New Covenant Ways – BT16:  New Covenant has a completely-different-in-kind WAY to know God’s will

 

 

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For more on this subject, see Bible Info – BT2 and Least Among You – BT8 .

 

The New Covenant promises a completely-different-in-kind New (a) Way to know the will of God than through the gramma writings of graphe scripture.  It is NOW through the ‘living, … active, . . . sharper than a 2-edged sword logos message of God that . . . kritikos critically-discerns (b) the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (c) that can only be “living IN us” to create “metamorphic transformation by renewal of the mind” (d) through the Spirit’s own teaching (e) in order to help us “to ongoingly dokimazo scrutinize-to-discern (f) what is the will of God.” (g). The Holy Spirit’s discernment is the “solid food for the mature sons of God” (h) to move Jewish-Christians past the “baby milk” of stoicheion “rudimentary ‘abc’ fundamentals” (i) of the prophetic OT scriptures concerning the Messiah – see Logos Word of God – BT6!  Paul’s advice to all Christians (j) in Ephesians 3:6 and 5:8-10 is “the Gentiles are fellow heirs . . . partakers of ‘The Promise’ in Christ Jesus through the gospel . . . at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk/live as children of light….and/coupled routinely try to dokimazo scrutinize-to-discern (f) what is pleasing to the Lord.” This is NOT bible study!

 

<Notes> a) chadash, kainos: fresh, completely-different-in-kind, unprecedented, sharing nothing with its predecessors, unique, and superior, b) kritikos: ‘critical,’ discriminate, skilled judging, c) Hebrews 4:12, d) Romans 12:2, e) Luke 12:12, 14:26, f) dokimazo: test, examine, or discern to demonstrate or prove something is acceptable, genuine, approved, good, and approved, g) Romans 12:2, h) 1 Corinthians 3:2; Hebrews 5:12, 14, i) Galatians 2:8, 20, 4:3, 9; Hebrews 5:12, j) Ephesians was originally a circulatory letter.

 

Also, it’s incredible how often I hear preachers say that theology and doctrine is “solid food” compared to the gospel’s “milk,” but the NT doesn’t even come close to saying this!  For all the study it has taken for me to do so many research papers over many years in 5 bible colleges, I can accurately say it’s more like gristle – you have to chew on it a long time to get a little bit of nutrition!  I did much of it originally to try to satisfy my own hunger for the truth, but later to help those of you that are where I was long ago – see Bible Info.  We’ve already seen that the “baby milk” is prophetic scripture for Jewish-Christians, and now we’ll see that the “solid food” is the gospel of Jesus Christ with discernment, wisdom, and understanding NOW available by revelation of the Holy Spirit!

 

However, “We received . . . the Spirit . . . that we might eido mentally ‘see’ to perceive/know the things freely give us by God (cf. Jeremiah 31:34 eido knowing of God), and we impart this in logos messages not taught by human wisdom but taught by the means of the Spirit, interpreting-comparing-contrasting things (including people) of the Spirit to things (including people) of the Spirit (a). The natural man absolutely in fact cannot experientially, relationally ginosko know the things of the Spirit of God because they are Spirit-kind-of anakrino discerned-by-close-examination (b)” (c). Paul didn’t use the bible to understand the eido “seeing” of prophecy, visions, and dreams (Acts 2:17-19) as they were “taught by the Spirit” to know what to preach – he relied on more of the Spirit’s grace-gifts! <Notes> a) in context to ‘test’ Paul’s prophecies, he doesn’t tell Christians to do bible study but to call the other people of/belonging-to the Spirit together to get a consensus, b) anakrino judge/distinguish vigorously ‘down to up’ by closely, even forensically, examining, investigating, or interrogating, thus a careful study or evaluation, c) 1 Corinthians 2:12-14.

