Friday, December 6, 2013

BELIEVING In God & KNOWING God - Part 2

 
While attempting to weigh how this subject imparts on grace, I found myself comparing scriptures with scriptures (1cor. 2:13c) and the following was some of my findings:
 
1.    2Pet. 1:2 GRACE and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.
-       We can deduce here that increasing in the revealed KNOWLEDGE OF GOD which can only take place as we increase in KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST is the key source of INCREASING IN GRACE. Prayers, fasting, giving etc can only help us while journeying here but isn’t a substitute in anyway to the learning process.
 2.    1Cor. 15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
-       i.e. at this junction, the Corinthian church should have grown beyond the milk of the word that made them BELIEVERS, to a phase where they could relate with KNOWLEDGE – the meaty aspect of God’s word (Heb. 5:12-14) that should make them KNOWERS. The syllabus of knowledge have to do with the Lord’s secrets (1Cor. 2:6a)
 3.    1Cor 8:1 Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the GRACE of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;
-       i.e. an aspect of Grace/Knowledge of God was received by the Macedonian church that enabled them cheerfully give in pain, despite their great trial of affliction and their deep poverty. This knowledge/grace was the source of their conviction that enabled them give beyond their power, as they were willing of themselves
 4.    Gal. 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the GRACE of Christ unto another gospel:
-       i.e. a spiritual distraction from a TRUE KNOWLEDGE by an INFERIOR KNOWELDGE. Both are fellowships. One in the Spirit and the other in the flesh
 5.    Gal. 2:9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the GRACE that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship.
-       i.e. the grace Apostle Paul made reference to here was knowledge of the secrets of Christ, which the Lord couldn’t give unto the disciples because they initially KNEW HIM IN THE FLESH, unlike Paul who began by KNOWING HIM IN THE SPIRIT (2Cor. 5:16)
6.    Gal. 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from GRACE
-       i.e. the Galatian church slipped back to Judaism, an inferior knowledge rooted in the Law which placed emphasis on right conducts and focused on the Mosaic covenant
 7.    Gal. 6:18 Brethren, the GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
-       i.e. Our recreated human Spirit has received and is a safe abode for the grace of our Lord Jesus, but our soul is yet to be exposed to the knowledge of God and is therefore yet to become a conducive abode for grace to abide. THE ONGOING PROCESS OF THE SALVATION OF THE SOUL (1PET. 1:9) IS MEANT TO MAKE IT AN ABODE
8.    Eph. 2:8 For by GRACE are ye SAVED through FAITH; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
-       i.e. We embrace that knowledge through Faith. Many are unbelievers today because they are yet to respond to the spiritual faith-based principle and many believers remain carnal (Rom. 8:6-7) because their minds have not received new laws (Heb. 8:10/10:15) and their hearts have not yet been instructed in righteousness (2Tim. 3:16)
9.    Phil. 1:7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my GRACE.
-       i.e. Paul’s Soul had become ONE WHAT GOD REVEALED to him through several encounters, from Acts 9 to when he was encountered by God through the buffeting (2Cor. 12:7) he received from a terrible fallen spirit. That Knowledge had become HIS INHERITANCE IN CHRIST JESUS =Eph. 1:3=, HIS PERSONAL PROPERTY BEYOND TIME.
10. Acts 14:3 Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his GRACE, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
-       i.e. there is a class/order of words that conveys God’s secrets and communicates His Grace! It’s called UTTERANCE and as mighty as Apostle Paul was, he had to enjoin the saints to pray for him that utterance would be given to him – Eph. 6:19
 
We can therefore see that the beginning aspect of faith is what makes us bear an identity called BELIEVERS OF CHRIST. But there is the need for an experience with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation (Eph. 1:17-18) to bring us into KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST (i.e. knowledge of what we previously believed in), where we experientially encounter the GRACE OF GOD
 
2Tim. 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I KNOW whom I have BELIEVED
 
So the more NEW TESTAMENT ENLIGHTENMENT THAT WE RECEIVE (Eph. 1:17-18/Jn. 1:12a), the more grace we partake of and the more gracious we become. The more our investment of hearing and learning Christ =Eph. 4:20=, the more our grace dividend.
 
Having Grace is owing God’s knowledge (Jn. 17:3) and it is more than sufficient for us because Its More Than We Can Ask Or Think Of (Eph. 3:20)
 
Bless You!
 
 
 

BELIEVING In God & KNOWING God - Part 1

Dearly Beloved,
It may interest you to know that Believing in God and Knowing God are two unique overlapping dimensions of Faith experiences.
We start the faith walk by BELIEVING IN GOD (i.e. believing by faith in what we know not) but should JOURNEY (1Tim. 2:4) to a fruitful place where we would KNOW WHAT WE ONLY INITIALLY BELIEVED IN, i.e. eternal life (Jn. 17:3)
2 Tim 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I KNOW (end of faith) whom I have BELIEVED (beginning of faith), and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
Jn. 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
We can therefore see that the first believing brought about the salvation of our human spirit which was dead in sins and trespasses according to Eph. 2:1. Most things we hear and can readily relate with in the first years if not decade(s) of Christian professing are based on the elementary syllabus of believing in God, and God starts with us all from there.
But a time comes when God would seek to wean us from such believing meals (like mothers do to a suckling baby) so we can be schooled in deeper aspect of spiritual meals that is meant to bring about salvation of our souls (1Pet. 1:9) and the ministrations that would cater for this are called the meat or strong meat of the word (Pls read 1Cor. 3:1-2/Heb. 5:12)
Isaiah 28:9 Whom shall he teach Knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand teachings (i.e. revelations)? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
1 Cor. 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 3:2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were
not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
So, Apostle Paul was clearly confirming in Eph. 1:17-18 that the divine personality that mid-wife’s the Process of being Weaned from the Milky Aspect of Faith where we start Believing In God is the Spirit of wisdom & revelation (Eph. 1:17-18). He is the Spirit of Truth whom Jesus confirmed in Jn. 16:13 would open up chapters knowledge of God to a believer.
We may therefore see that our heart Only Believed in an unseen salvation (life) that we had no knowledge of when we came to Christ (new birth). We started by BELIEVING BY FAITH, what we are meant to later KNOW BY GRACE and therefore be saved (Eph. 2:8), because it takes the opening/enlightening of the eyes our understanding to access divine knowledge (Eph. 1:18) and that takes place after we have qualitatively fulfilled the first two spiritual protocols of a preliminary FAITH and beginner LOVE stated in Eph. 1:15
Some Scriptural References:
Eph. 1:15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith (milky form of faith) in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints
Eph. 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the KNOWLEDGE of him: 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may KNOW what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints
Phil. 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ (meaty form of faith), the righteousness which is of God by faith:
1Tim. 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved (i.e. believing born again), and to come unto the knowledge of the truth (i.e. journey to know the Lord that they initially could only believe in).
(i.e. Apostle Peter started out by believing in God but later journeyed to a place where he acquired knowledge of what the being he previously only believed)
The question God is asking most believers and ministers like Paul was asking the Corinthian Church that had tarried for long with the milky aspect of faith is when would they be available for the weaning process (Isa. 28:9/1Cor. 3:1-2 ) needed for them to come into the aspect of spiritually revealed knowledge where he can only be unveiled?
Bless You