The word ‘servant’ essentially means boy or girl child who scurries around as a servant. But, depending upon the context, when serving an important man or king (in this case God) the person is a personal minister (like a cup bearer) or is a minister in kingdom affairs. These were often slaves and were fully focused upon and lived for their master.
    Here Matthew quotes Isaiah who in the quote did not presented by Isaiah as the Son of God, instead as the Son of David…a ministering sent-one who is 1) a minister originating from God and 2) at God’s instruction, he ministers unto God’s people.

    The word ‘spirit’ here is not ‘movement of breath’ as a man’s ‘spirit’ or as the Holy ‘Spirit’. This Greek word means phantom or specter, a ghost, an apparition. I.e. something seems to have appeared or is seen and perhaps it is real or perhaps not.

    ‘David in spirit’ is actually ‘David positioned in spirit’. Now this is not normal wording in referring to a person’s spirit. For a person to be positioned in something, the something is not of the person, but is something else. Therefore, it seems to me that David was positioned in the Spirit and not spirit (i.e. it should be upper case and not lower case). And the thing David is positioned in was God’s Spirit .
    The word ‘saying’ means laying out a concept as in a discourse.

    The word ‘temptation’ means put to the proof, an opposing provocation.
    The word ‘indeed’ means it is affirmed.

    The Greek word translated ‘in’, ‘within’, ‘with’, etc. means set, fixed, or positioned in. Unless something comes along to unseat the unclean spirit or disposition it then it remains the same. Jesus dislodged it.

    For ‘There shall no sign be given’…the Greek is better translated It is conditional if perhaps a sign be given. In other words, Jesus did not yet know (from the Father) if in fact a sign would be given.
    A ‘sign’ is something that appears or happens which carries with it a clear indication of something else. Later, however, Jesus said that a ‘sign’ would not be given except the ‘sign’ of Jonah in the sea three days and three nights (i.e. like Jonah, Jesus would be in death that long and then come up again).

    The word ‘answered’ means concluded from what he had seen and heard. The word ‘spirit’ here is the normal word of our study and not phantom or ghost.

    I.e. “And they brought the son unto Jesus. And when the spirit took knowledge of Jesus (i.e. who Jesus was), straightway the spirit tare the son; and the son fell sprawled upon the ground, wallowing and foaming.”

    I.e. “And when Jesus perceived how a throng came running together, he forbid the unclean spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, to issue forth from out of him, and enter no more into him.”

    I.e. “And (the spirit) screamed, and convulsed him much, and (it) issued from out of him: and (the spirit) had caused him to be as if dead; therefore many (of the people) said, ‘He is dead’.”
    I am giving you here many of the Greek meanings, which some times do not add to understanding; yet, at other times these cast different lights and aids the understanding. Sometimes a different light is subtle and sometimes quite illuminating.
    You can do this which I am doing by using the software ‘e-Sword’. You can find the Internet address on our Ministry Links page.

    The Biblical concept of ‘temptation’ is far more important to God than we think, and thus to the Christian who walks positioned in faith before God.
    And ‘truly’ means that God continually affirms to His people the truth of a thing… whether we are attentive to His affirmations or not.
    The new spirit in each Christian originated from God…and by its nature, the new spirit is ‘predisposed’ to act according to God’s affirmations of truth. Yet, the ‘flesh’ of every Christian, by its nature, is ‘feeble, impotent, sick’. For the flesh in and of itself cannot act according to God’s affirmations, even as the spirit explains God’s affirmations to the flesh. Therefore, flesh can have knowledge of God’s affirmations, can agree to God’s affirmations, but the flesh simply cannot do them.
    This is the sickness of God’s people through the ages because we are in the fallen condition and the flesh is strongly and naturally biased toward the world. The struggle that Paul speaks to us about should reveal to us just how fallen is our fallen condition. Yet, we think, in our human power and sincere efforts, that we can function within God’s affirmations of His Truths.
    Yet, only the King can do kingdom business…usually without us…sometimes through us… but only by His Spirit in conjunction with the Christian’s new spirit.

    This is interesting: This word ‘devil’ has to do with (perhaps the enticements of) distributing fortunes. And we see in the following verses that there is not just one, but ‘many’. Over some years perhaps this man had been promised and even was helped to achieve fortune after fortune, and eventually was ‘driven under’ into a lonesome and desolate place by the many demons where the demons finally were taking their due and having their complete way with him.

