(If you have not read the first part of this article, it would be HIGHLY beneficial if you do so now before proceeding – The Pattern, The Letter & The Veil)
God told Moses that judgement must be executed at the mouth of two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6). Jesus said, “But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” [Matthew 18:16]
This same principle can be applied to the Word of God, too. Whenever there is truth of God being established, two or three Scriptures must agree with that truth otherwise, it cannot stand.
Spiritual Understanding: This kind of understanding of God’s Word is the type that saves a man from the wretchedness of sin. It is the saving knowledge that gives a man access to the Holy Place.
Spiritual understanding is vertical and deals with height; it is the type that extends upward, gradually piercing through the darkness that covers the world into the light that is above. If you are not born again, you will never attain to the 2nd and 3rd levels. It doesn’t matter if you are a professor of theology or preacher in a mega-church.
This is the minimum place where the vast majority of Christians should dwell. Spiritual understanding is usually as a result of someone who has experienced some of the third level of understanding (we shall come to this later) and then it is taught or explained to people. It breathes life into intellectualism!
This kind of understanding is what helps with “Maintenance Christianity”. Many believers, after learning or gaining a basic spiritual understanding of the Word, they get cosy and feel that is all they need. Unfortunately, they step away from this quotient level in the Presence of God, back into the outer court, and from time to time shuffle back and forth between the Outer Court and the Holy Place.
They are supposed to regularly feed in this arena of Light and progress in the Holy of Holies, gaining the glory and then sharing that light with their brethren.
Spiritual Understanding in the Holy Place
Let us dig into the background to see how this relates to the Christian? As the Jews were dying under the weight of the letter of the Word in the Outer Court, Jesus brought the heavenly perspective that will deliver them and usher them into the Holy Place, but sadly they rejected it.
“Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.” [John 12:35]
Since the Fall, Man has lived in darkness (ignorance and evil) and his only way out of it is getting into the Light. But it must also be said that “men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).
Let us look further into the tabernacle “pattern shown” to Moses in interpreting and understanding the Bible, irrespective of the version you find. Although, I must say that I prefer the King James Version, for so many reasons beyond the discussion here.
God wants us to get beyond the Gates of Intellectual understanding of His Word, hence the reason for us to meditate on the Word. When we do, the Holy Spirit will take us, if we are sincere and ready to obey implicitly, beyond the veil into the Holy Place and into the very Presence of the Most Holy One.
It is there we will see clearly His intentions. Do you remember the case of the Parable of the Sower? Now let us examine this parable in the depth that Jesus was trying to lead us.
Matthew 13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
Matthew 13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
Matthew 13:5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
Matthew 13:6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
Matthew 13:7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
Matthew 13:8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
Matthew 13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Ordinarily, people can read this parable and make intellectual conclusions and become excellent farmers. But, God was not after the carnal, basic, and intellectual understanding and the temporal benefits that come with this parable. He was after something of a much more eternal value.
Jesus told the parable to a multitude that included the disciples. Thereafter, He dismissed all of them. But it was the disciples who came back to Jesus, asking to be taken beyond the Gates of Intellectualism in the height of understanding, and He did.
Matthew 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Matthew 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
So what mystery is behind the veil of this Parable? Let us go back to Jesus as He takes His Disciples into the Holy Place for the explanation.
Matthew 13:18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
Matthew 13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
Matthew 13:20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Matthew 13:21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
Matthew 13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
Matthew 13:23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
This explanation by Jesus gives the two levels of spiritual insight or understanding. The second level is all too well to be seen in the explanation when read directly. But the third level, which is the fullness of it, would only be given to the ones who are eager to learn and obey.
At this point, the disciples beckoned to Him that they have now understood the parable. Unfortunately, they did not go further, they did not ask more questions such as, “What does this parable have to do with me?” “How would this really help me fulfil God’s purpose for my life?” “What exactly is God demanding from me?”
Asking these questions would have made Jesus take them further, beyond the Holy Place into the very Holy of Holies, which only the High Priest is permitted to enter once yearly, and Jesus Christ is the High Priest of the New Covenant (Hebrews 9:11). That veil has been removed and He now takes anyone who is willing beyond that point into the Presence of His Father!
Fullness of Understanding.
Before I get into the third level of understanding for this parable, I must say there are a few things that we need to know.
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” [2 Peter 1:20] The Scriptures were not written by men’s knowledge, but were inspired, so to understand it, you need to be inspired as well.
This is the other form of spiritual understanding, but at a different level; it is the end or finality-of-all-things-type of understanding. It is the dimension of the deep things of God, as intended by God from the beginning with respect to the End of Time.
It is like the depth of knowledge as viewed from the height of heaven above.”
What depth can we glean from this parable? It is locked in the explanation Jesus gave in Matthew 13:23, “But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
When a farmer sows into the good ground, what he does with the planting makes a huge difference. How regularly does he look after the plant? Was it that he planted and goes on holiday until harvest time? If that is the case, he will likely get a 30-fold yield.
