EXTENSION OF GOD’s BEING

by: Peregrino (Jun) V. Taccad, Jr.

Text - Genesis 1:26- 2:25 

Of all creations, MAN is the closest to God. He created man in His very own image, as we all know.   Man, however doesn’t have divinity like God. No, we can never be supreme like Him.  But man was made by God as the extension of His being.  He empowered man to have dominion over all His other creations – to be little gods in this respect. 

Man is the only creation whom He considered as His “sons” and “little gods.”

·     'You are "gods"; you are all sons of the Most High.'”  Psalm 82:6 

·     But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. – John 1:12-13

·     Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are "gods"'? John 10:34-38

And the Lord considered Man as His friends:

·     You are my friends if you do what I command.  I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. – John 15:14-15

·     And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. – James 2:23

If dogs are considered as man’s best friend, Man is considered by God as His “Best Friend” provided man obeys Him, shows faithfulness and practices righteousness.

We can only exclaim “Oh!, What a privilege this is?”

 

This photo was taken from Daughter of Christ Blog

He made man so that He can carry-out His will.  We always have that philosophical question;  “Why did God created man?”,  “What is it to Him if all creations don’t exist?”  According to the scripture: He created all for His glory and that, through His creations, His wisdom, power and authority will be proclaimed in heavenly places.

·       “Everyone who is called by my Name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” – Isaiah 43:7

·     And to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 3:9-10

Why God created Man?  It is clear in the following verse that He wanted someone to rule over the rest of the creations.  From the start, it has been His intention to make man as the leader.  What is amazing is that, Man has been made heirs and possessor of all things on earth and things above the earth.

·     And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” – Genesis 1:28

If we think that God regrets creating us because we will only give Him headache after all, NO!  Instead, He wrapped Man with His overflowing love.

·      How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! – 1 John 3:1

A parent cannot just kill his child if the latter is growing up to be disobedient and disrespectful.  With all his love, the parent will just try his very best to support him reform and guide him to be on the right track.  He may sometimes impose disciplinary acts but he will never do anything to harm his child.  How much more will our Father will do the same to man whom He considered as His children?  Instead of destroying us, since He can easily to that, He instead made a promise to bring man back to Him, so that He can protect man and save him from hell.  Right after man fell into the first sin, he already put man within His territory, putting a wall to protect man from Satan by the power of His curse.

·     The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." – Genesis 3:14-15

·         For God so loved that world that He gave His only Son.  Whoever believes in Him will not be destroyed but have eternal life. – John 3:16

Man is indeed a “Special Creation”

We are created by the Father not by the power of His words as He did with light and darkness, heavenly bodies and earth, water and dry ground.  He did not just say, “Let there be man!” and man came to being.  No!  He made us out of dust.   In forming us, He chose to soak in dirt. He let bits of mud splatter on His face, arms, legs and feet.  Both hands might have been covered with thick clay as He skillfully ran His fingers on His Obra Maestra. Imagine how filthy a potter looks like while molding his jars and vases.   Literally, He gave so much of efforts, time, energy and talent to form man into something similar to His own form.

He finished molding the man and looked at the lifeless figurine, did some retouching here and there and wiped away every bit of blemishes and imperfections.  At the final touches, He repeatedly walked around the figurine, inspected it very intently, took few steps backward to take farther view of it, and smiled in great pleasure looking at His Obra Maestra, the fruit of His mixed talent, effort and time.

Of course, again, He did not shout at the wind to gather a force and blow into the figurine’s nose, neither did He take a sturdy large leaf to fan the figurine’s face.  Without hesitation, He put His lips against the nose of the lifeless mannequin and blew into it the life-giving breath.  Alas! Man is using God’s own breathe to live.  And that air contains SOUL that makes man move, feel, and think.  Well after God blew the figurine’s nose, all of a sudden the brain responded by delivering electrical impulses and gave signal to the heart to pump.  Life-giving blood starts circulating all over the body.   The clay face was slowly turning into flesh, and all vital organs came to life.  And then, finally the man started to move.  Like his Creator, he has a powerful and complex intellect to rationally rule the rest of the creations, equipped with complete faculties to sense what is in his environment, emotions to be able to create wonderful relationships with his environment, and talents to create beauty and enjoyment into his own world.   

