Paul’s Theology 101, part 2

The entire good news from God is encapsulated in the short phrases of Romans 1:16 & 17. This is the thesis statement for the doctrinal treatise that follows. It is a premise well memorized.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” (KJV)

I memorized these verses as a child, but I don’t think I really understood them until I started trying to paraphrase them, keeping in mind that many have called them the thesis statement for the book.

Here’s my current paraphrase.

I have complete confidence to preach and live in the good news of Christ because it’s anchored in the unchanging attributes of God. First, God has the power to rescue everyone. Second, God does rescue anyone who puts faith in Him regardless of their background. The faith of a Jew, the faith of a gentile, either way, it’s faith that God honors. As it says in Habakkuk 3:4, “the ones that live rightly with God have been rescued because of their faith."

The King James phrase “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” does not imply a primacy of the Jews, it simply means “The Jews learned it first, but it’s now available to everyone.” The phrase “revealed from faith to faith” is reinforcing the thought that God is generous and equitable in His offer to rescue everyone. Faith is treated like faith no matter who has it. God not only has the power to rescue all, but also the fairness to rescue all based on faith, rather than heritage.

God has the power to save. (God is great.)

God will save all those who believe, regardless of their history. (God is good.)

Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Paul's Theology 101

All of Paul’s epistles (with one exception) were written in response to reports he received from a church with which he was intimately familiar. These epistles are written to address the specific challenge each particular church was facing.

Romans on the other hand, is different. Paul was not very familiar with the church in Rome (1:10). He wanted to go there and make sure that they were rooted in the true teaching of the gospel (1:15). Since he could not get there to teach them the good news (1:13), the best he could do was to write a letter.

In Romans, it can be easily argued, we find the clearest and purest statement of the “good news” as Paul taught it when he was making converts and establishing churches throughout Macedonia and Greece. His other epistles are the practical applications of his basic doctrine to particular situations, but in the epistle we find the basics of the “good news” of Christ.

For this reason, many have described Romans as a theological treatise hidden in the middle of a personal letter. Also for this same reason, it is doctrinally one of the most important books in the Bible.

This letter is truly the most important piece in the New Testament. It is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian's while not only to memorize it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul. It is impossible to read or to meditate on this letter too much or too well. The more one deals with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes. – Martin Luther

"We interrupt this prayer"

I intended to write another short thought about prayer but that will have to go on hold. My wife and I toured the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. I was devastated to learn how the United States did so little to help Jewish refugees from Germany. I had never heard of a boat called the "St. Louis." It left Germany full of Jews that were fleeing to Cuba. Cuba changed its mind and wouldn't let them enter. The ship came and sat off the coast of Miami. The trapped passengers could see the lights of Miami, but the Coast Guard was patrolling to prevent any attempt to swim to freedom. Eventually the ship sailed back to Europe. Several European countries finally agreed to take some of the refugees. Almost all of them were eventually murdered in concentration camps.
The U.S. talked a good game about the Jews being annihilated, but did very little. We were instrumental in starting an international summit about accepting more Jewish refugees, but we did not increase our limits on immigration. I don't normally feel a lot of shame over the United States, but I did in that museum.
It reminded me of how slow we have been to react to Pol-Pot, to Serbia, even to segregation, more recently to the Sudan, and to the Congo. If our Government can be silent while people are systematically murdered, how can we consider ourselves a Christian Nation? If our churches stay silent as well, how can we call ourselves His people?
I will return to this topic, and soon.

What are the right things to pray for?

I don’t believe God is ever annoyed that we pray for the “wrong things.” I think He is so delighted that we have decided to show up for a conversation, that what we ask for is of relatively minor importance.

The fact that we show up at all reveals at least a modicum of…
Recognition that He exists
Recognition that He is powerful enough to answer
Recognition that He is kind enough to respond
Recognition that we are dependent on Him

I think He is so delighted that we show up in prayer, that the content of what we pray for is less critical. I’m not certain there are “right things and a wrong things” in what we pray for. (I don’t think my view contradicts I John 5:16.)

