Receiving God's Promises

RECEIVING GOD’S PROMISES Copyright 1985,1993,2001,2007 Crossroads Full Gospel International Ministries All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Short extracts may be used for review purposes. Except otherwise stated, Bible quotes come from the King James Version. 1611 Elizabethan English is updated in some cases to reflect present terminology, without changing the true meaning of the word. Extracts from “The Expositor's Study Bible” are identified as E.S.B. Copyright © 2005 Published by, and the sole property of, Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, Baton Rouge, LA, and extracts from the Swaggart Bible Commentary series are identified as S.B.C. Copyright © World Evangelism Press® Extracts from the Amplified Bible are identified as Amp. Old Testament Copyright © 1962, 1964 by Zondervan Corporation. New Testament Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Extracts from the New International Version are identified as N.I.V. Copyright 1973,1978,1984 by The International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. Also used: The New Testament: An Expanded Translation (Wuest) translated by Kenneth S. Wuest. Copyright © 1961 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan. Bracketed comments following some scriptures assist the reader in understanding the intended meaning of these verses We acknowledge the additional works of the various Scholars and Bible Commentaries used in conjunction with the College material. This is not to say that we agree with all their theology, but we certainly value their contribution to the Body of Christ. Published by: Crossroads Publications 10681 Princes Highway Warrnambool Victoria 3280 Australia CONTENTS RECEIVING GOD’S PROMISES............................................1 SALVATION IN CHRIST.....................................................1 RECEIVING FORGIVENESS AND DELIVERANCE.......3 THE SMOKE-FILLED BOTTLE.........................................9 RECEIVING THE PROMISES OF GOD..........................11 THE REALITY OF FAITH.................................................15 RECEIVING GOD’S PROMISES Many people have the misconception that we must put our lives in order before we can come to God to receive from Him. However we know this is impossible, for we cannot deal with sin ourselves. We can only put our lives in order by coming to God in repentance, believing in the Blood of Calvary, and receiving from Him not only His forgiveness but the empowerment we need to gain victory over sin. In this way He can not only make us clean, but also put us on the road to victory through the transforming power of His glorious Gospel. ROMANS 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation (of spirit soul and body) to every one who believes . . . . This teaching will bring you into the knowledge of how to receive from God without having, as many think, to earn His blessings. Our Heavenly Father has provided for our every need in the Covenant we have in Christ. We need now only place ourselves in a position to receive, by living according to God’s Word through the power of the Divine Nature. “. . .We can only put our lives in order by coming to God in repentance, believing in the Blood of Calvary, and receiving from Him. . .” SALVATION IN CHRIST The word “salvation” can be defined in terms of such words as deliverance, freedom, completeness, liberty, soundness, preservation, safety, health, victory, prosperity, restoration and wholeness. And the word can be applied to both spiritual and physical dimensions. Spiritually speaking, it refers to soundness of the spirit and the mind (soul). Physically speaking, it refers to soundness of the body. This we know because we are three-part beings (1 Thessalonians 5:23). 1 Through regeneration we have been delivered from the wrath of God which is destined to be executed upon the ungodly at the end of this age. And regeneration, as we know, refers to the salvation of the spirit. Legally speaking, however, we have also been delivered from all bondage associated with sin in every other area of our lives. This also refers to the salvation of mind and body. “. . .The word “salvation” can be defined in terms of such words as deliverance, freedom, completeness, liberty, soundness. . . .and can be applied to both spiritual and physical dimensions. . .” COLOSSIANS 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, Who has (qualified and) made us meet (fit) to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light: COLOSSIANS 1:13 Who has delivered (saved) us from the power (authority) of darkness (in every area), and has (past tense) translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son (by means of the Cross): COLOSSIANS 1:14 In Whom we have redemption through His Blood (this was the price paid), even the forgiveness of sins In its fullest context, Colossians 1:12-14 is referring to every area of our lives and includes deliverance from all types of sickness, disease and emotional