“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
1 Corinthians 2:14 (ESV)
Truth and the Natural Mind
Though His Word is written for all to see, there may be an inability to comprehend its clear message.
“in hearing they hear not…”
“in seeing they see not…”
“neither do they understand…”
Matthew 13:13
These words are not aimed at the world alone, but have historically been directed to His own people. Our ability to hear and understand His Word will always be to the degree that we have allowed His mind to be formed within us.
“For let this mind be in you
that IS also in Christ Jesus”
Philippians 2:5 (LSV)
Only the Son living in us can unveil the truths and heartbeat of the Father. The natural mind desires to know things about God, whereas the childlike heart seeks to know God Himself.
“…he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father”
John 14:9
Jesus declared to the Pharisees:
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life:
and they are they which testify of Me.
And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life.”
John 5:30-40
The only scriptures at that time were the writings of the Old Testament. Jesus clearly states that He is revealed in those scriptures for those having eyes to see. Paul, by the illumination of the Holy Spirit, declared Christ was the Rock that accompanied Israel through the wilderness.
“And did all drink the same spiritual drink:
for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them:
and that Rock was Christ.”
1 Corinthians 10:4
If we seek to understand these things with the natural mind, we will be blinded to much of the truth. The truth of God can only be realized by “spiritual discernment”. It is sad to see that much of the preaching and teaching we hear today is the result of carnal reasoning and natural affinities.
Psalm 131
There is a powerful Psalm that unveils to us the spirit and the disposition of King David, who prophesied and spoke of the Christ who is to come. Let us take heed to the power and wonder of this short Psalm.
“Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.”
Psalm 131:1-2
There is a grandness and an overwhelming sense of humility in David’s approach to God. David did not seek “things too high,” nor did he intrude into “great matters” in his walk with God. He “quieted himself” before God and, in meekness, allowed God to give him his daily bread.
SELAH
The Secret of the Lord
Throughout the scriptures, there is a divine link between the “fear of the Lord” and the “secret” of the Lord.
“The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him;
AND
“He will shew them His covenant.”
Psalm 25:14
Without the fear of the Lord, there will be a dim view of all that God has purposed in HIS Covenant with us. We become blinded to the power and the “breadth, and length, and depth, and height” of God. A limited understanding of the magnificence of His Call produces those who are content with little. Our pursuit of Him will be proportional to our seeing and understanding of Him.
Paul was pressing to know Him more (Philippians 3:12-14). The writer of Hebrews cries out with passion, “Let us go on…” (Hebrews 6:1-2), to a people who had become stagnant. Peter, as he was facing his own “departure,” spoke to all who would hear:
“giving all diligence, ADD to your faith…, For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, But he that lacketh these things is blind…”
2 Peter 1:5;8-9
Spiritual blindness is revealed in complacency, unfruitfulness, and barrenness. If we abound in “giving all diligence” to ADD to our faith the further graces of His Spirit, we remain alive and sensitive to the unfolding of His Wonder.
Without a fresh beholding of Him, there is NO CHANGE. The dynamic of the Spirit of God is lost, its latent power and pulse fade, and life becomes an endless cycle of routine and predictability.
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
2 Corinthians 3:18
An “open face” is the vital prerequisite to seeing His Glory. The natural, carnal mind has been deemed incapable of seeing Him who is pure Spirit.
“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Romans 8:7-8
Let this phrase pierce our hearts: “the carnal mind is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
It bears repeating Psalm 131 here:
“Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.”
Psalm 131:1-2
Childlike faith is the key element that beckons the Father to reveal His wonder in His Son. To become a child is the essential nature required for any of us to ENTER HIS KINGDOM!
“Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children,
ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:3
God’s word is full of “exceptions”. They are non-negotiable truths. The true child of God submits to His Spirit by whom we “become as little children.” Failure to allow His workings will prevent us from “seeing” and “hearing” Him.
It is through our obedience that we partake of His Cross. In obeying Him, we will know rejection, misunderstanding and sorrow. To live our lives to be accepted by men will disqualify us from being accepted of Him. In our indifference to the opinions of men, we become a people of an “open face” able to see Him and allow His truth to pierce our hearts in a journey of repentance and change. Such is the path of discipleship and His coming glory.
“…but to this man will I look,
even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit,
and trembleth at my word.”
Isaiah 66:2
Those who know their poverty and walk in a “contrite spirit” will touch the sacredness, holiness and purity of His Word. In the discovery of such things, we tread lightly and reverently the scriptures in the spirit of meekness, free from the brashness of the natural mind that imposes its own interpretation upon its wonder.
“But blessed are your eyes, for they see:
and your ears, for they hear.”
Matthew 13:16
“Jesus Christ, the embodiment of truth and love, has explained the Scriptures by fulfilling them. So when the soul has passed into God, the word is fulfilled in the soul, as it was in Christ. O Love! Thou art Thyself the pure, naked, simple truth, which is expressed, not by me, but by Thyself, through me.”
Anonymous (quoted from – The Dictionary of Burning Words)
“But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”
2 Corinthians 4:2
God’s purpose in Christ is to take us beyond believing His Word
to the place of being a “manifestation” of that Word!
Related Post: The Remnant
Brian Troxel
I had a dream in September of 2023. In the dream I had walked into a church building and it was pitch black. I, however, had an oil lamp on a chain. David compares such a lamp to the Word of God in Psalms where he says, “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path”. As I said, I had such a lamp in the dream I had. I remember standing in the middle aisle of the church and being screamed at because of the light I had brought in. Those in darkness wanted to remain in darkness and resented the light I brought in
a true vision, one that has been the experience of those who carried the light of God within. The chain no doubt represents a life bound to Him, regardless of what comes!
Always appreciate your dreams and comments!
BT
Holding The Truth In Unrighteousness
I had a dream the morning of 01/21/2016. In the dream I was on a horse, if I recall correctly, and I was dressed in the manner Paul speaks of when he talks about putting on the whole armor of God. I remember having my sword drawn in the dream. What I saw was people, they could have been church leaders, but I wasn’t sure as this was not disclosed in the dream. Each person in the dream held a bible in their hands, however, each also had the Bible covered so that without God’s discernment one would not have known what was under the cloak. The cloak in the dream was called ,”unrighteousness”,. What I was doing in the dream is that I would ride up to an individual, touch the cloak with the drawn sword in my hand and then the Word of God, i.e., the Bible would fall out so that the person would be left holding the cloak.
Note that in the dream I had on the full armor of God which is crucial in these last days if we’re going to battle deception. The Sword of the Spirit is the word of God and it is necessary for all to study to show their selves approved unto God rightly dividing the Word of truth. 2nd Timothy 2:15. The word, “dividing “, here comes from the Greek word,
orthotoméō; contracted orthotomṓ, fut. orthotomḗsō, from orthós (G3717), right and témnō (n.f., see below), to cut or divide. To handle correctly, skillfully; to correctly teach the word of truth .
I can’t stress enough the need to study and meditate upon the word of God DAILY
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness…” Romans 1:18 The Greek translated here “hold” literally means who “suppress the truth”
The judgments of God will be manifested in this Day upon all who suppress His truth to draw people to themselves, who seek the applause of men and who fear the repercussions that truth brings. A great sifting is coming to our land.
Blessings
BT