John 1:16-17 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness (abundance), we have all received, all had a share and were supplied with, one Grace after another and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing and even favor upon favor and Gift heaped upon Gift. For while the Law was given through Moses, Grace (unearned, undeserved favor) and Spiritual Blessing and Truth, came through Jesus Christ."
Hebrews 11:3 (Amplified) tells us, "By faith we understand, that the worlds were framed by the Word of God."
Proverbs 4:7 (Amplified) says, "The beginning of Wisdom is get Wisdom, skillful and Godly Wisdom! For skillful and Godly Wisdom is the principal thing; and with all you have gotten, get understanding (discernment, comprehension, and interpretation)."
We understand by faith and cannot understand the things of God, without faith. We don't by understand God's Word by some carnal ability or education of man; it takes faith to understand. Romans 4:16 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, inheriting the Promise is the outcome of faith and depends entirely on faith, in order that it might be given as an act of Grace (unmerited favor), to make it stable and valid and guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the devotees of the Law, but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, who is thus the father of us all."
The Promise that we've inherited, is based simply on faith in Jesus Christ. We don't deserve the and can't earn the Promise by works or traditions. We've been taught that God will withhold His Blessing and Promise to us, because we don't deserve them. We don't ever deserve them, but God gives them by His Grace. If God's Word is only true when we deserve it, then we won't ever be able to be saved. We certainly didn't deserve salvation, when we asked God for it.
We understand by faith and not by reading His Word by our intellect. Many Christians struggle to believe that we've been made righteous in Jesus Christ. After being saved, we continue quoting Romans 3:10 (Amplified), saying "As it is written, None is righteous (just and truthful and upright and conscientious), no not one." This is a true statement about the unsaved in the world, because they haven't understood Romans 1:17 (Amplified), which says, "For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith, disclosed by the way of faith (understanding) that arouses to more faith; BY FAITH WE UNDERSTAND."
The only way to understand God's Word is by faith. You only get from God, what you believe Him for, according to His will. When Jesus was accepted and sat down with the Father, everything He died for and rose again for, was already ours. Some believed for it, while others didn't. It was still available to them, by what they believed. Jesus took away the sins of the world and while this is true, we still had to believe it, in order to activate God's forgiveness and salvation in our lives. Even though salvation is true for everyone, but some will not believe for it. Their unbelief won't stop this Truth, for those who would believe.
Paul writes to the Church in Romans 12:2 (Amplified), "Do not be conformed to this world (this age), fashioned after and adapted to it's external, superficial customs, but be transformed (changed( by the entire renewal of your mind, by it's new ideals and attitudes." The word "renewal," according to The Strong's Concordance #342, means "regeneration, restoration, newness, and renovation." The word "restoration" especially caught my eye, when reading Psalm 23:3 which says, "He restores my soul." Your mind is in your soulish realm and restoring it means, bringing it back to God's Original intent, before Adam's fall.
How long do you think Adam walked with God, before his transgression? One day, one year, or a million years? Both the first and Last Adam had the mind of Christ. The same mind that is in Jesus, is the same mine that was in Adam. Restoring the mind can only be done by God's Word and His Holy Spirit. These will cause us to think like God intended His children to think, in the beginning.
We've been trained by the world, to think and operate like it does, but this wasn't true in the beginning. The thoughts we hold today aren't the thoughts that were in the minds of God's family at the beginning. It took thousands of years to teach mankind to die, be sick, trust in works and rituals and distrust God's Word. We've become cautious about trusting God's Word, by reasonings and natural fears. These have made us cautious to truly believe God will do what He says.
The Israelites were faced by the Red Sea before them and Pharaoh's army behind them, when they asked Moses, "What is your strategy?" Mose's answer was to raise his staff over the water. The Israelites had been trained to think like the Egyptians and they asked, "What kind of answer is this?" Their minds had been trained and confomed to that age and that world. The Awesome God of Abraham had been diminished in their thinking like the world thought, instead of what God thought.
We don't see many miracles in today's Church in America, because we're trying to know how to do them. We should understand by faith and allow God to be God and be obedient to Him. When you get God figured out, then please let me know too. God works by our obedience to Him in faith and the only way to understand this, is by faith. Jesus said that it was "The Father in Him, Who did the works." The people didn't understand Jesus' walking on water, because it required faith to do so. Peter got out of the boat and started walking on water by faith, until he remembered that he couldn't walk in water. When he understood it by faith, he was fine and didn't sink. When Peter tried analyzing his actions, then he sank. We understand by faith. We must do what God says to do and walk by faith, as He instructs us to do.
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