Good morning. Continuing
the thought of destroying fortresses. Just what kind of fortresses is Paul
talking about? We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up
against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience
of Christ. Those are the fortresses we are destroying; and they truly are
fortresses. They are not easily brought down. That is why we need the power of
the Holy Spirit. Moving on to Chapter 11: but I am afraid, lest as the serpent
deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be lead astray from the
simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. This is very true in some realms
of Christianity. They are so in enamored with the thought of obtaining special
knowledge (remember Gnosticism?), that they no longer concentrate on the simple
truth – that of devotion to Christ. They want to "move on" from the
foundation mentioned in Hebrews. If the foundation is not solid, the building
will fall. When you are seeking this special knowledge, you open yourself up to
deception from the enemy. Paul echoes this as he continues: for if one comes
and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a
different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you
have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. Sometimes "evangelists or
apostles" come to a congregation and try to sway them after themselves.
They have the "true knowledge". They flatter the pastors saying they
are something special, and are not appreciated. That even call them apostles.
It's hard to refute someone who calls you an apostle, especially if you feel
under appreciated. Thank You Father that the reader follows after You with his/her
whole heart. He/she effectively destroys all the fortresses of speculations
raised up against the knowledge of You. He/she takes every thought captive to
the obedience of Christ.
Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God
Good morning. While Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men. Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. It doesn’t say, but I assume it is still during this time of the Passover. This man came to Jesus by night. Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do the signs that You do unless God is with him. It just said that the people believed in His name because of the signs He was doing; yet it does not say what those signs were. Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. That is why unbelievers cannot tell what is of the kingdom of God and what is not – they’re not born again. Nicodemus doesn’t have a clue. How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he? Unless one is born of water and the Spirit ...
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