Two Trees - Part 3

The Lord said that He was going to send His Spirit to lead us into all truth. All truth is in Jesus, of whom the Spirit was sent to testify (Ephesians 4:21). The Bible is a most precious and wonderful gift from the Lord to His people. But the Bible was not meant to take place of the Lord Himself, nor the Spirit whom He sent. The Bible is a means, not an end. Knowing the book of the Lord is not our goal; our goal is to know the Lord of the book.

The many errors and divisions within the body of Christ are not due to fault in the Bible, but our misuse of it. Some of the laws and principles we have wrested from the New Testament rival anything that the Pharisees did to the Old Testament! This has caused us to try to measure our spirituality by how well we conform to the letter. Our spirituality is not found in adapting to a form, but by the forming of Jesus within us.

It was for a good reason that the Lord instructed us to judge men by their fruit. A parrot can be taught to say and do the right things. Satan often comes as "an angel of light," proclaiming Scriptures; and his work will often conform to the letter. But only Jesus can bring forth the fruit that is LIFE. "The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (II Corinthians 3:6). If we read the Scriptures by the Spirit they will testify of Jesus and will come to life. The Scriptures are meant to be a testimony of Him. "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me" (John 5:39). The Spirit was sent to lead us to Him in the Scriptures and in all aspects of our lives. Reading the Scriptures without the Spirit brings only the knowledge of good and evil, which actually brings death. Satan can counterfeit form but he can never counterfeit the fruit of the Spirit—which is Jesus, the Tree of Life. Man is able, to a certain degree for various self-centered and deceptive reasons, to change his outward behavior. Only the Spirit can change a man's heart. Therefore, the Lord looks upon the hearts of men, and in them He is looking for the heart of His Son.