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| Matthew 10:11-13 |
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Lesson # Matt. 10:11-13 Study Material - Matt. 10:11-13 You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. Matt. 10:11-13 11 And [de] into [eis] whatsoever [an] [hos] city [polis] or [e] town [kome] ye shall enter [eiserchomai] , inquire [exetazo] who [tis] in [en] it [autos] is [esti] worthy [axios] ; and there [kakei] abide [meno] till [an] [heos] ye go thence [exerchomai] . 12 And [de] when ye come [eiserchomai] into [eis] an house [oikia] , salute [aspazomai] it [autos] . 13 And [kai] if [ean] [men] the house [oikia] be [o] worthy [axios] , let your [humon] peace [eirene] come [erchomai] upon [epi] it [autos] : but [de] if [ean me] it be [o] not [ean me] worthy [axios] , let your [humon] peace [eirene] return [epistrepho] to [pros] you [humas] . KJV-Interlinear Matt. 10:11-13 11 'And into whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it; and abide there until you go away. 12 'And as you enter the house, give it your greeting. 13 'And if the house is worthy, let your greeting of peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your greeting of peace return to you. NAS Now we have to be worthy, and that is the subject of today. As for our spiritual lives though, worthiness has to do with the soul and not with our human attributes. The Apostles were to inquire of whom was worthy within a city or village, when they entered it, and stay with them rather than go to some hotel or inn. We have two categories of worthiness in this passage. The first is human worthiness. That comes from ones reputation as an honest person or just being a nice person. It may get you through life to some extent, but it is not enough, nor does it even count when it comes to heaven and qualifying for Gods blessings. That requires spiritual worthiness, the second worthiness. Entering a town, one can only ask or inquire of strangers as to whom is a decent person within the community. We thus begin our associations with those people based on the comments of others. This is only the beginning of an acquaintance. In time you learn of their little quirks and as you get to know new people, you learn to either trust them, respect them, or not. Often times a person can totally fool you. People put on one face when it comes to interacting with strangers. A salesman might be a good example of this. And that same person can have a totally different personality if you were to really get to know them from some more personal level. In that case their worthiness would be false and deceiving. In the spiritual life there is no room for deceit. If someone learns doctrine and lives by it, then there is a clear personality springing forth. We who study doctrine and learn its principles should be reading from the same page so to speak, and therefore should make the same applications to our lives from that same standard of principles. Easy to say, I know, but it does always apply to those who actually live by their spiritual growth. Many folks may study doctrine and not learn anything. They may even know the vocabulary, but they are really negative and their life does not follow principles of doctrine. So how do we know? Well, often times we just don't know. Our place in life is not to trust people anyway - 'cursed is the man who trusts in man.' Our place is to monitor and take care of our own spiritual lives. In so doing we will have less of a chance to be fooled by those who 'fake' their spiritual lives. The Apostles knew nothing of the folks when they first entered into a city. After staying there for a time, they would of course learn of their differing personalities and opinions. Without judging or making any preconceived opinions of folks, the Apostles were to initially offer their best of blessings to the household. If the house was worthy, then that blessing would flow to those of the house and be returned back to the Apostle. By association there would be mutual blessing. If that house was not worthy, then the blessing would not flow to the house, but the effort would result in blessing for the Apostle anyway. What does this means for us? Our resources of life come exclusively from God, and from no other source. Sure you may have a talent, or credentials, or even a significant balance sheet, but remember that God selected you from birth, into this age and not into another era, just as He selected us all, thus the world we live in combined with everything else in our life (home, education, family, circumstances, background, opportunities and so forth) all have come about because of God, and not of our own effort, nor that of our family nor anything or anyone else. Worthiness comes exclusively from the spiritual content of your soul, and from the way you apply it to your life. Just as we discussed yesterday, you receive salvation from God as a gift. You cannot earn it nor do you deserve it. Likewise, everything in each of our lives is a gift from God. This does not exclude us from being responsible in our life. Actually the more we receive, the more that is expected of us. What do you give to an infant? Not much beyond love and maintenance. Certainly not the keys to the car. What do you expect from an infant? No much. What do you give to an adult? Much more of course, but probably within some form of boundaries. What do you expect from an adult? A great deal more. So it is with the spiritual life. God gives us a portion. We use that portion either responsibly or not. If responsibly, then 'more' is added to that portion. If irresponsibly, then the 'more' is deferred to a later time if ever. In this passage the support of the Apostles is in view. Those who are students are expected to support their source of teaching in some appropriate manner. Another word for worthiness if deserving, and that comes strictly from their mature status in their spiritual life. Worthy people (spiritually mature people) recognize their responsibility and pursue their responsibilities without even being told - a definite sign of maturity. Unworthy people, like a teenager or younger child, if they need to be told, then they are not mature, and are immature, and therefore unworthy with respect to their spiritual lives. What are our obligations in life? First, to seek God. Second, to learn by attending a daily Bible study in some form. Third, to confess regularly and remain in fellowship. Fellowship is where you should reside. Fellowship is residence in the presence of God. Fellowship is the state of being cleansed, therefore worthy of standing in Gods presence. No one who is out of fellowship may approach God in any fashion. They are unworthy. Fourth, to apply what you learn (spiritually) to your daily life. That includes living an honest, responsible, and 'mature' life. God provides all of the details of your life. You have but to manage them properly, and that excludes selfishness and greed. 
Now is the time to post a prayer. End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth. |