torment such as worry, fear, depression, suicidal thoughts, confusion, unbelief, etc. However while the spirit is completely delivered from the authority of darkness at regeneration, the mind, at an experiential level, is not. The spirit is completely delivered from the authority of darkness when we are born again. This includes deliverance from the sin nature which once resided in our spirit. It has been evicted by the saving presence of God through Jesus Christ. This saving presence continues to surround our spirit and guard it from darkness. While our spirit is clean, as we have said, our mind, at an experiential level, is not. The 2 sin nature in regard to our mind needs to be dethroned through the empowerment of the Divine Nature. This takes place as we yield to the Holy Spirit (the will of God) and receive empowerment to do that which we have chosen to do. This must be a daily focus. “. . .The sin nature in regard to our mind needs to be dethroned through the empowerment of the Divine Nature. . .” To know the will of God, scripture tells us, our mind must be constantly renewed through the washing of the water of the Word (Romans 12:2; John 17:17). In this way our mind can be gradually brought towards a condition which matches our position in Christ, a condition of righteousness where our thinking agrees with God’s thinking. This is also known as “ongoing sanctification,” a process which is ongoing and will continue until we go to be with the Lord. Our body may also be afflicted in various ways and we may need healing because of this. So salvation of mind and body, though legally ours, needs to be appropriated or received through a proper focus on the message of the Cross - the place where Jesus paid for our deliverance. All the grace we need in order to be healed, delivered and progressively sanctified can be appropriated through the Cross. RECEIVING FORGIVENESS AND DELIVERANCE Background Reading: Luke 7:36-50; 2 Chronicles 33:1-20 Through Jesus’ sacrifice, forgiveness has been made available to the whole world, for Jesus paid in full the debt of mankind’s sin by the shedding of His Blood. If we fall into sin after salvation, we can receive God’s forgiveness and the cleansing of all unrighteousness in order to be set free. And 1 John 1:9 tells how this is done. 1 JOHN 1:9 If we confess (and repent of) our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 3 In order to be delivered from any bondage, we must trust God and lean on His understanding, not our own strength (Proverbs 3:57). Firstly, however, we must acknowledge that any bondage is a consequence of sin - from Adam’s sin to our sin, it is someone’s sin. Christ took care of the sin problem (and the enemy who promotes sin) at the Cross. We must develop a proper focus for our faith, knowing that this is true. The power of sin has been dealt with and overcome. We need only appropriate in our own lives the victory that has already been gained. Only as we yield to the Holy Spirit can we receive the energies and graces of God’s Divine Nature to do this. “. . .Firstly, however, we must acknowledge that any bondage is a consequence of sin - from Adam’s sin to our sin, it is someone’s sin. . .” If we have sinned, however, we need to repent. The start of repentance is the will to not want to sin. Then we must yield to the Holy Spirit and will to turn around from that sin, believing that it is nailed to the Cross with the old man. We then need to believe for the empowerment to live as God wills. This comes through the Divine Nature that we were made partakers of when we were born again. As we yield to the Lord, our human nature can be enriched with the energies and graces of the Divine Nature so that we can gain both the desire and the power to do God’s will. Knowing this, and trusting in God, we can then, through His power at work in us, turn around from that sin, determining with a holy desire to forsake it completely. This is the first step. The second step, which can only be taken after the first, is to accept God’s forgiveness, and the cleansing of all unrighteousness. The third step is, when sin presents itself, to exercise our will against this sin and to believe God for His grace to work in us so that we may overcome. To do this we need to activate our faith in regard to the realities of the Cross which are applicable to our life. 4 In point form, the steps we need to take are as follows: 1. Step 1 - to acknowledge sin and to repent of it. 2. Step 2 - to receive: (a) God’s forgiveness (b) the cleansing of unrighteousness 3. Step 3 - when sin presents itself, to exercise our will against this sin and then to believe for God’s empowerment to overcome that sin and not be overtaken by it again. Remember, it is through the Divine Nature that we receive the power both to desire and then to do that which pleases God. “. . .As we yield to the Lord, our human nature can be enriched with the energies and graces of the Divine Nature so that we can gain both the desire and the power