·     For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10

Man was indeed destined to be little gods, the rulers of all God’s creation.  All things were created because of man and as a gift to mankind.  He saw that man will never be happy without companions, so he formed animals from the ground, and a special partner in ruling all other creations, the woman, who came from the man’s own bone and flesh.

Man has Body, Soul and Spirit

What else is special with man? 

Man exists in corporeal body.  It is needless to search for scriptural proof that we have physical body as we are not here today without it.

Besides the physical existence, man has a soul – “Nephes” in Hebrew (Genesis 2:7 ) that animates him.  The word “Nephes” or Soul was used also in the following verses:  Genesis 1:30 – everything that has nephes or soul in it.  (NIV used “LIFE” instead of “SOUL”).  An animal too has soul that gives them life, senses and breathes.   

However, man differs from animals because man has SPIRIT that makes him positively rational and connects him to his Creator.  The SPIRIT is what makes man closer in looks to his Creator.

·         God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. – John 4:24

This spirit does not coexist with the body and soul, but will only come to being as a result of the man’s decision to be one with his Creator through baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.  In the Scripture, this process has been called, being “Born Again”.

·     Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and Spirit.  Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to the spirit. – John 3:5-6

The spirit was the part that died right after Adam and Eve committed the first sin, as God had warned them not to eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.  This spirit is man’s connection to God, that’s why when sin came in, the connection was severed, the couple hid from God, and eventually, they were sent out of the Garden of Eden.

But God still made a remedy so that we can regain back the lost spirit.  Through sacrifice of atonement (or at-one-ment  with God), man can communicate to God.  He demolished the practice of offering sacrifices (as instructed by God in the old testament) when He sent Jesus into the world as the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus then became the mediator for us to communicate to Him.  Through the power of baptism, man receives God’s forgiveness that consequently opens the communication line between man and God, through Christ.

·       Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins - Acts 2:38 

·     For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus – I Timothy 2:5

But what happened to the Soul when a person dies?  The Bible said:

·    He should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path will save that person’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. – James 5:20 (New English Version)

·     If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol. – Proverbs 23:14

The soul has only but two destinies, Eternal Death in Hell or Eternal Life in Heaven.  Since this SOUL can feel and think, it will certainly feel everything that Hell has to give – gnashing of teeth due to excruciating pain in hot flames of burning sulfur.  On the other hand, in Heaven, there is an eternal bliss, peace and joy.  

How about the Spirit?

·          ^…hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh (punishment by law); so that his spirit “MAY” be saved on the day of the Lord. – 1 Corinthians 5:5

·         My God, my God, Why have you forsaken me?  -  Mark 15:34 - separation from God because of our sin.

Both soul and spirit will go to God if we lived faithfully to Him.  But those who chose to walk in evil ways, their spirit remain dead but their souls – with complete senses, will go to eternal damnation through hell.

Man’s as God’s Extension of His Being

In this lesson, we are faced with the great challenge to maintain our likeness with our Creator.  We must further search the scripture and better understand the Nature of God so that we can manage our lives according to our label as the “Extension of God’s being”.

The following truths are derived from the Bible to guide us on how we start living our lives according to God’s nature.

Truth No. 1: God is Love - We are Love

Of all creation, man carries the LOVE of God.  He Fathered man, He saved man from eternal damnation by sacrificing His only Son on the cross.  With this act, He modeled out His very nature, LOVE.  So, He literally wants us to bear that nature as well when Jesus said,

·     The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:31

This was profoundly reiterated by the Apostle John in his writing:

·       Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. – 1 John 4:7

Reflection 1:  HOW CAN WE SHOW LOVE AS MUCH AS WHAT GOD SHOWED US?

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Truth No. 2:  God is Holy: We are made Holy and Let us maintain our holiness

Through the life sacrifice of Christ, God had cleansed us from sin and we are made holy through act.

·      Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. – Hebrews 2:11

Since we became new creation by complying with Christ’s requirement of salvation, we have to live our lives in holiness.  Holy means being “SET-APART FOR GOD”. 

·     but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." – 1 Peter 1:15-16

When Jesus underwent temptation, it was God’s plan to model out how we should battle against Satan’s deceiving schemes.  The Word/Scripture was given to us as our sword and shield which we will raise against all kinds of temptations to keep our holiness intact.

Reflection 2:  HOW CAN WE MAINTAIN OURSELVES HOLY AND HOW CAN WE MODEL OUT HOLINESS TO OTHERS?

