I've been pondering the word “understanding" as I read the Scripture penned by Paul, “May the Lord give you understanding in ALL things.” Is that not a marvel - that the Lord would
grant us His understanding in ALL things?
Reckon “all” means “all?” I think
so.
Well today I felt compelled to read Colossians. It is among
my favorite letters in the New Testament.
In Chapter 2, “hear” a verse a little differently. “For I
want you to know…how great a struggle I have…on your behalf…and for those in
Laodicea, AND for ALL those who have not seen my face…”
I typed it out that way because God had Paul pen “on your behalf and for ALL those who have
not seen his face.” Paul’s had yearnings and intercession I
believe, for ALL those who would come into Christ Jesus – not just in his
generation but in all generations following his. This is why I believe God had the Holy Spirit
pen these words.
So what did he say his struggle was about? Here it is:
“That their hearts
may be encouraged… (powerful statement)…having been knit together in love…”
Like to stop there for a second and take a snapshot at the
phrase “knit together in love.” Some ladies out there know how to knit (I
used to at one time). Knitting is not a
hurry up thing. There is a careful
stitch by stitch, precise, and deliberation to what one is doing when they are
knitting. It takes shape after a while.
So it is with God. He
does wants our love to be real and something we are aware of HOW God is
knitting us together in that precious reality of Christ from WHOM and WHOM is
the Love. We start taking shape.
What is the rest of this great verse, what does God want,
and what is the knitting together in love for?
“…AND attaining to
ALL the wealth that comes from the FULL ASSURANCE of UNDERSTANDING…”
God truly wants understanding in us. And Paul writes that when we do understand
spiritually God’s Words, His ways, His Son we have this tremendous reality of
how rich we are in Him.
Now this is what I love.
There is a result of this spiritual understanding and being knit
together in God’s love. What is it?
“…resulting in
a TRUE knowledge of God’s mystery…that is, CHRIST HIMSELF…in WHOM are hidden
ALL the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
This is what astounds my heart. There is a true knowing of Christ Himself
beyond just the words we say and share.
This is the ministry of the Holy Spirit in us – to bring about the
awareness and reality of Christ within us and among us.
We don’t have to get all out of joint when we speak of that
word, “mystery.” God Himself uses it – it
is a mystery to the world. The Lord has
to unveil the reality to us (this is where understanding comes in) that when
Adam fell, sin and death came. He lost
life – the life of God.
And now through the Son of God, Life has come in. Jesus Himself has come in our spirits made
alive through Him. It is through our
union with the Son of God by the Holy Spirit we can even begin to bear fruit of
real and genuine righteousness. So the
Source is NOT us ever – Jesus alone is LIFE.
“I am the Resurrection
and the Life.” John 11
As long as it depends on us, our outward motions and ideas
of following the ideal of Christianity, we won’t discover the riches and wealth
of having the ONE who IS all these things producing His life and fruit through
us.
May the Lord really and truly give us this spiritual
understanding of HIM dwelling and working in and through us – being our all,
our victor, having His mind, His wisdom, His life flowing evermore.
It’s a wealth we have not tapped into yet. This is why I think Paul was so
persecuted. He “crossed the river” so to
speak. He was saying and I’ll say it in
a southern accent: “Ya’ll, this Gospel
of Grace and Christ coming to live in you does NOT compare to anything that has
happened on earth since Adam. Get to know
the ‘last Adam” who is Christ in YOU.
I’ve been struggling and interceding for His body to understand God’s
mystery which is: “Christ in you, your hope of glory.”
Love to all in and through Christ our Lord,
Sue
Gaither
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