Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
1 Timothy 6:12 NASB
In previous meditations, we learned that the Word of God is able to convert the soul and even transform a mortal man into divinity. Jesus said in John 10:34-35 “Has it not been written in your Law, ‘ I SAID, YOU ARE GODS’? [35] If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken). This means that so long as the Word of God is sent and received, even the vilest of sinners can be transformed into a divine being. Why then do we have people reading the bible for years without a change? If the Word is this potent, how do we interact with it, to ensure a continuous transformation into all God has for us? How does the word of God go from texts in a book to life giving and transforming power?
The key here is diligence. The bible says God rewards them that diligently seek Him. The Words in the bible is not just random text, but the description of the Spirit of life it contains, John 6:63. Each and every scripture has life contained in it. Paul says we are to fight to good fight of faith and lay hold of eternal life, 1 timothy 6:12. How does this relate to the identity of the Word of God? What is eternal life? John 17:3 says Eternal life is to know Jesus. This is not a mental accumulation of knowledge. Knowing God here is an interaction with a Spirit. As you interact with this Spirit, it has a life-giving effect upon you. The fight here then is to hold uno God you can have a solid comprehension of the knowledge of God and experience it. It is by understanding and believing the Word that we moved from dead in sin to alive in God. It was by believing that we were filled with the Holy Spirit. It is also by understanding and believing that our mortal bodies will be transformed.
A major example of this diligent fight is Genesis 32:24-30. We see Jacob who wrestled with God and obtained a name change from Jacob (Supplanter, a dubious person) to Israel (A prince with God). Jacob had duped his brother of His birthright and was coming to face the consequence of his past. For us, this might be our appetites and the consequence of our sin nature. When returning to face his journey, Jacob sent his family ahead. He was alone and wrestled with an emissary of God. This wrestling is what is described as fighting the good fight of faith. This is an encounter with the Spirit of the Word. This describes how you can be transformed from our sinful nature to our prince hood. The blessing Jacob sought is a benediction (an utterance) that causes you to advance Spiritually; it is a revelation and understanding of the Word that will transform your life. We can just read the word for the sake of checking off a list. We can also see a scripture and hold on to God until we receive the blessing. You need not wait for one day when the word finally clicks, you can lay hold of the Spirit and wrestle with the Spirit of the Word. This does not mean you have a fighting face. You could be at work, school, etc, but your mind is focused on that topic, such that God will know that this my Child is not letting me go on this issue. We can pray, “Lord I know this is not just a word, bless me with the understanding. Increase my faith via Your word”. When Jacob received the blessing, he moved forward with this might and obtained the victory. For us, once we get this understanding, we declare confess it till we see the change (salvation) promised by the Word.
Romans 1:16 calls the gospel the power of God unto Salvation. An information on its own cannot just be enough to save someone. It has to be mixed with faith to access the power behind the word. We speak about the finished work of Christ but look at our lives and not see that. Hence, we must wrestle and not let go until we receive the blessing. As a result, we will sing we rejoice in His salvation, 1 Samuel 2:1. The new testament believer is to advance towards Christ through the strength of the Spirit of the Word, just as Peter walked towards Jesus by the upholding power of the Spirit of the Word “come”. The Spirit of that word upheld Him. Sadly, he lost focus. The temptation of accusation is to make you look at yourself and take your eyes off Jesus. This would be seen as the waves in the example of Peter; hence He sank, Matthew 14:22-33. However, we must understand that the Lord on high is mightier than the sound of many waters, Psalm 93:4. If you find that you are shaking in faith, it means you need to
wrestle some more and come into the understanding.
Prayer for today: Lord Jesus thank You for sending Your word to me.Lord I know contained in the Word is the life needed for my transformation. Favour me with understanding, Lord, that the bible will never be a normal text to me.Lord increase my faith that I may lay hold of eternal life which you have promised to all who believe, who diligently seek You.Amen
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