Tag: godliness

Can We Have a Superhuman Spirituality?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date July 27, 2022

Don’t Be Merely Human

Paul reprimands the church in Corinth for many things. One time he points out that they envy one another and argue a lot. There is jealousy and quarreling in their church. It happened then and it’s still happening now.

We want what others have. Although this often relates to money, possessions, or prestige, we can also envy the faith of others, their spiritual journey, and even their intimacy with God.

Though it seems spiritual, it is just as wrong. Jealousy is jealousy, regardless of what we long for.

Next is their quarrels. We disagree and fight with words. It seems no church is immune to arguing, yet Paul decries this as wrong. Don’t do it.

Jealousy and quarreling are worldly traits. They are not godly, but worldly. By allowing these conditions to persist, we are mere humans.

By saying mere humans, Paul implies there is another way, a higher ground we can take. We don’t need to be merely human; we shouldn’t be merely human.

Superhuman Spirituality

Through Jesus and the power of his Holy Spirit we can rise above being mere humans. We can become more than human, superhuman, if you will: not superhuman in physical strength but superhuman in a spiritual sense, a superhuman spirituality.

As followers of Jesus, being merely human is who we were, but our future is a superhuman spirituality.

Are we willing to pursue it?

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 1-4, and today’s post is on 1 Corinthians 3:3.]

Read more in Peter’s book, Love is Patient (book 7 in the Dear Theophilus series).

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags godliness, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Paul, spirituality

Christian Living

Pray for our President—Regardless of Your Party

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date November 20, 2011

In the United States, the presidential race is well underway, with the election not until next November, almost a year away.

Most people who follow such things—and frankly, it is hard to ignore—have polarized positions about who should be our next president, rather it is to re-elect the incumbent or to elect anyone but the incumbent.

However, it’s not important how many people will vote for our president and how many will not. What is really important is how many people are praying for our president.

Yes, we need to pray for our president—and all our elected officials. But don’t pray that they will decide in favor of the issues that you support, instead pray that they will act justly, behave honorably, and promote godliness.

Pray that God will bless them, guide their decisions, and protect them and their families. Pray that God’s will may be accomplished, but don’t presume to know what it is.

Praying for our president may be easier when we agree with him, but it may be more important when we don’t.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Tags godliness, pray

Bible Insights

Cain, Balaam, and Korah

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 23, 2011

In Jude’s brief exposition of ungodly people in the church, he evokes three Old Testament characters: Cain, Balaam, and Korah. Cain, we know to be a murderer; Balaam, greedy; and Korah, rebellious.

However, it is simplistic to see them merely as evil men, for they also had an air of godliness to them, seeking God or having a connection to him.

It is astonishing, but each of these men did things that were seemingly right and godly. Despite that, the results of their actions went badly awry. The outcome renders them as emblematic of ungodly people in the church.

As we study what they did, we might find that we may be a lot closer to falling into their errors than we would normally dare to think possible.

Carefully consider then, the lives of Cain, Balaam, and Korah.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is from Philemon and Jude, and today’s post is on Jude 1:11.]

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Tags Balaam, Cain, godliness, Jude, Korah

Bible Insights

Jude’s Advice to Promote Godliness

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date July 28, 2011

In Jude’s letter, he warns Jesus’ followers to be on the alert for ungodly people in the church.

After detailing their characteristics, Jude tucks in a bit of advice at the end of his letter. Implicitly, it is his recommendations on how followers of Jesus can avoid being ungodly, offering three prescriptions to promote godliness:

Build up your faith.
Pray in the Holy Spirit.
Remain in God’s love.

These, then, are three essentials that we are to actively pursue: faith, prayer, and love.

Although some items on Jude’s list of ungodly behaviors may be far removed from us, other aspects might be quite close, such as speaking against things we don’t understand and being divisive.

What about grumbling and finding fault? For those who follow Jesus, these are apparently all forms of ungodliness.

However, we can do much to avoid these errors as we actively seek to build up our faith, pray with the Holy Spirit’s power, and abide in the love of God.

By following Jude’s advice, we can avoid the error of ungodliness.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is from Philemon and Jude, and today’s post is on Jude 1:20-21.]

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Tags godliness, Jude

Bible Insights

Hananiah, Shelemiah, Zadok, Pedaiah, and Hanan

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date March 17, 2011

You’ve heard about Hananiah, right? How about Shelemiah? Zadok? Perhaps Pedaiah? Or Hanan?

Although these men are all mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible, don’t feel bad if they’re not familiar to you. They did not accomplish great feats, rule a kingdom, lead an army, spark a revival, or do anything seemingly notable.

They appear to be a mere footnote in the pages of history.

Even so, they are remarkable for one thing—a most important trait—their character.

Hananiah was asked to be a leader because he was a man of integrity.

Shelemiah, Zadok, Pedaiah, and Hanan were given responsibility because they were trustworthy.

Integrity and trustworthiness are two traits in short supply nowadays, but they are characteristics that produce promotion and responsibility—perhaps not in grand and glorious ways, but subtly and humbly.

These are the kind of leaders, I think, that God delights in.

[Nehemiah 7:2 and Nehemiah 13:13]

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Tags godliness, trust

Bible Insights

Five Trustworthy Sayings From the Apostle Paul

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date November 20, 2008

The phrase “trustworthy sayings” occurs five times in the Bible. It likely refers to phrases that were commonly used and accepted by the early church.

Paul’s inclusion of these phrases in his letters affirms them as reliable truth.

Here are the five trustworthy sayings that Paul recorded:

1. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).

2. If someone aspires to be an elder, he desires an honorable position (1 Timothy 3:1).

3. Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come (1 Timothy 4:8-9).

4. If we die with him, we will also live with him. That is, if we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. And if we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is (2 Timothy 2:11).

5. When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.

He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.

He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior (Titus 3:5-8).

Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.

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Tags early church, godliness, Paul