Spiritual Learning Gates: Eyes, Ears & Heart

July 18, 2017

“Now we have received… the Spirit who is from God, that we might know…” (1Corinthians 2:12)

The Apostle Paul has given us a masterpiece of spiritual educational methodology in the second chapter of First Corinthians. How do we learn? According to Paul there are several gates of learning through which we must pass if we want to know spiritual truth.

His thesis is that we learn through the eye gate, which involves everything we observe and read. We learn through the ear gate, which involves everything we hear, including lectures and interaction with others, mentors and those who are learning with us.

Then the apostle mentions the heart gate, which pertains to our volition: the desire and willingness to apply what we’re learning. Apprenticeship, a synonym for discipleship, describes learners who are doing what they’re learning and learning what they’re doing. Apprenticeship is the way Jesus trained His disciples. (John 7:17; Matthew 4:19)

The most important gate we must pass through to learn spiritual truth, according to Paul, is the gate of the Holy Spirit. Paul’s intriguingly profound illustration is that no person knows the thoughts of another person except the spirit that is in that other person. In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God but the Spirit of God. Paul is excited about the glorious reality that we have received that Spirit Who knows the very thoughts of Christ and we can therefore know Christ’s thoughts. One translation concludes this inspired chapter of First Corinthians with, “Incredible as it may seem, we actually have the very mind of Christ!”

Prayerfully meditate on this chapter and then find your way to and through these gates of learning.

Dick Woodward, 08 June 2010

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The 4 R’s of Parenting

January 7, 2014

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”  (Deuteronomy 6: 6, 7 NKJV)

Have you discovered that parenting is emphasized in the Bible?  The Bible mentions mothers more than 300 times.  Since God assigns the spiritual nurture of children primarily to fathers, the Bible mentions fathers more than 1,400 times.  Children are mentioned just under 6,000 times, which shows how important they are to God.

This teaching method of Moses in Deuteronomy rests on four foundations. The first one is responsibility.  Moses gives the responsibility for the education of children to parents.  There are 8,760 hours in a year.  Since children receive about thirty minutes of instruction in the average Sunday school class, if that is their only source of spiritual education, they are only spending .02% (one-fifth of one percent) of their time being spiritually nurtured.  If you send them to a Christian School they still spend 87.3% of their time with you.  Can you see why Moses gave this responsibility to parents?

The second foundation is revelation.  We are to teach the revealed Word of God to our children.  The third foundation is relationship.  You cannot apply this teaching method without having a relationship with your children.  The fourth foundation is reality. These words must dwell in your heart and life before you teach them to your children.  Your children will remember your example far more than your teaching.

Is your parenting built squarely on these four solid foundations?

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God’s Thoughts and Our Thoughts

October 22, 2013

“No one can know what anyone else is really thinking except that person alone, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.”  (1Corinthians 2:11 NLT)

Our thought life is like a private chamber.  Nobody knows what we are thinking and we do not know what others are thinking.  Only the spirit within each of us knows our private thoughts.

In the same way, only the Holy Spirit of God knows the thoughts of God.  When we therefore receive the Holy Spirit of God we can know what God is thinking.  One translation writes that “incredible as it may seem we actually have the mind of Christ” when we receive the Holy Spirit.

When you study the rest of this profound chapter you will find that Paul applies this reality to teach us a great truth about the Holy Spirit.  It is a lesson in what we might call “spiritual educational psychology.”  We learn through the eye gate, which means everything we read and observe.  And we learn through the ear gate, what we listen to and hear.  He also references the heart gate, which means our volition and will to apply the truth we are learning.

He then makes the point that when it comes to learning spiritual truth we need another gate: the gate of the Holy Spirit.  When we have received the Holy Spirit we have access to the greatest learning experience possible in our lifetime.  Think of this the next time you spend time in God’s Word.  When you open the Bible, you have access to the very thoughts of God.

Through God’s Holy Spirit and His Word are you learning the thoughts of God?

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Posted by Dick Woodward