Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use of their senses have trained for the discernment of good and evil.1
The idea of maturity in believers speaks not only to spiritual maturity in our relationship with God but also of a mental maturity. The mature can discern good from evil because they have been trained by constant use of their senses. Through the senses we discern, we perceive, but we must train these senses. We discern with the Spirit using our organ of sense, our brain, in many ways, like renewing the mind through habits to produce a functional applied knowledge gleaned from first-hand (personal) experience, connecting theory to application. This is the essence of our mature faith, substance and evidence, applied knowledge of God.
Sadly there is a disconnect between many believers as to how they use their senses on the Sabbath and during the week. I first saw this disconnect as hypocritical, it is, but I believe the problem is an applied knowledge issue, we know lots of scripture but living it outside the building called church is beyond most peoples understanding, not that they do not want to. Some do not believe they need to, the Marketplace is not looked on as a ministry. They are taught by organizations who have not applied knowledge themselves. How does one apply teaching to everyday life? how do I walk as Jesus walked and still operate in the workplace. Integrity, personal accountability, following and giving instructions, humility, these things reflect maturity in God.
Being obedient you will find God wants you to use your brain, your senses to reason, to figure it out. Paul writes, people do not have the ability to change their minds if they fall away, if they have been enlightened, and they have experienced the beauty and power of God's Word and Spirit.6 He uses the analogy of a field, if it as been cultivated and watered would it not produce an acceptable harvest. An acceptable harvest accompanies salvation. This to me seems to be as he wrote in Romans, they knew God but glorified him not as God. More important though is that they had knowledge, learned of God, but there was no applied knowledge or an end result of the learning. These Pharisees knew the scriptures, they memorized much of it but they had reduced God to their image, an image made by man.
These high things that we are to cast down are barriers, presumptions, thinking that is lifted up against the knowledge of God. This word for knowledge is gnósis which means applied-knowledge; derived from ginṓskō, "experientially know") – functional (working) knowledge gleaned from first-hand (personal) experience, connecting theory to application. Being able to reason, to discern is a gauge of spiritual maturity. Our brain is to be used for experiential learning not just for storing information about God. This is the essence of faith, I can hear but if I do not do it is dead. God wants loyal, obedient, applied learners. Reasoning, presumptions, values, personal reckoning, thoughts, are all used in spiritual discernment of good and evil.
This is the crucible of modern day Christianity, do we have knowledge or applied-knowledge, have we learned of God by hearing or by seeing. And like Job through the test would we have a better sense of who God is or find like his friends we don't know Him like we thought we did?
I Am Unto Death A Christian
The idea of maturity in believers speaks not only to spiritual maturity in our relationship with God but also of a mental maturity. The mature can discern good from evil because they have been trained by constant use of their senses. Through the senses we discern, we perceive, but we must train these senses. We discern with the Spirit using our organ of sense, our brain, in many ways, like renewing the mind through habits to produce a functional applied knowledge gleaned from first-hand (personal) experience, connecting theory to application. This is the essence of our mature faith, substance and evidence, applied knowledge of God.
Solid food is for the mature. This word for mature is téleios, properly having reached its end, its finish, perfect, mature (consummated) from going through the necessary stages to reach the end-goal, i.e.developed into a consummating completion by fulfilling the necessary process. The root telos means end result, purpose, like an old telescope, unfolding (extending out) one stage at a time to function at full-strength. This word teleiōtheis Paul used when he spoke of Jesus being made perfect, And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him. Jesus through suffering was perfected into maturity. Do you look down on suffering, do you see it as punishment from God? Job's friends did, and they had a relationship with God that was not mature.
Who by constant use of their senses have trained. This word for senses is aisthētḗrion which is derived from aio, "perceive, discern through the senses" and aísthēsis, "perception, understanding, discernment", so properly it is to perceive, discern through the senses; it is the perceptive faculty, the concrete organ of sense, becoming virtually a habitual ability which must be developed and enables believers to distinguish between the spirits. It is a spiritual gift which must be developed in practice. It is the transformation by renewing the mind. Job's relationship had been perfected through suffering. Job stated, my ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.3 Job experienced God on a new level of his senses, he had heard, now he sees. He did not see God physically, he saw that which was unseen. Faith comes by hearing and faith is the evidence of things unseen, this would be perception, discernment.
