REINHILD NIEBUHR

I grew up in a church-going family, which was part of a very loving and caring Christian community – mainly descendants of Lutheran missionaries from Germany, who had moved to Africa in the mid-1800s, to share their FAITH in God, through Jesus Christ, with the unreached on this continent. But it took more than 50 years, before I truly grasped the importance of Spiritual Law…

One of the things that always surprised me while working with teenagers in a deep rural South African high school, and with unemployed youth, is how few had ever heard about the ‘Ten Commandments’! “Do you know them?” I would ask, and inevitably there was maybe one hand going up, hesitantly. Usually, the kid who had heard of them, KNEW that they exist, but couldn’t remember more than about three of them.

Let me ask YOU: Do YOU know the Ten Commandments?

I would LOVE to hear your comments on this post!

For those of you who haven’t heard of the Ten Commandments, or who don’t know what they are, here’s a quick refresher:

Just for fun, I asked ChatGPT the following question:

“What are the Ten Commandments?”

And this was the response:

“The Ten Commandments are a set of biblical principles and moral guidelines that are central to the religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and, to some extent, Islam. They are believed to have been given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai and serve as fundamental rules for ethical behavior and social conduct.

Here are the Ten Commandments in a common Christian version:

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make idols or worship false gods.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.

These commandments serve as moral foundations and are often referenced in discussions of ethics, law, and religious practice.”

Thank you, ChatGPT.

Lutherans combine Commandments 1 and 2, and split Commandment 10 into two, compared to the above structure, and add the full Biblical texts, as translated into English through the “New International Version” (NIV):

3 You shall have no other gods before^[a] me.

⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a z(j)ealous* God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

⁷ “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

¹² “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

¹³ “You shall not murder.

¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵ “You shall not steal.

¹⁶ “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

¹⁷ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

If you’ve paid attention while reading these “Ten Commandments”, you will have noticed that the first three (Lutheran) or four (other Protestant) commandments deal with the relationship of us humans to God, who is our Creator.

The rest deal with how we relate to one another as human beings, i.e. love our parents, have respect for authority, not to murder one another, not to commit adultery, not to steal from one another, not to say false (bad) things about one another and not to be jealous or try to obtain by any means, the relationships and items, which others have.

I find it interesting that two of these laws protect marriage and family as an institution. And this is NO WONDER: A loving and respectful marriage between one man and one woman and the resulting multi-generational family structures are God’s building blocks for a healthy and strong human society!

Image Credit: This image of a family was generated by WordPress AI.

The other laws are basic frameworks for preventing DISORDER and safeguarding basic human rights of the right to life, property rights and the right to justice – all of which result in PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE, both with other humans, as well as with the environment.

Isn’t it AMAZING that – if we humans would just follow these very basic laws – practically ALL issues we are facing in the world today, and have faced in the world over thousands of years, would disappear!

Sadly, our human nature is ‘sinful’ – which means, UNABLE to keep these laws! SIN is anything we do, that goes against these Ten Commandments, namely which breaks the relationship between ourselves and GOD, ourselves and others – and yes, ourselves and our own self!

But the Ten Commandments are NOT the “Spiritual Law” I am talking about today – as much as they form the cornerstone of civilisation – i.e. make us humans different from the animal kingdom, where generally an attitude of ‘survival of the fittest’ reigns.

Spiritual Law is, however, contained in these Ten Commandments, and I think that this is why this part is often ‘conveniently’ removed from the equation, as in the “summarised” version provided by Chat GPT. We humans don’t like to be reminded that our actions have CONSEQUENCES – cause and effect – i.e. “Spiritual Law”.

This “Spiritual Law” of ’cause and effect’ (acknowledged and described as ‘karma’ in some religious systems) – forms the foundation of “Spiritual Intelligence” and is what I believe the Holy Spirit clarified to me during the past three-and-a-half years, namely:

1. DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD results in automatic punishment (cause and effect). This punishment is the ‘generational curse’, namely that children suffer from the parents’ sins into the third and fourth generation, of those who hate GOD. Anyone who disobeys (turns their back on) GOD is a ‘hater’ of GOD. There’s no room for ‘atheism’ or ‘multitheism’, as much as most of humankind would like to be the ‘god’ of their own life!
2. OBEDIENCE TO GOD results in automatic blessings (cause and effect). These blessings are GOD’s LOVE for the children of those who love him and OBEY his commandments – into a THOUSAND generations! Note God’s Fatherly GENEROSITY: punishment only goes on for three to four generations – BLESSINGS go on for A THOUSAND generations!
3. DISHONOURING GOD’s NAME results in automatic punishment, i.e. curses are released in our lives and in the lives of our children, into the third and fourth generation. (Watch out what movies or series you’re looking at! Supporting others who dishonour God, means becoming an accomplice…)
4. NOT RESTING ONE DAY OUT OF SEVEN results in punishment, meaning curses are released into our life and that of our descendants.
5. NOT ACCEPTING AND WORSHIPPING GOD AS OUR CREATOR results in punishment, meaning curses are released into our life and that of our descendants. NOT RESTING ONE DAY OUT OF SEVEN means that we are NOT ACCEPTING AND WORKSHIPPING GOD AS OUR CREATOR. Resting on the seventh day, means that we ACKNOWLEDGE GOD AS OUR CREATOR! This is another lesson I learnt from the Holy Spirit: I was CONVICTED in my spirit to celebrate the Shabbat through resting from sunset on the 6th day to sunset of the 7th day. I still celebrate the Risen Christ on Sundays, with my community of fellow believers, but I am committed to taking a complete break on the 7th day, focusing on rest, spiritual growth and personal relationships.
6. NOT HONOURING OUR PARENTS means that curses are released into our life and in that of our descendants. These include shortened life-spans and loss of property (“land” – or whatever other material gifts God has gifted to us).
7. HONOURING OUR PARENTS means that we are BLESSED with a long life and that our property (land) is PROTECTED!
8. GOD is the one who gives us everything that we have (land). This means that we should live in constant GRATITUDE to him, and not deify ourselves as the ‘creators of our own destiny’. Lack of GRATITUDE to GOD will result in automatic punishment, i.e. curses are released on us and our descendants.
9. TURNING OUR BACK ON THE INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE between one man and one woman – as instituted by OUR CREATOR GOD – results in automatic punishment, i.e. curses are released on us and on our descendants.
10. THEFT, JEALOUSY and COMPETITION from and between us humans results in automatic punishment, i.e. curses are released on us and on our descendants.