to do God’s will. . .” We can see that because of Jesus’ finished work, we do not have to deal directly with sin. Therefore, we do not have a sin problem so much as a receiving problem - receiving the empowerment which comes through the Divine Nature to overcome. Some people teach that we must give up many things before we can enjoy the benefits of salvation. However, we will never have the strength needed to give up most things (bad habits, bondages, sin) until we have received Jesus Christ as Lord. Then with Him by our side and the Holy Spirit empowering us, we can conquer any obstacle in our lives. As the scriptures declare: ROMANS 8:37 . . . in all these things we are more than conquerors through (and only through) Him Who loved us. Because: 5 PHILIPPIANS 2:13 . . . it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you (i.e those who allow Him, through the process of Divine enablement) - energizing and creating in you the power and desire - both to will and to work for His good pleasure . . . (Amp.) Therefore we can declare: PHILIPPIANS 4:13 I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens (empowers) me. Permanent liberation from the authority of darkness can only be obtained through God’s power being made available to the person seeking freedom. Only in Christ’s strength (by God’s power) can we, in the long term, overcome, and remove all the enemy’s inroads into our lives. Note: “God’s power” can be defined in simple terms as: (a) The strength to overcome (b) That which we know and experience as the love of God and even the presence of God. (c) That which cleanses us from all evil and keeps evil at bay. It is impossible to know the power of God in our lives via our own set of rules and regulations - for God’s power only comes via the Cross as we exercise faith in His Word and fulfill His conditions of love and obedience. Also, many people allow Jesus to be Lord of some areas of their lives and not Lord of every area. Consequently they are unable to receive total deliverance. Romans 6:16 clearly states: ROMANS 6:16 Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey (in any area), his servants you are to whom you obey (in that area); whether of sin (the devil’s way) unto (which leads to) death, or of obedience (God’s way) unto (which leads to) righteousness? 6 “. . .Therefore, we do not have a sin problem so much as a receiving problem - receiving the empowerment which comes through the Divine Nature to overcome. . .” Many Christians live with one foot in the world and one foot in Christianity and wonder why they are not growing in faith and living in the freedom the Gospel declares. Such Christians are trying to obtain the promises of God on their own terms under the government of self-rule. However Christians will only experience freedom from every spiritual and mental bondage when they allow Jesus to be Lord of every area of their lives, and submit themselves to a government in which God rules. We must submit completely to His Lordship, for even as Christians, the devil is our master in those areas in which we do not allow Jesus to be Lord. So whether we are blessed or cursed in any area will depend on which master we are submitting to in that area. And it is always ultimately our own choice - for it is we who cast the deciding vote, with God supplying the power, if we so choose, to do things His way. Wuest comments on the Spirit-controlled life in these terms: “The Lord Jesus waited for you and me to recognize Him as Saviour before He saved us. The Holy Spirit indwelling a believer is waiting to be recognized as the One to come to that believer’s aid. Salvation is by faith from start to finish. It is a work of God for man. But God waits for man, unsaved or saved as the case might be, to avail himself of the salvation he needs, by means of faith. One of the reasons why the Holy Spirit has so little control over many Christians is because they think He works automatically in their hearts . . . . . “If any man thirst” (John 7:37) refers to a desire on the part of the believer that the Holy Spirit be the One to control his every thought, word, and deed. We do not take a drink of water unless we are thirsty. We do not appropriate the control of the Spirit unless we desire Him to control us. A desire for His control will include among other things, a desire that He cause us to judge sin in our lives, a desire that He put sin out of our lives and keep it out, a desire that 7 He separate us from all the ties we might have with that system of evil called the world, a desire that He dethrone our self-life and enthrone the Lord Jesus as absolute Lord and Master, a desire that He produce in us His own fruit, a desire that He make us Christlike, a desire that He lead us and teach us. Such a desire is a serious thing. It involves crucifixion of self, and self dies hard. The Spiritcontrolled life is a crucified life. “. . .One of the reasons why the Holy Spirit has so little control over many Christians is because they think He