Chapter 22
A WISE MAN
(Matthew 7:24-29)
Before we begin our study for this last portion of Jesus' sermon on the mountain side, let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, Almighty God,
We come into Your Throne Room in the Name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Holy Father please open our eyes, our ears and our hearts so we can come to a better knowledge and understanding of You and Your Word. Father we ask You to draw us to Your Son, Jesus Christ and grant us true saving faith in Him.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
Let us begin our study by reading the final words our Lord gave during His sermon on the mount. They are recorded in,
Matthew 7:24-29
""[24] Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. [25] The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. [26] But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. [27] The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." [28] When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, [29] because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law."
Let us return and reread the theme for this study,
Matthew 7:24
""[24] Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."
To obey Jesus' instruction and hence have our lives built upon rock, the question arises as to: "What have we heard to put into practice?"
In considering the breadth of what Jesus taught in His sermon on the mount the answer to this question can be summarized as follows.
First of all, Jesus is teaching us to,
LOVE GOD WITH ALL OUR HEART, SOUL AND MIND
To see this let us read what Jesus said to the Pharisees as written in,
Matthew 22:34-38
"[34] Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. [35] One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: [36] "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" [37] Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' [38] This is the first and greatest commandment."
To realize the importance of this commandment let us read Jesus' warning to the church in Ephesus. It is recorded in,
Revelation 2:1-7
""[1] To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: [2] I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. [3] You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. [4] Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. [5] Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. [6] But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. [7] He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."
Let us notice the following verses,
2-3 … From all outward appearances the members of the church in Ephesus had remained true and steadfast in their love for Jesus Christ.
4 … As we consider this Scripture in the context of the entire New Testament we can conclude that the congregation in Ephesus slipped into a faith in their works rather than faith in God and love for Him. To understand the consequence of this error we must first realize its implication. To do this we go to,
[21] I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
The consequence of this is provided in verse 5 of Revelation 2,
[5] Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
As a side note, according to “The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible” the sect titled the Nicolaitans came into being by a misunderstanding of Nicolaus’ (one of the first seven deacons) teaching that “The flesh must be abused.” By this he meant that to keep the flesh or body under control it must be buffeted. The Nicolaitans changed this teaching to mean that the flesh or body was insignificant or of no concern. This interpretation led to immorality and all kinds of wickedness.
The second major lesson our Lord gave through His sermon on the mountain side can be summarized to be,
WE ARE TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER
To see this let us read from,
John 13:34
""[34] A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."
The significance of this commandment can not be overstated. To see this let us read what the Holy Spirit said through John in,
1 John 4:7-8
"[7] Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. [8] Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
With the above teachings in mind one might ask: "How?" "How can we possibly love in the manner that Jesus commands?" The answer to these questions is simply by using the gift God has given us through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Specifically, we must be born again and allow God the Holy Spirit to live His life in and through us. To see this we will,
1. Read Ezekiel’s prophecy where God foretold that a time will come when He would give His people a new heart and a new spirit.
2. Quickly review the necessity for us to be born again of the Holy Spirit.
3. Explore the conditions that must be present for the new birth to occur.
With this introduction in mind let us now read,
THE PROPHECY THROUGH EZEKIEL
In approximately 580 BC1 God said that a time was going to come when He would cleanse us from our impurities, give us a new heart and give us a new spirit. This promise is recorded for us in
Ezekiel 36:24-28
""'[24] For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. [25] I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. [26] I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. [27] And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. [28] You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God."
Let us notice the following verses,
24 … He will gather us from the nations.
25 … He will cleanse us from our impurities, that is our sins, and idols which are the things that take us away from following God.
26 … He will give us a new heart and put a new spirit within us. Notice, it will not be a repaired heart and spirit but will be NEW ones!
27 … To move us to follow His decrees and laws, He will put the Holy Spirit in us. Just imagine, God the Holy Spirit Himself will live within us. Consequently,
28 … We will be His people and He will be our God!
