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March
18, 2007
Mural
Worthey
Spiritual Realities
Introduction:
Sermon idea—Spiritual things are real; they exist now and always have
existed. Christianity is based upon
these spiritual realities.
Texts: “. . . at
the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, you love; in whom though
now you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full
of glory; receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your
souls.” (1 Peter 1:7-9.) “Things given
to us from God, which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom
teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with
spiritual.” (1 Cor. 2:13.)
Every line in the
Bible speaks about spiritual things and the relationship of man to those
spiritual realities. The unseen
spiritual things are far greater and more important than the physical things
seen with human eyes. Our redemption is
based upon our belief in and relationship with these spiritual realities. Cold secularism and unbelief denies that the
spiritual even exists. Paul wrote about
God delivering us from this present evil world.
(Gal. 1:4.) This world is evil in
that it stands in opposition to the spiritual.
The
Physical & Spiritual
These two concepts
are connected in our thinking as much as male and female, right and left hand,
hand and glove, up and down, and even right and wrong. Are these, the physical and spiritual, valid
concepts? The physical is never questioned; it is spiritual realities that are
brought under suspicion. Has
Christianity made up the spiritual? Or does it exist as surely as the
physical? What is the evidence for
spiritual realities? And what are some
major parts of the spiritual world?
As you know, the
physical often serves as an analogy for the spiritual. The physical are the basis for understanding
the spiritual. Here are some examples.
Physical &
spiritual blindness. Two blind men sat by the road when they heard
that Jesus was passing by and they cried out to him. “Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of
David.” Jesus asked what they
wanted. They replied, Lord, that our
eyes may be opened. Jesus had compassion
on them and touched their eyes.
Immediately, their eyes received sight and they followed him. (Matt. 20:30-34.) There is a prominent emphasis in the Gospels
on the healing of blind people. Jesus
healed one that was born blind. “Since
the world began it was not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was
born blind.” (John 9: 32.) But there is another kind of sight and
blindness.
“For this people’s
heart is waxed gross and their ears are dull of hearing and their eyes they
have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with
their ears and should understand with their heart and should be converted, and
I should heal them. Blessed are your
eyes for they see and your ears for they hear. For verily I say unto you that
many prophets and righteous men have desired to see the things which you see,
but have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear and have not
heard them.” (Matt. 13:14-17.)
It is a serious
handicap to not be able to see or hear.
However, there is a greater and more serious blindness and
deafness. That is the refusal to see or
hear the spiritual. Spiritual blindness
is to be pitied more than physical blindness.
Jesus desires that all men be able to see eternal, spiritual
truths. Physical blindness is but for a
while in this life; but spiritual blindness and deafness continues into eternity.
Jesus said, “For
judgment I am come into this world that they which see not might see, and that
they which see might be made blind.”
Some of the Pharisees who heard him said, Are we blind also? Jesus said, “If you were blind, you should
have no sin, but now you say, We see; therefore, your sin remains.” (John 9:39-41.)
Paul prayed that
“the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is
the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in
the saints. . .” (Eph. 1:18-19.)
The same divine
power that opened the eyes of the physically blind is needed to open the eyes
of the spiritually blind. When Jesus
asks, What is it that you want? We must
reply, Our eyes, O Lord, that they might be opened!
Bread and water. “Man shall not live on bread alone, but by
every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Matt. 4:4.) Man is dependent upon bread and water in order
to live. God provided manna and water to
the Israelites in the wilderness. He
also provides for our physical needs.
Twice Jesus took a small amount of bread and fish to feed his
followers. It amazed the people that
Jesus could take a young boy’s lunch and feed five thousand people.
Because our lives
depend upon having bread and water, we are anxious about not having enough food
and clothing. Jesus said, After all
these things the Gentiles seek, but seek first the
As important as
food and water is to man, there is something more important. We need spiritual food and clothing. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness
and are dead. This is the bread which
comes down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living bread which came down from
heaven; if any man eats of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh
which I will give for the life of the world.”
