MAY WE BE SPIRITUALLY ENLIGHTENED

PROCLAMATION

“I keep asking The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you The Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better.  I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. …”  Ephesians 1:17-19 (NIV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written by the apostle Paul, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to the believers in the church at Ephesus.  After his opening greeting and introduction, Paul praised God for the spiritual blessings which they had already received through Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 1:1-14)  Then he offers a prayer for the believers in Ephesus so that God would bless them with The Spirit of wisdom, knowledge, and revelation, so that they would know Him better.  Paul also prayed that these believers would be enlightened, and know that to which God called them, and know the riches of His glorious inheritance that He has for His people, and that they would know His incomparable great power.  Paul ends this chapter by telling them about the authority and dominion that Jesus, The Christ, has over everything in this world and in the world to come. (Ephesians 1:19-23)

 

APPLICATION

We need to recognize that without the help of God, that people would not understand that the church is the body of Christ.  That is the way that God, The Father, planned it.  God, The Son, paid for it, and God, The Holy Spirit, protects it.  Paul prayed for the believers in his day and we should pray for believers today.  We all need God’s help with understanding His Word.  None of us knows everything, especially about The Word of God.  We all also need to develop an appreciation for the almighty power of God working within us.  Additionally, we all need to develop a greater appreciation for the hope of blessings that He has called us to receive by His Word and His Spirit. 

 

WITHOUT THE WORD OF GOD THE PEOPLE WILL PERISH

Proclamation:
“Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.”  Proverbs 29:18 (NIV)  “Where there is no vision, the people perish ...” (KJV)

Explanation:
These words were written by King Solomon under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  In this proverb Solomon continues to offer words of wisdom, contrasting the righteous and the wicked, and the wise man and the fool. He interjects some advice to parents regarding raising their children. (Proverbs 29:15-17) In this verse, he states that where there is not public ministering of The Word of God, the people will suffer.  However, those who hear and heed God’s Holy Word will be blessed.

Application:
According to Bible scholar J. Vernon McGee, the word “vision” in this verse refers to spiritual understanding.  It is the work of The Holy Spirit to give the believer an understanding of God’s Holy Word.  Those who have not been exposed to The Word of God, and those non-believers who have rejected it, will not exercise self-control and that will lead to their demise.  Without the faithful preaching of The Word of God the people will perish.  “How can they call on Him whom they do not believe?  How can they believe in Him whom they have not heard?  How shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14)  Those believers who hear and heed His Word will be blessed.

LET THE WISE LISTEN AND ADD TO THEIR LEARNING

Proclamation:

“Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let discerning get guidance; for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.  The fear of The Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”  Proverbs 1:5-7 (NIV)

Explanation:

These proverbs are the words of King Solomon, son of King David, the king of Israel.  They were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God to provide instruction and guidance to the people of God.  This first proverb begins by discussing wisdom, instruction and knowledge. (Proverbs 1:1-6)  “Fear of The Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” (Proverbs 1:7)  Then it warns them not to hang out with evil men who plan to harm and take advantage of the innocent. (Proverbs 1:10-19)  The remainder of this proverb describes the consequences which they would receive for not following this advice. (Proverbs 1:20-33)

Application:

It has been said that maybe God gave us two ears and one mouth because He wanted us to spend twice as much time listening as we did talking.  All too often we listen just so that we can respond to what was said.  It is good to listen in order to gain knowledge and understanding.  However, we do not understand everything that we hear or read.  Some things must be explained to us, and some things only The Holy Spirit of God can reveal to us.  Reading The Bible is good, but much more insight and knowledge can be gained from prayerful Bible study.  “Study to show yourself approved unto God.” (2 Timothy 2:15)  Only the fool does not want to learn or get any wiser.  To learn is to grow, and only dead things don’t grow.  Don’t be a dead soul, pray and ask The Lord God to increase your wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of His Holy Word then apply what you learn.

GAIN UNDERSTANDING FROM THE WORD OF GOD

Proclamation:

“How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!  I gain understanding from Your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.”  Psalm 119:103-104 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  This is the thirteenth part, Mem, of this twenty-two part psalm.  Here David states that he meditates on The Word of God because he loved it and then he loved it more because he meditated on it.  He gained wisdom, insight, and understanding by meditating on God’s Holy Word. (Psalm 119:98-100)  David actually enjoyed reading and reflecting on The Word of God, stating that to him it was sweeter than honey. (Psalm 119:103)

                                           

Application:

A good man carries The Word of God with him, if not in his hand, it is always in his head and in his heart.  That which we love, we think about often.  The more we meditate on God’s Holy Word, the more we gain an understanding of it and the less likely we are to think about sinful things.  “The fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and knowledge of The Holy is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10)  “Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding.” (Proverbs 3:13)  If we truly love The Word of God, it will be reflected in our behavior and in our conversation.  Out of our mouths comes that which is in our hearts. (Matthew 12:34 and 15:18)

KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM

Proclamation:

“The fear of The Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”  Proverbs 1:7 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by King Solomon, the wisest man ever (2 Chronicles 1:11-12) and the son of King David, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God to the people of God in order to provide them with basic guidelines and instruction in Christian living.

