Spiritual Understanding

[Allan Walker]

SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING​

In my view, comprehending the Word of God is not the grasping of an intellectual concept nor is it an emotional response. Rather it is life.

“The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.” (John 6:63, NIV)​

To me this means that the Word of God is, first and foremost, something to be experienced. It is the power of an endless life.

The Scriptures tell us that we are being transformed day by day by the Holy Spirit into the likeness of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). We can be confident that we have some understanding of this eternal truth when we see evidence of this transformation, small or large, in the daily practicalities of our life.

We are told that we have been made to “participate in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). What a breathtakingly glorious truth this is. Yet it is not just something to be wondered at but is to be experienced out there in the rough and tumble of real life. It is here that we can prove the power of his love as it starts to manifest itself in our own attitude and behaviour.

Perhaps we will see this as the increasingly calm and controlled manner we find ourselves able to deal with difficult people and situations. We find, perhaps to our own surprise, some bitterness or resentment that we have harboured in our hearts, evaporating and being replaced with an attitude of love and forgiveness. We learn that “perfect love casts out fear” as we find ourselves more and more comfortable in situations which once caused us nervousness and tension. The list of possibilities is endless.

Thus “spiritual revelation” is about recognising the reality of what has been written in the Word of God as it works its way into our experience, our life being progressively replaced with his.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20, NIV)​

It is only then that we can say that we have some knowledge of his Word “in all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives.”

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, (Colossians 1:9‑10, NIV)​

The result of this is that it provides direct access to this understanding for each child of God.

No longer will they teach their neighbour,

or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ ​

because they will all know me,

from the least of them to the greatest. (Hebrews 8:11, NIV)​

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[Jesse Dornfeld]

Yes, the Holy Spirit is life. The Holy Spirit guides us and teaches us more and more how to become like the Son, putting aside the lusts of the flesh to focus on the goal ahead of us in the resurrection.

Some verses to add:

1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

Proverbs 18:4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;
the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.