Most Recent Blog Posts

Then in verse 12
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.

Verse 14
But the natural man (not born-again) does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

And finally, in verse 16
For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Now recently we have been talking about how God speaks to us. In Post 8 we introduced the idea of the Illumination of scripture. In Post 9 we talked about the power of “recalled” scriptures as discussed Logos and Rhema Words.

There is a third way in which Jesus reveals, through His Holy Spirit, His truths to us and it is called Personal revelation. Personal revelation is when you have a sudden insight into a truth that you could not have figured out yourself. It is not intellectual understanding, but it is an “ah-ha” moment when you see the truth and have been set free from lies or untruths that have kept you blinded or in bondage. Jesus said to those who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” John 8:31.

A classic illustration of personal revelation in the Bible is when Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ the Messiah in Matthew 16:13-19 

Jesus asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So, they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Then Jesus asked a pointed question, “But who do you say that I am?”

No one knows for sure, but I am sure there was a pause as each of the disciples tried to formulate an answer. Then Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The importance of that phrase cannot be overestimated, the word Christ is the Greek for the Jewish word Messiah, in English it would be Savior! More astounding was that Peter recognized Jesus as God in the flesh or incarnate.

Then Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven”. Peter had a personal revelation! He didn’t figure it out using logic, he simply knew the truth! The deity of Christ is a truth known only by divine revelation.

Another case of personal revelation concerns “Doubting Thomas” found in John 20:24-29.

The first time the risen Jesus appeared to the Disciples, the disciple Thomas was absent. Later the disciples said to Thomas, “We have seen the Lord.” Thomas replies, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” Thomas demanded proof before he would believe.

After eight days the disciples were together again, and while Thomas was with them Jesus appeared in the midst, and said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing and Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

In the simple statement, “My Lord and my God!” Thomas understood through personal revelation the deity of Christ.

Now I will agree that seeing the Risen Jesus would help us with our faith in Him, but listen to what verse says, 29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Personal revelation is when God through the Holy Spirit gives you the grace to believe (or have faith) in His Truth.

My prayer for you is that you would receive the personal revelation that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

The Bible or Scriptures if often referred to as the “Word”. The word “word” can have several meanings in the New Testament. It can stand for the Living Word- Jesus. John 1:1-2, 14 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”. In this sense the scripture is clearly equating Jesus with the word, the living Word!

Then, of course, the word “word” can also stand for the scriptures themselves as in the “Word of God”! When the word “word” is used to stand for the Bible, you need to know that there are actually two words that are translated from the original Greek of the New Testament as “word”; and they are Logos and Rhema. Both of these Greek words are translated as word in English. A really simple, and I mean simple, definition of the two words are; Logos is the written word and Rhema is the spoken word.

We are promised, by Jesus, that the Helper- the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and bring to remembrance all the things Jesus has taught and said (John 14:26). The following verse in Romans 10:17 states that, “…faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”. The word in this verse is the Greek Rhema. Also, in Matthew 4:4 Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word (Rhema) that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” So, as you can see Rhema is spoken, whereas Logos is written.

When you read the Bible, you are reading the Logos Word. When you are in a situation that requires an answer, solution, encouragement or decision… and then you recall a scripture that provides direction, that is a Rhema Word! The Holy Spirit is speaking to you through the recalled scriptures.

Obviously the more of the Word you put in to your mind and spirit the more the Holy Spirit can draw on in everyday life. Hence, the importance of spending time in the bible every day. Now I know that there are times when we read, and we are bored or distracted and can’t remember what we read ten minutes later… your mind may be a thousand miles away. Nevertheless, your spirit is absorbing the spiritual food found in the Word! Your spirit never tires, gets sleepy, bored or distracted! Don’t underestimate the power of the written Word-Logos to come back as a spoken Word-Rhema by the Holy Spirit.

Keep in mind that the Holy Spirit wants to build the character of Christ into your life. A long time ago before I entered into the ministry, I was one of those persons that felt obligated to speak whenever there was a pause or silence in a meeting. The result was that people rarely listened to what I had to say. Then the Holy Spirit would help me “catch my tongue” by recalling a verse I had read in Proverbs 10:19, which states that talking too much leads to foolishness, but a person who is silent is viewed as wise. So, I decided to trust the Rhema word and began to listen more and speak less and over time, as the scripture promised, I found that people would wait for my input and most of all value it. The Rhema word works! If you trust the word!

As you continue to spend time in the Bible you will find the Holy Spirit applying His Rhema Word to you in more and more situations in everyday life. As it says in 2 Peter 1:3, He has given us everything we need for life and godliness.

God Bless you as you allow the Rhema Word of God to speak to you.

That is exciting news! God promised in 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, that he would give us spiritual “eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart or mind to comprehend the things of God”.