Now some may say that this prophesy only refers to the natural descendents of Abraham and it only refers to the reconstruction of the nation of Israel. To see that this prophesy is not limited to the natural descendents of Abraham and is for today let us first consider what the Holy Spirit wrote through the Apostle Paul in,
Romans 9:6(b)-8
"[6] ... For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. [7] Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.""
Thus, it is not the natural children of Abraham who are the true children of God. No, it is the children who are born as a result of God's promise, like Isaac was, who the children of God are. To see this let us first read,
GOD’S PROMISE TO ABRAM LATER RENAMED ABRAHAM
To do this we go to the time after Abram rescued Lot and his family,
Genesis 15:1-6
[1] After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” [2] But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” [3] Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!” [44 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” [5] Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” [6] And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
The fulfillment of God’s promise is recorded in,
Genesis 21:1-3
[1] And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. [2] For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. [3] And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac.
As it was for Abraham and Isaac it is also for the born again believer. To see this let us read from,
John 1:12-13
"[12] Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- [13] children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."
Secondly, the Bible also teaches us that God's promise, given through Ezekiel, for a new heart and new spirit was ushered in through the death, burial and physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus, this promise is for today and, as seen above, for anyone who will receive Jesus Christ. To see this let us read what the Apostle Peter said on the Day of Pentecost after the Holy Spirit descended upon them. To do this let us read from,
Acts 2:37-39
"[37] When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" [38] Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. [39] The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call.""
Let us notice the following verses,
37 … After the people heard Peter explain that the phenomena they just witnessed was the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, they were troubled and wanted to know what they should do.
38 … The Apostle Peter explained to them that they needed to repent of their sinful ways and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. It is noted that a person can only to be baptized in Jesus Christ after they have received and accepted Him as their Lord and Savior.
39 … The promise of the Holy Spirit is for:
a. You … those at the time of Pentecost.
b. Their children
c. Those far off, that is those in other places and in other generations.
d. All whom the Lord will call.
Now that we see that the promise of a new birth, given through the prophet Ezekiel, is not limited to the natural descendents of Abraham and is also for today, let us now review,
THE NECESSITY FOR WHY WE MUST BE BORN AGAIN OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
So that there is no doubt in our mind for the necessity to be born again, we begin our study by reading the conversation Jesus Christ once had with Nicodemus. As we read this conversation it is important to note that Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council. He was very learned in the Jewish faith, and a respected teacher of the Holy Scriptures. With this short background let us read from,
John 3:1-8
"[1] Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. [2] He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." [3] In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." [4] "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" [5] Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. [6] Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. [7] You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' [8] The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." [9] “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. [10[ “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?”
Let us notice the following verses,
3 … Jesus avoided Nicodemus’ observation and immediately addressed the issue of eternal life. Namely, to enter the Kingdom of God you must be born again.
4 … Nicodemus did not understand.
6 … Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. In other words, in the normal course of things, we are flesh descended from Adam. However, the Holy Spirit gives birth to the spirit. Namely, it is only the Holy Spirit, God Himself, who imparts His divine nature in us and makes us spiritually alive. This is the new birth or being born again.
9 … Nicodemus still did not understand.
10 … Jesus is surprised Nicodemus did not understand these things.
Let us stop for a moment and reflect upon this incredible conversation. Here we find that Nicodemus, a wise and respected teacher of the Scriptures and the Jewish faith, comes to the realization that Jesus was sent by God. Consequently, he goes to talk with Him. In response to Nicodemus’ inquiry, Jesus presents the whole key to eternal life and is surprised that Nicodemus was not aware of it. Why? Why was Jesus surprised? It is because the whole Old Testament, from the fall of Adam and Eve onward, talks about it. It foretells of the time when He, God, would come to heal us and bring us back to His Kingdom.
