Spiritual DNA

I have mentioned spiritual DNA earlier in my blog, but it was brief so I wish to reiterate and explain in more depth.

Natural DNA that all organisms’ cells contain is a blueprint for most every internal mechanism the cell needs to survive. Many people possess the misconception that DNA continually and forever dictates the function of the cell. That’s like saying a blueprint for a building exerts absolute control over the contractor who’s using it. This is obviously false. DNA can become rewritten or even damaged by certain environmental factors. The control center of the cell is really the cell membrane, which can be adjusted – if one only knows how – to allow or disallow certain things to enter or exit the cell, but I won’t be going into that – at least not now.

Spiritual DNA – if you’ve read other posts in my blog, you probably know how much I like symbolism – functions in the exact same way, though I myself do not refer to it as a blueprint but rather as a law. There are of course different kinds of laws, the law that is written inside the hearts of fallen, wicked men is the law of sin (death) and the law that is written in the hearts of those whom God has redeemed is the law of love and liberty (life).

This law of life is the Word of God people often hear referred to in church and in the Bible. Most people think that the Word of God is the Bible, but that’s the written word of God, not the living Word. The word found in the Bible comes alive when the Holy Spirit is allowed to flow through it and you, writing those words in your heart and not just on paper (2 Cor 3:3). Of course, don’t think that I wish to discredit the Bible to any extent; it is of course one of the most powerful tools God uses to inspire, teach, and convict people’s hearts, the single most powerful one in written form. That anyone would try to discredit or diminish it in any way would be a repugnant atrocity. Just keep in mind what Jesus himself said (in John 5:39) about the scriptures: “They are they which testify of me.”

Jesus was and is the quintessential word of God, the law of life incarnate, and it is by the same Spirit which kept him on his Holy path that we can receive that law into our hearts. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” is what the Bible says (in 2 Tim 3:16). If one were to bother to look into the original translation, the phrase “inspiration of God” really means “God-spirited” which is a direct indicator as to what one needs to give or receive the living Word of God, written in one’s heart.

Well, that’s all I have to say on that subject, but I hope I’ve “inspired” you (or at least made you use your brain). Until next time, God bless!

The New, Old Meaning of 1 Peter 4:1

          Not too long ago I was searching through the scriptures using a very interesting computer program, the Interlinear Scripture Analyzer, which I had downloaded. There are lots of interesting things to be seen in the scriptures when you can better understand the original writings but I just want to draw your attention to one particular verse, I Peter 4:1, which says “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin” (AV). It took on a very different meaning for me when I looked at the most literal word for word translation of this verse which reads “Christ, then, emotioning for our sakes in flesh, you also arm yourselves with the same thought, for he who is emotioning in flesh has ceased his sins.”

The verse after this explains, in very simple language, what that thought is, but I won’t put it here for the sake of making you read your Bible more:) However, I’d like to point out that a single thought is a much simpler thing to wrap one’s comprehension around than an entire mind (multiple thoughts, feelings, perspectives, etc.).

The word “emotioning” is also noteworthy, not only because "emotion" carries a very different meaning than "suffer" but also because it is used here in a verb form – as something someone does rather than simply observing. Taking deliberate action concerning one’s emotions would inevitably involve some sort of sacrifice (i.e. pain) but also require oneself to be present and alive rather than having one’s thoughts stuck in the past or the future, full of fear and worry, or pure fantasy. This adds incredible poignant depth to what would otherwise be a somewhat morose phrase.

As you can imagine, I’ve had some fun searching through at least a few scriptures using the Interlinear Scripture Analyzer. Perhaps you who read this will be able to get something out of it as well. Until next time, God bless you all!