Having Begun in The Spirit

These words are found in GalutYah (Galatians) 3:3, let us read the second verse also: "This only do I wish to learn from you, did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing through belief and trust? Are you so foolish, having begun in the Spirit are you now being finished by the fallen nature?" 

When we talk about a deepening or strengthening of our spiritual lives, we come to this by seeing something weak and wrong in our lives and it is good to start by confessing before YAHWEH: "Oh YAHWEH, our spiritual life is not what it should be!" May YAHWEH work this in your heart.  As we look around us and see the Assembly (church) we see so many indications of weakness, failure, law breaking and short coming, that we are compelled to ask: Why is it this way? Is there a reason for the Assembly of YAHSHUA to be living in such a low state? Or is it possible that YAHWEH's people should be living in joy and the power of their Mighty One? Every believing heart must answer: It is possible. Then comes the great question; Why is it that YAHWEH's Assembly as a whole is so weak and the great majority of believers are not living by the power of YAHWEH's Spirit? There has to be a reason for it. Hasn't YAHWEH sent YAHSHUA to be the deliverer of every believer? YAHWEH did send YAHSHUA and YAHWEH has given us the Set Apart Spirit! How is it then that believers do not overcome in YAHSHUA or walk in the power of the Spirit? We find the answers to these questions in Shaul's (Paul's) letters to the Corinthians and Galatians; he tells them in many different ways what the one reason was that they were not living as believers in YAHSHUA should; many of them were under the power of the fallen evil nature. Our text is one example, he reminds them that by believing and trusting what they had heard, they had received the Spirit. Shaul had proclaimed the MESSIYAH to them, they had accepted YAHSHUA as the MESSIYAH and had received the Set Apart Spirit in power. But what happened? Having begun in the Spirit, they tried to finish the work the Spirit started by their own efforts. We find the same teaching in the letter to the Corinthians. Now we have discovered what the great weakness is in the Assembly of YAHSHUA. YAHWEH has called for the Assembly of YAHSHUA to live in the power of the Set Apart Spirit and the Assembly is living for the most part in the power of the fallen nature, the human will, energy and effort, and not in the Spirit of YAHWEH. I also do not doubt that this is the case with many believers. If YAHWEH gave me a message, it would most likely be this: If the Assembly will return to acknowledge that the Set Apart Spirit is its strength and helper and wait upon YAHWEH to be filled with the Spirit, we would see the honour of YAHWEH revealed among us. And to the individual believer: Nothing will help you unless you come to understand that you must live every day under the power of the Spirit of YAHWEH. YAHWEH wants all believers to be a living vessel in whom the power of the Spirit is revealed every hour and moment of your life and YAHWEH will enable you to live this way. Now let us try to learn what GalutYah 3:3 teaches us; It shows us how (1) the beginning of the believers life is receiving the Set Apart Spirit. It shows us (2) what a great danger there is of forgetting that we are to live by the Spirit and not live after the fallen nature. It shows us (3) what the fruits or proofs are of our seeking to finish our walk in the fallen nature. And then tells us (4) the way of deliverance from this state. 