Let us now pay particular attention to what Jesus said to Nicodemus in,
John 3:8
"[8] The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
In other words, Jesus is also teaching us that our new birth is a sovereign work of God! It is He who extends His Grace to us (which is unmerited favor) and provides us the faith to be transformed. To see this more clearly, let us prayerfully consider,
Ephesians 2:4-9
"[4] But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, [5] made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. [6] And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, [7] in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. [8] For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- [9] not by works, so that no one can boast."
Since the new birth is a sovereign work of God, we find that He deals with each one of us as He sees fit. Consequently, there is no precise formula or procedure for how and where we are born again. As Jesus told Nicodemus, it is like the blowing of the wind.
However, so that we are not deceived by the evil one with a false or deceptive spiritual experience, God has provided us key conditions that must be present for the new birth to take place and be genuine.
CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR THE NEW BIRTH
In reading the New Testament we find that the following five conditions are necessary for the new birth to occur:
1. We must believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God.
2. We must recognize that we are sinners and incapable of saving ourselves, that is we need a Savior.
3. We must believe that Jesus Christ came to save us. In other words Jesus Christ is our Savior.
4. We must believe that on the cross Jesus bore our sins and through His death and bodily resurrection He saved us from them.
5. We must exercise our belief and pray to Jesus Christ to save us.
Even though the above conditions are presented in a particular sequence, it is noted that this was out of editorial necessity. However, God is sovereign and chooses the order and circumstances by which He brings those whom He calls to the required beliefs and actions for their new birth.
The first condition necessary for our new birth is we must believe that,
JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD
To see this, consider what the Holy Spirit wrote by the hand of the Apostle John with respect to Jesus. The Scripture of interest is,
John 3:16
""[16] For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
As we found in previous studies the fact that Jesus is the one and only begotten Son of the living God means that Jesus is our Lord and God.
With this understanding of who Jesus Christ is, let us now read what He once said to the Jews as recorded in,
John 8:23-24
"[23] But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. [24] I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.""
As we read the Scriptures, we find that this belief in itself is not enough to save us. The reason for this is that the Bible shows that even the demons believe in who Jesus is. For example let us read what the demons said before Jesus cast them out of two men and sent them into a herd of pigs.
Matthew 8:28-29
"[28] When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. [29] "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?""
Notice the demons clearly knew and believed that Jesus is the Son of God. Obviously, for our salvation and new birth, more is needed.
This brings us to the second condition necessary for our new birth. Namely, we must recognize that you and I are sinners and need the Mercy of God to save us. In other words we must believe that,
WE CAN NOT SAVE OURSELVES
To see the importance of this truth, let us consider the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee.
Luke 18:9-14
"[9] To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: [10] "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. [11] The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' [13] "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' [14] "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.""
Let us notice the following verses,
11-12 … The Pharisees were very learned men in the Jewish faith and had good head knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. In addition, they were extremely careful and diligent to observe all the ordinances and laws of the Temple and Temple services. Consequently, this Pharisee did not consider himself to be a sinner. In fact, rather than humbly approaching God and asking for His Mercy, he was in effect boasting of his righteousness.
13 … The tax collector believed he was a sinner. Consequently, he humbly came before God to seek His Mercy.
14 … Notice how God views those who think more highly of themselves than they should.
This issue of recognizing that we, you and I, are sinners is the whole reason why God, through Moses, gave us the Law (which is the Ten Commandments). To see this, consider what the Holy Spirit says to us in,
Romans 3:19-20
"[19] Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. [20] Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin."
Let us notice the following verses,
19 … The Law was not given so you and I might be able to justify ourselves through it, that is to show how good we are by complying with its demands. No, it was given to hold us accountable to God by showing us how short we fall to its demands. In other words, it was given to expose our sin.
Therefore,
20 … No one will be declared righteous by observing the law. Instead, through the law we become aware of sin in our lives. In other words, by the Law, we find out the things we have spoken thought or did that were offensive to God.
