Natural Laws
1. Explanation
a. Scientists have studied our world and defined hundreds of
laws describing their
opinions of
how the world operates
b. our so-called “natural laws” are explanations of what we
observe.
c. Begin with theories, then tests & evidence confirm,
then we accept them as
laws.
d. What are some of the laws of physics? Newtonian physics
- mass, forces,
acceleration,
resistance
i. law of gravity
ii. law of friction
iii. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
e. Recognize laws in other aspects of life:
i. Sociology: laws describing interactions among people.
ii. Economics: laws describing operation of economic systems; example,
Keynesian economics.
2. Gravity
a. The gravitational force between two objects is proportional
to their masses.
b. Mass of earth and mass of your body together give you a
certain weight; weight
is measure of
gravitational force.
c. Moon has less mass than earth, so you would weigh less standing
on the moon.
3. Thermodynamics, Second Law (Entropy)
a. Heat will, of its own accord, flow only from a hot object
to a cold object.
b. Example
i. placing a hot item in cold water cause the hot item to cool
down
ii. the hot item will never become hotter in cold water unless you
apply
external energy source.
c. Stated another way: without external influence, objects
always seek the lowest
state.
d. Examples:
i. hot objects always give off heat and get cooler
ii. balls roll downhill
iii. water stays in lakes/oceans
iv. order become disorder.
4. Typical physical laws, describe/define
how our physical world operates.
a. They are immutable - they never change.
i. Our understanding & explanation of these laws change
with time, but the
laws themselves do not change.
b. They are inviolable - they cannot be violated.
i. May be superseded, but never violated.
ii. Example of physical law being superseded: airplane, law of aerodynamic
lift overcomes law of gravity under certain conditions.
c. They are universal (result of inviolability)
i. They are equally effective for everyone, every situation
5. My point:
a. we understand physical laws, apply them without much thought
b. they define life on earth as we know it
c. to be successful in life, must know physical laws and use
them effectively
d. if someone were unaware of gravity and always surprised
by its effect, we’d
consider them
strange; maybe mentally impaired.
Spiritual Laws
1. There are laws that govern
the spiritual realm, also affect our temporal, material,
earthly existence.
a. Some of them we are very familiar with and we recognize
their affects.
b. Some are so reasonable, we hardly think of them as spiritual
laws.
c. Comment: “He who learns most in the classroom is the teacher.”
I want to
learn how to
operate effectively in spiritual matters, so I’m teaching this class.
2. Context. To put spiritual laws
into context consider variety of topics we address as
Christians, categorize them for clarity:
a. Covenant benefits
i. healing, miracles, deliverance, provision, protection
b. Christian values
i. godly character, relationship
c. Christian practices
i. prayer, service, evangelism, worship
d. Typical spiritual laws
(1) faith & action
(2) authority & speech
(3) use & growth
(4) generosity & reciprocity
(5) responsibility & accountability
(6) unity & synergy
(7) humility & greatness
i. Notice I listed laws in pairs; unusual. I see the laws working
together,
we’ll see that as we study them.
ii. Spiritual laws are immutable: not subject to change; characteristic
of
God’s nature & kingdom.
iii. Spiritual laws are inviolable: cannot be violated. One law may
temporarily supersede another, but they cannot be violated.
iv. Spiritual laws are universal: apply equally to all spiritual
beings in all
situations
Spiritual Laws originate with God’s Kingdom
1. Lk 8:10, Jesus speaking to
disciples, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of
God has been given to you.” — We are to know
the mysteries of the kingdom; some of
them are spiritual laws.
2. Everything Jesus did & said
while on earth pertained to kingdom
a. His role was to usher the kingdom back to earth.
b. Mt 4:17 (Jesus’ first recorded preaching), “Repent, for
the kingdom of heaven
is near.”
c. Father sent Son to earth to preach good news of the kingdom
of God (Lk 4:43):
“I must preach
the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also,
because that
is why I was sent.”
i. The gospel/good news is about God’s kingdom, not just salvation
ii. We tend to focus on what gospel does for us (salvation, etc.),
but is
much bigger than that.
d. After resurrection, Jesus appeared to disciples and spoke
about the kingdom of
God (Acts 1:3):
“He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke
about the kingdom
of God.”
e. Conclusion:
i. Jesus’ first recorded preaching was about kingdom
ii. he said his purpose in life was to preach the kingdom
iii. after his resurrection, he spent his time with disciples talking about
kingdom
iv. Kingdom is important!
