FAITHFULWORD.ORG | TEACHINGS

Isaiah 61:10; Jeremiah 9:23, 24; Acts 17:16-33, 18:1; John 17:1-3; Philippians 3:10; Ephesians 1:17; Colossians 1:9, 10; Hebrews 2:18; II Peter 1:2-4; Isaiah 64:8; [Ephesians 2:10]; I Timothy 1:12-17; Romans 12:2; I Peter 4:1-11

When we come to Christianity’s door, we cannot bring anything that righteously allows us entrance into God’s family. All we can do is put on the robe of righteousness which Jesus Christ provides. Jesus gives a parable in the gospels in which a king provided the wedding garment to his guests. These guests had only to put on the garment and arrive, but one man presumed to wear a garment of his own and was consequently rejected at the door. The point is that God gives the garment, the robe of righteousness, through His Son. As the scriptures set forth, we must come to God empty-handed and He will fill us.

God promises riches, might and wisdom in His Word, yet when God provides these things we are not to glory in them, but in God. It is the great goal of Christianity to continue to grow and walk worthy of our calling. What does God need that man can give him? The most beautiful church, temple or palace is not necessary for us to worship Him. God only wants us to have a heart that is hungry to know Him. Paul describes it in Acts 17:28 when he says, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being.”

When we are born again, our life with God begins. We are to grow in knowledge and wisdom. The word “grow” is from the Greek word, auxano, which means “growth in stages,” much like an oak grows from a seed into a mighty tree. We are to actively seek knowledge of God and the will of our Master, Jesus Christ, every day. Understanding God’s Word is much like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. When people begin a puzzle, all the pieces are daunting, until they see the entire picture on the box. Putting the Word together is easier once we see the “big picture,” which fits within the framework of God’s plan. He begins and ends the Bible with this desire for a family, and everything else is about this purpose of the ages. It tells us of a God of love Who would direct all His affection and blessings to His children, and about His Son, Jesus Christ, who fulfilled everything required for man to become children of God and be part of that family!

With a scope of the Word, putting things together is so much easier. However, we cannot increase in our knowledge of God without spiritual understanding of what God has already put in to our hearts. This brings us back to the concept of auxano, that growth in stages. Believers grow like this. We may get some Word, but only God can give us wisdom and understanding and then we put it into application.

Jesus Christ, our Master and Lord, succors us. He trims off the unnecessary things in our lives so we grow well. As we are transformed by the renewing of our minds, and not conformed to this world, we will prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. As we grow in riches, might and wisdom, we are to remember to not glory in those things, but in God. Let us glory in understanding and knowing our God and set a course for continued growth.