In summary we find that the Law was not put into effect so we, by trying to comply with it, could justify ourselves before God. Instead, the Law was placed into effect so through it we would recognize our sinful state and, as the tax collector, by faith ask God for His Mercy. To clearly see this let us read from,
Galatians 3:24
"[24] So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith."
This leads us to the third condition required for our new birth. Specifically, we must believe and accept the fact that,
JESUS CHRIST IS OUR SAVIOR
Because of God's Love and Mercy Jesus came to this earth to save you and I from the deadly disease called sin. To see this, let us carefully consider what Jesus once said to some of the self righteous Pharisees. It is recorded in,
Matthew 9:10-13
"[10] While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. [11] When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" [12] On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. [13] But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.""
There are many lessons to be learned from this encounter. However, for this particular study, let us focus on the principle that we must consider ourselves deathly ill with a disease called sin and in need of the doctor, Jesus Christ. If we believe that all is well and we are righteous then, as Jesus implied, He is of no value to us. Also notice that Jesus did not say we are to get better before we come to Him. No, He said we are to come to Him and He will heal our disease, which is save us from our sin. We must remember it was for this very purpose He came. To see this, consider the following words that Paul wrote to Timothy in,
1 Timothy 1:15-16
"[15] Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. [16] But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life."
This now brings us to the fourth condition necessary for our new birth or the salvation of our souls. Specifically, we must believe that,
ON THE CROSS JESUS CARRIED OUR SINS
In other words, we must believe that through Jesus’ death and resurrection He made the perfect atonement for you and me. His resurrection assures us that He is truly the Son of God, is alive and interceding to God the Father for us. To see this let us read from,
Hebrews 7:25
[25] Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
In addition, His resurrection assures us that His death on the cross was accepted and made the perfect and complete amends for the forgiveness of our sins. In addition, to release us from our bondage to sin, He also paid the price for our redemption. For us to better understand this glorious gift from God let us return to Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus and read what else Jesus had to say about the new birth.
John 3:14-15
"[14] Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, [15] that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
To help us understand what Jesus meant by lifting up the snake and how it applies to His saving us from our sins, let us go to the Old Testament and read about the incident He referred to.
The incident concerning the snake occurred during the later portion of Israel's exodus from Egypt. At the time of the incident the people of Israel had been travelling in the desert for many years. In fact, by this time Aaron, Moses' brother, had already died. Their journey had been a very difficult one. The majority of the time the only solid food they had for nourishment was the thin wafers of manna that each morning God miraculously provided for them. With this background, let us now read what happened.
Numbers 21:4-9
"[4] They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; [5] they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" [6] Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. [7] The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. [8] The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." [9] So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived."
Let us notice the following verses,
4-5 … The people grew impatient and sinned against God and Moses. Rather than believing and trusting that God delivered them from Egypt to save them from Pharaoh’s tyranny, they believed God brought them to the desert to kill them by starvation. Not only did they lose or not have faith in God, but also felt He meant to harm them.
6 … As a result of their terrible sin, God became angry and because of their sin He sent poisonous snakes to bite the people.
7 … The people confessed their sin, that is admitted that they were in grave error, and asked Moses to ask God to have mercy and forgive them.
8 … To save them God told Moses to make a bronze snake and put it on a pole. He also told Moses that whoever would look up at the snake would live.
9 … Moses followed God’s command and God fulfilled His promise.
How does all this relate to us and Jesus? To see the analogy, let us remember that because of the people’s sin, they were bitten by a snake and would die. The same with us when we are bitten or fall into sin … we die,
Romans 6:23
"[23] For the wages of sin is death … "
In the above incident, after the people confessed their sin and asked for mercy, Moses was told to put a snake, which was a symbol of their sin, on a pole for the people to look at. When Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross and lifted up, it was our sin that was placed upon His flesh for us, by faith, to see. To confirm this let us read the following Scripture,
1 Peter 2:24
"[24] He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."
