You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
20 The
LORD [Yahovah] rewarded [gamal] me
according to my righteousness; [tsedeq]
according to the cleanness [bor] of my hands [yad] hath he recompensed [shuwb]
me. KJV-Interlinear
20 The Lord
has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my
hands He has recompensed me. NASB
Rewarded, 'gamal,' means to treat a person well, to benefit, to ripen, reward, recompense, to pay.
Recompensed, 'shuwb,' means to turn back, away, fetch home, recover, refresh, render, compensate.
There are two issues in the spiritual life. The first being the spiritual maturity or status of the individual. And second, the spiritual pattern or daily life pursued by the individual.
The first deals with your spiritual knowledge and wisdom, that has accumulated within your soul, and thus becomes the framework of your spiritual life.
The second, is the application of that spiritual information to your daily life and how you live from day to day.
The two combined, your spiritual growth or maturity, and your spiritual production, make up the basis for that which God rewards you.
There is only one righteousness, and that is Gods righteousness. Man has no righteousness except for that which is conveyed to him by way of Gods truth, or doctrine.
Mans righteousness is as filthy rags, and Isaiah had a little better descriptive phrase for that, but filthy rags will suffice for now. Man has no righteousness in and of himself.
Only Gods righteousness, which is the sinless perfection of Gods essence, can be obtained by man through doctrine and the spiritual life. Man has no other means of obtaining any sort of righteousness, except through the daily study of bible doctrine.
Cleanness of my hands, is a descriptive phrase that identifies ones daily activities. The work of the hands is a representative symbol that describes the persons activity in life.
Since you are what you think, then you do in accordance with the standards that you have adopted for your life.
Bible doctrine is the ultimate standard for truth, honesty, integrity, hard work, fair and unbiased treatment of others, and living the good and decent life. These things are never driven by sincerity or good intentions or emotions or other standards that exclude Gods word as defined by Gods word.
The cleanness, is a reference to the fellowship environment in which you live your spiritual life.
After one has been saved, sin will enter into your life sooner or later and most probably on a daily basis in one way or another. When one sins, then you are out of fellowship, and your spiritual life does not function.
When you confess your sins to God the Father, then you are restored into fellowship, and thus your spiritual life functions properly. Whatever you do, while in fellowship, especially your daily studies, prayers and such, but also your general daily activity, become a part of your spiritual production.
Anything done while out of fellowship is not a part of your spiritual production.
Therefore, God blesses and rewards you in accordance with your level of spiritual growth (advancement toward maturity), and the level of your spiritual production.
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