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.
3 He
restoreth [shuwb] my soul: [nephesh] he
leadeth [nachah] me in the paths [ma`gal] of righteousness [tsedeq]
for his name's [shem] sake.KJV-Interlinear
3 He
restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's
sake. NASB
God restores the soul of the positive believer. Restores, 'shuwb', means to turn back, refresh, recover, to revive, to fill up.
Visit the homes of two totally different people. The first being a drug user, totally disconnected from reality, a loser as it were, and the other person being a very wealthy and responsible home maker. In their respective kitchens you would find virtually nothing of usefulness in the first persons home, empty cabinets, empty refrigerator, trash everywhere, general disorganization, no recipe books, no prepared meals, no grocery lists, nothing. This is certainly not the place to raise a family much less ones self.
In the second persons home, you would find a very well equipped kitchen. All the new and latest cooking and preparation gadgets, recipe books, a well stocked pantry, and all cabinets full to over flowing. A wide variety of spices would be available at ones finger tips, bulk food products, prepared foods, cookies and such snacks, a wide variety of juices and beverages in storage and on ice. Lots of variety and choices ready for any midnight kitchen raid.
Such is the difference between the soul of the negative person (whether an unbeliever or a negative believer in Christ), and the soul of the positive believer.
God restores ones soul, the very foundation of ones life. Note that it does not say that God restores ones body, nor ones spirit. Both the body and the spirit are mechanisms for allowing one to function in their respective environments.
The body with its biological life, allows one to interact with the world. We can walk and talk, and touch, and hear, and see life because of the existence of our physical bodies. Without them we would not have the ability to do much of anything if anything. The physical body is the conduit connecting the life in our soul to the physical world around us. The soul possesses limitless attributes and abilities. The physical body, beginning with the brain, imposes limitations on our abilities. Some people have more or less ability limitations than others. That is because our physical bodies are inherently limited in scope and range.
One day, when we receive our resurrection bodies, our abilities will increase dramatically. Note that at resurrection the body is replaced, not the soul.
The spirit is the means of our interaction with God. Without the human spirit we have no relationship nor even the means of a relationship with God. The human spirit is the third component in our essence which is received at the initial moment of our belief in Christ. Into it is imputed eternal life. We are in effect, reborn into our spiritual life.
But the soul is the basis for our life. Into the soul is exhaled from God the spark of life, 'neshamah' as the bible phrases it, or the breath of life, and at the moment of our birth, we inhale the breath of life. Here human life is imputed into the soul and we are born alive.
Our soul is empty. Our life is dead. And it takes God and God alone to restore that which is lacking in our lives. We receive restoration from eternal spiritual death when we believe in Christ.
We receive restoration of fellowship when we confess our sins to God. We receive restoration to the fullness of our life, spiritual growth, when we study His Word. We receive restoration to health and blessing and more, when we apply His word, which we have learned, to our daily lives. God, through doctrine, restores, revives, re-orients us completely.
He does all of this through His guidance of our lives in 'paths of righteousness'. God is righteousness. God is the living word. Bible doctrine is God guidance to His wisdom. Our advancing to spiritual maturity and beyond, is that guidance.
Remember the seven spirits which stand before the throne of God? They will be studied in Isa. 11, as well as our study in Rev. 1, which we have already completed. These are also charted on the Bible Study Chart page, in the online library. These are the basic components of advancing through the spiritual life. This then is His guidance in paths of righteousness. Our learning and application of His word to our daily lives, while in fellowship.
'For His names sake.' Because of His integrity and reputation. Because of the steadfast, complete, and unimpaired adherence to His code (Bible doctrine). Gods reputation is the correct and truthful perception that all creatures should come to know Him. God is perfect. In Him there is no sin, no deficiency, no error of any kind. God has given us a long established code by means of which we are to grow up spiritually, by which we are to live our lives, and by means of which we are to separate ourselves from the jungle of this world.
God has magnified His word above His name. His Word is paramount in our lives. It is our link to God. Apart from Gods Word, we would have no knowledge regarding Him. We would have no existence at all.
Apart from Gods word, which can only be learned through a daily study program, there is no restoration of ones soul. Thus with no restoration at all. There is only gloom and doom in ones destiny. God does all the work, but only when we open our attitudes up to Him and accept His instruction.
When God rested on that seventh day, all of His preparations were complete. His plan was set and now placed into motion.
God has provided everything necessary for you to get through your life, and to get you to spiritual maturity. It is only for you to recognize his provision and accept His provision by means of your obedience to His process.
Without God or doctrine, you are an incomplete person. With God and doctrine, you are restored, refreshed, revived continually.
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