In his letter to the Church at Corinth, Paul addresses two obstructive attitudes towards the Body of Christ. Both stem from pride and ignorance of the necessity for every member to comprehend their great responsibility to Christ.
“I Have No Need of You”
“The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,”
nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
1 Corinthians 12:21 (ESV)
The second injurious attitude concerning HIS BODY is overt pride, by which men and women proclaim they do not need the other members of His Body. They can easily disassociate themselves, convinced of their own “spiritual” attainment. This, again, is a devilish attitude that caused Satan himself to be cast out from God’s presence.
Self-sufficiency is rooted in the spirit of pride and arrogance. The more we grow and develop in His Call, the more we become aware of our need for the ministrations of Christ through our brothers and sisters. Spiritual blindness is the fruit of spiritual pride.
May the Lord, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, purge us from our worldly ways, that once again His Glory and Power would shine forth in the beauty of Holiness and humility. Unity is the fruit of Holiness.
“When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. Then the LORD will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.”
Isaiah 4:4-6
The New Wine
The New Wine of the Spirit of God will ONLY be poured into a “new wineskin.” (The early church did not receive this power until they were in “one accord.”) God will wait and, in great wisdom, will withhold the pouring out of this last dispensation of Himself until He has a people who are freed from the pride and the self-seeking of human nature, living solely for Him. He waits for His ministers to pour themselves out in brokenness of heart for His people to be unified, free from all other identities, divisive hearts, and discordant voices that clamour for recognition.
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine MUST be put into fresh wineskins.”
Luke 5:37-38
A Prophetic Promise
The sifting has begun, as not all will touch this unity nor this power, but His voice is speaking. His Spirit is drawing, and to those who see and respond, the “windows of heaven” will open, and they shall receive “power from on High.”
God is NOT going to patch the old with the new.
“He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.”
Luke 5:36
Many do not desire the new, for to them, the “old is good” enough!
“And no one after drinking old wine
desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”
Luke 5:39
The history of God’s people is that the former things, former truths, former “ways of tradition”, will inevitably stand against and persecute the new.
New truths require a new obedience.
The new Wine Skin requires a new heart, a new man to enter into the new wonder of God. It is a perilous day, fraught with new challenges. The pride, the false humility and the need for recognition will prevent many from entering into this crowning achievement of the Holy Spirit.
The heart of Achan with its covetousness will be judged harshly (Joshua 7:1-26), and the sin of Ananias and Sapphira will not stand in the congregation of the Lord.
“But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”
Acts 5:1-2
To do anything with false and impure motives will be met with God’s Holiness. Flesh and blood will seek but fail to enter into this UNITY of this new Wine Skin. The carnal ways of men will be purged, for the “LORD alone will be exalted in that day.”
“The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low…”
Isaiah 2:11-12 (ESV)
It is a day to humble ourselves, to seek the ONE who alone can cause us to stand in this Day having pure hearts freed from the ways of the flesh and the divisions, the strife and the rivalary of men.
“Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
but unto Thy Name give glory”
Psalm 115:1
Please read: Purity, Truth and Love
Continued from:
Hindrances to His Unity – False Pride
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
Isaiah 43:18-19 (ESV)
Brian Troxel
An excellent post about choosing submission and obedience over self-sufficiency and pride. Thank you, Brian.
Thank you, Carol, for stopping by and for the kind words. In our submission to Him, we grow closer to one another! He is the bond of His Body!
Be blessed!
BT
One of the best lessons I learned during my husband’s illness and death, was that we don’t have to wait for a tragedy to occur to absolutely submit to God and His perfect plan for us. I think our sinful nature leads us away from Him to reliance on our own abilities to get us through. We think we can handle it, but we truly cannot do so alone. God is in control of all situations in our journey on earth and his perfect plan will always be implemented without our interference. Submission isn’t easy.
Your words always carry the weight of Him… “…and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
Blessings
BT
Amen
When You Come Together …….. The Body Of Christ
1 Corinthians 14:26 NIV
What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be
done so that the church may be built up.
The Lord showed me a vision 02/26/2013 and in this vision I saw people gathered around an oval table. The table was low to the ground so that you had to sit on the floor. The people I saw sitting there around the table each had a piece of a puzzle. As they all worked together, the image on the puzzle began to take shape and when they were finished, the picture was of Jesus Christ. He was the center of the meeting. Each one had to do his part in finishing the puzzle and it was not left to one person to do the work of the group. This is how real relationships are built and what church done Jesus’ way should foster.
This is church.
The only reason for the gathering of believers was to re-assemble the body of Christ with each part, I.e., the foot, the hand, the eye, etc. doing its part so that the church, Christ’s body on earth may be edified and that Christ may be glorified.
They did not gather because of a charismatic leader, I.e., a pastor.
They didn’t gather because of church programs.
They didn’t gather because of the worship team
Yes, Amen!!!
Amen