works automatically in their hearts . . .” The other requirement is trust. Our Lord said, “He that believeth on Me, out from his inmost being shall flow rivers of living water” : John 7:38. The trust here in this context is not only trust in Him as Saviour, but trust in Him as the One who fills with the Spirit. The Spirit-controlled life is a matter of trust. Salvation is by faith. We received our justification by faith. We are to receive our sanctification by faith. It is this constant desire for the Spirit’s control and a trust in the Lord Jesus for the Spirit’s control that results in the Spirit-controlled life. When one faces a new day, it is well to include in our prayers thanksgiving for the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, the expression of our desire for His control, and a definite assertion of our trust in the Lord Jesus for the Spirit’s control during that day. It is well at intervals during the day when we are faced with temptation, or when we have a definite piece of Christian service to perform, or are in need of instruction from the Word or of strength for some duty, to recognize quietly the ministry of the Spirit and depend upon Him for all needed guidance, wisdom, and strength. He is waiting for us to recognize Him and trust Him for His aid. He is there, the indwelling Spirit, always at the service of the believer. But the point is that He comes to our aid when we avail ourselves of His help. There are just two things therefore which the believer must do in order to be controlled by the Spirit, desire that control and trust the Lord Jesus for that control.” 1 (underlines and scriptural references added) 8 THE SMOKE-FILLED BOTTLE We will now use a natural illustration to demonstrate how we can receive God’s delivering power. Let’s take a bottle which has an inlet valve and an outlet valve. This bottle is filled with smoke which we will equate with sin or unrighteousness. To displace the smoke in the bottle, we will add water through the inlet valve. As this valve is turned on, the water enters, causing the smoke to leave via the outlet valve, as it is opened. We could parallel this illustration with the condition of the spirit before regeneration. The bottle is a man’s spirit and the smoke represents sin. As the man believes and acts upon God’s Word, entering into relationship with his Creator, the inlet valve is opened and God begins to pour in His living water. As a result, the unrighteousness which is in the man’s spirit is forced to leave. Concerning the illustration, did we have to concentrate on removing the smoke from the bottle? No. Similarly, as we did not have to concentrate on removing the smoke from the bottle, neither did we have to give up unrighteousness before we could receive God’s grace into our lives. We needed only to repent of sin, thereby opening the spiritual valve of our heart so that God’s saving grace could flow in. This shows us that we should not be totally sin conscious, but rather God conscious - for through our spiritual understanding in Christ (1 Corinthians 2:12-16) we will become aware of that which is wrong. Only if we have a proper holy relationship with the Lord at an experiential level can we be at one with God through the Divine Nature energizing our human nature to believe as God believes. To do this we must be seeking, finding and embracing the Word and will of God daily. The only time we can turn on the valve to receive from God is when our will is in line with His will and we are depending on the Holy Spirit to live our life in a righteous way. We know that smoke and water do not mix - and such is the case with light and darkness. We cannot mix God’s ways with the devil’s ways and expect to live in the victory Christ offers. The result will only be a mediocre Christian lifestyle which lacks both fruit and blessing. In other words, there is no neutral ground. In each area of 9 our lives we are either living according to God’s will, which promotes blessing, or the devil’s ways, which promote bondage. “. . .We cannot mix God’s ways with the devil’s ways and expect to live in the victory Christ offers. . .” If we allow God’s living water to enter, the spiritual smoke (sin) in our lives has to leave. However if we choose not to seek truth (not to continue receiving the living water offered), the supply will diminish and a vacuum will be created which will allow the smoke to return. Jesus spoke of this principle in Matthew 12:43-45. MATTHEW 12:43 When the unclean spirit (or unrighteousness) is gone out of a man, he (the unclean spirit) walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. MATTHEW 12:44 Then he says, “I will return into my house from where I came out;” and when he (the evil spirit) is come, he finds it empty, swept, and garnished (unoccupied). MATTHEW 12:45 Then goes he, and takes (brings) with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first (he is worse off than before) . . . This shows us the importance of continuing to receive from