by Snowbunny of The 4 Gospels
Scripture Study:
"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the
Spirit..... For in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you"
[Gal:5:25 ][2Pt:1:11]
"If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ... nothing shall be impossible unto you." [Mt:17:20]
"...all things are possible to him that believeth .... For with God nothing shall be impossible." [Mt 9:23] [Lk:1:37]
Introduction:
"...set
your hope [expectation] wholly and unchangeably on the grace &
divine favor that is coming to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.." [1Peter 1:13 Amplified Bible]
There
is so much more that we have access to then most Christians can even
imagine! The trouble is, that if we are ignorant of these things, than
we will never be able to walk in them, or find out how to access them.
Fortunately, we find some extremely important information located in 1 Peter 1:13
GRACE:
The
first clue that we find is in the phrase: "the grace & divine favor
that is coming to you when Jesus Christ is revealed".
Question:
Exactly what is coming to us when Jesus Christ is "revealed"?
Answer:
Grace & divine favor. [Grace is the same as divine favor)
Are you Expecting?
In
verse 13: the word translated as "hope" - is the Greek Word 'elpizo' -
which, when translated properly actually means: "expectation'. And -
According to verse 13: When Jesus Christ is "revealed" to us" - there
automatically follows "grace" • and "divine favor" !
Well, seeing as how "we are saved by grace" (thru faith) [Eph 2:8] - we already know how important 'grace' is when we find ourselves in trouble.
And
as far as 'divine favor' is concerned - - - I am sure that you agree
that having 'divine favor' sure comes in handy, especially when we find
ourselves in a place where we are believing God to fulfill the 'desires
of our heart'?
So then, the message behind this portion of the
verse is simply, once "Jesus Christ is revealed" - grace, or divine
favor will automatically come to us. We don't have to work for it - buy
it - beg for it - or anything else. Instead, we are to expect it as a
result of the revelation of Jesus.
WHO - OR WHAT - IS BEING REVEALED?
Ok,
so grace and divine favor is coming to me when Jesus Christ is
revealed. That's all nice and good - but what about right now - I need
it today, not just when Jesus comes back?
Well, let's examine
that thought more carefully. I know that there are many who may be
thinking thoughts similar to it (if not exactly).
Question #1:
Exactly who does the Bible say that Jesus Christ is?
Answer:
He
is our Savior, the only begotten son of God - but just as important is
the fact that, according to the Bible - Jesus Christ is literally, the
Word of God: made flesh. [John 1: 1-14]
In other words, Jesus is the living version of the Word of God (and the printed word too: the Bible).
There
is no difference between Him and the Scriptures - they are both the
same - and they are inseparable. He is literally the spoken, or printed
Word of God - made flesh....AND He is also the perfect picture, or the
revealed Living God - in print.
It is extremely important that
every Christian get hold of this fact in order to understand fully
exactly how much power there is in the Word of God - and how important
it is for every Christian to develop a personal relationship with the
Word thru daily reading and meditation - AND doing it!
You see,
no matter what you may have believed, or thought up to this point: the
level of your knowledge of God, AND your relationship with Him, is
directly related to your knowledge of the Word of God.
Point:
No
matter what you may believe regarding your relationship with Him - you
cannot know, or understand God beyond your knowledge of the Word of God.
Your entire relationship with the Lord is based on your
knowledge of Him thru His Word - and your willingness to submit to it by
doing it.
Too many Christians try to walk in the promises of
God, without actually knowing what those promises are! Instead, they
have some second-hand information, and they try to base their hopes on
something that they may have read once or twice, or maybe something that
they heard someone say.
But the truth is: they have no real, or personal knowledge of the Word. Just a bunch of second hand 'head knowledge'.
Summary to question #1: :
The "Jesus Christ" that is being referred to in Verse 13 is: The Word Of God:
Look
at the following passage in 2 Peter Chapter 1: "Grace and peace be
multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our
Lord".
Notice how "grace" (divine favor) and peace are multiplied
to us. How? By our knowledge of Jesus (our Lord). In other words: It is
our knowledge of the Word of God that provides access to the grace and
peace that is available to us.
"By whom (Jesus - the Word of God]
we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice
in hope (expectation) of the glory of God." [Rom:5:2]
Question #2:
Ok
- I accept the fact that Jesus and the Word of God - are one and the
Same. But what about the part that says: "When Jesus is revealed "? What
does that mean?
"Besides - I already know what the Bible says -
so, if what you said is true: how come it doesn't work for me the way
it says it will?"
Answer:
The word translated as 'revelation'
is taken from form the Greek Word "apokalupsis": The literal translation
means to 'disclose', announce, manifest, show forth, reveal".
It's
called "revelation": And, it is the difference between just having
'head knowledge' of what the Word says - and having an actual
understanding of the Word thereby allowing it to [live] inside of us.
You
see, the word, without the Spirit, is what the Bible calls a 'dead
letter'. [Rom:7:6] - there is no life or power in it - and consequently
one cannot expect to receive anything from it. That is why so many
'experts of Bible literature' never come to understand - or receive from
the Word. They are 'always learning' (what it says) , but 'never coming
to the knowledge of the truth.' [2Tm:3:7]
It is the same reason why so many Christians seem to get little or no result from it either.
Head Knowledge vs. Revelation:
True,
they can quote scripture on a variety of subjects - but the secret is
not how much scripture you can quote to God - but rather how much He can
quote to you! ........ And no matter how much scripture you may be able
to quote, what good does it do you if it's not working in your life?
