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From revelation to manifestation by Jeff Davidson The purpose of revelation is to transform us so we may arrive at manifestation. To be effective in the Kingdom of God, we need the revelation before we can act because without His revelation we are powerless to accomplish the works of God. Without revelation we can only answer the question, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" (Matthew 16:13) in human terms: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But when He asks us personally, "But who do you say that I am?" we can answer in spirit and in truth if we have a revelation from the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, "Who am I to you, now, in your life?" implicitly demanding a relationship. The Lord wants us to be moving towards what comes from Him, i.e. His promises. He wants to reveal who He is in our needs so we can ask Him, "Who do You want to be in my life?" If we position ourselves as a receiver, He will reveal; just as Peter received the revelation of the rock and it was on that revelation that Jesus built His Church. He builds us up and reveals Himself to us so that His Kingdom is manifested. It is in the dynamic of the revelation that the Heaven is going to support us. "Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:13). The phrase, 'gird up the loins' in Oriental terms means to gather up the flaps of loose clothing and attach them to your belt so you are free to move. In this context, it is to control and focus our thoughts and prevent them from scattering because our hope lies only in the grace that was given to us and released into our lives by the revelation of Jesus Christ. And, as Peter adds, we must grow in this grace (2 Peter 3:18). The natural man can neither see nor hear nor understand the things which God prepared in advance (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). But when we receive the Holy Spirit, we discover what God has given us by His grace (1 Corinthians 2:12) and are able to enter His works. "The gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:11-12). By His grace, God called the apostle Paul and revealed His Son to him (Galatians 1:15-16). Then Paul had a direct revelation of the Gospel from Jesus himself to proclaim it among the nations. "I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers" (Ephesians 1:16). The apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesians, but it is also a prayer for us today. He prayed for a revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, – knowledge here is epignosis, – knowledge through experience; the experience that comes through a relationship with Him. When Moses saw the bush was not consumed, he turned to see and to hear God's voice (Exodus 3:3). We also must turn away from the world so that God illumines the eyes of our hearts so we may know:
Moses was appointed as the sole leader when he set out to lead the whole Hebrew people. However Jesus Christ is the Head of His Body and thus He acts corporately through His Church; and His goal is that we become like Him not only to do the works He performed but even greater ones. To do this, we must get involved in people's lives so we may increase the Kingdom of God (Mark 16:20). Jesus was sent on a mission from God:
Note there is no salvation without destruction of the devil's works because we know that the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked (1 John 5:19). To clear the way for a person to come to salvation, we must destroy the devil's works, – the traps, lies, addictions, and death. The Son of Man was manifested for this reason, and He came as Son of Man to take back the authority that Adam had given to Satan: "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18). As Jesus has received the mighty power and authority over the power of death, how can the enemy still keep the world under his power? We see that the Gospel is veiled to those who are perishing, this veil is the work of Satan that prevents the splendour of the glorious Gospel of Christ from shining (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). So we have to destroy these works through prayer, through actions of power so that the Gospel shines in people's lives and they may receive the shalom of God; then "As the Father has sent Jesus, He also sends us" (John 20:21). Therefore Jesus sends us with the same commission, the same equipment, the same power and the same authority. Luke explains in his first book all that Jesus began to do and to teach. In his second book (Acts 1:1), Luke explains all He has continued to do through His Body. So we, the Body of Christ, are also called to seek that which was lost and to destroy the works of Satan because the Gospel is always hidden to the world. The veil is taken away when hearts turn to the Lord, and the Lord is the Holy Spirit, and where the Holy Spirit is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:16-17). When the veil is taken away, we can come close to the Lord, or more precisely we come in communion with the Holy Spirit to be transformed (2 Corinthians 3:18). Now, as the veil may still exist in some areas of our lives, let us turn to embrace the Holy Spirit so He may remove it because that is really His work! What is 'breaking the works of the devil'? Everything Jesus did destroyed the works of Satan, this is the Good News of the Kingdom: to heal the sick and brokenhearted, to set the captives free, to deliver prisoners, and proclaim the grace of God, to give joy and hope... Since the coming of John the Baptist, the Kingdom of heaven has been assaulted by the devil, but we also need to assault Satan's kingdom in order that we may bring souls into the Kingdom of God (Matthew 11:12). Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, and He has anointed us and sent us to perform the same commission as He did: to destroy the works of Satan and increase the Kingdom of God. |