    Here is a wonderful passage which we Christians often miss. James and John (earlier nicknamed Sons of Thunder by Jesus) had seen Jesus admonish and forbid unclean and demonic spirits. When the people of a Samaritan town did not receive Jesus, these brother disciples thought that the people must have some very evil spirits in them, and so the brothers wanted Jesus (with their help) to command fire from heaven to consume the “wicked men who perhaps meant harm to Jesus”.
    1) We must remember ‘what manner of spirit we are’ (again read the passage), and 2) being of ‘this manner of spirit’ (if, in fact, we follow close after Jesus as did the disciples) we should not be assuming that we can call down fire from heaven. Fire from heaven and any other such thing, is God’s business alone.
    Indeed, may the Lord rebuke any child of God trying to do such a thing. If the Apostles were not Elijah-types, then surely we are not.

    Jesus exulted in spirit because he was not only thanking the Father, but he was entirely agreeing with the Father that the Father’s methods were very good and were working out very well. I.e. whatever the Father thought to be good was very good.
    The Greek word for ‘babes’ actually means not speaking well or simple minded. Dear reader, what good can such ‘babes’ do for God as such spiritual and heavenly things are ‘revealed to them’?
    Answer: Nothing. The knowing of such things was to be stored away in ‘babe’ vessels,  in that ‘they cannot speak well’ about anything, much less about the high revelations of God. But consider this: with such high revelations stored away in these ‘babes’ then, in His timing, God can cause them ‘to speak forth in the light what was said to them in the dark’. In other words, it is all of God and not of man.
    Yet, there are so many of us Christians who are so smart and have so much knowledge (some of it even correct)…and all of us speak so often…
    Does this passage give you cause to pause and take a look in the mirror? Whenever God speaks heaven-type things happen. But what happens when you speak? Indeed, what happens when I speak?

    It is interesting that this verse follows in our study the preceding where Jesus described his disciples as ‘simple-minded babes’.
    Here the word ‘then’ means certainly. The word ‘being’ means come into existence, and thus it includes present existence or being, yet it also indicates from where.
    And the word ‘evil’ infers hurtful…the source of their being is evil. In other words, “ye certainly exist from (that which is) evil”; and this has to do with being in the fallen state or condition of all humans born in sin. “And if you know how to give good gifts to your children…”
    The word ‘heavenly’ here is two Greek words, sky or heaven and origin, source, or from: the Father is in heaven and both together are the origin or the source. But source of what? Source of very good gifts, and the Father will give the Holy Spirit from heaven to Jesus’ asking disciples.
    Yes, the simple-minded-babe-disciples who are receiving revelations need only ask to also receive the Promised Gift from the Father.
    Do not take what is in just one interesting verse. Please study its entire passage.

    This particular Greek word translated ‘rest’ actually means intermission, and so Jesus tells that the unclean spirit is only trying to find a place to pause and gather its wicked mind as what to do next in its hunt. Therefore, finding no place of intermission, the wicked thought comes to him to return to its last place of abode to see how things are doing there. Finding it clean, swept, and open…Well you know the rest.

    The words ‘cried with a loud voice’ in the Greek mean a loud proclamation, and it is interesting that Luke does not tell us what was that proclamation. Then Jesus spoke to his Father…and turned off the Son’s assignment.

    By Jesus’ words, then, we know that ‘a spirit’ (i.e. a blast or movement of air) has no flesh and bones; that is, no physical body. Yet, it is seen…or at least its presence affects the physical environment such that the spirit’s effect in the environment is seen. (I.e. we do not see the breeze, but we do see the dust being moved by the breeze.)

    In 3:5 Jesus speaks of the process of God’s procreation or regeneration of the children of God (both on man’s part and on God’s part). But in this verse Jesus distinguishes between procreation-types: 1) the ongoing lineages of men and 2) the ongoing lineages of God’s children…brothers and sisters of our Lord Christ Jesus…the very Son of God.
    Jesus is speaking to an honored man who is well versed in the Old Testament scriptures (the only Bible that the man and Jesus had). As a whole, the Old Bible is all about God-given-faith to individuals. Yet, over the centuries, the Jews of Jesus’ time had become entirely focused upon Israel’s own part within God’s Plan of the Ages. Israel’s part had much to with a physical nation progressing through time by special God-chosen lineages of men; but it had little to do with the Plan’s assured ending. Indeed, many of them were being excluded from the Plan by not depending on faith in God’s part of the Plan.
    So in this verse, then, Jesus was bringing back this leader of Judaea to the fundamentals that had always existed in any relationship of God to a person, founded on the faith-relationship between God and the person…having little to do with human lineages.