God. Many Christians reach a certain level of spiritual growth in God. They then feel comfortable and tend not to move on in their faith-walk. As we know, however, there is no such thing as a “status quo” in this area - we are either moving forward, progressing in God, or we are regressing. If we are not moving forward and receiving the water of life, we can allow the smoke of the past to return, and with it, potentially, greater bondage than before. Again, the scriptures state, “For unto whom much is given, of him will much be required” 10 (Luke 12:48). God will, nevertheless, always allow us to make our own choices, and He will never force us to receive His Words of life and deliverance. The Kingdom of God for the Christian is meant to revolve around an ongoing and progressive relationship with God through Jesus Christ and the power of the Spirit. Also involved is progressive revelation about God’s Kingdom itself, and this can only come through the message of the Cross. Our lives within the Kingdom are not supposed to remain static, but to progress in spiritual knowledge and wisdom through a deepening relationship with our Lord. “. . .For the Christian . . . there is no such thing as a “status quo” - we are either moving forward, progressing in God, or we are regressing. . .” RECEIVING THE PROMISES OF GOD Background Reading: 2 Peter 1:2-11 We can also liken our lives to a box which has a series of compartments. Each compartment has a door by which access is gained. 2 3 D o o r D o o r 4 D o o r Salvation 1 11 5 D o o r The first section represents the salvation of our spirit. At regeneration, we allowed the light of God to enter this room when we received Jesus as Lord. However if we deny Christ in a major way (e.g. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10), this will block out the light from the first compartment, and the whole box will again be in complete darkness. Once the first door is opened, however, and the light fills that compartment, there are doors to each of the other compartments which can also be opened so that light can enter. For example, the second compartment could represent our health, and the third compartment could represent our peace of mind. Other compartments could also represent our family life, our financial affairs, our witnessing to others of the Gospel, etc. In order to begin to open the doors to these compartments, we need to first have knowledge of God’s promises concerning these areas. We need to know what His Word says, for example, concerning the area of our needs: PSALM 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Because: PHILIPPIANS 4:19 . . . my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Concerning the second room, the Word states: ISAIAH 53:4 Surely He (Jesus) has borne our griefs (paid the price for our sickness and disease), and carried our sorrows: yet we did (ignorantly) esteem (consider) Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. ISAIAH 53:5 But He was wounded (pierced) for our transgressions (rebellion), He was bruised (crushed) for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace (punishment that brought us peace) was upon Him (and Him alone); and with His stripes we are healed (and made whole). 12 Concerning the third room, the Word promises: ISAIAH 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed (focused and centred) on You: because he trusts (completely and utterly) in You. PHILIPPIANS 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. PHILIPPIANS 4:7 And the peace of God, which passes all understanding (is beyond all human comprehension), shall keep (guard) your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus. However knowledge alone is not sufficient to open these or any other doors. Knowledge only informs us of what is available. We can then receive God’s promises by faith. As we believe and trust fully in the finished work of Calvary, and allow Jesus to be Lord in each area, the doors will open and the rooms will become illuminated - filled with light. Knowing it is God’s will for us to receive these promises, having faith in the promises and then acting upon them will bring them into reality. All this can only happen if we yield to the Spirit of Truth, our Teacher, and the Divine Nature enmeshes with our human nature so that we may believe and trust that which God has said. Nevertheless, if we allow doubt, unbelief, fear, or self to enter and take control, the door to that area of our lives will slam shut. The result will be that Jesus is no longer Lord of that area and we cannot therefore receive the promises which pertain to it, e.g. our needs will no longer be met in Christ. The promises are still available, but we will have blocked God from providing for us in that area - for our needs are only met in Christ as we abide in His Word in faith and trust it completely. As we focus our faith at the Cross, the Spirit will give to us the power needed to run the race set before us. Amen. 13 HEBREWS 