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Chapter Twenty Two
Understanding God
We -- as natural men and women -- wouldn’t be able to understand God if He hadn’t chosen to reveal Himself to us. He is the incomprehensible God and there are things about Him that we just can’t comprehend.
When we try to imagine God we wind up with an imaginary God. We think finite and He thinks infinite. We think in terms of Him being a God that dwells in the Universe -- but there was no Universe until God created it -- so He wasn’t in anything. If He were contained in a Universe -- then the Universe would have been there before He was. The Universe would have been there for Him to dwell in and that would make the Universe older than He is. He was present when there was no Universe -- because He created the Universe.
When we try to imagine a Universe that has no limits or boundaries but we can’t grasp it. Our mind keeps trying to put the Universe in something and there are no boundaries for the Universe. The Universe is a revelation of God and therefore -- it can’t have any bounds.
These are what I call the incomprehensible’s of God. God hasn’t given us understanding for these Truths -- but He has given us enough information to understand Him and know Him as the Creator of all things. Our mind can’t contain Him in all of His fullness -- but we can know Him and His plan for the ages. We can have an intimate relationship with Him and He has invited us to do so. Amazing!
Those plans are revealed to us so that we will be able to see that He does things for good reasons and that He has provided for us in His plans. Think of it -- We are included in God’s plans for the eternal future. We have a purpose within that plan. A place of perfect peace and an eternal usefulness where we are totally satisfied. It’s called the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven.
I read a book recently called -- The Unshakable Kingdom and the Unchanging Person. It’s a book full of understanding about the Kingdom of God. In it he says -- The Kingdom of God is God’s total answer for man’s total need. Never have I read a more truthful statement.
Anyone that plans their life without first understanding God’s plan and purpose is trying to make themselves their own god. When anyone does that -- the burden of making your plan come to pass falls on you. Then -- you have to become a works to be blessed person. When you do that -- you become Sin and are under the sentence of death. You and your plans have an end.
On the other hand -- if you receive God’s plan and find your place in it -- your plans have no end.
When we understand God’s plan and then we fit our plans into His plan -- we are making God the Lord of our lives. When we make our plans and then try to make God’s plan fit into them -- we are making ourselves god -- or at least trying to make ourselves god. God hates that because our plans are always too small for what He has planned for us.
Kingdom Within
The Kingdom of God has spiritual and physical substance. It has a Ruler -- a realm and it has a government. Do you see that? In that plan we are a miniature universe within ourselves?
Christ the Creator created us in the image of God. When we came forth from the womb -- a type of creation -- we were made in the image of God. Then the Spirit of Christ came into us when we were born again and along with the Spirit of Christ -- came the Kingdom of God. So-- we become the realm of the Kingdom of God where the King lives. As we surrender to Jesus’ Lordship -- the Kingdom of God begins to manifest itself in us and -- if we let it continue -- it will manifest itself all around us. We see this in Jesus’ life. He is full of the Kingdom of God within Him and so-- when there was a need for the Kingdom of God to reach out into the kingdom of the world – Jesus moved on a situation and the Kingdom of Heaven manifested itself around Him.
When the man with the withered hand asked Jesus to help him – Jesus said put out your hand and when he did — he thrust his hand into the realm of the Kingdom of Heaven that was around Jesus and because there can be no sickness in the Kingdom of Heaven the man’s hand was immediately healed.
So that is what you see in the life of Jesus. He -- being full of the Kingdom of God and walking in the reality of that Himself -- the power of the Kingdom within Him manifested itself outside of Him and touched the lives of all that came near Him.
Luke 11:20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.
The Kingdom of God was within Jesus and -- as Jesus lived out His life -- living according to the laws -- statues and commandments of that Kingdom within Him -- the realm of that Kingdom manifested itself around Him. That realm around Him is called the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of God is the person of Jesus the Christ. The Kingdom of Heaven is the realm that surrounds those that live in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is the person of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven is the realm where the King lives.
God’s eternal purpose is that His Kingdom will last forever and that He would hide that Kingdom within each of us. That is why we can’t plan our lives ourselves -- because it is an eternal plan and we don’t know enough to plan that way.
To get a true view of our relationship with our Father we have to see that we are actually parts of the body of Christ. Man was created in the likeness of what Christ would become after He indwelt Jesus the God man. When Christ indwelt Jesus and became a man – Christ had a physical body for the first time. We are made in that image.
Adam was made in that image before Christ was so that makes Adam a prophetic being because he by his existence revealed what Christ would become in the future.
We are parts of that body. We were brought from the eternal past where we were in Christ the Lord and part of His spiritual body -- spiritual sons and daughters. In a likeness --we were the sperm of Christ’s spiritual body. Then because of the introduction of Sin into that Creation by Lucifer we were sent on head in Adam to be given a new dirt body like the one that Christ would inherit in Jesus.
We were in a likeness hearing our Father say to us – COME UP HIGHER. I believe that eternity will be made up of progressive experiences of hearing our Father say – COME UP HIGHER. Whenever we hear that we will know – if we learn it now – that voice means it’s time to leave the former things and come up higher to a place I have prepared for you to represent Me in the Universe.
There will be a leaving of that old place – in a likeness to dying although not painful unless we won’t let go of the past so the future can rise from the old things of our past.
When we are born again we are the sons and daughters of the most high God and members of His family. A royal family -- destined to rule and reign over Creation. The Lord intends that we know and understand who He has made us and what He has given to us. He also has revealed how and why He has given us these things.
God is not the Father of the willfully ignorant. To read and know the will and purposes of God is very dangerous to you remaining in the place of ignorance. You no longer have any excuse for living a life not knowing what God intends for you.
(Prov 2:1 KJV) My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
(Prov 2:2 KJV) So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
(Prov 2:3 KJV) Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
(Prov 2:4 KJV) If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
(Prov 2:5 KJV) Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
For a person to think that they can live a happy and fulfilled life without doing this is sheer madness. It’s to live a life of frustration and death. You have no chance to ever realize the hopes and dreams of your life.
(Prov 2:6 KJV) For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
(Prov 2:7 KJV) He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
(Prov 2:8 KJV) He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
(Prov 2:9 KJV) Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
This is saying that if you believe God -- you will know the path of life to take. No more wandering and hoping that it will turn out all right. You will have the knowledge that the Lord has promised you that both Himself and all of Creation are behind you to bless you above all that you ever thought and dreamed.
(Prov 2:10 KJV) When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
(Prov 2:11 KJV) Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
(Prov 2:12 KJV) To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
Knowledge and understanding of the Word of God is my only protection against the darkness that comes from the mouths of men and the system of this world.
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