3. Kingdom of Heaven is major theme
in NT.
a. Jesus spoke more about kingdom than about salvation &
forgiveness; church’s
emphasis has
been backwards, needs to change.
b. Kingdom isn’t physical yet; physical kingdom established
when Jesus returns.
c. Kingdom is now spiritual; spiritual realm is dominant, so
affects the physical
world.
d. Jesus revealed/explained/demonstrated kingdom and how it
operates.
e. Also purpose of HS.
f. Kingdom produces consistent results: many statements in
scripture have form
“if ... then
...” — We call these laws; they describe how kingdom works.
g. Much of NT, especially Jesus’ teaching, shows applications
of spiritual laws.
Why do we not always see the results we expect when using spiritual
laws?
1. Kingdom is real, but not yet
universal
a. Heb 2:8, “In putting everything under him (Jesus), God left
nothing that is not
subject to him.
Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.”
b. Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus is
Lord (Php 2:10-11); to
be true in future,
but not current reality.
c. Heb 9:28, “So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the
sins of many people;
and he will
appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those
who are waiting
for him.”
i. We are presently saved from sin, yet Jesus will bring us
salvation when
he appears.
ii. We are saved, but also being saved; present continuous.
d. Kingdom is real, but not yet universal; is here, but not
fully here.
e. Jesus won the right to reclaim the earth, take it back from
Satan; will not
exercise that
right until he returns to set up his kingdom here.
f. Satan is still functioning as prince of this world; we live
in foreign territory.
g. Implies we will not always see results we expect from spiritual
laws.
h. Spiritual opposition exists and is very active — Jesus has
defeated enemy,
overcome sin
& death, but they still influence us.
i. The laws we will study appear to be universal laws — applicable
to all beings:
Christians,
pagans, angels, demons — but due to our current state of spiritual
war, may not
produce the expected results.
j. One reason don’t always get expected results: outside influence.
i. Analogy: In vacuum, feather & bowling ball fall at same
rate
ii. Introduce air & feather floats & takes longer to fall
iii. Introduce breeze and feather blows away.
k. Our spiritual enemy is an outside influence.
l. Other people have free will and may also influence results.
m. Spiritual laws are universal, but don’t always see results
we expect due to
outside influences.
n. Scenario:
i. Two kingdoms — God’s & Satan’s — in perpetual warfare.
ii. God is supreme, Satan affects us only to extent God allows.
iii. Might God allow Satan to interfere occasionally with operation of
spiritual laws?
iv. What does this imply about our use of spiritual laws?
v. What would be appropriate response?
2. Our expectations — based on
our desires & perspective
a. We expect or want certain results
i. But our expectations and desires are influenced (if not
controlled) by our
sinful nature, which is inherently self-centered and opposed to God.
ii. God may have a different result for us.
iii. Must understand that God’s primary interest is in developing us
spiritually, not just making our lives pleasant.
iv. God is eternal and so are you; he wants whatever benefits you
eternally.
v. He’s concerned about your temporal needs and has promised
to provide
for all of them, but that which lasts forever is more important than what
will be gone in a few years.
vi. People who seek “kingdom” for the worldly blessings have missed
the
primary emphasis of Gospel.
b. Our expectations also based on our perspective
i. our evaluation of situation
ii. our opinion of what needs to be done
iii. most of us are nearly blind spiritually, do not have God’s perspective
c. Conclusion: we often have unrealistic expectations.
3. Timing
a. We’re accustomed to instantaneous results; our sinful nature
demands instant
gratification
and resists waiting.
b. But time is a property of our physical existence, not spiritual
world.
c. Not unusual for results of spiritual laws to be deferred
in physical world.
i. Example:
ii. Has God forgiven your sins? Liberated you from bondage to sin?
Defeated sickness & death?
iii. Do you still experience the effects of sin?
iv. We’re freed from sin (accomplished fact, spiritual reality),
but still
struggle
d. Also, God’s timing may be (likely is) different from ours.
i. God may temporarily postpone effects of spiritual laws for
your long-
term benefit.
ii. Familiar with phrase, “testing your faith”? Understand there
are benefits
to having faith tested?
iii. Sometimes spiritual laws don’t seem to work immediately.
e. Conjecture [controversial]: I wonder if God heals new believers
immediately to
strengthen their
faith, but postpones healing more mature believers to strengthen
their faith.
Our needs and God’s expectations of us change as we mature
spiritually.
4. Supersession
a. One law can temporarily supersede another
b. Example from natural laws: airplanes cannot float in air
because heavier than
air, but can
use law of aerodynamic lift to overcome gravity as long as all
necessary conditions
exist.
c. Also obvious that God is superior to laws he created, can
suspend/supersede
any law temporarily
as appropriate.
So why study spiritual laws?
1. Because they define how God’s
kingdom operates
a. If you want to be effective in life and in God’s kingdom,
would be wise to
consider the
spiritual laws, learn how they work & how to use them effectively.
2. They govern life on earth even
if you’re unaware of them
a. You’ll begin to see how spiritual laws apply to natural
life; how even pagans
have learned
to use them effectively
b. You’ll understand the principles behind people’s success,
know how to address
it.
