Strength training is a type of physical exercise specializing in the use
of resistance to induce muscular contraction which builds the strength,
anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles.Other benefits of
strength training are, develop strong bones, control weight, boost
stamina, manage chronic conditions and sharpen your focus. It is
estimated that Americans spends around $2.6 BILLION! per year on gym
memberships. Another type of strength training so to speak is developing
the mind. According to statistics, the USA spend approximately $809.6
BILLION per year on education. There is nothing wrong with strengthening
our body and our mind, but when the rubber meets the road, both of
these areas are limited. How so? Well, if a portion of the body (an arm
or a leg for example) does not function then the entire body suffers
loss. In the same way, if one of the five senses does not function, then
knowledge also becomes limited.
The Apostle Paul in his letter to the church at Thessalonica writes, "Now
may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your
whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23) We see that man is not
only body and soul (mind, will, emotions and intellect) but he is
spirit. Man was made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26) and
God is Spirit (John 4:24). If man is indeed spirit with a soul in a
body then a dilemma exists. The part of man that is most important and
needs to be strengthened, the spirit, becomes the part that is most
neglected. It's not that we haven't tried to develop the spirit. We had
thought that the only way to do this was through religion or religious
education. Interestingly enough, most Bible Colleges, Seminaries and
Local Churches only teach knowledge and tend to fail at bringing
students and or congregants to a place of understanding spiritual
things.
The knowledge obtained tends to become the only thing that is important,
but again it is limited. This is why the apostle Paul warns us,
"Knowledge puffs up..." (1 Corinthians 8:1) Paul was explaining to the
church that their knowledge of things had filled them with pride and
self-sufficiency, which could lead them to stray from the truth. The
knowledge that they had filled their minds with was sense knowledge.
Knowledge that comes through ones senses. This is the type of knowledge
is the type of knowledge that fills the mind of every person. However,
the Bible does exhort the believer to grown in the knowledge of the
Father and Jesus the Son. (Ephesians 1:17, 2 Peter 3:18) This type of
knowledge only comes through revelation by the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit enables the believer to use the wisdom of God to use knowledge
wisely.
Jesus tells us, "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another
Helper, that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom
the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but
you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." (John 14:16-17) and "However,
when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all
truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears
He will speak; and He will tell you things to come." (John 16:13)
Here Jesus tells us that the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit would come
and take Jesus' place after He had fully completed His work of
redemption. Unknown to most, the Holy Spirit does not communicate
knowledge to the intellect, except in rare cases, but communicates with
our spirit. Until we know this fact and act upon it, for most there will
be no development of faith nor will we come into the knowledge of our rights and privileges as God's children.
We must also keep in mind that the spirit will never grow and be
strengthened in the things of God until it receives eternal life through
"confessing with the mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believing in the heart that God raised Him from the dead."
(Romans 10:9) By new birth, the Holy Spirit recreates our human spirit
and imparts to us the Father's nature. With the Father's nature comes
the Father's wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30). This is the process by which
the believer uses knowledge wisely. In fact, God imparts His entire
nature within the believer (2 Peter 1:4). We may not have worked fully
with the Holy Spirit in developing His nature in us, nevertheless it
does exist within our recreated spirit. This is why it is so important
for believers to grasp the fullness of redemption.
It takes faith to
come to the place where our spirit become so developed that it
dominates the soul and body. Once this happens I believe that the
believer will walk in the same limitless life that Jesus walked in His
ministry on earth as the Son of Man.
Monday, August 30, 2021
Revelation Knowledge
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