Growth In Spiritual Mindedness

“Growth in spiritual mindedness is difficult, but the difficulty often arises from the fact that we want to keep in our lives things that are inconsistent with spirituality. In other words, the difficulty is in ourselves and not in spirituality. We do not wish to put aside every hinderance (Hebrews 12:1).” John Owen

Experience Quenches Doubt

In John Chapter 9 there is a man that has been blind since birth. Jesus heals him and the Pharisees do not believe that Jesus did this. Furthermore, it was the Sabbath.

The Pharisees bring this man before a council to question him. The healed blind man says in verse 25, “Whether he is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know; that though I was blind, now I see.”

This man answered doubt with his experience and it was powerful. It should be the same for us. When Satan tempts us to doubt God, we are to answer back with a recollection of what God has done for us in the past; particularly our salvation. Jesus used the Word to quench the flame of Satan, and this blind man used his experience. Both responses to Satan’s doubts are appropriate for us to use.

The Word Of God (1)

THE WORD OF GOD

There are several different meanings in the Bible of the phrase The Word of God.

• THE WORD OF GOD AS A PERSON
• THE WORD OF GOD AS SPEECH

THE WORD OF GOD AS A PERSON

Revelation 19:13 says “He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.” John 1:1 says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Verse 14 says “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

We mostly think of The Word of God, as talking about the words in the Bible. Yet Jesus Christ is so associated with teaching and displaying the character and instruction of God, that he is referred to as The Word of God. Knowing this can help us to remember that the words of the Bible come from a Person. They are not abstract words that are disconnected from the person who speaks those same words. Jesus Christ is the glory of all of the Words of God! The Word of God is Personal.

Jesus the Word of God says in Matthew 11:28-29 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

We must remember that we are learners of the Word of God in so far as we are servants under Jesus’ Lordship first. For we must take his yoke upon ourselves first before we learn from Him.