Now may the God of
hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in
hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. And
concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are
full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one
another. (Romans 15:13-14)
And concerning you, my brethren – Growing up
in a Baptist church, I became accustomed to the terms “brother” and “sister”
being used to greet a member of our fellowship.
It was a common thing to me and I never considered how odd this must
seem to the world around us. Paul used
this term showing his affection to those he addressed, owning the spiritual
relation they stood in to him, and declaring the great esteem he had for them,
and the high opinion he had of them. He then proceeded to share his confidence
in them by sharing his opinion.
…you yourselves are full of
goodness – Maybe today we might hear someone
refer to others as “good people”. The
meaning would be clear that these are honest, trustworthy and even
compassionate individuals. However, I
feel Paul was speaking of something different concerning his spiritual
kin. He knew that no man was good
naturally, for there is no good thing in men by nature. But what they had was from the Spirit of God,
whose fruit is "goodness". These
who were displaying their tolerance and acceptance were displaying the very
fruit of the Spirit that God grants to every believer.
…filled
with all knowledge – Again, not with every sort of human knowledge
such as the knowledge of all languages, or of all the arts and sciences. But with all spiritual knowledge relating to
God and his mind and will. In other
words, they understood Christ and the work of redemption by him; to the Spirit,
and the operations of his grace; to the Gospel, and the doctrines of it; to their
duty to God, fellow creatures, and fellow Christians. In short, they were people of spiritual
wisdom.
Such a confidence in his brothers caused him
to be confident that they would be able also to admonish one another. Since they were both good and wise, he knew
that they would properly deal with those who needed to be corrected in either
their doctrine or behavior without offending with their attitude or spiritual
pride. The words one another acknowledge the
fact that we all have our blind spots and need someone who will speak honestly
and lovingly to us about them.
by the power of the Holy Spirit - Here is
an important point for today. When God
commands us to do something, He will provide the means and the method to do
it. His Spirit within us is our source
for goodness and wisdom. Where the
Spirit of Christ is, the power of Christ is.
The ability to do the will of God is from God, not us. I can trust those who I feel are working from
the power that works within them.
Today I am grateful for my “brothers
and sisters” in the Lord. And I pray
that the God of hope (will) fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, so that you will abound in hope.
Scripture to Claim:
Brethren, even if
anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in
a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not
be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)
