Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries |
God blesses because of His grace and not man's desire or works.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Paul is writing the conclusion to the election of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses and the condemnation of Ishmael, Esau, and Pharaoh.
So you have salvation, logistical grace, maturity adjustment to the justice of God, the imputation of divine blessing that brings glorification to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The negative way is the millions of desires from unbelievers for blessing from God that cannot occur because they have rejected salvation adjustment to the Justice of God.
The negative way is the millions of desires from believers for blessing from God that cannot occur because they have rejected maturity adjustment to the Justice of God.
To the extent that you feel sorry for yourself you are already a weak person. God does not fall for the cry-baby routine, the system of hustling through self-pity.
EPH 5:25-26
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her; 26 that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
If the desire to glorify God is ever going to be the reality of glorifying God there must be continual positive volition towards the word of God.
The function of human volition in desire is not the source of blessing from God. You can wish for blessing, desire blessing, beg for blessing, and be sincere for blessing, and you are farther from blessing than when you started.
The believer that now possesses the +R of God has a home or target for blessing and through grace God is able to bless where there is capacity. This is a real imputation.
God is able to bless the believer with logistical grace blessings (winner or loser) because he possesses the +R of God through salvation adjustment and God is able to bless the mature believer with escrow blessings through maturity adjustment.
Moses’ capacity through doctrine resident in his soul was compatible with the function of the grace of God. He saw what in reality any mature believer can see the glory of God, not face to face but through doctrine.
Desire resident in the soul is no substitute for doctrine resident in the soul. Sincere desire only complicates the desire.
Giving to get blessing from God is what “running” means here. If desire represents thought; running represents the action of the body.
“Running” is a pictorial present tense, which presents to the mind a picture of events in the process of occurrence - actions and productions from the body, the burning of human energy in seeking blessing from God.
Ps 23:6
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
“but” - the adversative conjunction alla sets up a contrast - “but in contrast to this,” a contrast between the false source of blessing and the true source of blessing.