Question 195: What does the word “spiritual” really mean?

Answer:

The word is one which believers ought to guard zealously in religious phraseology. There is a recent tendency to use the word in a loose sense, giving it merely its philosophical or scientific meaning rather than its real Bible and theological significance. In secular phraseology the word means: relating to spirit, rather than to matter. Many varying shades of meaning grow out of this basic idea: one poet may be more spiritual than another; one artist than another; one musician than another. In this sense the word implies a relation to thoughts, emotions, impulses, connected with the soul of a man rather than his body. But the believer’s use of the word is distinctive. It is given as the third definition of the word in the Standard Dictionary: "Of or relating to the soul as acted on by Ruach HaKodesh." An apt quotation from Henry Drummond is given: "The spiritual life is the gift of the living Spirit The spiritual man is no mere development of the natural man. He is a new creation, born from above." In phraseology, then, a man is spiritual as he is possessed, filled and dominated by Ruach HaKodesh.

Question 194: Who are we to understand by the “Spirits in Prison”?

Answer:

The passage in 1 Peter 3:19, 20 is one which has been much discussed. It is generally interpreted as meaning that the preaching to the spirits "in prison" implies not the preaching of the Gospel, but the announcement of Moshiach's finished work. Nor does it imply a second day of grace. The spirits were clearly those of the Antediluvians. The passage however, is mysterious and has puzzled Bible students in all times. Peter is the only Bible writer who mentions the occurrence, whatever it may have been, so that there are no other passages to shed light upon it. The apostle was speaking in the context of the operation of Ruach HaKodesh and it has been generally thought by Augustine among the Fathers and by Dr Adam Clarke and other modern commentators that he referred to the Antediluvians as having, like others who lived before Moshiach, been under the Spirit's influence, though they repelled it. In that case his meaning would be that Moshiach had from the beginning been preaching through or by the Spirit, to men in all ages, as he preaches to men now by His Spirit through His ministers. Other theologians, Dean Al-ford among them, contend that somewhere in the universe these Spirits were imprisoned and that Moshiach preached to them in the interval between His death and resurrection, though that view is surrounded by other difficulties which are obvious. The reference is incidental and does not practically concern us so much as does the lesson Peter is enforcing, that through Ruach HaKodesh we are enabled to live to the spirit and not to the flesh.

Question 193: Who were the “sleeping saints”?

Answer:

The "sleeping saints" (see 1 Thessalonians 4:14 and Matthew 27:52, 53) are held to be Old Testament believers who, having served Elohiym faithfully according to their lights and who looked forward to the promise of the Messiah's coming, were quickened at the moment of Yeshua' death, although they did not come out of their graves until his resurrection. The opening of the graves was symbolic proclamation that death was "swallowed up in victory"; and the rising of the saints after Yeshua' resurrection fittingly showed that the Saviour of the world was to be the "first" that should rise from the dead. (See Acts 26:23; Colossians 1: 18; Revelations 1:5.)

Question 192: What are we to understand by the “Secret Place”?

Answer:

The "secret place" (see Psalm 91:1) is interpreted as meaning "the covert" of his tabernacle - "the beatitude of the inner circle or secret shrine, to which that select company of the faithful have access and where they may taste the hidden wisdom." One commentator writes that this passage applies "to those who are more at home with YHVH than other believers, and who are also more alone with YHVH. In this inner circle the childlike spirit is made one with the will and the love of the almighty Father. It is a security and a refuge against whatsoever may await us in this world or elsewhere and those who belong to it bear on their countenances the seal that they are free from fear of evil and that they have gained the victory over terror and dismay." In brief, it is only those who live closely to YHVH who find those divine attributes which to others are majestic and overpowering, transformed into a sure shelter and a joy that lifts all care forever from the soul.

Frequently asked questions and answers:

Question 191: What is the distinction between the Shabbat, Sunday and Elohiym’s Day?

Answer:

The word "Shabbat" is derived from the Hebrew "Shabbos / Shabbat," meaning "seven" or a heptad of seven days. It was employed to designate the seventh day of the Jewish week (from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday). Under the believer’s dispensation the day of rest is changed from the seventh to the first day of the week, in memory of Moshiach's resurrection and its true designation therefore is neither Shabbat (which is the ancient Jewish term) nor Sunday (which is the heathen appellation, i.e., "the day of the sun"), but "Elohiym's day." It is not with us, as with the Jews, a day of rest and absolute abstention from all employment, but a day of spiritual recuperation and religious activities in a thousand different directions and a period of withdrawal from secular pursuits. Under the Mosaic Law, one might not walk beyond certain distance, nor light a fire, nor even carry a handkerchief. With us it is rather a day of celebration, wholly unhampered by the ancient restrictions and obligations which were designed to apply to a different age and dispensation. The use of any one of the three terms - Sunday, Shabbat or Saviour's Day - is however, with most people, rather a matter of habit than of principle, as the historical facts are thoroughly well established.

*New Song Released*



Thy Word and Spirit Make us Good
Dr Garth Grenache
and his Uncanny Valley Orchestra
2025:1:25

We thank thee Yah
for thou art good.
Thy loyal ardour is forever.
Thy Word and Spirit
make us good
to rule with you forever.

Thought for Today: Shabbat January 25

Remember this today: Pride is a cold mountain peak, sterile and bleak --- but humility --- is the tranquil valley, fruitful and with an abundance of life, and peace dwell there.

https://open.substack.com/pub/....silvertrumpetradio/p

"Yahweh searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee, but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off forever."

1Ch 28