In returning to the incident with Israel, remember that when they looked upon the snake they were healed. It is the same for us. When you and I, through faith, see that Jesus took upon Himself our own personal sins to the cross we too are healed, that is forgiven. Another way to see this is by reading the instruction given in,
1 John 8-9
[8] If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Let us notice the last part of verse 9. Specifically, it states that to be forgiven we, as it was with the people with Moses, must confess our sins(s) and ask for forgiveness.
This brings us to the fifth and last condition for our new birth which is,
WITH FAITH IN JESUS WE MUST PRAY TO HIM FOR HELP
We must be so sorry for our sins that we not only ask Jesus Christ to forgive us but also save us from the power that sin has over us. In other words, we must have a real true desire to live our life in a manner that is pleasing to God. When we truly pray for His help to cause us to live in this manner, then Jesus Christ will send the Holy Spirit to live and dwell inside us. When this happens, we become a child of God and by His Grace and Mercy are saved. This is exactly what Jesus told the Jews during the great Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. To see this we go to,
John 7:37-39
"[37] On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. [38] Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." [39] By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive…"
Let us notice the following verses,
37(a) … The thirst Jesus is talking about is not the thirst for physical water but is the thirst for righteousness, holiness and for God.
If you thirst for these things and sincerely want to live your life pleasing to God, then
37(b) … Go to Jesus and drink, that is ask Him for this spiritual water.
38 … If we believe and have faith in Him and ask Him to quench our thirst for righteousness and holiness, Jesus will provide you streams of living water to flow from within you.
39 … This living water is not physical water but the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is the new birth!
SUMMARY
As we saw earlier in this chapter, by being born again, that is by God the Holy Spirit coming to live inside us, we became a new creature, a new and different being.
2 Corinthians 5:17
"[17] Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
As a new creature or new being, we find two profound miracles happened to us: (1) we became a child of God and (2) we now have the Holy Spirit living inside us. To expand upon this we begin by noting that,
WE ARE NOW A CHILD OF GOD
To see this we go to,
John 1:12-13
"[12] Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- [13] children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."
Another way to see this is by reading,
Ephesians 1:3-6
"[3] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. [4] For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love [5] he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- [6] to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves."
Let us pay particular attention to the following verses,
3 … We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Note these are spiritual and not earthy or carnal blessings.
4 … We have been chosen to be holy and blameless in His sight. In other words, in Jesus Christ our sins are forgiven and forgotten.
5 … Through Jesus we have been adopted as His sons.
6 … Because of His glorious Grace and Mercy, He, through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, has freely given us these things. In other words, we can not earn or work for these blessings. When we are born again they were bestowed upon us.
However, God did not stop here. There is another miraculous blessing of our new birth. To help us overcome sin,
GOD THE HOLY SPRIT LIVES WITHIN US
To see this, let us prayerfully consider the following,
2 Peter 1:3-4
"[3] His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. [4] Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."
Let us notice the following verses,
3 … He has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him. In other words, God the Holy Spirit now lives inside the born again believer to move them to live a life worthy of their call to Him.
4 … By knowing God and trusting Him to fulfill His promises to us, we can escape the corruption that is in this world and participate in the divine nature.
For example, one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is love. As we live out our daily lives and trust or place our faith in God to manifest His fruit of love through us, we will experience God’s love flowing from us to others.
CONCLUSION
So who is a wise man or wise woman? To find out let us return to the Scriptures for the theme of this study and read from,
Matthew 7:24-25
""[24] Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. [25] The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock."
AND THAT ROCK IS JESUS CHRIST
To see this let us read what Paul wrote in his opening statement to warn the Corinthian Church about falling from God’s grace. To do this we go to,
1 Corinthians 10:1-4
[1] Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, [2] all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, [3] all ate the same spiritual food, [4] and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
Blessed be the Lord forever,
Amen and Amen