Sage Voice

KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING The Bible reveals a close relationship among knowledge, wisdom and understanding.  Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." Colossians 1:9 "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives." Even though these terms are closely related as seen in the Bible, they do not mean the same thing.  KNOWLEDGE Knowledge refers to information gained through revelation, reasoning, experience, or acquaintance. Knowledge is consciousness of the fact, or awareness of the truth. Knowledge can exist without wisdom, but wisdom cannot exist without knowledge. One can be knowledgeable but not wise. Knowledge is knowing how to use a gun; wisdom is knowing when to use it and when to keep it holstered.  God wants you t...

ILLUMINATION Illumination comes from the verb "illumine" which means to light up. Illumination in the spiritual sense is "turning on the light" of understanding in some area of the word of God. Illumination concerns understanding and applying knowledge of the truth of God's word.  Biblical illumination is the process by which the Holy Spirit helps a believer to understand the truth of God's word. The Spirit dwells in you and works within you to help you understand the truth of God's word. The Spirit dwells in you, and lights up the word of God for you to clearly see, know and understand the truth so that you will practicalise it in your living.  Illumination involves how the Spirit of God helps you to understand the truth of God's word. John 16:13-14 points it out clearly, "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is ye...

INSPIRATION Refers to the extraordinary or supernatural divine influence graciously granted to those who wrote the Holy Scriptures, rendering their writings infallible. 2Timothy 3:16 says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."  The word translated "inspiration" is "theopneustos" and is a far cry from the dictionary meaning of the "act of an elevating or stimulating influence upon the intellect, emotions or creativity." "Theopneustos" literally means "breathed into by God" and this refers to the whole (not part) of the Scriptures. This is true of all the "sacred writings", not in the sense of their being works of genius or of supernatural insight, but as "theopneustic", that is, "God-breathed", in such a sense that the writers were supernaturally guided to express exactly what God intended them ...

REVELATION Suppose you enter a house and see all rooms in the house open except one. That particular room is locked with highly coded and secure lock. Imagine your curiosity to discover and to know what is inside that room for which reason it has been securely locked!  From the Greek word "apokalupsis", revelation means an uncovering, a bringing to light of that which had been previously wholly hidden or only obscurely seen.  Biblical revelation refers to God's uncovering of himself to man so that man could discover him so as to know him and know his will, relate to him, understand him, and do his will and pleasure. God has been pleased in various ways and at different times (Heb 1:1) to make a supernatural revelation of himself and his purposes and plans, which, under the guidance of his Spirit, has been committed to writing. The Scriptures are not merely the "record" of revelation; they are the revelation itself in a written form, in order to ensure the accura...

Introduction Many a youth grapple with the meaning of spirituality. To some, when a believer consistently prays for long hours, participates in every prayer meeting, and partakes of every prayer movement, then they are spiritual. To others, spirituality means attending church meetings regularly, spending long hours in church and giving huge sums of money as offering in church. To still others, spirituality means reading the Bible consistently and for long hours. While these rituals find credence in the Bible, they are not spiritual necessarily. Rituals are the routine, day-to-day activities performed religiously as means of showing relationship to God. Many believers use rituals to get to God, and to show that they are related to him.  Spirituality means sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and to spiritual values. A person is spiritual if and only if he/she is born again by the Holy Spirit. Likewise a thing is spiritual if and only if it originates from the Holy Spirit. Therefore, spiri...