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The Knowledge of the Son
Jesus placed the “five-fold ministry” in His Church for the equipping of the saints. His desire is for the Church to be “built up” and FILLED with His fullness so we all can perform the “work of the ministry” together. When we all become “filled” with the fullness of Christ, we will come into the “unity of the faith” and the KNOWLEDGE OF THE SON OF GOD.
The body of Christ must be properly equipped in order for it to perform and do the “work of the ministry.” Without proper “equipment,” the body cannot and will not function the way God designed it to function. If we have a car without a motor, we will be unable to drive the car anywhere. A car without a motor is useless. If there is no steering wheel in the car, we will be unable to make the car go in the direction which we need it to go. Without wisdom and understanding, the knowledge of God will not be of any use to us.
Every individual in the body of Christ has been given gifts to accomplish the calling God has placed on their life. The body is a unit and is compiled of many different parts, each part having different gifts. Our gift(s) are not for our own benefit, but are to be used for the benefit of the entire body of Christ so the whole body can prosper. Each part of the body must be fitly joined together and unified in faith for it to work properly. When the entire body of Christ is utilizing and administering their God given gifts to the body, the whole body will prosper, become unified and be one in Christ.
The Apostle Paul told us to “pursue, love and desire spiritual gifts.” (1 Corinthians, 14:1). Paul was not only speaking to the five-fold ministry, but to the entire Church. Many people in churches today do not even realize they have a spiritual gift or gifts, much less what the gift is. If Christians do not know and understand God has given them a specific gift, they will not be able to fulfill the call of God He placed on their life. Again, we see the “key of knowledge” being withheld from the body of Christ by many leaders in the Church.
We are all individual members of one another in the body of Christ. When we all share the gifts and talents God has given each of us with others, the body of Christ will prosper and grow up into the head of the body which is Christ. Christ is the head of the Church. However, the Church is not yet fully connected to the head because everyone in the body is NOT fulfilling their part. When each member of the body comes together as one, the Church will be able to accomplish what God foreordained the Church to accomplish.
Many people in churches today are being tossed about by every wind of doctrine because they are listening to every “wind of doctrine” which comes along. Many are succumbing to the lies and cunning craftiness of carnally minded preachers. They cannot expect to “grow” and “will not grow” in the grace and knowledge of the Son of God. They are listening to fables which will only lead them deeper and deeper into bondage. Many people in churches today are not being “set free” from bondage because they are not being fed the truth. It is the truth which sets us free. Rightly dividing the Word of God will ALWAYS lead to liberty and freedom in the Holy Spirit. A “form” of godliness will always lead people deeper into sin and bondage.
Several years ago the Lord gave me a dream regarding a torso. I was in a classroom teaching the Bible to a group of people. In the middle of my message two men came into the room pushing a hospital bed. Lying on the bed was a man who had no arms or legs. It was just a torso with a head attached. The man had eyes but no other facial features I could see. I walked over to the hospital bed, laid my hands on the torso, and prophesied to the torso. After prophesying to the torso, arms and legs immediately began growing out of their sockets. Hands then grew out of the arms and feet grew out of the legs. The man sat up and then stood up on his feet with a large smile on his face. He appeared to be full of the joy of the Lord. He walked over to me and grabbed my hand and thanked me. After he thanked me, he took a seat in the classroom with the other students as I continued with my message. I then woke up.
The Lord showed me the man on the stretcher was a type and shadow of the body of Christ. This man was unable to do anything because he did not have arms and hands to reach out to grab (grasp) or take hold of anything. He was unable to go anywhere on his own without someone pushing him around in the hospital bed because he had no legs and no feet to take him anywhere. He did have eyes to see (understand) but he was unable to do anything until I prophesied over him. He heard and understood the WORD (knowledge) I gave to him. In doing so he was able to get up off the hospital bed on his own. He then reached out his hand which had grown out of his arm to shake my hand, and he thanked me for ministering to him.