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Truth No 3:  God is good: Man is created good

(Mark 10:18; Genesis 1:27; Psalms 139:13-16)

Man is created in His likeness, so man must be good by nature.  It so happened that satan deceived man and the latter became corrupted in the end.  Since then, man has been bearing the curse of sin and it became a cancer in his body, soul and spirit, until God delivered a cure to this cancer through the sacrifice of His only Son. 

Although, we have the free will to walk through either goodness or evil, The Father, through Apostle Paul, called us to be good like Christ.

·     Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. – Ephesians 4:32

And the Lord Jesus encouraged us to be good.

·    Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. – Matthew 11:29

·     Matthew 5:1-2  Be-Attitudes

Reflection 3:  HOW CAN WE BUILD THE CHARACTER OF BEING GOOD THROUGH THE VERSES THAT WE READ? – Create a Checklist… memorize the Be-Attitudes, understand them well, and try to plan out to live according to it.

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Truth No. 4:  God is the Savior:  Man is commissioned to be savior too

The first epitome of a savior is Noah, who invested his life in building the gigantic boat to save the people and animals from the great flood. Genesis 5-9.

Another is Joseph.  Genesis 37-50 narrates how he became a savior to all in a very long process involving dramatic struggles and hardships.  After enduring them all, the plan of God for his life came to a very clear picture.  If he did not persevere and did not focus on the plan of God, his family, household and the whole Egypt might have been perished in those times of deadly famine and drought.

In Exodus 3, Moses was appointed by God Himself to be the savior of the Israelites from the bondage of Egyptian rulers.  Although he viewed this as a big task, and it means going against those who raised him, still he obeyed.  Although Moses did not reach the promise land, his achievements in taking the people out from the bondage of miserable slavery in the hands of the Egyptians can never be discounted.  God used him to be an inspiration to modern day disciples.

God’s prophets poured their lives into God’s messianic mission. 

Later in the New Testament, Jesus ignited the spirit of heroism and showed mankind how to live for others, hence to be saviors.  The disciples, in full determination and courage, followed His trails.  John the Baptist, James, and Paul were beheaded; Stephen was stoned, John was exiled to death, Peter was crucified upside down, and the others suffered the same fate.  One thing in common about them was their willingness to sacrifice, go through hardships of persecutions, and die for the salvation of others, not physically but spiritually. Not for any other ruler but for God.  If you are familiar with the song, “Impossible Dream”, it describes vividly the heart that we should possess if we want to follow God – unselfish heart focused on the salvation of others.

Reflection 4:  Discover how you can take part in God’s mission to save the world. Ask yourself, “Am I willing to give up everything I have and focus on God’s work of salvation?”

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Truth No. 5 God is Light: Man is commissioned to bear the light

·     This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all^[ sin – 1 John 1:5-7

God commanded us to live in His light, to be a guide to those who are living in darkness, and to bring back righteousness into this chaotic and wicked world.  When God entered through time and space by physical incarnation, He dwelt among mankind, and brought rays of light to the hopeless world.  While He was here, He taught man how to live in the light and commission them to bear the light.  (Mat 5:14-16)

·     “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:14-16

Reflection 5:  HOW DO WE SHOW OUR LIGHT?  HOW CAN WE GUIDE OTHERS THROUGH THE RIGHTEOUS PATH?  Remember, a blind cannot lead fellow blind just as the Lord Jesus said.  The challenge for us is to grow more in the knowledge of the Truth. 

This lesson challenges us to examine our lives and to see whether we are acting in the way God wants us to act, or else we are already deviating from His purpose for us.  We have to realize where we came from, what we are made for, and how we continue on with the gift of life that God gave us.  We have to realize how special we are as a creation of God.  Let us decide, once and for all, to follow Him and be willing to be an extension of His Being.

Prayer:  Lord, we know that we are your creation and we ought to be praising you and glorifying your blessed Name.  You made us in order to proclaim your wisdom and glory in heaven and on earth, and you have loved us far above the other creations, nearest to your heart.  You molded us closest to Your own image and positioned us next to You as ruler of all Your creations.  Help us to be like You, in Love, Righteousness, Holiness and Purpose.  Help us to capture your heart to save mankind. Give us more wisdom to understand Your Words and guide us as we give-in to your purpose.  Thank you God for creating us as the most special being among the rest.  Thank you, Father for setting us apart as the extension of Your powerful being.  In Jesus Name. Amen

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

by:  Pastor Jose V. Velasco, Jr.

