In our journey to know "Truth", that is, to intimately and personally
to know Jesus, it will never be accomplished
through intellectual knowledge, the natural realm. Although God has
revealed Himself throughout creation, our ability to truly know Him can
only come by-way-of the spiritual realm. Jesus tells us, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3)
Jesus is expressing and defining the parameters by which one must
experience, that is, being born from above, or he is not fit for, nor a
partake of God's Kingdom, either in this world or in that which is to
come. The kingdom which Jesus was about to set up was so pure and holy
that if one was not born again, he could not partake of its blessings.
Again, to be born again is something that takes place in the spiritual
realm, but its manifestation is in the natural or physical realm, that
is, in the life of a human being. This cannot be understood through
intellectual means, but through a spiritual awaking, an encounter with
God.
Although there is a place for intellectual knowledge and I consider
myself to be and intelligent person who enjoys learning, I know that
there is knowledge to be gained that far surpasses the natural realm.
Thankfully, we do not have to be slaves to intellectual knowledge. God
has made available something that enables us to move beyond the natural
realm and tap into His supernatural realm through revelation knowledge.
It is called faith.
(Romans 12:3) If God had intended for humanity to remain only in the
natural realm, He never would have provided a way through His Son Jesus
for man to be restored to a relationship with Him and give him access to
everything He is and has. By exercising our faith in God, through which
we enter into the spiritual realm, we receive revelation of and from
Him through the Holy Spirit. "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)
By applying our faith to the revelation knowledge of the truth the Holy
Spirit guides us in and responding to it, we not only come to know God,
but He also activates His supernatural power on our behalf, or on behalf
of others through us. It is in the supernatural realm of God where
miracles occur. We can move beyond the natural realm into the
supernatural realm by exercising our faith
in God, and responding to the revelation knowledge that we receive.
James challenges us to come to a place where we exercise the revelation
of God's Word revealed through the Holy Spirit, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was." (James 1:22-24) He goes on to tells us, " What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?...Thus
also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone
will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without
your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." (James 2:14, 17-18)
Intellectual
knowledge or common sense cannot produce miracles, which are
manifestations of God's supernatural power in the natural realm. The
Apostle Paul tells us, "But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For
what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which
is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of
God. Now
we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is
from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to
us by God." (1 Corinthians 2:9-12) The human mind is not able
to know everything that is in man, let alone everything about God. Only
God knows all things and as mentioned previously, the only one who can
reveal Him to humanity is the Spirit of God. (John 16:13-16)
It is mind boggling that so many Christians turn to philosophy,
psychology, and psychiatry, that is, the natural realm, to try to
resolve their problems. Although these academic disciplines genuinely
try to help people, their failure rate far exceeds their success because
they do not utilize the power of God to change and transform humanity.
Even most "Christian" counselors try to apply biblical terms while
pursuing man-made methods, but their efforts are ultimately ineffective
also. The Apostle Paul tells us, "For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power."
(1 Corinthians 4:20) These three areas, philosophy, psychology, and
psychiatry are the result of following the intellectual knowledge of
man, while rejecting revelation knowledge from God.
If man continues to reject the concept of divine revelation,we will
never fully understand the truth and we will continue to live in
confusion and deception, the very place that Satan wants people,
especially believers to live. He knows that if believers receive divine
revelation, apply faith,
that is, act upon the revelation received, the supernatural power of
God will heal and deliver myriads of people which in turn will turn them
to Christ. Doesn't that sound like a strategy that the enemy of
humanity would devise? Actually, it has been since the fall of man. It
began in the Garden of Eden and has not changed. The very thing that
Adam had that could have banished Satan from the earth forever, the
ability to function in the spiritual realm, is the very thing that he
forfeited to Satan in exchange for intellectual knowledge. Not a very
good exchange for man at all. It has kept man from a relationship with
God, "And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh..." (Genesis 6:3)
Being led by intellectual knowledge and living outside the supernatural
realm is not limited to only those who deny God. The fact is, many
believers and Christian leaders who have received Christ as Lord and
Savior, still lack revelation beyond a basic knowledge of the gospel. As
a result, they have no idea what God is saying or trying to do in their
personal lives. Let us consider the following as we seek to receive
revelation from God. God gives revelation according to His own timing.
He will not reveal something to an individual believer or to a 1ocal
church if the person or congregation is not ready for it. We see this
revealed in the Parable of the Talents, “For
the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who
called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability..." (Matthew 25:14-15) This is also revealed toward the end of Jesus' earthly ministry. He told His disciples, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now." (John 16:12) The main reasons why God may not give us revelation is, we
are not yet spiritually mature enough to receive it and or God knows we
would not obey it, which is actually evidence of not being spiritually
mature. Only God knows the right time to unveil a specific revelation to
us. Our part is to make sure we are willing to obey it by acting upon
it.
Habakkuk tells us, "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."
(Habakkuk 2:14) I believe that we are living in the days where this
prophetic word is coming to pass, that is, the days in which the
manifestation of God's glory will be evident all over the earth. God
will fulfill His purposes by giving us extraordinary revelation of His
Kingdom, Power and Glory, but are we ready to receive it? Jesus said, "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." (Mark 11:24). So, let us exercise our faith
in the one and only unfailing, faithful One, Jesus Christ, who is the
Word who became flesh (John 1:14) Let us believe, receive and walk in
the revelation knowledge that He desires to give to us. May the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit...