Posted by For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1 Cor 2: 11-12
What does God want us to know?
In 1 Corinthians 2:11-12, God tells us HE wants us to know the things He has freely given us. Our God is a God of revelation. He doesn’t want His people walking in darkness and blinded to what He has for us. That’s why He gave us the Bible.
Ephesians 1:17-20 tells us three things He wants us to know in Verses 18 & 19
(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:
(Eph 1:18) The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know (to properly see and behold) what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
(Eph 1:19) And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working (the practical operation) of his mighty power,
(Eph 1:20) Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
He wants us to know the exceeding greatness of his power toward us!
That knowledge He wants us to have is not just academic knowledge, He wants us to know through experience. The phrase in V18 “that ye may know” means to properly see and behold. He wants us to experience Him!!
The Journey of this life IN Jesus is designed for experience not academics.
Are you satisfied to simply just have an academic understanding of His power…or do you want to experience Him and know that you have?
What have we inherited?
Those passages of Scripture clearly tell us that we are meant to experience practically (to behold) what has been given to us in inheritance!
In Galatians 4:7 the Bible tells us we are heirs through Christ. So then since we are heirs, what have we inherited?
We have inherited the POWER OF GOD in our life! And Ephesians 1:19 tells us that God wants us to know this and experience Him through His power in our life!! (according to the working of his mighty power).
How do we EXPERIENCE this POWER that He wants us to know about and that we have inherited?
(2 Peter 1:3) According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
(2 Peter 1:4) Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature….
Think about that for a minute. Think about what God is saying to us in the verse!
He is saying when we practically experience the fulfilling of His promises we experience Him…we become a partaker of His divine nature.
There is nothing more powerful in the life of a believer than the power of Gods promises. WHY? Because that is a key vehicle God uses to show His power to you and me personally.
The journey is designed for experience not academics.
When The Lord said “I have come that they may have life and have more abundantly” maybe He meant that experiencing Him is what an abundant life is all about.
Why would He give us promises if we were never meant to EXPERIENCE them? They are given so we can practically experience Him in this life.
This is exciting because there are promises in The Word of God for every stage, season and situation of our life’s journey.
I believe it looks like this. On the journey of life, as He leads and we follow and God, knowing the path we will take prepositions promises at certain points along the way. He reveals the promises to us at just the right time. Sometimes those are long term promises and sometimes its specific ones for a specific point in time.
Mostly, these promises shows us His power to deliver or sustain us. We experience Him through the fulfilling of a promise in spite of the obstacle that might be on path, and that leads us to learn more about Him and in the process about us. We learn that man does not live by bread alone but by every word of God! We experience Victory because of His power, our faith increases which leads us into the next situation, the next promise of deliverance or sustainment .
Generally Gods promises fit into two categories
- Promises of deliverance:
- Psalm 34:19 – Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all
- Colossians 1:13 – delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
- Matthew 11:28 – Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you REST!
- James 5:14-15 – the prayer of faith shall save (heal) the sick
- Promises of sustainment:
- Psalm 29:11 The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace
- Hebrews 13:5 – I will never leave you nor forsake you!
- Philippians 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing ; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth all understand shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Part 2 tomorrow – What we are supposed to do with promises?
Reposition yourself to return unto rest 