THAT YE MAY KNOW

What Does it Mean to Know?

[I] cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know... Eph. 1:16-18

This is a very important scripture, in that it explains how true knowledge is arrived at. Paul was writing about a prayer he prayed for the church at Ephesus. He prayed that God would grant them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God. Paul prayed for the operation of the spirit of wisdom and revelation. Notice he did not pray for intelligence. Neither did he pray for strong reasoning power that they may be able to contain in their minds that knowledge of God. He prayed for something they could not possess naturally. He prayed for what only God could provide: the spirit of wisdom and revelation.

...that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power. Eph. 1:18,19.

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How come Paul did not just tell them the truth they needed to know? How come there had to be the operation of the spirit of wisdom and revelation? Surely he could just have given them the relevant information so that they would know. The truth is that Paul had already preached these truths to them. They had already heard him preach about the hope of their calling. He had explained to them the riches of the inheritance of God in the saints. And surely he had preached and demonstrated in their midst the resurrection power. But here is Paul again praying that they may know the same things that he had already told them.

Paul was writing about a different kind of knowledge that goes beyond having information. By his prayer, he acknowledges the fact that the people could not obtain this kind of knowledge by themselves; they needed the supply of God. They needed the eyes of their understanding to be flooded with light that they may see that which is seen beyond sight and known beyond hearing. This kind of knowledge was going to produce fruit...:The eyes of your understanding being enlightened.

I would want you to consider the knowledge you possess. Without a doubt you have received some wonderful truths: Truths that dazzle and bring joy to you, truths that tell you that you are more than a conqueror, truths that tell you that you are seated far above principalities and powers, truths that tell you that you are no longer under law but under grace, truths that tell you divine health is yours and immortality is even possible to those who choose it like Enoch did. Yes, you have known that indeed all things are yours and so on and so forth.

My concern is that even as these truths have become abundant  in the body of Christ these years, there are still a vast majority who have heard [the truths] alright but have not known them yet. If that were not so, then why is it that the normal consequence of these truths [the fruits] are not abundantly produced in many of the hearers? Many can rise and preach it; indeed many more can illustratively elucidate these truths to the understanding of others. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that they have no true knowledge of what they preach and teach.

The failure stems from the refusal to spend time abiding in the truth so that the Lord, who is the truth, may be revealed unto their spirits. To see the Lord in the truth is to know the truth. There is no truth outside the Lord. Anything that qualifies as truth is an aspect of Himself revealed. To really know any truth, we must have the eyes to see the Lord as that truth. For example, to truly walk in divine health, we must know the Lord as health. To walk in divine provision we must know Him as our provision, et cetera. For He is all.

However, we cannot know anything except the Lord reveals to us. For us to really know truth the Lord must shine his light on us so that in that illumination, we may see Him who is light. This light is shone in our spirits because that is the only place in which the Lord may be known since He is spirit.

The word of the Lord that comes to us is spirit even though it is carried by sound. Our work is to open our spirits to the spirit which is the word. When we receive the word as spirit, it becomes light to us. This light illuminates us so that we may by the senses of our spirits encounter the Lord.

For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. Psalm 36:9

The one who causes us to receive the word as spirit is the Lord Himself. It is by the spirit of wisdom and revelation. I pray that this operation becomes regular in you in the name of Jesus. We cannot (by ourselves) know the Lord in the truth we hear. The Lord must reveal Himself to us first. On our part, this means patient waiting in the word. This means meditating in the word. I do not say reasoning through the word but rather meditating in it. You must by patient waiting abide in the word till the Lord reveals Himself in your spirit. You must repeat the word to yourself, all the while opening up your spirit to the Lord. This exercise requires patience. But the Lord always rewards the patient seeker. Do not enlist natural intellect to reason through the word, that will only make you a scholar.

And finally when you begin to know, oh! What a wonder! It is like you just came alive. It is like all of a sudden, you realised the word is true. A knowledge beyond words, an epiphany; a confident assurance of truth, without any shadow of doubt. Indeed the light of the Lord is as the midday sun that casts no shadows. This knowledge unites you with the truth. Christ effectively lives in you by this knowledge. Oh, may we truly know beyond that which words describe. Clearly some truths may occupy us for weeks, months or even years before we finally enter its revelation. But in all, it is the Lord that reveals. Even as we enter this knowledge our minds are automatically renewed for the word takes its seat in the place of influence which is our spirits and rules to influence all areas.

May the Lord reveal Himself to you that you may really know, and see the profit of your knowledge in the Lord. Amen.