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That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the intimate knowing of him (Christ); the eyes of your heart being enlightened … (Ephesians 1:17, 18a)
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You may have a number of questions regarding revelation. A lot of the talk in the Bible about revelation seems to be about telling the future. Is revelation always about telling the future? What control, if any, do I have in getting revelation? How do I know if what I’m getting/thinking/knowing is revelation? Is getting revelation a rarity?
The word “revelation” is translated from the Greek apokalupsis, made up of apo and kalupsis. Apo is a preposition denoting motion from the surface of an object. Kalupsis means “a covering.” So apokalupsis means the removal of a covering from an object. This indicates that the thing being revealed is already present, but was hidden, or covered up. In the case of a foretelling of a future event or condition, the future itself is the covering which is removed, bringing a seeing or understanding of that event or condition into the present. In the case of spiritual truths, the limitations of of our mind to what we can physically perceive and/or relate to, is the covering which is being removed.
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(From this Greek word for revelation, we get the word apocalypse. The meaning of this word can also be “appearing,” (which also happens when something is uncovered) and what we know as “The Apocalypse” is actually the appearing of Jesus Christ on the earth. Because this appearing happens during some very nasty times, people have come to think of the Apocalypse as meaning those nasty times. The Book of Revelation in the Bible could be known as The Book of the Appearing of Jesus Christ).
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Perhaps you can thus see how Jesus Christ is the means by which the natural man can ever get to the point of being able to receive revelation; because the death of the son of God and the idea of his being raised from the dead is a physical thing which our minds can grasp, can believe, yet which requires a supernatural, spiritual working.
But their (those of Israel) minds were blinded; for until this day remains the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament; which veil is done away in Christ. (II Corinthians 3:14)
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This exactly describes the process of revelation. A veil covered the face of Moses, because the sight of his ecstatic face distracted Israel from what he had to say. This covering is likened to what keeps Israel (or anyone) today from a true understanding of the Old Testament. If you’ve ever had any questions as to what God meant in the Old Testament, why He did what He did, those questions will only, can only, begin to be answered in and by the light of the spirit of Christ. The same can be said for a true understanding of the New Testament.
If you have heard of the administration of the grace of God which is given to me for you; How that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery (of Christ); (as I wrote before in few words), Whereby (by which [revelation]), when you read, you may (will have the power to) perceive (grasp with your mind) my understanding in the mystery of Christ. Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it was now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the spirit (by revelation). (Ephesians 3:2-5)
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Paul (and other apostles and prophets) received their understanding of the mystery of Christ by revelation of the spirit. But they are only the first ones to receive it. Today, all of God’s children are to receive the revelation of the mystery of Christ. It is the only way the mind of a man can grasp it, for it is a spiritual reality. The revelation of the Christ within takes man from having a mind which deals with what it has experienced in the flesh, to becoming a mind which perceives the reality of the things of the spirit of God. Where before the things of God could only be theoretical, theological and philosophical; now by revelation, the things of God become powerfully realistic, pervasive and practical.
The moment a person believes unto Jesus Christ, the holy spirit of God becomes born within. It becomes the new nature of that person, whether male or female. In fact, it trumps the old nature.
For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26-28)
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This “faith in Christ Jesus” first came to us the very first time we believed unto Jesus Christ, which occurred the very first time Christ was revealed to us, the very first time we got a revelation of Christ. The feeling we got when this happened was very powerful, because for the first time the life of God became a part of our being. The spiritual became real to us because Christ was revealed in us. What began our lives with God is meant to continue in us as a normal, regular part of our lives.
This only would I learn of you. Did you receive the spirit by the works of the law (by being good enough in your flesh), or by the hearing of faith (which comes by revelation – Romans 10:17)? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the spirit, are you now made perfect (brought to spiritual maturity) by the flesh? (Galatians 3:2, 3)
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Paul is asking the Galatians a rhetorical question, meaning the answer is obvious. Of course, since we began our lives with God by means of a revelation of the spirit of Christ, so we are to continue our lives with God by means of the ongoing revelation of the Christ within.
