Bible Study . . . The Blessing of
Spiritual Submission
God’s love reaches out to you and when God’s love touches your need,
we call it Grace.
"For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God ... "
(Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV)
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.~~Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.~~Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.~~Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.~~Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.~~Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.~~Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (Matthew 5:3-9 KJV)
Poor in Spirit: Spiritual Insufficiency
That Mourn: Spiritual Heartbrokenness
The Meek: Spiritual Submissiveness
Hunger & Thirst: Spiritual Fervor
The Merciful: Spiritual Compassion
Pure in Heart: Spiritual Perfection
The Peacemakers: Spiritual Posterity
The Persecuted: Spiritual Maturity
A boy was once asked, "Who are the meek?" He thought for a moment and then answered, "They are the people who give soft answers to hard questions."
The spiritual meaning of "meek" is often misinterpreted. For a believer in Jesus Christ it can be defined as freedom from pretension, gentleness, or patient endurance. Christians are called to patiently endure the inequality of living in this world while waiting with joyful expectation for the imminent return of Christ.
Webster defines meekness as being humble, modest, submissive, delicate, or passive. The world sees meekness as weakness. Such a concept has become a stumbling block for many believers since it seems to imply that, if you are a Christian, you should be the doormat of society. Actually, Jesus, in Matthew 5:5, was stating that happy are those who are meek — those who humble themselves before God, utterly dependent on Him for forgiveness of sin, guidance, and strength — for they shall possess (inherit) the earth now and during the 1000-years of Christ’s reign on the earth.
(Matthew 5:5; Zephaniah 3:12; 2:3; Psalm 25:12-14; 37:11; Revelation 12:7)
It isn’t easy to submit to God in a godless world. There are many difficulties in the life of faith. The blessing of happiness is the result of obedience to and confidence in Jesus Christ. Someone once said, "Perfect obedience would be perfect happiness; if only we had perfect confidence in the power we were obeying."
Obedience is a positive, active response to what a person hears. God calls His people to obedience to His Word. In the Old Testament covenant between God and man, obedience was the basis for receiving God's blessing and favor. Samuel emphasized that God's pleasure was not in sacrifice but in obedience. Jesus promised a new covenant of grace through obedience and love for God and others.
(Exodus 19:5; Isaiah 11:4; Jer 31:33; John 13:34-35)
In the New Testament, the obedience of Christ stands in contrast to the disobedience of Adam. The disobedience of Adam brought death, but the perfect obedience of Christ brought grace, righteousness, and eternal life.
(Rom 5:12-21)
Christ actively seeks the deepest of all personal relationship with those who are His. As we journey through life, we establish many types of relationships. Some relationships are very precious indeed. Others, though often pleasant, are more temporal and do not require more than a minimal investment of time and effort because of differing interests and goals. A long and lasting relationship requires an investment of time. The more time we spend together, the greater the possibility that a casual friendship will grow into a genuine love relationship. The marriage relationship, which parallels a Christian’s relationship with Christ, demands complete and total surrender to the needs and well-being of another person.
(Matthew 11:29; 1 Corinthians 4:21; Galatians 5:23-25; Ephesians 4:1-3;
Colossians 3:12-15; 1 Timothy 6:11, 12; 2 Timothy 2:24-26;
Titus 3:3-8; James 1:21; 3:13-18)
