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- Oct 13, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 13, 2023
Don't grow weary in doing good, in building up others according to their needs in Christ Jesus, and walking in holiness and integrity and righteousness, in honoring the Lord with your words and your desires and your motives and your thoughts.
And as for [the rest of] you, believers, do not grow tired or lose heart in doing good [but continue doing what is right without weakening]. (2Thessalonians 3:13) Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Don’t stifle the Spirit. Don’t despise prophecies, but test all things. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will do it. (1Thessalonians 5:16-24) By this you know and recognize the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges and confesses [the fact] that Jesus Christ has [actually] come in the flesh [as a man] is from God [God is its source], and every spirit that does not confess Jesus [acknowledging that He has come in the flesh, but would deny any of the Son’s true nature] is not of God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and is now already in the world. Little children (believers, dear ones), you are of God and you belong to Him and have [already] overcome them [the agents of the antichrist]; because He who is in you is greater than he (Satan) who is in the world [of sinful mankind]. They [who teach twisted doctrine] are of the world and belong to it; therefore they speak from the [viewpoint of the] world [with its immoral freedom and baseless theories--demanding compliance with their opinions and ridiculing the values of the upright], and the [gullible one of the] world listens closely and pays attention to them. We [who teach God’s word] are from God [energized by the Holy Spirit], and whoever knows God [through personal experience] listens to us [and has a deeper understanding of Him]. Whoever is not of God does not listen to us. By this we know [without any doubt] the spirit of truth [motivated by God] and the spirit of error [motivated by Satan]. (1John 4:2-6) Everyone in the world has one of two mindsets. We see the world different and have different affections and desires. There are those who have set their mind on the things of the flesh, and there are those who have set their mind on the things of the Spirit.
The “things of the Spirit” are those things that belong to God, such as the kingdom of God, the Son of God, the word of God, the truth of God, and the will of God. The Holy Spirit brings to our minds the things Jesus has taught us and helps us to observe his commandments. You are no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit. The mind set on the flesh, continues to live in a spiritual state of death. The “flesh," carnal appetites, sinful desires, worldly pursuits, material pleasures, secular beliefs, self-interest, and self-promotion. Their minds are set on these things. They have a worldly mindset. ( Romans 8:5)

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