This man represented the BODY of Christ. Many people in churches today can relate to this man. They do not have the knowledge or understanding of how the body was designed to operate. They have the propensity to understand and share the Word of God with others, and would do so if they only knew how to help them. However, they lack the knowledge and understanding which can help them stand on their own two feet. They lack the ability to reach out to others in the body of Christ with their God given gifts and callings. The Church has failed to teach people how to use the “gifts” they have been given so the “whole body” can become unified.
People cannot reach out to others without hands. They cannot take the Gospel to the four corners of the Earth without feet. We can send missionaries around the World and support other ministries with our tithes, offerings and prayers. However, there are people in local churches who need help and a better understanding of the Gospel. Many Christians fail to help those in need around them because they do not have enough knowledge, wisdom or understanding themselves. Pastors are failing to teach their congregations how to walk in the FULLNESS of Christ.
An army cannot win battles without proper training, arms and equipment. An army cannot win battles without knowledge and information about their enemies’ strengths and weaknesses. An army cannot survive an attack of the enemy if they are not unified in their efforts to stand together and fight as a unit. Without unity in the body of Christ we cannot function properly together as an army.
God’s people will continue to suffer without receiving godly knowledge, wisdom and understanding. They will not know or understand how to “reach” out to others with the gifts God has given them. Many have forsaken their gifts because they have not been properly educated by the Church on how to use their God given gifts. In many cases, they do not even KNOW they have been given gifts. A sound education concerning the gifts and callings of God is the key to spiritual freedom and stability in our lives.
We all become “joined and knit together” as one in Christ by utilizing the gifts each of us have been given to equip the Church for the work of the ministry. We will grow up into the head which is Christ and become “complete” in Him when we all have fulfilled the call God has on our life.
The gifts and callings of God are without repentance. God does not retract our gifts just because we have “missed the mark of His high calling.” He does not take the gifts back because we do not know or understand they have been given to us or how to use them. God’s gifts and callings will continue to remain on our lives whether we use them or not. The gifts and callings of God remain within us to help supply the essential needs of the rest of the body. We will be held accountable for the way we use, or fail to use, our heavenly gifts.
I have met with ministers who have failed God and are unable, will not, or cannot forgive themselves. Many of them continue to wander aimlessly without purpose in their lives because they feel they have failed God. They are like the torso on the hospital bed. They need therapy from the Word of God which will help them get back on their feet and begin again to start reaching out to others with the truth. The truth is that God desires for them to be set free from their own inhibitions and failures so they can reach out to others with the truth. Unless they forgive themselves, they will never be an effective witness of the truth again.
When we miss the mark of the high calling of God, we should not be running and hiding from the face of God as Adam did in the Garden of Eden. We have a Savior who died to forgive us of ALL our sins and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness when and if we ask Him. When we fail God, we should be running to Him--NOT FROM Him. He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins when we sincerely repent of them. God is the only one who is able to free us of our sins, shortcomings, failures and inhibitions.
God is always speaking to people who need a helping hand and a touch from the Throne Room. Knowledge and understanding will take us to places in Christ where we have never been before. In Christ, we can find the inherent knowledge of His will. His will is to always, without hesitation, be available to those who have failed Him in one way or another. He is always willing to forgive us when we ask Him.
When we have failed Him, and reach out to Christ repenting with contrite hearts, we will always find two nail scarred hands reaching out to us regardless of what sins we have committed. It is not our place to condemn those who have failed at one time or another. It IS our responsibility to lift them up and help them to get back on the right track. We have all failed God at one time or another and come short of His glory.
The “knowledge of the Son of God” will lead us to all the understanding and wisdom we need to fulfill God’s plan and purpose for our life. When the body of Christ is “fitly joined, and knit together” with one another by His love, we will find ourselves joined to Christ who is the Head of the Church.
“COME TO ME, ALL YOU WHO LABOR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST.” Matthew, Chapter 11, Verse 28