“Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hatn not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 16:17
Perhaps the greatest moment in the life of the Apostle Paul was not the meeting with Christ on the road to Damascus, but when, as he writes to the believers in Galatia, “…it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me…” (1:15,16) The revelation of Christ to Paul at his coversion was of monumental significance, not only in the manner in which it occured, but the effect it had on Paul. It was a radical departure from all that Paul had believed and was committed to. But when God the Father, by the Spirit, “revealed His Son in me,” the power of God began to manifest itself from within the heart. The conviction which resulted from Paul being confronted by Christ at his conversion was essential to stop this man, and shatter all of his false concepts of Christ. The revelation of Christ in Him was monumental in that God had come to not only call Paul to a ministry of Life to the Gentiles, and to the world, but to give him to know the power of Christ’s indwelling life, that which was not in the heart before his conversion. In Paul’s blindness, after three days, the Lord sent to him Ananias, who was instructed to restore Paul’s sight, and this by the putting on of his hands. It was then that, according to Ananias, Paul received his physical sight, but more importantly, he was “filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 9:17) Christ had come to dwell in the heart of the Apostle. He would never be the same, as the dimensions of the life and love of Christ would be known increasingly, beyond what he could ask or think. What does the experience of Paul communicate to us of God’s ways in dealing with men? Though the experience of each individual in their meeting Christ is different, in that each is unique, and their calling and role in life is correspondingly different, the principle of revelation by the Spirit is the same. Christ comes to reveal Himself to the heart and mind by the Spirit, in such a way as to convince the believer to know, believe, understand, that He is God, and that there is no other. Only by the work of the Spirit is this possible.
In the life of the Apostle Peter, we discover the same principle. Jesus one day asked his disciples two questions. The first question was, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” (Matt. 16:15) This was a very general question, as it applied to all men, and their reaction and response to the revelation of God in their midst. But it will be by the second question, that the Lord will reveal the importance of revelation to the individual, a revelation that will change the invidual. He asked them, “But whom say ye that I am?” (v.15) It is at this point that the revelation of God to the heart takes on a new importance and dimension, for here the issue is God’s presence and power in the heart of the believer revealed. This revelation is intended by God to be life-changing, as it is actually a new Life revealed in the soul of the believer, the very life of Christ by the Spirit.
How then does one know this “revelation by the Spirit?” First, it must be believed that God’s way in dealing with man is by the revelation of Himself, in truth, according to the word of God. God takes the objective truth, reveals it to the believer, and makes it come alive. This “living word,” is the very word of God spoken to the heart. It is always in accordance with the written, objective words of Scripture. Secondly, one must seek the “Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ.” This is by believing prayer.
Dear Father, Grant us the Spirit of wisdom, and revelation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.