    The Greek word translated ‘quickeneth’ means enliven, activate, energize…i.e. unclog that which is clogged. Read verses 60-62 as well: Jesus spoke directly to more than a few of his disciples, and they were hearing the best they could hear, which means hearing by means of the flesh. Now this was understandable and Jesus understood.
    Therefore, he said to them (and would say to you and to me) “If you want to understand me then it must be by means of your spirit, which understanding may or may not ever become human (flesh) understanding.
    There is ever the war between your spirit and your flesh. Thus, rest and peace in God (which is beyond understanding) is enlivened as you become quickened by means of your spirit… when your spirit is quickened of heaven as God chooses to do it. Therefore, within and among the things and ways of God your ‘flesh profiteth nothing’.
    Even so, God is always concerned with our flesh and is pleased as it tries to please Him.
    Here is an example: You and your loved ones are sick and you pray for healing. We know that healing comes to some and not to others. As you continue praying you become more available to God and His Will than to your own concerns and requests. Then a peace and/or a rest beyond understanding comes to you. In some manner, God has touched you and you have been quickened, enlivened to God, unclogged in your spirit as your spirit responds to that Touch.
    Jesus words are not for the understanding of the human intellect. His words are ‘spirit’ and are meant to be received by a person’s ‘spirit’. Also they are ‘life’ to the person’s whole being. Therefore, receiving them in one’s spirit results in quickening of ‘life’ altogether.
    Dear reader, even as we are trying to understand these things (me in my studies and trying to write about it, and you in trying to understand both Jesus’ words and my feeble writing), Jesus tells us that his words (when received by means of our spirits) set a person free and his words gives rest beyond human understanding.
    Even so, I do enjoy handling these words in my feeble way. Don’t you enjoy them as well?

    The Greek word translated ‘groaned’ actually means snort in anger, thus it implies indignation; or depending on the mood, an irritated person at another time might sigh in chagrin. In other words, Jesus’ spirit recoiled at what was going on and quickened his body to either ‘snort’ or give a ‘sigh in exasperation’!
    Throughout this passage Jesus’ actions were worked within his agitated spirit.

    Here, too, Jesus’ words and actions were accomplished within an agitated spirit. To say it differently, Jesus’ agitated spirit was quickening him in his words and actions. When a person’s spirit becomes indignant or agitated for whatever reason, the person must not then act within his flesh because the flesh really wants to please God and so often it thinks it knows what to do. Jesus continued to act in his spirit as the spirit knew how the Father wanted him to act.
    The only safe way in this for the Christian is to do nothing or to be moved by the Spirit of God…for we simply do not know in ourselves how God would have you or me to act.
    It is good to have a sensitive spirit; yet, we know that we are responsible to God for our actions. At times Jesus became angry, but far more often he became merciful to sinners acting ignorantly. Jesus constantly confessed that his actions were the Father’s actions.

    In saying, “no worthless thing is fixed to this man”, the scribes (Judea’s Bible experts) were saying “what the man is saying is worthwhile, especially if a spirit or an angel has talked with him; therefore, let us not resist God.”

    The word ‘delivered’ actually means rendered unable to move (i.e. made useless) and ‘from’ means moved away from something that at one time was near. I.e. ‘now we are made useless and moved away from the law.’ This means that, in Christ, a Christian is nonfunctional if he or she is trying to work within law. This is why Paul says that we are responsible to the law of Christ. And it is why the God-relationship with the Christian has been moved away from the Old Covenant. Yet, we are to adhere to the Spirit of the Old Testament even as did Jesus, the apostles, the epistle writers, etc., in that the Old Testament was their only Bible and they quoted from it constantly.

    Remember that Paul uses ‘flesh’ to infer the potential of bodily action and he uses ‘body’ to infer the person (yet separate from the person’s spirit), and if Paul is referring to a Christian then he means the new spirit given of God.
    Consider also: The text reads ‘if ye through the Spirit do mortify’; however, the original is ‘if the Spirit kills (or mortifies)’. The actual meaning is that it is the Spirit’s action and not the Christian’s action through the Spirit that does the mortifying. Too often our egos think that we can initiate such things, when all we can do in any real sense is to allow God to do what He would do.
    Only as the actions of the flesh in the body have been mortified by the Spirit can a person consistently be ‘led by the Spirit of God’, and Paul refers to these as ‘sons of God’. Then Paul compares this to all Christians being ‘children of God’ (each being ‘born of God’) with each having received witness in his or her spirit that God is the Father.
    The Greek word translated ‘adoption’ is made up of two words 1) the placing or setting up, and 2) son. For instance consider the ceremony at age 12 that passes the male child through into manhood. The phrase, the placing of a son has to do with setting the son into his adult position in the world.
    We know that both the male and the female child can be “adopted” in any civilization; yet, to be passed on from man-child to manhood is something different.
    However, remember that Paul is using metaphors (familiar figures of speech) to teach spiritual principals. We know that every Christian is a ‘child of God’ and can become (male or female) a ‘son of God’. 
    Thus, Paul has drawn a distinction between ‘sons of God’ and ‘children of God’. And the distinction has to do with the Spirit mortifying (or not mortifying) the flesh.