1. RECEIVING THE SET APART SPIRIT

First, Shaul says: "Having begun in the Spirit." Remember Shaul not only proclaimed justification by belief and trust, but he proclaimed something more. Shaul proclaimed that those who were justified by belief and trust in YAHSHUA can not live in HIM without the Set Apart Spirit and for this reason YAHWEH gives every justified believer the Set Apart Spirit as a seal that they are YAHSHUA'S. Shaul asks them: "How did you receive the Set Apart Spirit?" Was it by the proclaiming of the law or by the proclaiming of belief and trust in YAHSHUA? He could even point back to a time when the Spirit came in power. The power of YAHWEH had been revealed and the Galatians were compelled to confess; Yes, we received the Spirit after accepting YAHSHUA, by belief and trust in YAHSHUA we did receive the Spirit.  Now however, there are many believers who do not know that when they believed and trusted in YAHSHUA, they received the Spirit of YAHWEH. A great many believers can say; I received peace and pardon for my Law breakings. But if you were to ask them: Have you received the Set Apart Spirit? They would hesitate and many would say yes, but they would not be able to tell you how it was to walk in the power of the Spirit of YAHWEH. Let us try and understand this great truth; The beginning of the true believer's life is to receive the Set Apart Spirit. The work of every Minister (Preacher, Pastor, etc.) is the same work which Shaul was doing, to remind those who are under their care that they received the Spirit and that they must live according to the Spirit's guidance and power. If those Galatians who had received the Spirit in power were tempted to go astray by following the fallen nature, how much more danger do those believers, who hardly know if they have received the Spirit, face of going astray? Or if they say they have received the Spirit, how often do they think of the Spirit or Praise YAHWEH for giving them the Spirit? YAHWEH gives every true believer the Set Apart Spirit to guide their hearts and lives every day, all of their life should be lived in the power of the Spirit. No believer can live one hour in a right relationship with YAHWEH unless the power of the Spirit lives in them. The believer may live a proper and consistent life according to man, a life of virtue and diligent service, but to live a life acceptable to YAHWEH in the full assurance of YAHWEH's deliverance and YAHWEH's love, to live and walk in the power of the Spirit, the believer can not do it unless they are guided by the Spirit everyday and every moment. 

2. NOW LET US LEARN OF THE DANGER

The Galatians received the Spirit of YAHWEH, but tried to finish the course in the fallen nature. How? They fell under false teachers who told them they must be circumcised. They started to seek YAHWEH by external observances. So Shaul uses this expression about those false teachers: "they were seeking to honour in their fallen nature." Have you ever heard the expression, religious flesh? Do you know what it means? It is simply an expression made to relate this thought: My human nature, my human will and human effort can be very active in religion and after coming to know YAHSHUA and receiving the Set Apart Spirit, I begin in my own strength to try and serve YAHWEH. I may be very diligent and doing a lot of work and yet all the time it is more the work of the human nature than of YAHWEH's Spirit! What a sobering thought, that a believer can, without even noticing it, be out of place with the Spirit and be following their own fallen nature. They can work hard, and make great sacrifices, and yet all in the power of the human will. We must ask YAHWEH this important question: YAHWEH, is our religious life lived more in the power of our human nature than in the power of YOUR Spirit? You may be a preacher or a worker in some ministry and others may tell you that you make great sacrifices and yet do you feel that there is something missing? Do you feel you are spiritual, is there any spirituality to your life? How many believers are there who no one would ever say of: What a spiritual person they are. Here is the weakness of the Assembly of YAHSHUA. It is all in that one phrase: the fallen human nature. Now the fallen nature can reveal itself in many ways. It can be revealed in human wisdom; My mind may be very active about religion, I may preach, write, think about or meditate and delight in being occupied with the things in YAHWEH's Word, and yet the power of the Set Apart Spirit is absent. I fear if you take all the preaching throughout the Church and ask why there is so little power in it to move hearts, why so much work is done with so little results, or why do the Scriptures have so little power in building up believers or setting them apart from evil, you will find that it is because there is an absence of the power of the Spirit of YAHWEH. And why is this so? There can be no other reason but that the fallen nature and human energy have taken the place that the Spirit ought to have. This was true of the Galatians, and it was true of the Corinthians. Shaul said to them: "And I brothers was not able to speak to you as spiritual men, but as to those walking in their human nature." You know how often in the course of his letters he had to correct and condemn them for fighting with one another and causing divisions. 

