He Has You

You cannot gain spiritual understanding but only ask that God would give it to you. You cannot understand the spiritual realm without having a spiritual understanding. And you cannot have spiritual understanding unless the Holy Spirit gives it to you.

You can’t understand spiritual truth without spiritual understanding. “[We] do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Colossians 1:9 NKJV).

In the world, we grow in our natural understanding of the natural things that occur in our lives. Through diligent study, an open mind, and the wise counsel of many, we can grow to understand more about the things that happen on this earth.

Natural wisdom is no match for spiritual enlightenment. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God…” (1 Corinthians 3:19 NKJV).

It is good to have a growing natural understanding that we can be effective in how we live our lives in the natural world we reside in. But we were meant for something beyond this earth, and it will take spiritual understanding to go there.

So long as you’re thinking in the natural, the supernatural will never make sense to you. “A person who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the teachings of God’s Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:14 GW).

To understand a math question, you have to understand the fundamentals of mathematics. Similarly, to understand a spiritual question, you have to understand the fundamentals of spirituality. Only the Holy Spirit can teach you that.

It is good to study the things of man, but without the Holy Spirit, you’ll never understand the things of God. The Lord Jesus taught, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things…” (John 14:26 NKJV). All things include spiritual things.

As your spiritual understanding grows, you cannot expect to explain yourself to others who do not have this same spiritual understanding. It is not that you are above them, but only that you have knelt down low before another Teacher.

The closer you are to God, the more you’ll know His will for your life. “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground” (Psalm 143:9-10 NASB).

If you want to help someone gain in their spiritual understanding, the only thing you can do is pray that God would give it to them. It will not be by their credentials that He would give it to them, but by the poverty in their own spirit that He would enrich them with His own Spirit.

The more clearly you see yourself, the more clearly you see God. The Lord Jesus taught, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3 NKJV). You have to let go of you to hold onto Him. 

We can teach spiritual truths that require spiritual understanding, whether some who are listening are ready to receive them or not. Jesus never watered down His teaching but explained it more deeply to those who were ready.

Spiritually, you need an appetite before you’ll gain the nourishment to grow. “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment” (1 Peter 2:2 NLT).

With your natural understanding, you can only understand Scripture at the natural level. It is still dead ink on paper to you and has not yet come alive in your spirit through His Spirit. If you want to know God more deeply, it will only be when you know His Spirit within you.

Legalism is the letter of the Law, dead ink on paper. Obedience is the Spirit of the Law, Christ in you. “…so that we serve [God] in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter [of the Law]” (Romans 7:6 AMP).

If you want to grow more in spiritual understanding, then you need to submit your mind to the Spirit of God. It is the most humbling thing that you can do when you surrender your heart and your mind to the Spirit of God, but once you do, that is where things catch on fire.

To the extent that you die to your old self, you will live for the Lord. “Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self]…and be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude]” (Ephesians 4:22-23 AMPC).

One of the most impenetrable of fortresses known to man is that of a Christian, blindly firm in only his natural understanding. He cannot understand spiritual truth, and so he will only argue with you on natural grounds. Don’t argue with him, pray for him.

God is more interested that you live a doctrine than you are able to argue it. “Stay away from foolish and stupid arguments. You know that these arguments grow into bigger arguments. As a servant of the Lord, you must not argue” (2 Timothy 2:23-24 ERV).

Natural understanding can climb natural mountains, but it takes a spiritual understanding to ascend that spiritual Mount Zion that overlooks the natural city of God. If you want to grow closer to God, it must be through the path that ascends Mount Zion.

You cannot ascend spiritually with natural strength. “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, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:9-10 NIV).

The view from Mount Zion can only be seen through your spiritual eyes and can only be understood with spiritual understanding. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that you can get there, and you must yield everything to be carried away.

You cannot climb spiritual mountains using natural means. “When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means” (1 Corinthians 2:13-14 NLT).

My greatest hope is to see more Christians given over to the Holy Spirit and filled with His wisdom and understanding. I am praying for you, asking God to give whoever reads this spiritual understanding. May your life be radically changed by the Holy Spirit.

God will change you just as much as you allow Him to. “I will put my Spirit inside you and cause you to live by my laws, respect my rulings and obey them” (Ezekiel 36:27 CJB).

Blessings to you always,

Paul Balius