The Faith of "Dogs"

A Canaanite woman cried out “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is demon possessed!” Jesus did not respond to her at all. His disciples finally begged him to get the woman to shut up, because she kept on yelling after them. So, Jesus rebuked the woman by saying “I have been sent to feed the children of God.” She interrupted by repeating her plea “Lord, Help me!” But Jesus replied, “It’s not right for me to take the food meant for the children and give it to the dogs.” She answered “Even the dogs get to eat the crumbs that fall from the table.” Jesus responded to her faith, “Woman, your faith is great! You have what you request.” Her daughter was healed from that time. Matthew 15:22 -28

Why was Jesus rude to this woman?

She called Him the right thing. He is “Lord, Son of David.” She recognized Him as King of the Jews, the Messiah. When Peter said it, Jesus blessed him. When a blind, beggar yelled it, Jesus marveled at his faith. She called Him the right thing but he “did not answer a word.” He ignored her.

She also had the right attitude. Her prayer was “Have mercy on me.” When Jesus taught about the attitude of prayer he contrasted a proud Pharisee who publicly boasted in his prayer with a humble tax-collector who said “have mercy on me.” This woman’s prayer came from the right attitude of humility. But he ignored her.

She also had the right persistence. Jesus taught that “even an un-just person will answer your request if you pester him long enough, how much more so will God give good things to those that ask Him?” She was persistent to the point that she was annoying the disciples because she “keeps crying out after us.”

If praying well is a formula, she seems to nail it. She rightly knows who she’s praying to (check that box). She has the right attitude of humility and dependence (check that box). She has the right method of being persistent (check that box).

So why in heaven’s name did He react rudely by completely ignoring her? And then, when He did speak, He said probably the most demeaning thing He ever said to anyone. “Why should I take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” He called her a dog! He was saying, “there are other people here who are so much more important than you, that it would be wrong to spend any time on you. The “children” deserve and warrant my time and attention, not a “dog.”

If God said that to you or me, while we were praying to Him about something desperately important, how would we respond? I would be hurt and angry. I could easily see myself accusing God of hypocrisy. “Excuse me? Exactly how do you call yourself the ‘God of Love,’ and then go around calling those that pray to you, dogs?”

But, I stand in humble amazement at the woman’s answer. “Even the dogs can get the crumbs that fall from the table.” Ponder the humility of that response. She did not argue the validity of her comparison between her and the dogs. She did not argue the rudeness of His response. She remained humble. She remained humble. She remained humble. Her steadfastness in humility, submission, and persistence frankly puts me to shame.

Clearly she was so convinced of her own dependency and His power that she would not let anything, including His behavior change her mind. Her faith was not dependent on anything, including His words and actions.

I don’t know why God would choose to model rudeness in this story. (He compared Himself to an unjust judge to teach about persistence.) But maybe He chose His response so that we could see the humble persistence that would be amazing even to Him. “Woman, your faith is great! You have what you request.”

Personal Bible Study 1

The first step in personal Bible study is done before you pick up the Bible.

Pray! Pray that God would open your eyes, your ears, and your heart to see, hear, and learn what He would wish for you. It’s not a bad idea to confirm with him that the purpose of personal Bible study is not checking a box on a spiritual to do list, or learning factoids so that you can win Bible Trivial Pursuit. The primary goal is to please Him. Personal Bible Study involves learning truth, but not for the sake of knowledge, for the sake of knowing THE Truth (the way and the life). Our desire should be to Learn truth about, and from, our Lord so that we might know Him better. It is an amazing truth that perhaps the best way you can please Him is to know Him. It reveals something of His desperate desire and passion for you. However, there is more we can do to please Him. We can obey Him, and show His love to others, on His behalf.