    The word ‘spirit’ is the normal word used in all the verses of this study: i.e. meaning breath in motion issuing forth from a person or from God (spiritually), etc. The Greek word translated here as ‘soul’ means breath, but with no inference of breath movement.

    Compare this with 1Corinthians 15:45 above and the following verses in chapter 3.

    Paul is assuming that the Corinthians have already cleansed themselves of filthiness, having worked at it for some years. So here Paul is speaking of the stains left on them made by earlier filthiness…filthiness of both the flesh (their earlier humanity) and spirit (in their unsaved spiritual condition). Cleansing of these stains, then, will complete them in holiness positioned in the fear of God. Such ‘fear’ should cause every Christian to want to clean up even ‘the stains’ left over from life-before-God.

    I.e. “For we are of the type of circumcision that ministers to God in spirit, and we rejoice fixed in Christ Jesus, and no longer are we convinced by our fleshly abilities.”
    This is stated is a comparison to Jewish circumcision of the flesh which ministers to God by means of the Mosaic Law.

    Far too often church members will vote to call a pastor (saying or inferring that this is the man the Holy Spirit is leading us to call). But then later some in the flock will begin to ‘rethink’ the pastor, themselves thinking that they are as knowledgeable, spiritual, etc. And thus they begin to demean the pastor, which is demeaning the Spirit’s choice for the church.
    Moreover, Paul tells Timothy that he is to be a mold (i.e. as in manufacturing objects from the mold like unto the mold’s form). Timothy is not to be just an example, but is to be ‘a mold’ in God’s hand for God to form ‘trustworthy ones’ as God had formed Timothy.

    This is a reference to Scripture: An example being Ezekiel 37 where the corpse was not dead as a finality, rather the body needed spirit to be alive. And so it is with faith when no faith-action is observed by others. James spoke to Christians, “I do not see faith-life in you since I do not see faith-action in you”.
    This is what my book, God’s Hook, is about. The book does not define faith; rather it offers Bible stories that demonstrate faith in action so that the reader can glean from the stories a concept of Biblical faith and how it functions between God and the child of God.

    This is Paul’s way of saying: Scripture does not say this, but if Scripture did say it then Scripture would be saying such a thing ‘in vain’.

    I.e. “It is the private man of heart, fixed in non-corruption, and meek and undisturbed of spirit who is of great price before the face of God.”

    Note that John is referring more to spirits saying these things than to the persons out of whose mouths the words come. Many spirits have many ways and methods of denying that Jesus originated of God the Father. Sometimes it is vocalized that ‘Jesus is of God’ while denying it by actions. For, indeed, all demons know that Jesus is of God, yet they have their ways of convincing men and women that Jesus is not of God the Father.
    (Moreover, the spirits (i.e. of God, sevenfold) witness kinship to the (new) spirit of each child of God.)

    Since the apostles only preached under the unction of the Spirit, they knew that a child of God must hear in their inner kindred spirit from God. Those not of God could not discern the spirit-messages of the apostles. Moreover, those not of God have the kind of spirit that is biased toward or is susceptible to deception. Satan is the father of deception.
    Yet, children of God walking more by the flesh than by their spirits are also susceptible to deception. Interestingly, a person deceived does not know that he or she is deceived. It takes being attuned to the Spirit to become aware and, with the Spirit’s help, to escape deception.

    Children of God have received far more from God than just the Spirit. All that we receive for building us up is by way of the Spirit. See 5:6.

    In the Gospel of John, chapters 1 and 2, John relates about John the Baptist and what he said and taught regarding baptism. Following that, the apostle relates about Jesus changing water into wine. Following that in chapter 3, then, he relates the words of Jesus about water and spirit. Thus, the ‘water’ here also is regarding ‘repentance’, signified by the washing of baptism which speaks to the world that a person is coming to God by turning from his sinful ways. And the ‘blood’ of course is Jesus’ blood that paid for the possibility of such turning and being ushered into God’s family.
    Therefore, it is the ever present Spirit that gives true witness of the truth of it to and within each true believer (i.e. ‘faither’).

You can also download this study as a pdf file.

- C. Ronald Johnson at Christian Wilderness Press -