Spirit in ascendency
Law of Spirit of Life ( 8:2) Cecil N. Wright
(a) “The law of the Spirit of life” (of the Holy Spirit) contrasts with “the law of sin and death.” The latter obviously is not the law of Moses, mentioned in v. 3 and described as “weak through the flesh,” which summarizes what is said of it in 7:7-25. “The law of sin and death” must therefore be “the law of sin” (and therefore of death) in our members, referred to in 7:23, from which the Law of Moses was helpless to deliver. Deliverance from it could be had only through Christ (7:24-25). It is “in Christ” that “the law of the Spirit of life” operates to free us from “the law of sin and death.” It is stronger than “the law of sin” in our members, whereas the Law of Moses was not.
Grace graciously given honors our worth as it overlooks our undeserving.
Shame and grace p. 120
To experience grace is to recover our lost inner child. The heart of a child is trust.
We lose our childhood when we feel that the persons we trusted to accept us do not accept us or that they may reject us if we do things that displease them. Shame cheats us of childhood. Grace gives it back to us.
Shame and Grace p. 108
The question that Jesus asks us involves making up our minds who we will follow, who will be our Lord, and then committing ourselves to actually obey and live out the Gospel that Jesus died to proclaim.
From Keith Giles book “The power of weakness” p. 11
Faith works by love. A deep revelation of God’s love for us is the most important thing we can receive, for it is the driving force behind our faith. Let Him love you.
Gal 5:6
Awmi.net/extra/article/gods-love
When we struggle to believe that God’s promises to us will come to pass, that’s unbelief; but the root of that unbelief is a lack of love.
Since we do not fully understand God’s love for us, we fail in loving others. We can’t give away what we don’t have. If we receive a full revelation of God’s love for us, it becomes easy to love others with the love we have received.
There is more than a superficial knowledge that God loves us. (See Eph 3:14-19). God’s love isn’t just 2D, it is a multidimensional reality.
The “spirit” of any living thing is the principle and essence of that thing. In accepting Christ our nature has been transformed by receiving a new spirit.
We no longer have the spirit of man (Adam / Cain), but the spirit of God in Christ living in us.
Behavior change can’t change the nature of the tree, nor can simple trimming its branches. For the tree to bear a different kind of fruit we must take an axe to the root of that tree. Man’s basic nature must change.
Repentance is about going back to where we missed the right path and making a different turn
(Two trees p.28)
Sin is not just a few wrong things we have done, it is the nature of what we are, regardless of whether the guise is good or evil. In Christ, to repent means to renounce ALL that we are- not only our transgressions, but also that which we consider our righteousness. (Phil 3:2-9)
The fruit of the Tree of Knowledge always leads to self-centeredness. When we focus on Christ, we are changed by beholding His glory, not ourselves
The Two Trees, p.13
Man is able to change his outward behavior, but only the Spirit can change a man’s heart.
(Wall of mirrors, look up)
