Dearly Beloved,
I found grace to fetch a burden last week after weighing the great disparity between that which the natural estate of the eye/mind of a believer has been accustomed to as a norm in Christianity and that which only the Eyes Of The Our Heart (if accessed/exercised) would appraise as being at variance with God's eternal Counsel on The Wisdom Ordained for His Church. I therefore agreed with Job and Apostle Paul that there is a generation that hears him by the hearing of the ears but there is a remnant of that generation whose eyes would see him during their sojourn on earth. (Job 42:5, Eph. 1:11, 18, Acts 26:8, Eph. 3:10). To trace what happened to our original eye/mind, we need to pay homage to history and not what biology has to say about it!
The first eye which God gave mankind in Adam was traceable to God's Awesome Breath. (Gen. 2:7). This was man's God-Given instrument to discern the Spiritual and reconcile it with the natural. Those eyes were once exercised in giving names to various animals with an unprecedented precision. With that eye, Adam realized that no animal (still in an estate of glory) was a wife material to him. With it, He 'saw God' when he strolled into the garden and he governed the fouls of the Air (that spiritual climate/covering over the earth hijacked by Satan which is meant to be recovered by The Church) (Gen. 1:26, Dan.10:13, Ezek. 28:2, Eph. 2:2).
That eye was strictly meant to comprehend the Counsel of God (Ex. 28:30, Num. 27:21, Eph. 1:11, Acts 20:27, 1Cor:2:16).
Unfortunately, the first man lost that eye after fellowship with the tree of the knowledge of Good & Evil, the very Knowledge of Sin/death which still introduces Corruption/The Worldly Wisdom to her patrons till date. After Adam lost that eye, heaven had nothing to say about his walk with God! But for Christ, the Destiny of generations were eternally mortgaged by that decision and two key questions we should ask are:
- What are today's substitute for 'This Tree' that robs man of access to God's counsel?
- Does the New Birth experience restore this eye?
You may recall that Apostle Paul appraised the Ephesians Church as having fulfilled two key Spiritual Syllabus which 'enabled heaven' open them up to the next chapter that brought about an Enlightenment of The Eyes of their Hearts/Understanding.
Paul therefore prayed for them after they had fulfilled two spiritual protocols: A Walk in Love Towards All Brethren and An Ability to Prosper in their Exercise of Faith in the Unseen (Eph. 1:15, Col. 1:4, 1 Thess. 1:3, 2 Thess. 1:3).
We can therefore deduce that believers who choose to take with levity the issue of their Walk in Love and Faith towards God have hindered their graduation to the next level meant to be the beginning of Spiritual Maturity! We therefore need to pray for believers who haven't seen Salvation as an ongoing process that only ends when we see the Lord face to face but see it as the ultimate experience (1 Pet. 1:23, 1 Jn. 3:1-2, Heb. 12:7).
The purpose of the Epistles is therefore to bring about the needed growth from THE REALM OF JUST BELIEVING IN GOD (i.e. as Believers) to THE REALM OF KNOWING/WALKING WITH GOD (i.e. as SONS of God). This is the difference between 'Jesus earthly ministry in Matthew Mark Luke & John' and 'A More Excellent Ministry where He could FULLY dispense TRUTH through The Holy Spirit, SECRETLY sealed in The Epistles'. (Jn. 16:12-13)
The experience of thief on the Cross give a clear illustration about attaining or falling short of spiritual maturity. He ended up 'a believer' on that faithful day because He believed, but His Faith couldn't be tried in the Process of Time before him and he transited the earth as a Child of God. He didn't experience the chastening of the Lord and therefore didn't access 'Sonship' (Heb. 12:6-7). The Spots, Wrinkles and Blemishes of the Soul which he must have inherited from this earthly walk wasn't dealt with. (Eph. 5:27). He believed in 'The Cross' but Never Carried 'The Cross'! (Lk. 9:23). BELOVED, HE MISSED OUT IN A WALK WITH GOD, THAT EXPEREINCE OF THE SOUL WHICH THE LIKES OF ENOCH ONLY CONSISTENTLY BEGUN AT THE AGE OF 65!
This Walk is defined as A Patient Race set before every true believer (Heb. 12:1) meant to deal with die-hard Carnality/Works of The Flesh acquired before we came to Christ. (2 Cor. 12:8-9).
Saints like David who dared to engage heaven in a precious dimension of Walk called it one that takes place on 'The Path of Righteousness' (Ps. 23:3), Solomon called it 'The Ancient Path' (Prov. 22:28), Prophet Isaiah called it 'The Highways of Holiness' (Isa 35:8), Jeremiah called it 'The Way to Zion' (Jer. 50:5) and Apostle Paul described it as a Walk in 'The Newness of Life' (Rom. 6:4)You would therefore agree with me that the INITIAL SALVATION THAT QUICKENS THE SPIRIT FROM SPIRITUAL DEATH IS 'FREE', but the ultimate experience that should bring our Souls into God's Rest is only accessible when we walk with the eyes of our understanding after it has been enlightened by the Lord! (Rom. 5:17, 10:10, Heb. 4:1).
I hope to conclude this article by further shedding light on the above inspiration, explaining why the church is at the mercy of the enthronement of a gospel (body of Truth) committed to Apostle Paul by the Lord for restoration of the Eyes Of The Heart of the Saints. (Acts 26:18, Rom. 2:16).
Bless You!
Tayo Fasan
+2347025001200