   

    The kingdom of God was so basic and central in the teachings and ministry of Jesus. He opened His ministry by repeating the words of John the Baptist, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Mt. 3:2; 4:17). Jesus said that His miracles and healing were powerful signs that the kingdom of God has now come and is real (Mt. 12:28). His teachings were the principles of life in the kingdom. During His last moments with His disciples physically, before He ascended to heaven, the theme of His conversation with them was the kingdom (Acts. 1:3b).

   What is the kingdom of God? By the way, the term more common in Matthew is the kingdom of heaven which carries the same meaning. During Jesus’ time the Jews popularly thought of the kingdom as a political rule. Hence, the Jews told Pilate that if Jesus was king He was displacing Caesar, Rome’s emperor. And they were pledging their allegiance to the emperor and not to Jesus (Jn. 19:12, 15c). 

  Jesus Himself explained that His kingdom (or God’s kingdom) is not a political rule. When asked by Pilate if He is a king, Jesus implicitly agreed by saying, “My kingdom is not of this world” (Jn. 18:36). So He is a king. But His kingship is not of the same category as of Caesar’s or of any other earthly ruler. God’s kingdom is moral and spiritual. The best definition of the kingdom so far is in the Lord’s Prayer. “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done” (Mt. 6:10). Combining the two phrases here, it means that the kingdom is wherever and whenever God’s will is known and obeyed.

   Jesus said, “- - the kingdom of God is within you” (Lk. 17:21.). It is not necessarily in a geographical place, but in our hearts and lives. When a person believes in God and firmly resolves to know His will and obey it God reigns in him/her. The kingdom is real in that person here and now.  Furthermore, when this happens to people it impacts the way they live their secular life. The principles of the kingdom which are God’s words and teachings will be carried over into their work places, home life, relationships, businesses and politics, thus influencing society.

   So it is not a reality that we are waiting to enter into only after death. Wherever God and His will is reigning there is already the kingdom of God. However, it is not yet completely established since all around us there is still much that is contrary to God’s will. Evil is still a fact. But our firm hope is that at the end of time, when Christ will come again, God will ultimately defeat all evils. And He shall reign forever and ever.

   Jesus invites us to enter that kingdom now by our believing, loving and obeying Him. We will all still die physically, but according to Paul departing from this life is only to be with Christ in His eternal kingdom. (Phi. 1:23). Now is the best time to prepare for and receive that kingdom (2 Cor. 6:2b).

Prayer: Lord, unless we are in your kingdom we are surely lost. With the help of your Holy Spirit may you help us to forsake all things that are against you, and completely live by your holy will. May you establish your total reign in us. For the sake of your dear Son, we pray. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

  

Shared By:  Pastor Jose V. Velasco, Jr.

 Jesus explained to His disciples that very soon He shall leave them. This saddened the disciples deeply. Thus He told them, “It is for your good that I go away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go I will send him to you” (Jn. 16:7). When Jesus left the disciples after His resurrection the Holy Spirit came to them to minister to their needs. That is what the Holy Spirit does up to the present. He is God working in the lives of all believers. What are His roles?

   Teacher. “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things, and remind you of everything I have said to you” (Jn. 14:26). This pertains to truth or doctrines. What He teaches will be in line with what Christ has already taught. In our case when we study the Bible, hear a sermon, or read a Christian literature the Holy Spirit helps us to understand the truth.

   Counselor. The Holy Spirit is called Counselor (Jn. 14:16, 26;15:26). One work of a counselor is to advise. After Jesus went to heaven the Holy Spirit was always present with His disciples advising them in their activities. The Holy Spirit advised Peter to join three men to go to Caesarea (Acts 10:19). He advised a praying group, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2).One time, Paul and company were advised by the Holy Spirit to avoid going to some places in their missionary journey because God has something else for them to do (Acts 16:6-7). That is what He does to us also if we commit unto God all our undertakings.

   The Holy Spirit sanctifies. To sanctify means to make holy. It means to transform us to be like God because God is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). It includes cleansing us from all sins and infusing us with a Christ-like life and spirit. This is the sole work of the Holy Spirit, not ours (2 Cor. 3:18; 2 Thess. 2:13). All we need to do is to acknowledge our sins and mistakes, confess them to God and ask Him to forgive and cleanse us. Then the Holy Spirit works in our lives to do this cleansing and renewal.