It
is not until your 'head knowledge' becomes 'revelation' knowledge -
that the Word will transform from a dead letter to the living Word - and
only then will it have the power to do what it promises: "bring you
grace and divine favor".
Hearing vs. Having Heard
Revelation comes not by having heard - but instead by 'continually hearing' [Romans 10:17]......
And, we can find the necessary information on how to take 'head
knowledge' and make sure it becomes 'revelation knowledge' in the book
of Joshua. God gave us specific instructions on how to do this:
"This
book of the law (my Word) shall not depart out of your mouth; but you
shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according
to all that is written in it: and only then shall you make your way
prosperous, and then you shall have good success." [Joshua 1:8]
Dead Letter to Living Revelation:
The steps are simple - and there is no substitute! In case you didn't read that last bit: There is no substitute!
Information: Learn the Word (Get the Information first-hand. Remember it, memorize it)
Meditation: Meditate on it - Think on it - Speak it (How can you do this if you can't quote it?)
Revelation: Ask for God to reveal it to you, to open the eyes of your understanding
Participation: DO IT! ["Be a doer of the word, and not just a hearer only, deceiving yourself." [James 1:22]
Manifestation: The result will be the manifestation of the promises in your life
Summary:
God
has given us "all things that pertain to life, and to godly living" -
and He has provided the means to us whereby we can become partakers
(right now) of the divine nature (the same quality of life that God
lives) - And - We can only access these things through the revelation
knowledge of the Word of God. [2 Peter 1:2-4]
What's
more: We can expect to receive grace, and divine favor in
ever-increasing amounts as we increase in the revelation knowledge of
Him.
Therefore, I encourage each of you to purpose to attaining
increased revelation in the knowledge of the One who has called us to
glory and to moral excellence.
You can do this in a number of ways:
Spend more time in the Word of God [There is no substitute]
Spend more time in direct communication with Him (prayer) [There is no substitute]
Seek
out and attend the services, bible studies, conferences, etc, where
people possessing more revelation than you, can teach you and help you
to grow
"He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he
that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God
abides on him." [John 3:36]
Too
often we show ourselves to be babies when it comes to understanding the
things of God. So often we think that because we are 'born again', that
somehow we are immune from certain portions of the Word of God - that
they do not apply to us.
Moreover, when the results of unbelief,
ignorance, or disobedience to the Word of God suddenly rear their ugly
heads - too often, many Christians still refuse to acknowledge the truth
- even though the truth is staring them in the face!
Look Carefully at What The Word Says:
Let's examine in detail what the word says regarding the passage in John 3:36 as it contains some important information that we may have missed.
"He
that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not
the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him."
Number 1:
Notice
that the first primary point deals with the issue of 'belief'. The
passage deals with the results of believing on the Son and the results
of not believing on the Son.
The word translated as 'believe' is
taken from the Greek Word: "Pisteo". It is a derivative of the Greek
Word "pistis", which is the same word translated so often as: "Faith".
It means to: 'confidently put one's trust in, or to believe'.
Therefore the passage could easily be translated: "He who confidently trusts or believes on the Son..."
Number 2:
As so often discussed, it is of utmost importance to every child of God to understand that Jesus is literally: The Word of God.
Whenever
the terms "Jesus", or "Son" are used, or any other mention of the Lord
as a person - one can always use the alternate terms: "Word", "Word of
God" etc - because they are one and the same - And there is absolutely
no difference between Jesus the "person" - or - Jesus the "Word". [See John 1: 1-14]
I
remember what an incredible revelation this was to me when the Lord
first showed this truth to me, and it has had an incredible impact on
both the way I read the Word of God, as well as the way I receive from
the Word of God.
So then: When this passage speaks of 'believing
on the Son' - it is important to recognize that the 'Son' it is
speaking of is not just Jesus the person - but also: Jesus - the Word of
God.
It's Getting Clearer:
Look what happens when we translate this passage using by including the "Word of God":
"He
that believes on the Son: (The "Word of God) has everlasting life: and
he that believes not the Son: (The Word of God) shall not see life; but
the wrath of God abides on him."
Suddenly the passage takes on a new meaning, especially to the believer.
Deceptive Thinking:
As
a born again Christian, it is easy to deceive ourselves by thinking:
"This passage doesn't apply to me because I am born again (I have the
Son) - therefore it must be referring to the unsaved" (those who do not
have the Son).
But once we realize that Jesus, and the Word of
God, are the same - it suddenly becomes clear, that as a believer, we
too can be included in this passage by simply refusing to accept
or
believe any portion of the Bible (The Word of God). That it is possible
for us to miss certain benefits that accompany our salvation simply by
not believing them. [See Heb:12:15]
Number 3:
"He that believes on the Son has everlasting life...."
Notice
the word translated here as "life". It is taken from the Greek word:
"Zoë" - and the literal meaning of the word is: "Life of God - or the
'God kind of life'.
It is what Peter refers to in [2 Peter 1:4]
when He says that we can "become partakers of the divine nature" - the
same kind and quality of life that God lives! And that includes:
-- Divine Health
-- Divine Abundance / Prosperity
-- Divine Security
-- Divine Soundness
-- Eternal Life
So what is this passage saying here?
Simply
put, when one has knowledge of the Word of God (revelation knowledge) -
AND - places their confidence, trust and expectation in the Son (the
Word of God) to do, and provide everything that it promises - they will
have the fulfillment and manifestation of those promises.
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