"I get it!"--the begetting of the begotten

The Word for today:
Acts 2:14-36

mark this: Acts 2:17
And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.

Note:
We enter into advanced study today.  We will look at how, by the agency of the Holy Spirit, the life of Christ is replicated within the believer.  We will also look at how sin is born.  We will feature the word "begotten," a word often encountered (in the Bible's most famous verse) but not often explained.
If this all sounds a little misbegotten, then skip "school" for today.  But we hope you'll skip right back tomorrow!

***

As you may know, I write about scripture day and night.  

And I get a lot of feedback.  Some of it concerns the particular topic I wrote about that day or that week.  But most of the feedback I get is about my larger theme--Jesus.  And most of it sounds like this…

"I get it!  Jesus permeates every passage of scripture.  And everyone, everything--whether "secular" or "sacred"--is defined by his/their relationship to him.  He is the one issue we must settle in this life."

Or else it sounds like this:

"I'm reading what you're writing, but I just don't get the whole Jesus thing.  I just don't get it."

I love it when the light of understanding enters heretofore dull eyes, when the Holy Spirit pulls the veil off "the eyes of the heart" and the Light shines through.  I see a replay, in the spiritual realm, of the physical creation in Genesis 1.

God's will is that everyone should "get it," that everyone should be saved.  In the Bible's opening verses, this was expressed as "Let there be Light!"

In the New Testament, God said it this way:

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is patient toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

Activating the Father's will, the Holy Spirit, who is hovering over the benighted land, goes forth to pull the veil off every eye that will see.  And when that veil is taken away, we see the Light of the world.  We "get it"--

To this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit...  (2 Corinthians 3:14-17)

***

It is imperative to remember that the Light is always there to "be gotten."

So at the Father's direction and through the agency of the Holy Spirit, the unseen God was literally begotten:

And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy--the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)

The ancient creed tells us that he was "begotten, not made."  That means the eternal Word was translated into flesh so that man could comprehend God.  This came about when two wills melded into one--the willing heart of a woman and the willing heart of God.

The begetting implies a uniqueness: This will never happen again (John 1:14) because there is nothing left  to give.  God already gave his all:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

If you "get it," if you comprehend and receive him, then Jesus' lives within you--as he physically lived within Mary, as he spiritually lived within Paul:

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me..." (Galatians 2:20)

If  you "get it," if you comprehend and receive him, then the begetter, as pictured for us in the life of Mary, is the Holy Spirit.

If you "get it," then unto you a child is born. ("A child is born" refers to the flesh which has a birthday.)  And unto you a son (the eternal Son of God) is not born but given:

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.  (Isaiah 9:6-7)

***

But if you should resist, the Spirit of God can not (because he will not) dispel the darkness; he can not (because you will not) uncover your enshrouded eyes or soften your encrusted heart.  If you resist the Spirit, then you yourself have begotten the uniquely damning sin in scripture:

And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12:32)

When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (James 1:13-15)

If you resist the Spirit, you will have managed to dispel the Light:  "Let there be darkness!" is your decree.  

And there was darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~