Trained for the discernment of good and evil. Paul writes that the weapons of our warfare are for; casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.5 This is obviously using the faculty of the senses, thinking, perception, and spiritual discernment. This word for argument is logismós (from logízomai, "to reckon") – properly, "bottom-line" reasoning that reflects someone's values, i.e. how they personally assign weight in determining what they find reasonable; "calculated arguments, thoughts", emphasizes reaching a personal opinion, i.e. what comes out of a personal reckoning. Our core values reflect our maturity in God. Do we operate to personal, ministry, and business core values? there should not be a difference.
Who by constant use of their senses have trained. This word for senses is aisthētḗrion which is derived from aio, "perceive, discern through the senses" and aísthēsis, "perception, understanding, discernment", so properly it is to perceive, discern through the senses; it is the perceptive faculty, the concrete organ of sense, becoming virtually a habitual ability which must be developed and enables believers to distinguish between the spirits. It is a spiritual gift which must be developed in practice. It is the transformation by renewing the mind. Job's relationship had been perfected through suffering. Job stated, my ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.3 Job experienced God on a new level of his senses, he had heard, now he sees. He did not see God physically, he saw that which was unseen. Faith comes by hearing and faith is the evidence of things unseen, this would be perception, discernment.
Trained for the discernment of good and evil. Paul writes that the weapons of our warfare are for; casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.5 This is obviously using the faculty of the senses, thinking, perception, and spiritual discernment. This word for argument is logismós (from logízomai, "to reckon") – properly, "bottom-line" reasoning that reflects someone's values, i.e. how they personally assign weight in determining what they find reasonable; "calculated arguments, thoughts", emphasizes reaching a personal opinion, i.e. what comes out of a personal reckoning. Our core values reflect our maturity in God. Do we operate to personal, ministry, and business core values? there should not be a difference.
Sadly there is a disconnect between many believers as to how they use their senses on the Sabbath and during the week. I first saw this disconnect as hypocritical, it is, but I believe the problem is an applied knowledge issue, we know lots of scripture but living it outside the building called church is beyond most peoples understanding, not that they do not want to. Some do not believe they need to, the Marketplace is not looked on as a ministry. They are taught by organizations who have not applied knowledge themselves. How does one apply teaching to everyday life? how do I walk as Jesus walked and still operate in the workplace. Integrity, personal accountability, following and giving instructions, humility, these things reflect maturity in God.
Being obedient you will find God wants you to use your brain, your senses to reason, to figure it out. Paul writes, people do not have the ability to change their minds if they fall away, if they have been enlightened, and they have experienced the beauty and power of God's Word and Spirit.6 He uses the analogy of a field, if it as been cultivated and watered would it not produce an acceptable harvest. An acceptable harvest accompanies salvation. This to me seems to be as he wrote in Romans, they knew God but glorified him not as God. More important though is that they had knowledge, learned of God, but there was no applied knowledge or an end result of the learning. These Pharisees knew the scriptures, they memorized much of it but they had reduced God to their image, an image made by man.
These high things that we are to cast down are barriers, presumptions, thinking that is lifted up against the knowledge of God. This word for knowledge is gnósis which means applied-knowledge; derived from ginṓskō, "experientially know") – functional (working) knowledge gleaned from first-hand (personal) experience, connecting theory to application. Being able to reason, to discern is a gauge of spiritual maturity. Our brain is to be used for experiential learning not just for storing information about God. This is the essence of faith, I can hear but if I do not do it is dead. God wants loyal, obedient, applied learners. Reasoning, presumptions, values, personal reckoning, thoughts, are all used in spiritual discernment of good and evil.
This is the crucible of modern day Christianity, do we have knowledge or applied-knowledge, have we learned of God by hearing or by seeing. And like Job through the test would we have a better sense of who God is or find like his friends we don't know Him like we thought we did?
I Am Unto Death A Christian