Colossians 1:9- to pray for you, and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,
(Written for those who are a part of the body of Christ having entered
that body through being baptized into His death, burial and resurrection)
I was added to the body of Christ (the Lord’s church) in 1976 when I was sixteen on a Wednesday night at Shelbyville Rd Church of Christ in Indiana. That was twenty-eight years ago. I have never fallen away from my Lord in all that time. I have not always been the most faithful Christian, but I have stayed true to His word.
I love my brothers and sisters in the Lord very much, and it is for that reason I am writing this essay. But I must warn you up front, the subject matter is one that very few have a grasp on. As Christ said in Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few chosen. Many will read this, but few will come to understand it.
I am not highly educated, my status, if you will, in the brotherhood is known by only a very few. My understanding and wisdom on this subject comes right out of God’s word and lived out in the real world. I am a husband and father. A part-time preacher and full-time employee in the secular world.
My purpose for writing this treatise on spiritual understanding is to share my understanding of spiritual understanding based on God’s word with the body of Christ through the avenue of the internet.
If you were asked- are you a spiritual Christian? Would you truly know what spiritual meant? I have heard that word and preached it my whole life, but I honestly could never put my finger on its real meaning. What does it mean to be spiritual? I spent my life asking myself and other preachers and Christians that question. About three years ago I was determined to find out.
We spend our entire life experiencing the world with our five senses. Everything we do is done using our five senses. And then it dawned on me one day. Spiritual is invisible. Therefore I concluded that I will never understand it using my five senses. Just like we can’t see the wind but we are aware of it. We can’t see the oxygen we breathe, but were aware of it.
We have been a people bent on book-chapter and verse for everything we do. And that is great. That is what separates truth from error in religion. But in our bible knowledge we have not learned how to be a spiritual people- only a doctrinal correct people.
I hear you- I’d rather be doctrinally correct and not that spiritual then spiritual and doctrinally wrong. May point is, why not be both.
The word spiritual in scripture is not used until after Pentecost. Did you realize that. And at the same time we understand that spiritual death is separation from God. And sin separates us from God. That being true, the story of Adam and Eve committing the first sin is also a revealing truth about being a spiritual Christian.
Thus sin, all sin at its core is spiritual in nature, but its attributes and character traits are physical. The germ of sin takes root were it can’t be seen and then grows and we see its fruit. Jesus taught this very thing. Matthew 5:27-28 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” The sin of adultery Jesus states here is spiritual- unseen by others and known only by the one lusting.
Paul dealt with this idea of Christians not being spiritual but carnal in First Corinthians 3:1-3 “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?”
The last phrase- behaving like mere men, says it all.
What then does it mean to be spiritual? There is an ancient proverb that goes like this. It is impossible to explain to a summer insect what ice is. But once the insect experiences ice they will understand. I can’t explain spiritual understanding to the reader- it is something they must experience for themselves.
Sounds like you’re talking about a charismatic experience the Pentecostal churches talk about?
At first it might. But it is far and above anything they know. There’s is an emotional experience, nothing more, nothing less.
Let’s now turn our attention to the word understanding. There is such a gulf between bible knowledge and spiritual understanding. In my ministry I have known many men that are very knowledgeable about the bible. They know the Greek, the history of bible times, they can quote whole bible books.
But sadly these same men behave like mere men. They worry, are anxious, prideful, arrogant, mean, fearful... etc Understand that I am generalizing here. It is a fact that before we can hope to have understanding we must have knowledge. But far too many stop at knowledge.
The word understanding in scripture is a reference to the mind. More specifically our mental process. In turn we take bible knowledge and mentally process it as a way to live our life as spiritual beings for God. As apposed to taking bible knowledge and mentally processing it as facts that are true. This kind of understanding is not easy to grasp.
Look hard and you can see the gulf between knowledge and spiritual understanding in the ministry of Jesus and the apostles. Take this simple phrase spoken by Jesus- Matthew 16:6- Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."
The apostles had keen knowledge of leaven and its use. But they did not have the spiritual understanding of it in the context of Jesus statement.
Matthew 16:7-11 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread." But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? "Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? "Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? "How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?; but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
Notice Jesus last statement - "How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?; but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Granted, after Pentecost they had spiritual understanding- and we should too.
So let’s put the two words together in light of the verses you just read. Jesus was using the word leaven on a spiritual level. Meaning, He was not talking about a visible leaven but an unseen element among the Pharisees and Sadducees. The understanding is the awareness that a little amount of the Pharisees and Sadducees teaching will ruin the whole group that follows them.
That is the idea of spiritual understanding- the mental process of the unseen nature of truth.
The whole of God’s truth in the bible is unseen. Think about it. The gospel of Jesus Christ that saves man is unseen. That being the good news of His death, burial and resurrection. Our re-enactment of His death, burial and resurrection takes place visible in water, but unseen in the heart of the believer.
The fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 are all unseen in the heart and mind of the Christian. Yes the results are seen. But the spiritual understanding comes when we develop those fruits in our heart and mind.
The visible truth of how to worship in the church is seen- Lord’s supper, prayer, singing, teaching- but it takes spiritual understanding to passionately partake of these.
I have setup a website that is a running spiritual understanding commentary on scripture. If you find merit in this short essay please pass it on to a brother or sister in Christ. If you take issue with this little essay please e-mail me.