 

Paul also wanted to treat the Corinthians as “people of/belonging-to the Spirit” but he had to still treat them like the “natural men” they were when they first became “babies in Christ” because NOW they were still “feeding on milk, not solid food” (a). Later Paul said, “Ongoingly peirazo test/try-to-prove yourselves to see whether you are in The-Trusting-Relying-Faith.  Ongoingly dokimazo scrutinize-to-discern (c) yourselves, or do you not eido mentally ‘see’ to perceive/know this about yourself that Jesus Christ is IN YOU – unless indeed you fail to meet this dokimos scrutinizing-discerncernment” (d)!  Paul doesn’t tell them to “Look up a bible verse about the indwelling Christ and stand on it by trusting-relying-faith” but to use the “eyes of their heart” (e) to look within themselves to see if Jesus was indeed living in them!  Although the Thessalonians had been confused by false teachers concerning Paul’s end-times prophecies, Paul warns with 4 connected imperatives:  “Ongoingly do not quench the Spirit; Ongoingly do not despise (f) prophecies (g); Instead ongoingly dokimazo scrutinize-to-discern (c) everything; Ongoingly hold fast to what is good” (h).  There is no bible study here!

 

<Notes> a) 1 Corinthians 3:1-2, b) peirazo:  test/try in order to prove positively or tempt negatively, depending on the context, c) dokimazo: test, examine, or discern to demonstrate or prove something is acceptable, genuine, approved, good, and approved, d) 2 Corinthians 13:5, e) just like Ephesians 1:18, f) show contempt of, g) directly-spoken/heard prophetic rhema words of God, h) 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21.

 

Hebrews 5:12-14 also complains about baby-like Jewish-Christians being tempted by Jewish teachers to go back to the Law of Moses, that “though by this time you out to be [Christian] teachers, you need someone to teach you again the stoicheion rudimentary ‘abc’ fundamentals belonging to the oracles (a) of God, needing [this] milk, not solid food . . . being an infant-child . . . but solid food is for the mature-grown-up, those through-the-realizing-channel-of hexis constant-practice of their aistheterion perceiving-understanding-judging-mind, [are] routinely gumnazo training [like an athlete in a gymnasium] towards-reaching diakrisis judging-through-discernment-to-carefully-distinguish (b) both good and/coupled evil” (c).  Scripture’s “black and white” rote teaching of “good and evil” in Law and even the Messianic prophetic ‘oracles’ Jewish-Christians used to convert fellow Jews to Christ with, were all just ‘‘abc’’ baby food or ‘milk’ in these writers’ minds. <Notes> a) written OT prophecies: Romans 3:2; Acts 7:38; 1 Peter 4:11, b) diakrisis: used of the Spirit’s grace-gift of discernment: 1 Corinthians 12:10, c) Hebrews 5:12-14.

 

Paul strongly urges Christians who have already “learned (a) Christ . . . and were taught by the means of Him, . . . to definitely/wholly put off [yourself] your old self (b) . . . and/but be ongoingly renewed (c) by the means of the Spirit of/belonging-to your mind” (d).  As the Hebrews writer does, Paul often uses the invisible “mind” (e) as something distinct from man’s “spirit” (f), but still interchangeably with “inner being” (g), “inner self” (h), or “heart” (i) – see Identity. This renewal by the Spirit not bible study!  <Notes> a) been informed by, b) it’s behaviors as dirty clothes, c) renovated, refreshed, made new again in time, d) Ephesians 4:20-23, e) Romans 7:23, 25, 8:5-7, 27, 11:34, 12:2; 1 Corinthians 2:16, f) 1 Corinthians 14:14-15, the place of the Holy “Spirit that is of/belongs to the mind” – Ephesians 4:23, g) Romans 7:22; Ephesians 3:16, h) 2 Corinthians 4:16, i) Romans 8:27; kai as coupler in Philippians 4:7 and 1 Peter 3:8 and Revelations 2:23; Hebrews 8:10, 10:16; James 4:8.

 

Paul continues in Ephesians, “And/coupled to definitively/wholly put upon [yourself] the new self (a) . . . be imitators of God . . . walk in unconditional-love . . . walk as children of the light . . . routinely try to dokimazo scrutinize-to-discern (b) what is pleasing to the Lord . . . to be wise, buying back (c) the time because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but routinely sunesis ‘connect-the-dots’ to understand what the will of the Lord is,” strongly urging them not to be “unwise” or “foolish,” not “getting drunk with wine which is debauchery,” but instead “being routinely pleroo filled-to-completion by the means of the Holy Spirit [to the brim defined as] all the pleroma full-complete-abundance of God (d). <Notes> a) its behaviors as fresh clothes, b) dokimazo: test, examine, or discern to demonstrate or prove something is acceptable, genuine, approved, good, and approved, c) making best use of, taking advantage of, d) Ephesians 4:24, 5:1-2, 8, 10, 17-18, 3:19.