Application:

Some people say "I know, I know, I know," and some say it a lot.  But how much do they really know?  A lot has been said about knowledge.  "If you only have a little bit of knowledge, then you are dangerous."  And "Only a fool doesn't know that he doesn't know."  Having a series of facts at ones disposal does not make one knowledgeable.  Knowledge implies an understanding of something.  However, having a large amount of information and even understanding it is useless if one does not know how to apply it.  Wisdom is often used as a synonym for knowledge but it implies an ability to discern relationships between things or facts and the ability to apply of that information.  Having knowledge and wisdom suggests the ability to understand and appropriately apply the facts at ones disposal.  Knowledge and wisdom are God given abilities.  Knowledge is the correct understanding of the world and one’s self.  Wisdom is the God given ability to apply that knowledge correctly.  It is possible to knowledgeable about some things and totally ignorant about other things.  There are a lot of smart people in the world who know very little about The Word of God.  Unfortunately, there are also a lot of believers who can quote parts of The Bible but they do not live or behave as it says we ought to live.  We all need to pray to God for wisdom and knowledge of His Word and for His help in being living examples of good Christian behavior.  Having knowledge without wisdom and understanding leads to destruction.  The devil knows who God is and chose not to obey Him and to go against Him. (James 2:19)  Having knowledge without the appropriate actions is useless. (James 2:17)

SHARE WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING WHEN YOU SPEAK

Proclamation:

"A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions ... The words of a man's mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook." Proverbs 18:2-4 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live.  Here Solomon teaches the people that a fool is not interested in gaining understanding, all he wants to do is express his own opinion.  Whereas the words of a wise man express his deep and seemingly inexhaustible wisdom and understanding.

Application:
It seems that some people just like to hear themselves talk, even when they have nothing substantial to say.  A conversation with a fool is a waste of time. (Proverbs 14:7 and 26:4)  Know your audience, some people are not interested in the truth or learning anything new.  Some people will engage us in a conversation just to express their preformed opinions and often do not really want to hear a different point of view.  Before we speak, we should make sure that we know what we are talking about.  We should also make sure that what we say is adding something of value to the conversation.  Those who hear us should benefit from our words.  Knowledge, understanding, and wisdom are essential for effective communication and for sharing The Word of God.  "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding." (Proverbs 4:7)  If you are not sure that you know something, be quiet and listen, and then verify what you have heard.  The Bible records in 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV) that we should "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."  We need to study The Word of God so that we can understand it and correctly explain it to others.  We should know what we are talking about before we speak.  It is never a good idea to simply repeat hearsay or offer an unsubstantiated opinion.

MAY YOU LIVE WORTHY AND GROW IN HIS KNOWLEDGE AND POWER

Proclamation:

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you.  We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all wisdom and understanding that The Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of The Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to The Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light." Colossians 1:9-12 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the Apostle Paul to the Christians in Colossae.  Paul was letting them know that he was praying for them.  He told them that he appreciates the good work that they have done and prays that they will continue, and grow in knowledge, and bear good fruit, and be strengthened with His power to endure that which is ahead.

Application:
We need to understand that it is not just the preachers that work for The Lord, but every believer has a job to do for God.  He has to prepare us before He can use us to work for His glory.  That preparation can sometimes be painful and unpleasant, but it is for our benefit.  No matter how much we know, or think that we know, we all need to grow in spiritual knowledge and holiness.  The only way we can do that is by reading and studying The Word of God.  We need to be strengthened with His power to produce good fruit and to withstand the storms of life that are to come.  According to Bible scholar John MacArthur, the good fruit we need to produce includes leading people to Christ (1 Corinthians 16:15), praising God (Hebrews 13:15), giving money (Romans 15:26-28), living a Godly life (Hebrews 12:11), and displaying holy attitudes. (Galatians 5:22-23)  Bible scholar Thomas Nelson states that “endurance and patience are necessary for our perseverance through the storms, problems, trials, and tribulations that are to come, along with forbearance of the faults and offences of others.”  We not only need God’s help to deal with our present situation, we need Him in order to deal with the things which are to come in the future.

Pray For One Another

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.  And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of The Lord and may please Him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,"  Colossians 1:9-10 (NIV)

In his letter to the believers in Colosse, the Apostle Paul said that he and the believers with him prayed for them daily and asked God to bless them with the knowledge of His will.  They prayed for them to receive the wisdom and understanding that they might walk worthy of The Lord, and please Him with their efforts, and produce fruit in every good work, and grow spiritually.

We ought to sincerely pray for one another. (James 5:16)  Pray for those who are doing well and being productive in their work for The Lord, and for those who are struggling.  We all need more knowledge of His will, and more wisdom and understanding.  We all also need His help in order to live a life that is worthy of The Lord.  Let us pray for one another that our efforts will be good works, and that we will produce good fruit as we grow spiritually.  Let us also thank God that some one prayed for us.