3. LACKING THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

 What are the fruits or proofs that an Assembly like the Galatians, or a Christian or Messianic Assembly is serving YAHWEH in the power of the fallen nature? When they try to finish in the fallen human nature what was begun in the Spirit! Religious self-effort always ends in law breaking (sin). What was the state of those Galatians? They were striving to be justified by the works of law and yet they were fighting and in danger of devouring one another! Count all the expressions that Shaul used to indicate their lack of love, and you will find more than twelve; envy, jealousy, bitterness, fighting with one another, and other evil attitudes. Read in the 4th and 5th chapters what he says about these things. You see how they tried to serve YAHWEH in their own strength and utterly failed. All of this self effort resulted in failure. The power of law breaking and the fallen evil nature got the best of them and their whole condition was very sad indeed.  There is a complaint everywhere in the Assembly of the lack of a high standard of integrity and righteousness, but what would we find if we were to go into the homes of those who say they are followers of YAHSHUA? Think of the life to which YAHWEH has called This One's children to live and which YAHWEH has enabled them to live by the Set Apart Spirit. Look at how most believers are actually living today, there is unlovingness, anger, sharp speech, bitterness, and very often fighting among the members of the Assembly!! How often is there envy, jealousy, sensitiveness, and pride? Are we not compelled to ask: "Where are the fruits of the Spirit of YAHWEH?" Missing, sadly missing.  Many believers speak of these things as though they were the natural result of our weakness, and that these things can not be changed. Some even say these things are breaking YAHWEH's Law, yet they have given up all hope of overcoming them! Most believers speak of these things, which are in the Assembly around them, yet they do not see any chance of ever having these things changed. There is no chance at all, until there comes a radical change, until the Assembly of YAHWEH begins to see that every act of disobedience in the believer comes from the fallen evil nature, which is often present in the midst of religious activities and leads to striving in self-effort to serve YAHWEH. Unless we learn to confess with a sincere heart and understand that YAHWEH's Spirit needs to be in the heart of each believer and that YAHWEH's Spirit must lead the Assembly, we will all fail. Where did the Assembly begin during the Feast of Weeks? In the Spirit of YAHWEH. But how soon the Assembly of the second century went off into the fallen nature. They thought they could finish what the Spirit started by walking after their own fallen natures. Do not think that because the Reformation restored the great teaching of justification by belief and trust (faith) that the power of the Spirit was then restored. The only way YAHWEH is going to have mercy on the Assembly in these last days is not only be restoring the truth about the Set Apart Spirit, but when every true believer seeks the Spirit with their whole hearts. This loving kindness of YAHWEH's will only come upon those who seek after the truth, we all, ministers and every believer in every Assembly, must bow down before YAHWEH in deep conviction and cry out: WE HAVE GRIEVED YOUR SPIRIT OH YAHWEH. We have tried to be followers of YAHSHUA without being led by Your Spirit. We have not sought to be the Assembly of the Set Apart Spirit All the weakness in the Assembly is owing to the refusal of the Assembly to obey YAHWEH. And why is this so? The answer from most believers would be: "We are too weak and helpless, we try to obey, and we vow to obey, yet somehow we always fail." Yes, you fail because you do not accept the power of YAHWEH. YAHWEH alone can work out YAHWEH's will in you. You can not work out YAHWEH's will, only the Spirit of YAHWEH can and until the Assembly, along with every believer in the Assembly understands this, and stops trying to do YAHWEH's will by human effort, we will continue to fail. We must learn to wait upon the Spirit to come in power, so that the Spirit can enable us to do YAHWEH's will. The Assembly will never be what YAHWEH wants it to be until this comes to be true in all of YAHWEH's children 