My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. (Galatians 4:19)
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Christ forms within us as he is revealed to our minds and hearts by way of his spirit within us. This has always been the main job of the holy spirit of God, which we received when we first believed – to make known the Christ within!
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me; He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father has are mine; therefore I said that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.
(John 15:26; 16:14, 15)
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The revelation of Christ is the actual experiential knowing (gnosis) of Christ, for Christ is the spirit within us, and how can we know anything of that spirit, except the covering of our carnal understanding be removed and that spirit of Christ which is already dwelling within be revealed to our minds? Whenever this revelation happens, we gain Christ, in that we now have more of Christ accessible to our understanding.
Yea doubtless, and I reckon all things loss for the excellency of the intimate experiential knowing (epignosis) of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but waste, that I man gain Christ. And be found in him… (Philippians 3:8, 9a)
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To be “found in him” means to be consciously (and conscientiously) in him, in Christ, living and walking in our understanding of the Christ within. How can you expect to be aware that you are in him; except only where, and how, and to the degree that he is and has been revealed within you? This is the importance of the revelation of Christ; it changes your heart’s perception of who you are in this world, thus changing your perception of the entire world.
If you’d like to see everything pink in this world, you could either spend your life fruitlessly coloring everything pink which you encounter in this life, or you could simply put on pink-shaded glasses and voila! So it is with the revelation of Christ. Every time some aspect of Christ is revealed within us; our perception of ourselves, of others, of God, of the possibilities of life become more God-like. Or… we could spend all our time trying to change our own (and others’) thoughts and attitudes and behavior to become more God-like, which effort defines vanity and futility and despair.
I have enumerated a number of truths concerning revelation in this study:
1: Is revelation always about telling the future? – Most of the time it is revealing the
Christ within.
2: What control, if any, do you have in getting revelation: – Subject yourself to the apostle Paul’s Christ-ordained ministry, by reading what Paul wrote with a meek heart, humbly open to the instruction of the Christ within.
3: Ask God to make it clear: As you read, ask God (and yourself), “Can I relate to what
is written? Does it make sense to my real life?” If not, ask God to give that
understanding. This might seem overly simplistic, but this is how God works. I can’t
tell you how many times, after asking these questions and coming to the realization
that I was totally clueless, and then asking God to give me an understanding – HE
WOULD DO SO!
3: How can you know if a thought is revelation from God? – It reveals a truth or aspect
of the Christ within.
4: Is receiving revelation a rarity? – It’s not meant to be. It can be and is meant to
be a part of everyday life. It’s like being homeschooled by God. The teacher is
always there because you live with Him, everything in life can be a lesson, and the
curriculum for each student is uniquely tailor-made.
But when it pleased God… to reveal His son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen… (Galatians 1:15a, 16a)
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How open are you to the instruction of God? How ready are you to walk away from your old self and find a new and better self? Read the revelation which God gave to Paul, which God intended for us, and God will reveal to you too what He revealed to the apostle Paul – the mystery of the Christ within.
… whereby, when you read, you may have my understanding in the mystery of Christ. (Ephesians 3:4)
Whereof I am made a minster, according to the administration of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God; Even the mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints; To whom God would make known (by revelation) what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory; Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect (fully mature) in Christ Jesus; (Colossians 1:25-28)
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I have said that revelation today is chiefly concerned with making known the Christ within. Here is what God has to say about the “manifestation of the spirit” of revelation:
But the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man for actual profit. For for one (profit) is given by the spirit a word (logos – communication) of wisdom; for another (profit) a word (logos – communication) of knowledge (gnosis – experiential knowing) by the same spirit …
(I Corinthians 12:7-8, 9).
That “logos of knowledge” (communication of experiential knowing) points directly to our experiencing of the Christ within.
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Related Studies
If you enjoyed how this study challenged your thinking and opened up your understanding of Christ, click on one of the related studies below:
The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation
The Role of Bible Research
The Manifestation of the Spirit
The Form of our Doctrine
How Christ is Building His Church
How Do We Get Faith? ….. God GIVES It To Us
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