Learn truth….. SO THAT we can please Him
--by seeking to know Him
--by knowing Him
--by obeying Him
--by showing His love to others

Pray that your purposes and goals would be aligned with the ultimate goal of pleasing Him. Pray that His Spirit will guide your mind and emotions as you study. Believe that He will be faithful. (He said “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding {in the matter} for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11)

The second step still does not require you to pick up the Bible. Prayerfully determine what kind of study you want to do. There are at least 5 main approaches:

1. “Chapter” summary (or book, or paragraph, or section) – looking for the “big” meaning in the larger context
2. Topical study – studying everything the Bible has to say on a particular subject (as deep as the “End Times” or as practical as “parenting”)
3. Character or Biographical study – a careful look at one particular Bible Character
4. Devotional or Contemplative – slow meditative reading asking probing questions of yourself and the text
5. Word study – studying how one word is used in a text and in other texts to shed light on the specific meaning

I list them in the order I suggest they should be undertaken based on the spiritual maturity level of the student. (A new believer would be much better studying by “chapter” summary, than doing a word study.)

If you will start with a “chapter” study, you need to select a “chapter.” If you are new to personal Bible study, a New Testament Book (not The Book of the Revelation) is probably best. The Gospel of John is a very good place to begin.

A “chapter” (or section) summary can be done on a chapter or a whole book or a paragraph. Paragraphs may actually be best, since chapter (and verse) divisions are not “inspired” and are usually better used for convenience of reference instead of for an accurate division between topics. Determining where paragraphs could best be placed can be difficult depending on the translation you use. (Paragraph divisions are not inspired either, and can vary from translation to translation, but they are deliberately placed to keep sections of meaning together.)

A section summary is best begun with a little bit of background work. The understanding of a section is sometimes affected by the setting, the author, the historical context, and the geographical and social context. (On Sunday, I’ll show you how this works in I Corinthians 11:2-16…)

After all that, read the section you have prayerfully decided to digest. Remember, God went to the effort to inspire this and preserve this… He believes it is important. Read the section repeatedly, in as many different translations and paraphrases as you can find. Reading it 10 times from at least 5 different versions is not uncommon or excessive. (On Sunday, we’ll talk a bit about various translations and their strengths and weaknesses.)
Then, write a caption or title for the section. Answer the question, “What’s the “Big Idea?” Outline the section. Re-write the section in your own words. List the key words and concepts. Write out what is confusing in the section. What questions does it raise but not clearly answer? (We’ll talk about answering those questions when we look at topical studies). Write a summary of what this section reveals about God, any member of the Godhead, and about you. (I’ll show you a simple form that is useful.) Develop an application that is:

· Personal – It should be central to my daily life
· Practical – It should contain elements that are practicable on a regular basis and are measurable
· Possible - Each application should be realistically doable and realistic (not necessarily easy)
· Provable – You should keep a record of the measurable element to each application

Faith - 1

Some have claimed that Romans is the most important book in the New Testament, for doctrine. The word “Faith” is used 5 times (and “believes” is used one time) in the first 17 verses.

- Paul says that his role was to call people to the obedience that comes from faith.
- Paul was thankful because the faith of the Roman Christians was reported all over the world.
- He longed to see them and be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.
- The gospel reveals a righteousness that is by faith.
- “The righteous will live by faith.”
- The gospel is the power of God for salvation of everyone who believes.

All of that is the background for a contrast that starts is verse 18. “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.”

Following this is a detailed list of what the depraved mind of man has done. One of the descriptions of these people is “faithless.” (vs.31)

What does this introduction to doctrine tell us about faith?

Based on this introduction to doctrine, what is faith?

Based on this introduction to doctrine, what is it we should have faith in?

Based on this introduction to doctrine, what does faith produce?

I John Overview

I decided that I was getting too bogged down in the specifics of the text in I John.

So I thought it would help me to step back and look at the bigger picture in I John.

I was struck at how many stark contrasts John points out (this is not all, but a quick list of some major contrasts).