So, how can a book thousands of years old be relevant and “speak to us” for our lives today? The Bible is not meant to be simply an intellectual book about times, places and people, but a guide for living life. Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”. The primary purpose of the Bible is to guide you into living a peace filled, purpose filled, and joy filled life or in other words a blessed life.

Bible scholars use the term “illumination of the scriptures” to mean that as we read the bible certain verses or phrases come “alive” or seem to “jump off the page” and are relevant to what we are going through in life.

Let me illustrate this concept of “illumination” with an example from my own life. As a new Christian I used to have a problem with anger. I would get angry over the simplest situations and that created a tense environment in relationships especially with my family. Looking back, I would get angry over the silliest things. Now, my anger was such a part of my life that I was not aware of the “angry man” I had become. One day as I was reading in the book of James (1:19) the following verse “jumped out”, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God”.

Immediately, through that scripture verse, I saw myself for who I was, a very angry man. I didn’t take the time to listen, I would speak rashly and become so easily angry. I also saw the impact I was having on my family. It was then I began a journey, with the help of God’s Holy Spirit, to get to the root of my anger and deal with it. I knew enough that anger leads to bitterness and bitterness is an emotional poison. To make a long story short, God showed me that I had made a foolish decision as a teenager, I decided that I would not let anyone hurt me, emotionally, but that I instead of feelings of hurt I would get angry instead. The vow I made was forgotten but the decision I made had a long-term effect on me.

All of this happened because God didn’t want me to live my life hurting myself and others. You see “hurting people hurt people”! The Holy Spirit illuminated that verse in James and it had a profound and personal impact upon my life. Today I can say anger is not a part of my life, but love is and I can assure you those around me appreciate that!

In conclusion, the Word of God, the Bible has many interesting characters, places and events, but its primary purpose is to reflect who you really are, not who you think you are, but who you really are and then to show you, lead you and help you become the person God has always intended you to be, more like Jesus in every-way. Let me paraphrase 2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we, with all our masks removed, looking into a mirror and seeing the Lord Jesus are being transformed into becoming more like what we see, by the working of His Holy Spirit in us”.

I cannot overemphasize the importance of developing the habit of spending time in the Word. The length of time is not as important as spending the time. Five minutes is better than zero! Don’t be concerned in the beginning that you don’t understand the characters, places and events… that will come. Just read the New Testament with an open mind and heart and you will see the scriptures illuminated for you personally. I am confident of this because I know that God loves you and wants to bless you in every area of your life… just follow Him.

When I was a young man in college I read the Bible as part of my course work. I wasn’t a believer at the time. My conclusion after reading the Bible for a semester was that it, the Bible, made no sense whatsoever! It was sheer foolishness!

Then some years later, after accepting Christ, I started to read the Bible again. I must admit that I didn’t understand it all, but something about it compelled me, or drew me, to read and re-read the Bible. Over time I discovered timeless truths that changed my world-view and changed my life.

Looking back, I now understand that when l was in college I was trying to comprehend the Bible with my mind or my intellect alone and this caused me to miss the spiritual significance of the Word of God.

The Bible must be spiritually discerned. Listen to what the Apostle Paul says in 1 Cor 2:13-14, “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man (non-believer) does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned”. We need to learn how to rely on our Holy Spirit to discern the truth.

Isaiah says in chapter 55:8-9, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts”. In a nutshell God is saying we cannot fully understand his thoughts and ways because they are much higher than ours. After all He is the creator of the Universe, what have you created lately?

Because God is higher than our minds can fully comprehend He provided us His Holy Spirit to communicate with out spirit everything we need for this life and living in godly ways (2 Peter 1:3).

The Bible is not just a book written by the imaginations of men, but it is a God inspired book, God breathed as it were. All that is in the Bible was imparted to a group of people by God and what God wanted us to know can be found in the Bible or Scriptures. 2 Tim 3:16-17, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine (truths), for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (right living), that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work”.

The Bible is broken up into two major parts. The Old Testament followed by the New Testament. While it is important to understand that the entire bible is inspired by God it is also important to recognize that the Old Testament was written for the Jews who lived under the Law of Moses. The New Testament was written for those who put their trust in Jesus Christ.

As Christians the New Testament was written for us who live under Grace (God’s gift). Now most people who try to read the bible begin at the beginning in Genesis, that makes human sense, but I would suggest you begin in the New Testament since what is found in it applies to Christians. Later you can tackle the Old Testament from the perspective of the New Testament.

If you have not read the Bible or read the Bible lately I would urge you to try again. This time before you begin, ask God to reveal Himself to you in His Word. I would also suggest you start in the Gospel of John and then read, meditate, ponder, think about what you have read throughout the day. Try to read one chapter a day. After completing the book of John continue on to the book of Acts, Romans and etc. to the end of the Bible which is the book of Revelation.

If you are sincere I can promise you that God will truly amaze you.

In our next post we will be discussing How God reveals things to you in His Word, the Bible.