The Four Woes of Luke 6 - Woe 2: Against Filling Up with the World

"'Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.'"

~Luke 6:25a (ESV)

<Read Part 1 | Read Part 3>

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John Piper often talks of how humans are far too easily satisfied. A young kid would enthusiastically take satisfaction in making mud pies because he can't imagine what is meant by holiday at the beach.

The word "full" here in the Greek is "ěmpiplēmi" or "ěmplēthō" (^[1]) which means to fill in or up and to satisfy. One base Greek word implies "filling to the max." It is not talking about for food per se, but an overall filling of one's self that "makes no room" for anything else because one's satisfaction is in the here and now.

But Jesus mercifully warns us of this. If we fill ourselves with earthly treasures and think that the height of satisfaction, that is the height of ignorance for soon we shall realize, "If this is all there is to life, this is pathetic! I have no more dreams!" Soon the entertainment, fame, drugs, friends, possessions, relationships, immorality, money, or anything else we try to fill ourselves with other than Christ Himself--it will fail us and prove as an ugly deception. Worldliness and lust are ugly deceptions that do nothing but harden our hearts toward God, hinder the pursuit of God, and dull our sensitivity to the Lord's leading. Settle not for them! They lie to us! They do not deliver as advertised!

Our end is to hunger without satisfaction if we settle for less than God. The word "hunger" in the Greek, "pěinaō," means to famish--to crave and be hungered ^[2]. So what we think now to be our satisfaction other than God will leave us dying in starvation.

May we remind ourselves that Christ died to save us from this deceit! What a blessed relief! The Holy Spirit has opened our once darkened eyes to see what really matters and live life in the FREEDOM of the only satisfaction, Jesus Christ. Amen!

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Challenge and Application Questions

• What things less than God most beg to be known as and claim to be satisfaction in your life?
• Do you remind yourself of the Gospel and that Christ died to save you from that deceit when you are tempted to seek satisfaction outside of God?
• In light of the Gospel, have the deceitful things of the world dimmed and been exposed for what they really are?
• How are you applying the Gospel to your Christian life of discernment?

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1. Strong's concordance (KJV), Greek Dictionary 1705. (Back to reading)
2. Strong's concordance (KJV), Greek Dictionary 3983. (Back to reading)

Hunger that Satisfies

"Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied."
~Luke 6:21a (ESV)

"The more I drink of Your love, the more I thirst for You."
-Telecast

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Those who are hungry for the Lord's presence, the Lord's Word, the Lord's ways, the Lord--they shall be satisfied. The believer who counts that which is hungered for in Godliness as indispensable and as far greater than and more important even than food for the stomach recognizes their need and shall be satisfied. Indeed, the very definition of Godliness is one who genuinely hungers for God and delights in His Savior at all times and in all things. There are many other aspects of Godliness, but the desire and hunger cannot be absent. Godly hunger cannot be separated from Godliness. Godly hunger is inclusive in the word "Godliness" and without it the word "Godliness" becomes meaningless and void and a mere scrambling of letters.

So do not separate Godliness and Godly hunger, for until we die and on to eternity, we need more of God and will always hunger for Him. However, the intent of this verse, as when Jesus said, "whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again" (John 4:14) and "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6:35), those who partake of Him will never go thirsty and will never go hungry. We will never go hungry when we long for Him and seek after Him by the means of grace He has given. "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you" (James 4:8). This is a promise straight from the mouth of God! We will be in an eternally satisfying state of hungering for more of the supremacy and presence of Christ, OUR SAVIOR.

So, neither separate Godliness from Godly hunger and so deceive yourself into thinking you can be Godly and not hunger, and do not separate satisfaction from Christ. Only in Him will the Godly longing of the redeemed be satisfied.

For we know the more we know You God, the more we shall hunger for You.