 

Colossians 3:10 says, “the new self, … is ongoingly being renewed (a) towards-reaching genuine, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge kata down-from/according-to the image (Christ) of/belonging-to its Creator (God).” That’s how you genuinely, experientially, relationally epiginosko know the will of God and what is pleasing to Him – not by reading, studying, and memorizing scripture, but “sunesis ‘connecting the dots’ understanding through dokimazo scrutinizing-to-discern or diakrisis judging-through-discernment-to-carefully-distinguish or anakrino discerning-by-close-examination – all of this is taught by the means of the Holy Spirit!  And the best way is to dive all the way in by “being routinely pleroo filled-to-the-brim by the Spirit of holiness!” That’s really the best use of your time! <Notes> a) anakainoo:  completely-different-in-kind renovation.

 

In Philippians 1:9-12, Paul proseuchomai conversationally-prays for their unconditional-love to abound by the means of genuine, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge and/coupled all (a) aesthesis cutting-through-to-size-up-discernment (b) so that you can dokimazo scrutinizing-to-discern (c) what is best, and thus be pure and blameless for the [Judgment] Day of Christ.” There is no bible study here! <Notes> a) pas normally as “all/every of a ‘portion/class/category of,’ b) aesthesis:  sensory-discernment that cuts through hazy moral/ethical matters to size things up – see aistheterion perceiving-understanding-judging-mind in Hebrews 5:14, c) dokimazo: test, examine, or discern to demonstrate or prove something is acceptable, genuine, approved, good, and approved.

 

In Colossians 1:9-12, Paul proseuchomai conversationally-prays “that you might be filled-to-completeness with [the content of] the genuine, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of God’s will by the means of all (a) wisdom and/coupled sunesis ‘connect-the-dots’ understanding [that both together are] Spirit-kind-of, in order to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him: 1) bearing fruit in every good work, and/coupled 2) routinely growing in the genuine, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of God, and 3) routinely being strengthened by the means of all (a) dunamis enabling-power, kata down-from/according-to the might of His glory . . .”  Again, no bible study!  This is a slap in the face Gentile philosophers and Jewish scholars. <Notes> a) pas normally as “all/every of a ‘portion/class/category of.”

 

Reflection:

 

 

As Christian musicians, are we going to be stuck in the OT way to know God and His will or experiment with other religions or philosophies?  Why not trust what the NT says is the completely-different-in-kind WAY.  It’s no longer through any biblical writings – that was the palaios/palaioo/palaiotes “old, dated, or ancient in time, worn out by use, worse for wear, and obsolete” WAY of the gramma writings of graphe scripture.  God never promised more, but He did promise the Holy Spirit Parakletos “One Teacher” who speaks directly-spoken prophetic rhema words so that the logos message is now longer bible writings but is the “living and active” Jesus in us as His Holy Spirit!  This “constant-practice-of-athlete-like-training of mental ‘seeing’ to perceive/know, this inward scrutiny, this discernment by close examination, this internal Spirit-kind-of wisdom, this Spirit-kind-of ‘connect-the-dots’ understanding, this interpreting-comparing-contrasting Spirit-kind-of-things/people to Spirit-kind-of-things/people, this eyes-of-the-heart inspection” by the means of the Spirit  and His filling-to-completion with the complete-abundance of God IS the “solid food” WAY to learn Christ, the will of God, good vs. evil, what is pleasing to Him, and to be renewed time & time again and even completely-in-kind-renewed through genuine, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of God.  However, the old gramma writings were the gnosis “puffing-up” head-knowledge “milk” and rote stoicheion “rudimentary ‘abc’ fundamentals” of writings designed ONLY for the Jews and only until Christ comes to them directly.  Why would any Gentile want any part of what was ONLY for the Jews and only for a certain time?

 

Prayer:

 

 

Lord, thank YOU so much for giving us a very simple, direct WAY of learning by the means of “the One Teacher” Holy Spirit everything we need for righteousness, holiness, sanctification, or godliness who shows not partiality, that even little children and “the least among you” will understand before the “so-called wise and understanding ones” – see Least Among You – BT8.  Now we need absolutely no gramma writings or graphe scripture and “absolutely no need that any man teach you because of the anointing that teaches you all things” (1 John 2:20, 27).

 

 

 

 

 

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