1:5 - Light - Darkness
2:3,4 - Obey - Disobey
2:9-11 - Loves believers - Hates believers
2:15,16 - Does not love the world - Loves the world
2:21,22 - Truth-filled - Liar
2:23 - Confesses the Son - Denies the Son
2:24-26 - Remain in the truth - Deceive
3:6 - Does not practice sin - Practices sin
3:7,8 - Practices Righteousness - Practices sin
3:7,8 - Like Jesus - Like the Devil
3:9,10 - Fathered by God - Fathered by the Devil
4:2,3 - Confesses that Jesus came in the flesh - Does not confess that Jesus came in the flesh.
4:6 - Listens to “us” - Does not listen to “us”
4:7 - Loves - Does not love
4:7 - Knows God - Does not know God
4:17,18 - Does not fear - Lives in fear

Finally, so many of the passages in this book closely link one or more of the things in the left hand side of those contrasts. The obvious conclusion is that they all go together to describe one thing….A believer walking in the light.

To paraphrase 4:20 – 5:4 "If you love God, you love your fellow Christians, which is obedient to His command, which means you believe that Jesus is the Christ, which means that you are fathered by God, which means you love God, which means you love others fathered by Him, which is proved by loving God and obeying His commandments. And you don’t find His commandments hard because you have been fathered by Him, and you conquer the world."

At least 10 times in this Epistle, John writes (in so many words) “I write these things for this reason” The last time is in chapter 5 verse 13, where he says

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."

I think the overview really emphasizes that. There are many ways to test the relationship you (and others) have with God. I John makes it pretty clear that this is something we need to be able to do. We should be able to look at our lives (and the lives of others) and “know” that we have eternal life.

God is Light

1 John 1: 5 Now this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in Him. 6 If we say, "We have fellowship with Him," and walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we say, "We have no sin," we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say, "We have not sinned," we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. – hcsb

I memorized this passage when I was a kid. It didn’t make sense to me then, either. Here’s my question. What does it mean when it says “God is light?”

Does light represent life? (It does in Psalm 13:3)
Does light represent the ability to clearly see the next step? (It does in Psalm 43:3, Psalm 119:105)
Does light illustrate moral purity? (this is the most common view in commentaries, It does in II Corinthians 6:14 and John 3:19-21, but I have real problems with this view)
Does light represent revealed truth about who God is? (It does in Luke 2:32)

If light is an illustration of life, then verse 6 doesn’t make sense. It would basically say “If we say we are in fellowship with Him when we are dead, we are lying.” Dead people (with very few exceptions) say very little.

If light is an illustration of clarity and certainty then verse 7 doesn’t make much sense. It would basically say “if we walk in complete certainty we have fellowship with one another.” My experience however, is that people that walk in complete certainty are arrogant and annoying.

The most often suggested understanding is that light illustrates moral purity. But if that is the case, then vs. 7 doesn’t make sense. It says that if we walk in moral perfection the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin. The problem is that if we walked in moral perfection we wouldn’t need to be cleansed from sin. And vss 8 and 10 make it clear we can’t possibly walk in moral perfection, so why even mention it in verse 7, much less connect it with forgiveness?

So, I think there are two ways to make sense of this passage.

1. “God is light” means Christ’s teaching is true. Then the suggestion is that John addresses three “if we say” statements based on false teaching at the time.
§ “If we say we have fellowship with Him while we are walking in darkness.”
§ “If we say we have no sin.”
§ “If we say we are not sinning.”
This is possible, but hypothetical and makes John’s message pretty disjointed.

2. “God is light” means that God reveals himself to others in relationship, most obviously in Christ, especially in the context. In this view, the passage could be understood as follows.
I John 1: 5 Now this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God reveals himself to people, and He does not hide, or make himself unknowable, to anybody. 6 If we say, "We have fellowship with Him," while at the same time, we hide ourselves, and deny the truth about our condition, we are lying. 7 But if we will honestly reveal the truth about ourselves as He has revealed the truth about Himself, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we say, "We have no sin," we are being deceitful about what we are really like, and the truth is not in us. 9 If instead we are honest about our many sins and shortcomings, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say, "We have not sinned," we are not only failing to be honest, but we are essentially calling Him a liar, and ignoring the fact that Christ’s revelation about God included the fact that we are hopeless without His sacrifice.