(John 6:48-51.) The Pharisees did
not understand the spiritual meaning of these words. They thought that he spoke literally or
physically. See John 4:10-14 concerning Jesus’ conversation with the woman at
the well.
We speak today
about preachers “breaking the bread of life” when they present messages about
Jesus Christ. This is the meaning of
partaking of Jesus’ flesh. We follow him
spiritually in our lives and receive the blessings of spiritual life. No one can partake of Jesus’ life without
understanding this meaning; without their eyes being opened so they can
understand. Paul wrote, “But the natural
man receives not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto
him. Neither can he know them because
they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor.
2:14.)
The
Are
Spiritual Things Real?
It is remarkable
how spiritual things parallel the physical.
Almost everything in the physical world has a corresponding spiritual
reality or analogy. It makes it easier
for us to understand the spiritual and the unseen.
We have physical
clothing to cover our bodies; we have garments of salvation and robes of
righteousness to cover our sins. (Isa.
61:10.) A certain man went to a wedding
feast for the king’s son, but did not wear the proper wedding garment. He was cast out into outer darkness. (Matt. 22:1-14.) Jesus is called “the Lord our righteousness.” (Jer. 23:6, 1 Cor. 1:30.) Paul wrote that we put on Christ in
baptism. (Gal. 3:26-27.) He is the robe of righteousness that we wear. Is this garment or robe really
available? How can we know that we are
clothed with it if it cannot be seen? Is
there a spiritual world, or is this physical one all that exists? Yes, they do exist and this is the very heart
of the Biblical message. It constantly
uses analogies of physical realities in order to teach and make clear the
spiritual.
Think of both the
physical and spiritual meaning of these words: temple, father, sacrifice,
bread, water, clothing, blindness, deafness, death, life, son or daughter,
home, running a race, armor, fight, kingdom, house, fruit, trees, poor, rich,
mansion, work, wages, earn, debt, gift, light, darkness, sword, fire, breath,
snake, dragon, heaven, word, birth, milk, meat, etc. There are several points of contact between
the physical and the spiritual whereby we may know that the spiritual are real.
God is Spirit.
The Father of all spiritual realities is God, who is said to be
Spirit. (John 4:24.) All other spiritual realities are based upon
the reality of God’s existence. The purpose of this message is not to set forth
a defense of God (a theodicy), but to remind us of the spiritual realities of
which the Bible speaks. Besides, we need
not prove God; he has revealed himself fully to man.
Think about the
number of ways in which God has made himself known to us:
1)
Thru
history from Adam to Christ (biblical story)
2)
Thru
the created world (Heb. 3:4, Psa. 19:1f, Acts 14:17.)
3)
Thru
the prophets (Heb. 1:1-2.)
4)
Thru
creating us in his own image; our spirit and conscience
5)
Thru
the life of Jesus Christ (“Show us the Father and that will be sufficient,”
said Philip—John 14:8)
Our contact
with spiritual things. God created us with body, soul, and spirit. (Gen. 1:26, 1 Thess. 5:23.) Having a spirit, we have an immediate contact
with spiritual realities. Paul chided
the Corinthians because they behaved as children and even as carnal people, but
not spiritual. (1 Cor. 2:1.) Having a spirit, we are able to think on a
level above the physical and carnal. We
are able to make moral decisions, not just physical ones.
Further, we have
contact with the spirit world by faith. We have five senses by which we contact the
physical world, but we have only one sense by which we know the spiritual
world. “Faith is the substance of things
hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.”
(Heb. 11:1.) We have our faith in
God. (Mark 11:22.) We trust in Jesus Christ. (Acts 16:31.)
We learn about
spiritual realities by means of God’s Word. Our understanding is enlightened by His Word. We learn how to enjoy the spiritual blessings
that God has provided in Jesus Christ.
(Eph. 1:3.) We learn from His
Word how to avoid false spirituality.
The Colossian heresy involved the worship of angels and seeking a higher
spirituality than others. Some taught that we should “touch not, taste not, and
handle not.” The writer declared all
such to be will worship, neglecting the legitimate needs of the body. (