4. YIELDING TO THE SPIRIT OF YAHWEH

 Now we come to the last point with this question: How can the Assembly be restored to trusting and waiting upon the Set Apart Spirit of YAHWEH? Beloved friends, the answer is very simple: To cut off all attempts to follow YAHSHUA by human efforts, yes our fallen evil natures must be executed so that we can learn to be led by the Spirit. The Galatians had no other way, but to return to where they began, to come away from where they had gone wrong, to return from trying to walk in their own power and from seeking things by their own works, and to yield themselves humbly to the Spirit of YAHWEH. There is NO other way for us as individuals believers to be restored either.  Is there any brother or sister whose heart is convicted and must confess: "My life shows that I know very little about the power of the Spirit of YAHWEH". Then I come to you with YAHWEH's message, you have no understanding of what your life could be like in the power of the Spirit. It is too high, too amazing and wonderful, but I bring you a message; just as truly as the Everlasting Son of YAHWEH came to this world and did His wonderful work, just as truly as on the stake HE died and won our redemption by HIS precious blood, so just as truly can the Set Apart Spirit come into your heart with YAHWEH's power and set us free from all evil, enabling us to do YAHWEH's will and filling our hearts with joy and strength. But we have not listened, we have grieved, and dishonoured the Spirit of YAHWEH. Because of these things the Spirit has not been able to do the work that YAHWEH sent the Spirit to do. Hear what the Spirit says: Our ABBA (FATHER) in the heavens loves to fill this One's children with the Set Apart Spirit. YAHWEH longs to give each one of us the power of the Spirit, so that we will overcome in our daily lives. YAHWEH wants every child to raise up and lay our Law breaking at YAHSHUA'S feet and to call upon Almighty YAHWEH for mercy. Are we still so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are we still going to try and finish the work of the Spirit by the fallen nature? Let us all bow down before YAHWEH in shame and confess how our self-effort and self-confidence have been the cause of all of our failures.  I have often been asked by young believers; "Why is it that I fail so often? I did promise YAHSHUA that I would follow HIM with my whole heart and I do desire to serve YAHWEH, so why have I failed?" To these ones I always give the same answer; "My friend, you are trying to do in your own strength what the Spirit of YAHWEH alone can do in you. You are trusting in yourself, or you would not have failed. If you are trusting in YAHWEH, YAHWEH does not fail, so you would not have failed."  Oh how this trying to finish in the fallen nature what was begun by the Spirit runs far deeper through us all then we know. Let us ask YAHWEH to show us that it is only when we are brought to shame and helplessness, that we will be prepared to receive the power that comes from the heavens. So I ask you these two questions; " Are you living under the power of the Spirit of YAHWEH? Are you living as an anointed Spirit filled believer of YAHSHUA in your daily life before YAHWEH?"  Brothers and sisters in YAHSHUA, our place of honour in MESSIYAH is a difficult one, we are to show people what YAHWEH will do for them, not in words and teaching, but in our daily lives. YAHWEH help us to do it. I ask every member of the Assembly of YAHSHUA; "Are you living your lives by the power of the Set Apart Spirit day by day, or are you attempting to live without the power of the Spirit of YAHWEH? Remember, you can not do it. Are you ready to be set apart by the Spirit, so that the Spirit can work and live in you? Then come to YAHWEH and confess every failure, every outbreak of anger, every slip of the tongue, every failure that is caused by the absence of the Set Apart Spirit because of the power of self that is in control of you. Again, are you set apart unto the Spirit of YAHWEH? If your answer is no, then I must ask this second question; "Are you willing to be set apart unto the Spirit? Are you willing to give up your own self-will and accept the power of the Set Apart Spirit?" You do understand don't you, that you can not be set apart by human effort. You can try with all the intensity of your being, but it will not help you. You must be willing to give yourself up to the Spirit of YAHWEH. You can do it right now! A great deal may be beyond your understanding and you may not feel anything, but come NOW!! YAHSHUA WILL change your life. YAHWEH gives us the Spirit, the power of the Spirit to change our lives in YAHSHUA. To every waiting heart that is willing to make the sacrifice, to give up everything for YAHSHUA, and take the time to cry out and pray to YAHWEH, the answer will come. Happiness is not far off. YAHWEH delights to help us through YAHSHUA by the Set Apart Spirit. YAHWEH WILL enable us all to finish what was begun in the Spirit. ISN'T YAHWEH GOOD!!

PRAISED BE YAHWEH FOREVER AND EVER. 
HALLELUYAH! 

  By Brother Pat McCulloch

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