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him. JAMES 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (without doubting). For he who wavers (vacillates, not being single minded) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. JAMES 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord (for faith is heaven’s currency). JAMES 1:8 A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Christians who continue to think as the world thinks (logically or naturally) while at the same time trying to operate in faith, will not be in a position to receive from God: e.g. 1 Corinthians 2:14 (in any particular area of promise). Indeed such Christians will always find themselves in a state of double mindedness. In other words, confusion will reign and it will be impossible for them to consistently focus on God’s truths and principles. Indeed two things are needed. The first is proper focus and the second is the empowerment which comes through the Divine Nature. Christians desiring to receive from God should first go back to the message of the Cross and understand its absolute significance (Romans 6:3-4). Once they have properly focused themselves on the truths of the Cross which form the basis of our inheritance, they can then go on through the energies and graces of the Divine Nature to believe God for the fulfillment of any particular covenantal promise they are desiring. Only in the power of the Divine Nature can the Christian properly believe (have holy faith) and make proper demands on heaven’s power - to receive that which is His will for them to receive (1 John 5:14, 15.) 14 “. . .two things are needed. The first is proper focus and the second is the empowerment which comes through the Divine Nature. . .” THE REALITY OF FAITH Background Reading: Romans 4:17-25 Many Christians presume to have “Bible-faith” when in fact what they have is mainly faith (trust) in their senses. These people may have small victories in some areas. It will only be a matter of time, however, before such Christians are faced with reality, that reality being bondage. The problem is that they are primarily only mentally assenting to the fact that God’s Word is true. There is little real holy faith in their hearts. Unfortunately, some Christians will only believe when they see physical signs and wonders. Those people who base their belief on signs or manifestations are led by their senses, and this will hinder them from receiving fully from God. They believe for a time, but when there are no immediate results, they usually lose hope and so whatever little faith or trust they had is lost from their hearts (Mark 4:16-17). Indeed many Christians do not have much in the way of faith because they do not know what has happened to them, who they really are in Christ and the riches of their inheritance in Him. “. . .Many Christians presume to have “Bible-faith” when in fact what they have is mainly faith (trust) in their senses. . .” Having true spiritual abundance comes from having a relationship with Him not only at a positional level but at an experiential level, and so having the Holy Spirit’s energizing power to then believe and trust in His Word wholeheartedly with no shadow 15 of turning. This allows God to honour His Word and make His promises a reality in our lives. However the Word must first be digested into the heart of man before it can be evidenced in people’s lives. This, by the Spirit’s power, produces transformation, and this is what God desires. God deals first with the heart, so that righteousness will follow - and then everything else that is needed. PSALM 34:15 The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open (attentive) to their cry; MATTHEW 6:33 But seek ye first the Kingdom of God (allow Jesus to have first place in your life), and His righteousness (seek to live a holy life); and all these things (everything you need) shall be added unto you (this gives the “conditions” for God’s Blessings : E.S.B.). To obtain the faith God requires to work through, we need to be unwavering in our belief. In all of our affairs in life, if we lack wisdom, we need to ask God to supply it (James 1:5). Then we can pray in faith, knowing God’s will on the matter, being certain in our hearts that what we are believing for will come to pass, even though it may not yet be manifested in the physical realm, and regardless of the time it may take. In all of this we will need, from start to finish, God’s grace to work in our lives. We have seen that one key to opening the doors of our lives is to receive God’s Word into our hearts, to digest it so that we may be transformed, thereby receiving faith to believe the truths which have been digested. As we then use that holy faith, the door will open and the power of God will enter into that situation. This could concern healing, our needs being met, etc., for God has given us many, many promises in His Word, and the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16). Christians must allow God to develop His holy faith in their hearts so that they can then believe on God’s promises at a holy level, a Spirit-energized level, and so give Him permission to fulfill these promises in their lives. Many are missing out on God’s blessings simply because they choose not to partake of, and act on, His truths - in the power, the belief and trust, which comes through the Divine Nature. 