    The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, righteousness and judgment (Jn. 16:8). A big pitfall to believers is blindness to sin and unrighteousness. The goal of the devil is to confuse us morally, disabling us to distinguish between good and evil. And thus we may be sinning even unknowingly. So the Holy Spirit will open our minds to know the difference between good and evil. And when we sin He disturbs our conscience and we feel guilty. But when we do the good the Holy Spirit affirms us and we feel happy, satisfied and fulfilled. Judgment is the feeling of condemnation and guilt when we sin. The Holy Spirit causes this in us and we lose our peace and joy. We spiritually get disconnected from God.

   The Holy Spirit strengthens us. Paul says, “I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being” (Eph. 3:16). In trials and temptations the Holy Spirit will strengthen and empower us to overcome.

   So, the Holy Spirit is constantly with us to provide all our needs for full Christian living.  When we pray for help God sends the Holy Spirit in answer to our prayer.

Prayer: 

Father God, thank you for your being with us through your Holy Spirit. Help us to avail ourselves to all the help that the Holy Spirit provides. In Jesus’ holy name. Amen.  

EMOTIONAL FREEDOM

Text:  Galatians 5:13-26

Life by the Spirit

¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh^[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^[b] 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever^[c] you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Why Emotions?

God created us in His likeness, equipped with full set of emotions.  God designed it that way to make us enjoy the richness of life.  (God… richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment - 1 Timothy 6:17) It is indeed a blessing since emotion is the way freedom is being fully expressed.  When God bestowed on us the liberty to make choices, He twined our freedom with feelings or emotions.  Aren’t we glad, we can make decisions and, we can build awesome relationships through them?  Out of emotions, we grow, we express, we learn, we become wise, we create, we change and we become better and better every single day.

The Bible is a book of emotions. It is full of real life stories that display various kind of emotions.  It gives us lot of lessons on the effect of emotions and how we can make use of them to glorify God.  In the Bible, we should learn that LOVE is the strongest and most powerful emotion that ever exists in the entire universe (1 John 4:8 God is Love, 1 Corinthians 13:13 … but the greatest of these is LOVE.)

Imagine life without emotions. A movie without display of feelings will never be as beautiful as we expect them to be.  Aurora of various feelings is the very soul of a movie so it should not dull but colorful, interesting and exciting. The actors and actresses who exhibit emotions that have the pull to drag the viewers into imagining that they are part of the story are mostly gaining much popularity. And the movie will eventually sell out.

Emotion is the soul’s media of communicating.  Most of the time, it doesn’t need utterance of words.  Mere facial expression, actions and gestures will suffice to show what our soul needs to say.  Emotion is the power that lies within a person’s being.  Like most of the fictional heroes in the stories who had just discovered that they have supernatural powers and took time to know and learn how to use it against their opponents (usually dark forces of evil), we also need to study and familiarize those emotions residing within us, understand how they work, and train ourselves to tame them and gain full control over them, so that we will no longer be their prisoners, but us, using them for good deeds.

The Downsides of Emotions

The people nowadays are encouraged to take decisions based on feelings.  They are usually asked how they feel about a certain issue and conclude based on common and prevailing feelings.  One Toastmaster Rule says that evaluating a speech should be on the basis of how the audiences feel about the performance of the speaker.  When the church leader raises an issue concerning the congregation, he doesn’t ask anything else than how the members feel about the issue and renders decisions on that bases.

The question is, can we really rely on feelings?  Can we judge based on mere emotions? Do we need to react because we feel something about a situation or a person?  We commonly call baseless feelings as intuition, hunch, suspicion, or presumption.  Relying on emotions sometimes pushes us in a compromising position. There’s this saying in Filipino that goes, “Maraming napapahamak sa maling akala” or in English, “Many were put in danger because of wrong presumptions.”  Another saying goes, “Ang naniniwala sa sabi-sabi, walang bait sa sarili.” Translated in English as, “Those who believe in baseless notions or gossips have no goodness left for themselves.”  We should be warned the emotions are treacherous so extra care should be observed in letting emotions go off.  Remember Jesus words in Matthew 26:41 “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”  Even spiritual strength does not guarantee proper emotional control.

As I said earlier, our freedom is twined with emotion. Freedom won’t stand by itself but has to be exercised by choosing the feelings we have to elicit, which in turn determines the action we have to perform. This is the reality that the Apostle Paul was pointing out in Galatians 5:13  ^“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh.”