3. Ability to withstand difficulties.
Mt 7:24-27, “Therefore everyone who hears these
words of mine and puts them into practice
is like a wise man who built his house on the
rock. The rain came down, the streams rose,
and the winds blew and beat against that
house; yet it did not fall, because it had
its foundation on the rock.”
a. Everyone who practices God’s principles will be able to
withstand even the
most severe
difficulties.
b. How’s that for an incentive to learn the principles/laws?
4. Learn some natural laws (gravity,
etc) by experience & observation, others by training.
a. Same is true with spiritual laws.
b. Some are intuitively obvious, based on life experience;
you may not realize they
are spiritual
laws.
c. Others are much more subtle and we need to learn how to
use them.
5. May seem strange at first, awkward
to use effectively; more effective with use.
a. Mt 13:31-32 “He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom
of heaven is like a
mustard seed,
which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the
smallest of
all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants
and becomes
a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”
b. Mustard seed is very small seed; very unpromising in appearance
— “What can
that tiny seed
produce?” Yet it becomes very large plant, a tree.
c. That’s how the kingdom works
i. At first we learn a new concept; may even be simple and
unpromising
idea.
ii. But as we begin to understand it, begin to apply it; then it
becomes
major part of our life and affects everything we do.
d. Next verse, “He told them still another parable: ‘The kingdom
of heaven is like
yeast that a
woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked
all through
the dough.’”
e. In scripture, yeast is symbolic of principles or teaching
(see Mt 16:12).
f. Jesus is saying kingdom principles start off small and insignificant,
but grow in
importance until
they affect everything you do.
Parable of the sower, Mt 13:1-9, 18-23
1. I used to wonder about the
word “understand” in these verses; seems to imply that a
person isn’t fully responsible for receiving
gospel message. For example, I’ve had
people explain things to me that I couldn’t
understand because of the other person’s
inability to explain it well. Then some people
are able to explain almost anything so I
can understand.
2. Definition: “understand” (Gk.
suniemi)
a. to correlate new information with what is already known
b. to “digest” new information; to reflect
c. “Understanding” is really a process I do when I hear something
new; burden of
understanding
is mine.
3. v 19, “When anyone hears the
message about the kingdom and does not understand it,
the evil one comes and snatches away what
was sown in his heart. This is seed sown
along the path.”
a. Q: Based on definition of “understand,” what does this verse
mean?
b. A: If you don’t evaluate and try to apply what you’ve heard,
you’ll lose it; it
becomes meaningless
and eventually you forget it.
c. Example: person who “puts in time” at church services, but
really doesn’t pay
attention to
what he sees and hears.
4. vs 20-21, “What was sown on
rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once
receives it with joy. But since he has no
root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble
or persecution comes because of the word,
he quickly falls away.”
a. Q: What does this have to do with “understanding”?
b. A: “no root” means “no real understanding”
c. Person has superficial knowledge based on what he’s heard,
but hasn’t made
any real effort
to understand it. Therefore, when troubles come, isn’t able to
apply it and
he falls.
d. Example: “spoon-fed” believer; excited about what he hears
in church, praises
the Lord, and
so on. May even try to remember, but doesn’t spend time in
prayer and Bible
reading (especially important), reinforcing through personal
study what he’s
been taught.
5. v 22, “what was sown among the
thorns is the man who hears the word, but the
worries of his life and the deceitfulness
of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.”
a. Q: What happened to what this person learned?
b. A: Person didn’t let it affect his life; continued to live
by old principles and
kingdom principles
were unfruitful for him, didn’t do him any good. he didn’t
consider new
principles and try to apply them.
c. Example: “carnal” believer. Knows truth but prefers to live
by old standards,
satisfy himself.
d. Jas 4:17, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to
do and doesn’t do it,
sins.”
e. 1 Co 3:1-3, Paul calls Corinthian believers “carnal” and
“worldly” because
they’re still
acting like the world. Carnality/worldliness will choke out the life
that’s planted
in you; carnal/worldly attitudes will stifle Holy Spirit in you,
preventing growth
of fruit of spirit.
6. v 23, “But what was sown on
good soil is the man who hears the word and
understands it. He produces a crop, yielding
a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was
sown.” Q: What did this person do differently
than the others? A: Tried to understand
and apply principles. Q: What’s the significance
of 100, 60, 30? A: may represent
varying extent to which it affects his life.
7. These four “categories” may
describe four different kinds of believers. But may also
describe four stages in a maturing believer’s
experience: (1) putting in time; (2) spoon-
feeding; (3) learning, but living by world’s
standards; (4) maturing believer,
conforming life to Jesus. Remember the mustard
seed!