Way of The Warrior- A Daily Devotional

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”. 1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV

Warrior.

This is an interesting scripture. It is referencing an Old Testament writing of Isaiah. When Jesus was incarnate, He spoke Aramaic, but he knew Hebrew. Most did not speak, or know Hebrew. This is a problem since the Old Testament was written in Hebrew. So the religious scholars would read the scripture in Hebrew and tell others what it means. Just like today, if we can’t\won’t read scripture, then we are at the mercy of someone else telling us what it says and what it means. This is what happened in the Garden of Eden. Eve got the word from Adam, and not directly from God. The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’” (Genesis 3:2-3) That is not exactly what God said- that confusion led to man’s original sin. When we don’t know, and study scripture, people can twist it and make it mean something other than God’s intent. This is how our three enemies; the World, the flesh, and the Devil- can confuse us, and keep us from being used by the Lord of Lord and the King of Kings. It is in this deception that we hear about the “WOKE JESUS”, and other lies about how Jesus’ would be about the chaos of open borders, no laws, abortion on demand and the elevation of the homosexual lifestyle to normal standards- and many other liberal, ‘woke’ philosophies and policies.

Leader, Jesus said many times in the 6 contrasts of the Sermon on the Mount, “you have heard it said, but I say”. Jesus is referencing the fact that they have not read it, but were told of what the Holy Scriptures say. Barnes’ Notes on the Bible comments on this passage: “But as it is written – This passage is quoted from Isaiah 64:4. It is not quoted literally; but the sense only is given. The words are found in the apocryphal books of Elijah; and Origen and Jerome supposed that Paul quoted from those books. But it is evident that Paul had in his eye the passage in Isaiah; and intended to apply it to his present purpose. – the object of the apostle is not to describe the future state of the redeemed. It is to prove that those who are Christians have true wisdom 1 Corinthians 2:6-7; or that they have views of truth, and of the excellence of the plan of salvation which the world has not, and which those who crucified the Lord Jesus did not possess. The thing which he is describing here, is not merely the happiness of Christians, but their views of the wisdom of the plan of salvation. They have views of that which the eyes of other people have not seen; a view of wisdom, fitness, and beauty which can be found in no other plan.” This passage went from Isaiah declaring the ultimate wisdom of the God Operating System (GOS) vs the Flesh Operating System (FOS) to something about future blessings of the believer. Even though both are true, the meaning of this scripture is the former.

Conduit, this scripture is about understanding that we are from 2 different worlds, those of us who are the CALLED-OUT ONES, children of God and those who are on the Wide path and following after the world and it’s Prince. This scripture is paraphrased from Isaiah 64:4 and a thought flow that ends with the well-known scripture in Isaiah 64:6 that says, our works are like filthy rags. This was Peter’s intention when he wrote: Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. (1 Peter 2:11) If you are a child of God, this is NOT your world, and we are to think differently, vote differently, plan differently, and NOT BE SURPRISED when we are not as successful as others who are ‘of the world’! They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. (1 John 4:5) So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am He you will die in your sins.” (John 8;22-24) If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. (John 15:19) Keep your eye on the PRIZE of Glorification! We must realize we are NOT like the world, and we will NOT be LIKED by the world- if we are a true follower of Jesus the Christ. “For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ”.