Insightful Musings on the Scriptures
by
Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67
Greetings on this rainy Wednesday morning.
Yesterday was nearly solid travel—buying supplies—even a run to Andy’s shop in Dallas to pick up some printed sign work that I ordered from him. Now I need to work with all that resource to get some jobs done—so we can glean some vital income.
Rain or shine—may your day be fine.
Love, Dad/Ray.
Now that’s interesting. And to add to the interest, I’ve just spotted a significant word in the text that is worth mentioning. It’s the word “filled.” The word is used to describe the condition of both the “Jews” and the “disciples.” Both groups were “filled” with something—but definitely not with the same thing. The last verse of the chapter states, “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (13:52), but the “Jews…were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying.” For the life of me, I can’t discern anything in the recorded message of Paul that should legitimately warrant the ugliness of the Jewish leaders’ reaction. I’ll take that as another implied warning against the subtle bondage of religious legalism. Some of my cross-cultural background leads me to call it “religious tribalism.” It’s the rigid mindset that insists “WE ARE RIGHT IN ALL OUR TRADITIONS AND BELIEFS NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE ELSE SAYS—NO MATTER HOW MUCH EVIDENCE CAN BE PRESENTED TO INDICATE OTHERWISE.”
We can easily find more practical lessons here. I’ll list two:
- BEWARE OF RELIGION. By RELIGION I’m meaning a “form of godliness” (2 Timothy 3:5) without a HEART AFTER GOD. This is certainly not a new idea. We deal with it repeatedly. It’s amazing to see how often this issue turns up in the pages of the New Testament. RELIGION constantly presents itself as an obstacle or opponent to the plans and purposes of God. In this regard, I’m convinced that Satan loves RELIGION.
- BE DISCERNING OF WHAT YOU ALLOW TO FILL YOUR MIND. The reasons are obvious when we give the matter any careful objective thought. A pitcher of water will pour forth water. A can of oil will pour oil. No container will yield what it does not contain. Jesus speaks clearly to how that relates to our lives—“For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34)—and the mind thinks, and the life course is set.
To be filled with the Spirit is actually commanded. “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). The next verse in that context describes what should be released from that fullness. “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:19-20). It’s a standard to confirm the authenticity of the Spirit within that is on a par with the listing of the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5.
Simple bottom line: Everyone is full of something. Thinking, speaking, and behaving reveal the quality of the contents.