God’s love at Calvary and the pouring out of this love in our heart by the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5) in order to restore our first love for him.

The apostle John wrote, ”For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” (1 John 5:7) God is The Trinity: The Being of God, the Word of God and the Breath of God. When God is silent, He is one. When God speaks, He manifests Himself in three. From His Being proceeds His Word and through His Word comes out His Breath.   

The Father is God who is in heaven. He is invisible, intangible and unreachable. He is the God who is above us. Nevertheless, the Father wants to come to us and be with us. He wants to show and tell us about Himself. He wants to communicate with us because He wants to have relationship with us. So, He sent His Word to us. The Word of God is God who became a Man and dwelt among us. The apostle John wrote, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life.” (1 John 1:1) He is visible, tangible and reachable. He is the God who is with us.

God does want only to be with us to have a relationship with us, but He wants to become one with us as well. He wants us to become like Him. He wants us to feel what He feels, to think what He thinks, to speak what He speaks, to do what He does. He wants us to have His life. So, God sent His Spirit to abide in us and to fill us. The Spirit of God is God who is breathed into us. He is invisible, but He can be sensed and felt. He is the God who is in us. The apostle John wrote, “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” (1 John 4:13)

The Lord Jesus is our perfect example as man. He shows us what we must receive in our lives as man.  He received the Spirit of God and the word of God in His life. In his gospel, Matthew wrote, “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17) So, we also need to receive the Word of God as well as the Spirit of God in our lives.

The Lord Jesus is The Word of God who became a man. When He lived on earth, He always spoke God’s words to the people, telling them about God and inviting them to come to Him so that they might have a relationship with God. When He spoke to the people, He always told them to believe in Him and to abide in His word. Why? Because He is the Word of God and by abiding in His word, they would know the truth that would set them free. In his gospel, John wrote, “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  (John 8:31-32)

To have a strong and deep relationship with God, falsehood must not be found in our lives. Our heart must be free from hypocrisy and insincerity if we expect to have this strong and deep relationship. To experience this, we must know the truth and to know the truth we must abide in the word of God. What does it mean to abide in the word of God? It is to hear and to do the word of God in our lives. The apostle James wrote, “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in  it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:25)

The Holy Spirit is God’s breath that He wants to breathe into the lives of the people like He did in the beginning when He created man. It is written, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7) When the people of God receive the Holy Spirit, they will be made alive and have the life of God in them. This life of God will bring freedom and then transformation in their lives. So, God expects them to be open to the Holy Spirit and to surrender to Him. The apostle Paul wrote, “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)

The Holy Spirit will set us free from demonic bondages and from human limitations. When we have bondages in our lives, we cannot do what we want to do. The things which are possible become impossible for us. When we have limitations, we can only do what we naturally can do. The things that are naturally possible are possible for us but the things that are naturally impossible are impossible for us. However when we are free, we can do what we naturally cannot do. The things which are impossible become possible for us. All things become possible for us.

The Holy Spirit will transform us into another man. Without the Holy Spirit we are helpless to change ourselves. Even if we try hard, the most that we can be is a better person. It is like a slave who tries hard to become a master, but the most he can be is a slave of a better master. But with the Holy Spirit we shall supernaturally be transformed, not into a better person, but into a completely different person. It is like a worthless slave whose life is miraculously transformed and he becomes an honorable king.