Messages with tag - Spiritual growth

What is knowledge? That may seem like a simple question, but listen to this lesson to learn that there are two different words for knowledge in the Bible which have different shades of meaning. Hear how these words have been interpreted over the years. See that Paul used these words in different ways in his various epistles. The take away from this lesson should be that we need to take time to learn biblical knowledge and as we walk by means of the Holy Spirit, we can learn to apply it leading to spiritual growth.

Are you still stuck in diapers in the spiritual nursery? Or are you zooming through spiritual childhood and reaching adulthood in your Christian life? Listen to this lesson to learn that the new believers in Thessalonica were grabbing hold of the Word of God and making great strides in their spiritual lives within an amazingly short time. Measure yourself on your mastery of three valuable virtues that Paul uses to show the stages of spiritual growth. Revisit the spiritual skills that should become second nature in your life when you reach maturity.

The Apostle Paul's first missionary journey ends with an exhibition of sheer spiritual courage. He and Barnabas endure the wild swings of the pagan crowd in Lystra as they first yell out their adoration of them as gods and then erupt in a wild rage. After stoning Paul, they drag him out of town, but rather than lying low and hiding out, he and Barnabas continue on to Derbe before retracing their steps to teach and encourage the new converts. Explore the role of repentance in salvation, how God blesses all through common grace, and how to witness to those who have suppressed the truth.

Living the Christian life is based on our position in Christ. Distractions from this truth abound, but it is only being in Christ that offers the daily life impact resulting in God’s promised riches in Christ. We may admit that Christ is the answer to our final destiny, but everyday problems are sometimes given over to man’s solutions. The problems in Colossi are no different than what we encounter today. Man’s solution begins with autonomy from God, which is the foundation for the downward spiral into a maze of humanistic answers that position man farther and farther from the truth. All of life’s problems can be traced back to sin. Christ solved the sin problem and “in Him” we are given all we need for solutions in life through application of His Word. What remains is for us is to engage our volition to learn and apply these solutions against a tide of cultural and political trends that run counter to God’s Truth. Pastor Dean explains in depth what it means to be “in Christ.”

Paul expresses four purposes for his prayers in these verses. The first two are related in an important way. The first purpose is that we might be filled with the knowledge of His will. The second is to walk worthy of the Lord. However, these are related in that we are to be filled with the knowledge of His will so that we may walk worthy. The knowledge of God's will is not an end in itself. It is related to the application of that will to our thinking and living. This is expressed through two key terms: wisdom and understanding. These words are often described in terms of the Greek connotation. However, Paul and the other apostles would not have thought of them in the Greek cultural sense, but in terms of the Hebrew meaning in the Old Testament. In this lesson we learn what the biblical or divine viewpoint of wisdom and understanding is.