Considering that emotion is the means of communication of the soul, emotion dominates the flesh.  Our flesh is like a mascot, animated by our soul.  The condition of the soul directs a signal to our physical body to act accordingly.  So, whenever we feel angry, we often become aggressive and worst, destructive.   Whenever we feel lustful, we most likely fall into impurity and worst, immorality.   Whenever we feel threatened, we become violent or be defensive at some extent.  We literally indulge our fleshly desires as our emotions may feed.  At times, giving in to our emotions may lead to harm.

Galatians 5:13

If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

There is a psychological phenomenon among humans characterized by abnormal generation false perceptions about the world.  It is called, “Delusion”.  One example of it is the Delusion of Persecution.  The person suffering from this abnormality feels like everyone is talking bad about him and wanting to inflict pains on him. He presumes that all people are always focused on him, accusing, blaming, and laughing at him.    He usually feels the strong urge to protect himself so often times, he resort to aggression against others.  Either he will destroy the reputation of his subject by creating unwarranted gossips, or he will plot to harm him physically. 

Another example is the Delusion of Contamination.  A person suffering from this abnormality feels the strong compulsion to maintain cleanliness, thus frequently washes his hands and applying alcohol when it is actually not necessary.

Delusions are strongly associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.  This means that they become slaves or prisoners of their own emotions.  They can no longer control their obsessions, and these uncontrollable feelings often lead them to their own destruction and they are known to drag others into their pit.

We may not have the extreme abnormality like that of a mentally deranged person but we have our own emotional weakness to compete with and win over. Galatians 5:19-21 clearly enumerates some tendencies:

  

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

When we lose control of our emotions, we fall into any of these tendencies, depending on where we are weak at.  Satan uses our weaknesses to carry out his evil plans.  He will make us weaker and weaker until we become delusional.   In our text today, there was a warning from Apostle Paul:

Galatians 5:21

I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Consistently giving-in to our fleshly desires may result to gradual spiritual death. By heaping any of those negative emotions, our hearts will slowly become numb to its effect until it totally hardens, and eventually forfeiting our share in the Kingdom of God. This is what the writer of Hebrew intended to tell us:

Hebrews 3:12

“See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” 

So let us completely be aware that although emotion is a blessing from God, it has also sufficient power to drag our feet to hell if unbridled.

The Opposing Forces of Flesh and Spirit

Emotions are cues that tell us whether we are well or sickly.  “Feelings” prompt us to seek for healing; physically or spiritually. Physically, we take medicine or consult a physician to solve the problem.  Spiritually, we seek God, the source of ultimate healing. 

Sadly, we sometimes fall into wrong belief that a certain act may appease and satisfy our emotions.  We resort into wrong decisions in our attempt to solve the problem.  We often times don’t really mind whether our decision is in contrary to good principles, ethics and rules of conduct.  We just simply need to satisfy our craving emotions.  Drug addicts and alcoholic persons fell into this trap. 

Say for instance, we are angry at one of our brethren; we presume that confronting him infront others can quench your burning desire to retaliate.  And, when we finally accomplished it, our flesh tends to be cheering in victory and pride.  “Whoaaah!  I feel better now!  I hope he learned his lesson.”  But, how about our spirit?  Do you think our spirit rejoice together with our flesh? Not at all!  The flesh and spirit always oppose each other.  When our emotion says, “Go ahead, do it!” the spirit, who is working through our conscience says, “Hold it! Think about the consequence first!”  

Galatians 5: 16-18

 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.   For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Feelings tend to go wild while the spirit is always rational because it belongs to God. The Spirit of God gave birth to our spirit during our baptism, just as Jesus discussed in John 3:5-7

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.  Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'

Whether we like it or not, our spirit is a portion of God’s own Spirit.   We are connected to Him by a very special bond – Jesus Christ, the only one mediator between the Father and mankind.  He entrusted this spirit to us, for us to keep it pure and let it grow until it attains the fullness of Jesus Christ. 

Ephesians 4:11-13 

“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of God.”

