As grace believers, what is our primary objective? (Part 6)

As grace believers, what is our primary objective? (Part 6)

Start this series of posts with: Part 1

Up till this point we have discussed the following regarding our primary objective as grace believers.

• We have dealt with the fact that, after we get saved, it is God’s will for us to come to the knowledge of the truth.
• We have looked at what is milk and what is meat in Paul’s epistles.
• We investigated the fact that without knowledge, there is no understanding of God, and without knowledge, there is no stable foundation of truth in our lives.
• After that, I revealed that Pauls church epistles are a curriculum that prepares us for an eternal purpose. The first part of the curriculum informs us of Christ in us, and the second part instructs us concerning who we are in Christ.
• In part 5, we determined that to teach God’s Word, one needs to grow in knowledge and understanding concerning rightly dividing the Word of truth. The Bible can only be understood in the correct context when it is rightly divided, and it is imperative to teach it in this form to avoid skewing the truth and leading people astray.

Thus, our primary objective is to come to a knowledge of the truth. Can you see why we are encouraged and motivated to this fact, over and over, in Paul’s epistles. The more I search the scriptures concerning this topic, the more inundated I’ve become with things to write. In this regard, to prevent this series of posts from becoming overwhelming, I’ll simply summarize the additional scriptural content I have collected into this final post. I trust this will provide you with further context to see the necessity and importance of growing in knowledge as a grace believer.

Renewing the Mind

If transformation is to take place, the mind needs to be renewed. Lies must be replaced with truth. Ignorance must be replaced with understanding. Old habits must be reprogrammed, and attitudes must be readjusted. This is not a work that the believer can do in themselves. This transformation is only possible by the power of the truth. The more that knowledge can mature into understanding, and the more that truth can penetrate the heart, the more the Word will begin to transform the person. Paul says the following in this regard,

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Eph 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; (23) And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; (24) And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.Col_3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

Having Mind of Christ

1Cor 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (15) But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. (16) For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Growing up in the Spirit and having Christ formed within one is only possible when our minds incline to spiritual things. When we think and respond according to the Word of God within us, when we obey the truth of the Word which lives within us, then we are being led by the Spirit, and then we walk by faith. The ‘voice’ of the Spirit is not some ethereal prompting in the back of your head. It is not some supernatural experience or a ‘bolt from the blue’. No! It is the living Word that has taken root in your spirit. It is your knowledge of the truth that provides judgement in life moments and provides light and understanding to your mind. The mind of Christ is simply the Word living within you and providing you the prompts regarding the will and ways of God, allowing you to judge circumstances and make decisions according to the good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Php 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

God working His good works through us

Col 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

It is when we are filled with the knowledge of God’s will that we can walk worthy of the Lord. It is then, when we are a vessel unto Him, that He can work out those ‘good works’ in and through us. The works that God requires is not our works to Him, but His works through us. It is only His works through us that count for His kingdom. Only these will produce the outcomes that He desires, and the rewards of gold, silver, and precious stones, that will determine our prize and position at the judgement seat of Christ and in our future vocation, 1Cor.3:8-15.

Become united in one truth

Knowledge of the truth also promotes unity. In brotherly fellowship, it is the one mind of Christ that keeps us in unity, causing us to think the same, speak the same things, respond in the same way, and judge by the same truth, not as baseless robots, but as individuals who live in accord to the Spirit of truth and the will of God. When we operate by the knowledge of God’s Word, it will banish divisions and eliminate contentions, deceit, strife, and vanities.

Rom 15:14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.

1Cor 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Prevent Vain Babblings

Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

1Tim 6:20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:

2Tim 2:16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

Titus 1:10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:

Titus 3:9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

Enduring through suffering

Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

The more we know of Christ, and the more we understand His grace, His worthiness, His sacrifice, and His glory, the more we will be strengthened to endure through trials and tribulation for His glory. Paul continues saying,

Php 3:9-11 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: (10) That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; (11) If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

It is only knowledge and intimacy with Jesus Christ, who is the Word of truth, that one can come to a union like this and be so overcome by the love of God. Is this not the prize of the high calling of God.

To come to a knowledge of the truth is our primary objective. It becomes our responsibility the moment we get saved, and it remains our responsibility as long as we are alive. We are to learn, and grow, and to come to understand the Word of God, so that we can know and understand the will and purpose of God for us. God’s Word is the single most important item in our lives. With it, we are connected to God, but without it, we remain lost in the dark, directionless, and clueless regarding salvation and purpose.