Knowledge Part Four

Illumination We have seen that God has revealed His will. We have seen that the writers of the Bible were inspired and moved by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has been given the charge to make known God’s will for man. We will look at illumination We will look at some descriptions of the Bible.

Illumination Properties of light. Reveals Opens our eyes Guides our way Offers protection In the spiritual sense: to help us understand the meaning of God’s will. And to help us know the results of our actions when dealing with God’s will.

Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; reproofs of instructions are the way of life Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” Driving at night, have you ever had the lights go out on your vehicle. Do you remember the horror you experienced?

What the Bible claims of itself The scriptures are compared to many different things, so that people will be able to better understand these things. The first symbol is that the Bible is like a mirror. A mirror does nothing except show a reflection. If we do not see ourselves in the Bible, we know that we are not living according to the standard God gave us.

James 1:23-25 “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. As Christians we must reflect the word which reflects God’s words.

The Seed Is The Word Of God Mark 4:1-20 Parable of the soils Jesus tells His disciples that the seed represents the word of God that falls upon different kinds of hearts of men As Christians we are portrayed as “plants bearing seed after its kind” as in the creation. 1 Peter 1:23 “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,”

Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God Eph 6:17 An instrument of warfare used to defeat the enemy. The warfare back then was hand to hand, that was easy, It is the spiritual warfare within each of us that is the greater battle. The sword in the hand pierced the skin, the sword in the mind pierces our hearts.

The word is described as food Hebrews 5:12-14 “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

Food for the soul 1 Peter 2:2 “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, Psalm 19: 10(b) “…Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb”. Proverbs 16:24 “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” Food for new Christians should be milk, and as they grow they can digest the meat.

The Word Is A Light Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” Proverbs 6:23 “For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life, This is the illumination we started with. Notice what Paul said about the Light

Light Is The Illumination of God that shows us His ways. This has been revealed to us. 2 Corinthians 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

God’s word can convict Nehemiah 8:9 “And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep." For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.” Why? Because they had not been keeping them.

2 Chronicles 34:18-21 “Then Saphan the scribe told the king, saying, ‘Hilkiah the priest has given me a book’ and Saphan read it before the king. Thus it happened when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes. Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shapan the scribe and Asaiah a servant of the king saying ‘Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book”

Conclusion God has revealed Himself, and His word. The word shines forth like a beacon to guide and illuminate people. God has inspired His authors via the Holy Spirit, and we are to learn to understand it. Next week, the benefits of knowing God and His word