Like a baby inside the womb who is drawing food and nutrients from the mother through the umbilical cord, our spirit draws spiritual food and nutrients from God through our union with Him in Christ.  The strength given by the Holy Spirit is what we will use to tame and master our emotions; hence we become victorious over our flesh and eventually realize our Emotional Freedom.  How does emotional freedom works?  In Galatians 5:22-23, it says,

“…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.“

Wow! These are all positive emotions meant to regulate or even quench the desires of the flesh. A person who skillfully utilizes these emotions possesses emotional maturity.   Bear in mind that we, as disciples, are destined to champion our passions and desires; we are destined to be like our Lord Jesus Christ. 

There is no rule to follow when we display positive emotions.  No one will stop you from being joyful because there’s no law that says, “Do not display JOY in public.”

Galatians 5:24-25

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 

Emotional Freedom works when our passions and desires are already enslaved by our spirit.  It needs constant practice to be able to attain this state of freedom.  It requires our constant obedience to Christ who called us to imitate Him.   Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Our Lord was truthful when he said He is gentle and humble in heart.  And He summoned us to imitate Him.

Galatians 5:24-25

Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Through this verse, Paul eventually ends up the chapter by impressing his points again.  Paul simply reminded the Church of Galatia to watch out and examine how they treat one another.  That was a call for them to build good relationships with one another, free from arrogance, nagging and insecurities. 

Emotions are object-oriented.  It is stimulated by somebody, if not by our own selves.  Emotion is required to build a relationship but it has the potential to break it as well.  The problem usually is not springing up from the emotions we give ourselves for it is already widely accepted that our love for ourselves is much more than anyone else.  Our emotion for others is what we need to examine and check whether it is making our relationships healthy or it is causing our relationships to tragically crumble.  Strife sparks so easily among us because we are storing ill feelings against one another.  The unforgiving attitude stores up bad memories and unpleasant past encounters with our brothers or sisters deep within our hearts.  And, because grudges rule our thoughts, we tend to have bias perception about them, hating everything in them, criticizing them whenever we have the opportunity to do so, and envying them when we see them prospering.  The worst thing that will happen is that we become hostile if we no longer contain our ill feelings. 

Signs of Emotional Freedom

We need life-time practice to be able to control our feelings and attain Emotional Freedom.  And we need to know what Emotional Freedom is like through the following descriptions:

a)     Emotional Responsibility  

·        Thinks “I can” and “We Can”, rather than “You”.   

·        Takes initiative and does not expect others to do the first move. 

·        No blaming others but focuses only on the solution of a problem.

b)  Emotional Honesty   

·        Willingness to admit his feelings in a peaceful and constructive manner. 

·        We feel upset yet should remain calm and reasonable.

·        We can be angry but remain composed.  (Ephesians 4:26 In your anger do not sin)

c)   Emotional Openness  

·        Willingness to share, teach, and show care. 

·        Willingness to accept corrections and learn.

d)   Emotional Assertiveness   

·        Expressing ourselves whenever we need to, but in a proper and diplomatic way. 

·        Persistence to achieve targets and goals.

·        Trust justice to roll-out and does not take matters in his hand.

·        Stands on and do what is right without wavering.

e)  Emotional Understanding

·        Being sure of the effects and consequences of his actions. 

·        Recognizes and deals his negative emotions before it breaks-out and become destructive.

f)  Emotional Detachment

·        Independent and believes in his own capability

·        Deeply rooted spiritually.

·        Selflessness and focuses on how he can encourage and help others.

·        Does not need to be self-conscious but so secured of who he is; does not need to compare himself with others.

To recap, true Emotional Freedom reflects consistency, stability and strength in character, mood and disposition. Emotionally mature person is not so easily swayed by circumstances in his life.  He renders decisions based on concrete or just grounds. He is self-less and understands the needs of others.

Now is the time for us to examine our hearts.  

Draw a diagram that depicts your relationship with the people around you….. Father, Mother, Wife, Husband, Sons, Daughters, Church Mate, Neighbors and Colleagues.  

On each of the relationship lines, list down all your feelings for them.  

If something is negative, indicate the reason why. 

Make a resolution plan and initiate a talk with that person concentrating on the peaceful and fruitful settlement of this relationship issue.

Additional Readings about Emotional Expression and Maturity

• ·         1 Corinthians 13
• ·         1 Timothy 1:7
• ·         Proverbs 19:11 & 19
• ·         Proverbs 14:29
• ·         Matthew 5:19
• ·         Proverbs 25:15
• ·         Proverbs 15:1 & 18
• ·         Corinthians 9:25
• ·         Proverbs 16:22
• ·         Proverbs 25:28