The problem with this explanation is that while it fits the previous context perfectly, it doesn’t fit as well with the context that follows, which focuses on keeping His commands (which would suggest the common view that light here is moral purity).

So, several questions I would like to discuss…
· Does the fact that God reveals Himself, give us a model that we should reveal ourselves, too?
· Why would God give us His authoritative Word as a guide for life, and make it so difficult to understand exactly what it means?
· How should we then live?

First John

I have always found it interesting that the Apostle John never used his own name when he wrote his account of the life of Jesus. He never used his own name when he wrote three short letters much later. (First, Second, and Third John.)

(He did use his own name in the Book of The Revelation - three times in the first chapter, and once in the last. It’s a pretty long story, but when John put his name own name in The Book of the Revelation, it actually caused some to argue that John didn’t write it. The canonization of The Book of the Revelation is a pretty interesting story. We may talk about it some.)

Of more importance to today, however, is that while John didn’t use his own name, several times he calls himself “the one that Jesus loved” (John 13:3 for example). It’s an amazing thought that John was so impacted by Jesus that he, in some sense, lost his identity as “John, brother of James, son of Zebedee” and thought of himself as “beloved of Jesus.” John was consumed by the love Jesus had for him. It became his identity, his passion, his emphasis, his joy, his strength…. his concept of himself was rooted in his relationship to Jesus. I wonder how I would approach my day differently if I thought of myself less as “Steve” and more as “one loved by Jesus.”

With that background, let’s start looking at the book of First John. It starts with a very long, very complex sentence. The sentence starts with a series of dependent clauses. “That which we have seen” etc. The verb in the sentence does not show up until verse 3. In the NKJV the verb is in the phrase “we declare.” John’s big starting point is as follows. (The text is in bold italics, my comments are in plain text.)

That which was from the beginning, - A first description of something not yet named
which we have heard, - A second description of something not yet named
which we have seen with our eyes, - A third description of something not yet named
which we have looked upon, - A fourth description of something not yet named
and our hands have handled, - A fifth description of something not yet named
concerning the Word of life – The "something" is named, but not very clearly
(the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us) - A parenthetical clause that finally defines the “something” to which all those clauses referred. This parenthetical clause also explains a presumed objections… how is it possible that “they” could have seen, heard, looked upon, and handled that which was “from the beginning.” i.e. eternal. The answer is that the Word was eternal with the Father, but it was also manifested to us.
that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, - There is the subject verb and object of the sentence.
that you also may have fellowship with us; John actually gives several reasons for writing this book, this is the first of those.
and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. John reinforces the fact that his identity is completely wrapped up in his fellowship with Jesus Christ, and that this fellowship is available to us.

John’s opening sentence is “declaring” or “proclaiming” the facts that the same Jesus that was seen, heard, and touched by so many is eternal God. His reason for that focus is so that his readers can join in fellowship with those eye-witnesses and in fact with God Himself.

As I was studying this, the thought that struck me was about John. He did not see himself most accurately, fully, and completely, as “a son of thunder,” or as “one of the inner three,” or as “the brother of James,” not even as “John.” His must complete understanding of himself was “the one loved by Jesus.” That one, the one loved by Jesus, had one singular passion, revealed in these opening verses…. To declare to others that Jesus is the eternal Word of the Father. Because he was “loved by Jesus,” he was passionate about declaring the truth of Jesus to others, so that they too could know His love.

I wonder why so many modern Christians are so passive about declaring truth to others. I wonder how our evangelism would change if we saw ourselves not as “Americans,” or “Alabamians,” or “conservative protestants,” or even as “Christians,” but rather, we saw ourselves most clearly, and most fundamentally as “I am the one that Jesus loves.”

