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.
16 And [kai] as many as [hosos] walk [stoicheo] according
to [kanon] this [touto] rule [kanon], peace [eirene] be on [epi] them [autos], and [kai] mercy [eleos], and [kai] upon [epi] the Israel [Israel] of God [theos]. KJV-Interlinear
16 And
those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the
Israel of God. NASB
Faith without works, or works without faith, are empty. If you are not complying with this mandate, then you really need to read this study. Both complete ones spiritual life. Neither can be without the other. There are two processes that make up the spiritual life. The first is the learning process or the construction of spiritual faith, and the second is the doing process or spiritual work, which is spiritual production.
And this is the rule from the previous verse, to which Paul is referring.
Human works and spiritual works are different things.
Human work applies to anything that a person does while out of fellowship.
Unbelievers are obviously always out of fellowship since they do not have a spiritual life.
Believers generally get out of and into fellowship, by means of sin and confession. Most believers live most of their lives out of fellowship, unfortunately.
Human works is addressed by the Mosaic Law, to which works or the energy of the flesh is noted. Human works gain you nothing in the spiritual life, because it is man by mans efforts seeking the approval of God. And God never recognizes human effort.
Spiritual works, are all things done while in fellowship, because it is God working through doctrine, in you. Spiritual works are the production of the spiritual life, typically referred to as gold, silver, and precious stones. These are things of intrinsic value that remain with you forever. And, become the basis for your passing evaluation when you stand before Christ at the Judgment Seat of Christ, which by the way, is a good place to be, especially if you have extensive spiritual production.
In contrast, the production of the flesh or human works is referred to as wood, hay, and stubble, which is burned away by a special cleansing fire when you get to heaven. It is like washing away the filth of this world from your soul. Nobody wants to go to heaven, dirty.
Anyway, the new spiritual species, from the prior verse, is the rule that encompasses the entire spiritual life process.
You must learn and grow up by means of a daily study, supplemented by your thinking about what you have learned and how it applies to you. You supplement by memorizing bible verses, in order to help you keep your mind focused on doctrine and your spiritual life. For the same reason you pray daily. And it is these things that help stabilize your spiritual growth process.
Also, there is the spiritual production, which is the doing, which is the obedience to God with respect to your responsibilities and obligations to self, to family, to others and so forth in this world. This includes integrity, honesty, giving, charity, tolerance, empathy, compassion and so forth.
To be a new spiritual species, means you need to function as the new creature that you are, in Christ. It is not a cafeteria, wherein you can pick and choose what you will or will not do, but an all-inclusive process aimed at completing the essence of your entire life.
The result?
Peace, ‘eirene,’ referring to the rest or peace of the soul, or the soul at rest, relaxed, prosperity, quietness, poise, and so forth. This is spiritual maturity.
And mercy, ‘eleos,’ which is Gods grace in action, or the blessings from God to the believer who is advancing in their spiritual life.
Note, that these two attributes, peace and mercy, belong to the spiritually growing believer, not to the dysfunctional or stalled spiritual life of the believer who is not complying with what God expects.
