Sep. 14, 2016 | I want to understand

This is a message from Dr. Anthony George's Wednesday night Bible study. My notes are only meant to be a guide to assist in your Bible study. Enjoy! :)

Ephesians 1:15-18

Do you want to understand more of what God is telling you?

The spiritual maturity that allows

Laws of spiritual understanding 

• Paul wants them to have a hunger for more.
• Jeremiah 29:11-13
• 1) God blesses those who have the desire to understand more. Matthew 5:6
• 2) It is an awesome privilege to understand spiritual truth.
  • Who are we that God would choose us to reveal truths to us? That He would be understanding of us?
  • What a privilege it is that God reveals truths to us sinners.
  • Matthew 13:10-11 NASB it has been granted to us to understand what no one else can
  • Sacred privilege of being a Child of God
  • Thank God for removing the scales on my eyes.
  • Not only is salvation by grace, but also spiritual understanding is also only though His Grace.
• 3) as we walk with God 
  • Shifts from doctrine to discipline, 
  • If you want more spiritual understanding and revelations, we must pick up where we last left off on our spiritual growth
  • The Compacity Factor: John 16:12 NASB
  • We can't expect God to unload all of His knowledge into us, because we would never be able to handle it, but we should strive to understand a little bit more each day--something more than we knew yesterday. 
  • 1 Corinthians 3:2 NASB
• 4) The Holy Spirit is the agent of spiritual revelation vs 17
  • "In the knowledge of Christ"
  • John 16:14 NKJV 
  • The Holy Spirit is our illuminator! Reading the Word of God without the Holy Spirit is like reading in the dark. The Holy Spirit makes the difference between knowledge and understanding 
• 5) The Bible is our source of our spiritual understanding. 
  • Ephesians 1:18-19 the hope already given, the riches that will one day be given, and the power He is constantly giving to you
  • Paul's epistles were circulated around at the time and those who heard the letters knew that it was God's Holy Word; even though the full Bible had not been complied yet, the New Testament was already in existence. 
  • John 5:39 NASB  
  • Never remove Christ from the Old Testament
  • The entire Bible is the indivisible whole of divine revelation. The Bible is a unified message. Any declaration separating the Old Testament from the New Testament must be rejected.
  • Matthew 17 
    • Refers to the Old Testament as the law and the prophets. Moses represents the law and Elijah represents the prophets.
  • John 5:39
  • Acts 8:35 NASB went from Isaiah 53 to the cross.

God wants us to know the Bible. But more the knowing the Bible, He wants us to understand the Bible.

He wants us to Discover Jesus through the Bible.

He wants us to Transform our lives through the Bible.

The longest chapter in the Bible is about the Bible. Psalm 119:18 NASB