Welcome To The Arena Of Indubitable Truth! Topic: In Christ (Part 17)

Welcome To The Arena Of Indubitable Truth!

Topic: In Christ (Part 17)

                               

Helping You To Increase Your Revelation Knowledge Of Christ!

Text Of Interest:

“But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.”     

    Heb 12:22 – 24 (KJV)

As the believer continues to gaze at the word, whatever he sees the word looks like he becomes because what one sees in the glass or mirror is his real image and it can’t be otherwise. If what the word says is different from the image he has, then he has to confirm himself to the image of the word because what the word says is his real image and he has no option than to be that. But if he thinks otherwise that is why Apostle James puts it this way and I quote “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (Jas 1:21-22).

However, Apostle James continued in his admonition to believer that “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass. For hebeholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” (Jas 1:23-25).This is a significant statement because he made mention of the glass again even as Apostle Paul did. The word glass meaning the same thing as in Apostle Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 3:18 mentioned in the previous episode. This implies that a believer’s life is all about the word because it should revolve around it. In this case, renewing is by the word and contained in the word is faith, so how much and how long the believer can lay hold on the word the more his faith is upgraded. Once someone has come into Christ he has come into faith but this faith need to grow and the only means the faith will have to grow is by hearing the word. So lack of the word means lack of faith and much lack of the word means much lack of faith.

Apostle Paul his epistle to the Thessalonians and I quote, “Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith?” (1Thess 3:10). The quotation above implies that Apostle Paul will visit them and talk to them more about the message of Christ and by so doing, that which is lacking in their faith will be filled up. Therefore, it is by listening to the Word which is imparted with faith in it, that the believer can ultimately become what he sees in the mirror. This is the purpose of the Word and by extension the purpose of the law of Spirit of life in Christ, that the believer should wear the image of He that created him. Apostle Paul again puts it better in his epistle to the Colossians and I quote “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him (Col 3:10). Here is one of the benefits a believer receives from the law of Spirit of life in Christ, which is, in knowledge the believer is being renewed after the image of He that created him. Now, the quotation says in knowledge the believer is renewed, this suggests that the word comes to give knowledge to the believer and by this knowledge the believer is fine-tuned to come into the reality of who is. 

The product of this knowledge is faith, because as the word comes and it unfolds the knowledge in it, the receiver of the word is filled with faith and begins to live as he has received. But the lack of hearing of the word would mean the lack of knowledge and that implies the lack of faith. Here comes the difference in believers life, the believer who listens more of the word comes out with better knowledge and expresses faith accordingly but the other believer who lacks the access to the word will be limited in knowledge and as result be limited in faith. The believer that has access to the word can be termed strong in faith because he is full of the word which is knowledge and the believer who lacks the access to the word can be termed weak in faith because he is not full of the word which is knowledge. Therefore, the believer’s reaction to any situation is in direct proportion to what and what he knows as a believer and by his reaction his faith level is ascertained.

It is important to state that both are saved in Christ, but because of lack of knowledge which implies lack of adequate faith or coming short of faith they will have different results in doing exploits in life though they are saved. So what puts one in danger might not be able to put another in danger because the later knows better and as a result reigns in the situation because he has adequate knowledge which the former lacks. So the later reveals the image of He that created him better than the former because he understands the image that he sees in the mirror better than the former.

To be continued…..

Till I come your way again, keep on basking in the Arena of Indubitable Truth!

Chukwuemeka C. Asiegbu