“You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” Matthew 16:23 NLT14/7/2024 These words were said to Peter shortly after he had declared that Christ was the Messiah. He had got it very right, and now he had got it very wrong.
How quickly we slip back into the natural after we have understood the spiritual. We only need to look at the church structure today to see how it is formed of spiritual and natural traditions. There is safety in structure and organisation, but spiritual things don’t work that way. They refuse to be structured and organised. We read: “The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” John 3:8 NLT Nicodemus, a well-respected Jewish teacher, asked, “How are these things possible?” John 3:9 NLT Man cannot understand the moving of the Spirit of God. We can only observe from a human point of view. The Spirit of God will not be contained within any church or denomination. He is free to move at will. The first insight we have into the real spiritual world is given to us by the Holy Spirit. We are born again by the Spirit. “The Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.” John 3:6 NLT We should not revert to the natural order of things. “You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom.” Galatians 5:7 NLT Peter had been running so well. He had understood that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah; the Father had revealed that to him. Jesus had declared that he was blessed! And now, he was looking at things merely from a human point of view. Why? Because he was trying to keep them all safe, especially Jesus. He didn’t want Jesus to go to Jerusalem because he could see it was dangerous. His kindness and forward-thinking had got in the way of his spiritual insight. It is a lesson for us all. We may have a divine revelation at some point and think we’ve got it sussed, but how easy it is to revert to the natural, safe way, especially in today’s culture of getting everything just right. We must learn to be spiritual creatures and be “as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.” Matthew 10:16 NLT
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