God’s punishment is the automatic release of curses in our life and that of our descendants.

What is a curse?

There are many Bible verses about curses. Click here to read a list of them. After intensive Bible Study, which I believe was guided by the Holy Spirit, I have come to understand that a ‘curse’ is a ‘spiritual license’ (Court Order) granted automatically to the devil (our Accuser) to assign evil spirits (demons) to affect our lives and the lives of our descendants in a way that kills our joy and reduces our lifespan from the number of years (120), which God has assigned to us; steals our peace and our property and destroys our life and that of our descendants.

What is the result of a curse?

Read Deuteronomy 28, verse 15 onwards, until the end of the chapter, for the devil’s “Shopping List” of curses, which he can terrorise us with – according to Spiritual Law!

While some of the curses listed in Deuteronomy 28:15 and onwards may seem a bit out of place in the ‘modern’ life of our 21st Century, depression and self-harm, as well as drug abuse and addictive behaviours are reaching alarming heights! Yes, nutritional deficiency and unhealthy habits can cause sickness, cancer and depression, so your state of unwellness may have a biological cause. But if you’re doing everything you can to live a healthy life, and still have a heavy heart, pray for wisdom, in the Name of Jesus Christ, to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the CAUSE of your illness or depression… It may well be a generational curse… or a curse related to an area of your life, where you are holding onto a sin, including unwillingness to forgive someone, including yourself…

DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW WHY WE HUMANS ALL NEED A “SAVIOUR” – someone, who can rescue us and redeem us from the SPIRITUAL BONDAGE our disobedience to GOD has caused?

But – as I mentioned before – Spiritual Law is not just about an automatic result of punishment when we disobey or disrespect GOD, Spiritual Law is also about an automatic result of BLESSING, when we DO OBEY, HONOUR and LOVE GOD!

Our human nature is UNABLE to keep GOD’s LAWs – which is why, in the Old Testament, God instituted a system of animal sacrifice to illustrate that a blood sacrifice was necessary to receive FORGIVENESS and restore the RELATIONSHIP between our CREATOR and us. But this system of sacrifice was an IMPERFECT illustration (a ‘shadow’) of TRUE REDEMPTION, which happened, when GOD sent his Son, Jesus Christ (Yahushua HaMashiach – the divinely Anointed Saviour), to become the final blood sacrifice for ALL of our sins.

Thank GOD for Jesus!

Through him, we can repent and ask for forgiveness of ALL of our sins, every day, and through him ALL curses can be broken… so that we may have life and live ABUNDANTLY!

PS: If you want to learn HOW TO BREAK ANY AND EVERY CURSE over your life, watch this space! My next article will share real-life knowledge and experience, based on biblical scripture, which the Holy Spirit helped me to finally understand, during the past three-and-a-half years. Kindly follow me on LinkedIn or Facebook, if you want to be alerted to this next article.

PS PS: And if you want to learn how to be a #CHANGEMAKER, be transformed yourself and help others to transform their lives, you’re welcome to sign up to my FREE #CHANGEMAKER email newsletter. Simply click on the button below:

* z(j)ealous God – One of the things I have learnt through extensive Bible Study, is that every Hebrew word in the Bible can have 70 levels of meaning! This is why we have so many translations of the Bible in the English language – for instance – and I believe that more are coming and necessary. Not because the translations we have are inaccurate, but because our understanding of the goodness and greatness of God becomes greater with every nuance of transliteration, IF the translation is guided by the Holy Spirit, and is not an unholy effort at transposing demonic falsehoods to confuse us humans! The word ‘jealous’, for instance, as it is used to describe a characteristic of God, can be understood as being ‘passionate’ or ‘zealous’, meaning that God feels VERY STRONGLY about him being the ONLY GOD and us, as his created beings, needing to acknowledge this, as the foundational truth of our worldview. He will defend his honour and so must we, the humans whom he created, because he LOVES US and wants us to live IN RELATIONSHIP with him – and he has given us the authority over the Earth, including SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY, to master Earth (i.e. understand and therefore put to effective and sustainable use), including all creatures – visible and invisible – that are present here. Yes, this also means using our spiritual authority to ‘rebuke’ the devil and speak LIFE, BLESSINGS and LOVE over all of Earth and everyone living here, instead!