If he decides against a holiday and looks after the plant, how does he respond to the elements such as too much sun, too much rain, weeds that will want to usurp the space and resources of his plant?
The amount of attention and care he gives would determine the yield. Does he tend to his farm daily or weekly or monthly – these factors will affect yield.
What exactly is this harvest? It is the amount of yield that a man allows his soul – intellect, emotions, will and mind – to be transformed with the nature of Christ and be filled by His Spirit.
In other words, the 100-fold harvest is the experience by which the human soul is filled by the Spirit of God with the fullness of God’s Presence.
It should be the goal of every believer. That is the HOPE often expressed in the writings of Peter, Paul and John. It is the Blessing that God promised Abraham, it was what Isaac received and for which Ishmael was overlooked.
Esau rejected the opportunity and became profane before God, but Jacob desired it so bad that he was willing to even “steal” it! Jacob blessed Judah with it and Jesus ultimately came from that lineage.
Paul wrote, “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” [Ephesians 3:19]
The fullness of God is God’s 100-fold harvest for man and His ultimate desire for man! God will fill the man who is willing to yield to Him as Jesus of Nazareth did, his intellect, emotions, will and mind with Himself – His Spirit.
“And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” [1 John 3:3]
If you have the hope of the 100-fold harvest for God in your life, then you must live a life of purity, just as He is. You must seek to purge yourself of ignorance.
But how do you purify yourself? Peter the Apostle shared the secret with us, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:” [1 Peter 1:22]
There is a fullness of God in understanding. When it appears among the intellectuals of this world, it confounds them, and they think it is foolish or some utter nonsense! This was why some people said Jesus was mad. And Paul, too. “Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.” Acts 26:24]
“But God chose what the world considers nonsense to put the wise people to shame. God chose what the world considers weak to put what is strong to shame. God chose what the world considers ordinary and what it despises – what it considers to be nothing – in order to destroy what it considers to be something.” [1 Corinthians 1:27-28 GW]
That was what they thought of Jesus when they asked Him to take a look at Herod’s Temple and He said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19)
Their thinking was basic, carnal, uninitiated and intellectual. It was the Outer-Court thinking, based on the outward appearance, they could not see beyond the Gates of the Outer Court and they cannot because it was not granted to them. Expansive intellectualism is just that – expansive. It is limited in height.
Why is it that most intellectual people cannot fathom this depth of God? We have the reason clearly stated in Isaiah 8:16, with God declaring, “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.” It is because the truth is sealed only among the priests of God.
Now, don’t ever think it is the man with the dog-collar or the monk in some hideous location in the world who is the priest of God. ANYONE who has believed and received Jesus Christ as their Saviour is a priest of God.
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” [1 Peter 2:9]
Why is it that even most believers who have been exposed to some spiritual truths of the height of God’s Truth are still clueless of the spiritual depth? Paul gives the answer in 1 Corinthians 1:29, “That no flesh should glory in his presence.” God’s Word Version says it like this, “As a result, no one can brag in God’s presence.”
Exclusivity of Understanding
Does it mean that understanding the Scriptures is exclusive? Yes and No.
Yes, because God does not want to give what is holy to dogs and neither will He cast His precious pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6).
No, because He sincerely wants everyone to come to the knowledge of Truth (2 Peter 3:9).
Can you get into this exclusive club? Yes, if you so desire. He says, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” [Matthew 5:6]
If you read that Verse in Isaiah 8:16 clearly, you will discover that it says the testimony is for disciples. Who is a disciple? A disciple is properly defined by Jesus:
“And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, if any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” [Luke 14:25-26]
Only disciples are granted to know the deep things of God. Are you a disciple? If you are, this is where your journey of true meditation starts. It is not complicated for a believer who truly wants to live the life of Christ, it is as natural as breathing and it should be a normal experience for anyone ready to walk with God.
“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” [John 6:63]
– Disciples understand because they ask – if you don’t ask you don’t get.
– They understand because they spend time with Him.
– They understand because they are READY to obey.
– They understand because they are His Friends
– They are His friends because they desire Him and have surrendered their souls to Him
It may surprise you that this was the life Enoch lived, the one Abraham enjoyed, the one David sang about, the one Daniel spoke about, the one Peter testified about, the one John handled and the one Paul wrote about. If you have read this article to this point, it means you are interested in this beautiful experience – then you are invited by the Almighty.
In Romans 16:26 (NKJV), Paul explained something about the MYSTERIES of God that makes someone to benefit from the exclusive understanding, “but now has been made plain, and by the prophetic Scriptures, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith;”
“Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.” [Proverbs 8:34]
True meditation, at the feet of the Holy Spirit, will lead you into dimensions of God that is beyond human comprehension. It will lead you through the gates of “east of the garden of Eden”, past the Cherubims with the flaming swords that turned every way, and to the Tree of Life (Holy of holies), where you eat and live forever! Amen.
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