16 There are people, both saved and unsaved, who have an intellectual knowledge of the Bible, and may even be able to recite whole chapters by memory. However we see many of these people in bondage, leading unfruitful or frustrated lives. And God’s Word tells us that this is the case because they lack knowledge. How could this be so? This is the case because it is only as we have revelation (heart) knowledge of God’s Word and act upon it, that His power is activated in our lives and His promises are brought to fruition. We gain revelation knowledge as the human nature absorbs the graces and energies of the Divine Nature, and the Holy Spirit writes His truths on our hearts. Quite often this comes about naturally as we yield to the Spirit of God. Concerning the unsaved: 1 CORINTHIANS 2:14 But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know (understand) them, because they are spiritually discerned (unsaved man cannot understand spiritual truth). Concerning the saved: HOSEA 4:6 My people (today this means Christians) are destroyed for lack of (revelation) knowledge . . . Many may know certain teachings of God’s Word, but only on an intellectual level and not as a living reality in their hearts. This is why we need to meditate, with the help of the Spirit’s graces, on God’s Word. As we do so, the Holy Spirit can deposit truth into our hearts as revelation (heart) knowledge. This kind of knowledge, when properly acted upon, will produce good fruit in our lives, fruit of eternal value. 17 “. . .We gain revelation knowledge as the human nature absorbs the graces and energies of the Divine Nature, and the Holy Spirit writes His truths on our hearts. . .” God has given to mankind everything that is needed for spiritual abundance. It is up to each of us to place ourselves in a position where we can receive that which God has provided. We must simply seek God’s Word and will, find His Word at a heart level and embrace His will (all with the help of the Holy Spirit) in our hearts and lives. 2 PETER 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 2 PETER 1:3 According as His Divine power has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness (He has given us everything we need to live a Godly life), through the knowledge of Him Who has called us to glory and virtue: 2 PETER 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and Precious Promises (pertains to the Word of God, which alone holds the answer to every life problem): that by these (Promises) you might be partakers of the Divine Nature (the Divine Nature implanted in the inner being of the believing sinner becomes the source of our new life and actions; it comes to everyone at the moment of being “Born-Again”), having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (This presents the Salvation experience of the sinner, and the Sanctification experience of the Saint.) (E.S.B.) The belief and trust which constitute faith come to us through God’s grace, given as we flow with Him. This faith cannot come by willpower. It is developed as we yield to the Spirit of Truth and flow 18 in the energies of His Divine Nature of which we in Christ are now partakers. Therefore one of the greatest blessings after salvation is to flow in the river of truth proceeding from the throne, not in our own strength, but as we become one with the Holy Spirit Who dwells within. We then move and have our being in His strength whereby we can believe and then trust, so gaining the proper, holy faith we need to receive from God. This inheritance, given at the Cross, then becomes a living reality in our lives. “. . .Therefore one of the greatest blessings after salvation is to flow in the river of truth proceeding from the throne . .” As we activate our faith in regard to God’s Word of promise, we allow Him to protect us and provide for us, and to remove any obstacles that may be diverting us from the path He wants us to take. So receive God’s living Word of deliverance and provision. Receive Jesus as Lord (Master) of every area of your life by reverencing His Words of life and peace that are written in the Book. Allow the Holy Spirit to give you the grace needed to digest God’s Word so that you truly become one with His truths. You will then be able to know what it is to live in the abundant life He won for us at Calvary. May you have the victory in Christ. Amen! For further information or teaching material to help you grow in the Christian faith, please visit: CROSSROADS INTERNATIONAL FULL GOSPEL MINISTRIES crossroadsministries.org.au 19 NOTES 20 NOTES 21 NOTES 22 1 Wuest, K.S., Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, Vol.III, pgs.105-107.