Holy Spirit - Wine

Now that’s a topic that’s likely to spark a debate. A few things to be clear:

- Drunkenness is never appropriate for a believer.
- But total abstinence is not Biblically required of a believer except in three instances.

o If you take the priesthood of believers to a literal extreme that OT priests were not allowed to drink. (Leviticus 10:9) See the last bullet, however.
o You have taken a special vow (such as Nazarite) not to drink.
o Your drinking would cause other believers to stumble. (Romans 14:21)

- The disciples drank wine (At Cana, and in Luke 5:29-33)
- Jesus drank (Luke 7:31-34). Jesus basically said “John the Baptist didn’t drink and you didn’t believe him because you said that was too weird, I do drink and you don’t believe me because of it, you’ll find some reason to turn down God’s message no matter how it comes.”
- Early church elders could drink in moderation (I Timothy 3:8, and I Timothy 5:23 where Paul instructed Timothy to mix a bit of wine in his water because Timothy was prone to illness, and Ephesian water was prone to parasites.)

Throughout Scripture, wine symbolizes a strong, emotional experience of joy. (There are 4 passages that talk about the deceitful “joy” that comes in the course of sinful passions “Their wine is the venom of serpents.” Even in those passages, wine still symbolizes passionate enjoyment. With those exceptions, wine symbolizes not only joy, but joy that comes from God’s blessing.)

The Psalmist says that Joy coming from God is better than joy coming from wine (Ps. 4:7)

Overall, wine is symbolic of God’s blessings and the Joy that comes from being in right relationship with Him. Unless wine is consumed in excess, then it symbolizes foolishness, and indulgence.

Wine was used as a drink offering. The drink offering, the daily burnt offering, and the meal offering, all speak of the Joy of being daily in right relationship with the God. A drink offering was NEVER to be given with a sin offering. The joy that comes in sin offerings is too muted by the price that was paid.

The Holy Spirit is linked with wine in three primary ways.
1. The Holy Spirit is the source of Joy.(Galatians 5:22)
2. When the Apostles were filled and overcome with the Spirit at Pentecost, they were at first accused of being drunk.
3. Ephesians 5:18 says “Do not be drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled by the Holy Spirit.” That command doesn’t even make sense, unless there are some strong similarities between the two.

The Message version puts it this way Ephesians 5:11-20 “It's a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ. Wake up from your sleep, Climb out of your coffins; Christ will show you the light! So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times! Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants. Don't drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ.”

Holy Spirit - Water

We noted that the Hebrew and Greek words for Spirit literally mean "wind." I enjoyed our time, and felt like we learned a lot about the Spirit through the
illustration of the wind.

The scripture often associates and or contrasts the Holy Spirit and water.

The first appearance of the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1) says that He "moved (or hovered) upon the face of the waters."

John the Baptist taught "I baptize you with water, but when the Promised One comes, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire."

As Jesus was coming up out of the water the Holy Spirit appeared to John (in the likeness of a dove).

Jesus told Nicodemus "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

Perhaps the most clear connection between the Holy Spirit and water is in John 7, Jesus yelled loudly in the crowded temple "If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink! The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him." John then adds this explanation "He said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been received, because Jesus had not yet been glorified."

This same disciple, many years later wrote (I John 5) "Jesus Christ--He is the One who came by water and blood; not by water only, but by water and by blood. And the Spirit is the One who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water, and the blood--and these three are in agreement.”

In Hebrew culture, water was often associated with ritual cleanings. The tabernacle had a copper "laver" at which the priests were required to wash their hands and feet before sacrificing anything on the altar. Ritual baths for purification in "Miqvah" were very common before the time of Christ. Water symbolized the washing away of filth and uncleanness. With that background, Titus 3:5 says "He saved us-- not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit."

The Holy Spirit has some clear associations and contrasts with water. A few things seem clear.
* The Spirit is involved in cleansing us from sin.
* The Spirit is involved in some activities that come after cleansing.

John 16 "Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don't go away the Counselor will not come to you.
If I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in Me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me; and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged."

Our discussion Sunday will start with a question...
"What can we learn about the Holy Spirit from the comparison and contrast between His work and water?"