'The Word of God is both general and specific'
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The Word of the Father to us is both general and specific. In the Scriptures, the Word of God is general. The Scriptures contain the plan of salvation that God has provided in Christ plus a history of people and events that have been involved directly in the revealing of God’s provisions and purposes for the earth and for the heavenlies.
Every Christian who sets out to be a conquering saint must take care to study the Scriptures daily, reading and meditating in the Old Testament and New Testament writings. The man of God renews his mind continually by daily study and contemplation of the written Word and by consistent exposure to the spoken ministry of the Word as it is preached and taught.
The Word of God comes to us also in a specific manner. This may take the form of a dream, vision, prophecy, or other anointed ministry of the living Word, a sudden illumination of a Bible passage, a consciousness of words or a voice framed in our mind or heart, or even an angelic visitation.
Christians need specific guidance, wisdom, judgment, knowledge, and understanding. We must hear from the Lord from time to time and must keep ourselves in the place where we can hear His voice and are sensitive to the Presence, will, and leading of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord has promised to reveal Himself to us personally.
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. (John 14:21)
The Scriptures are our infallible authority and guide by which we can judge the spirits that come to us and also gain a broad knowledge and wisdom concerning God’s provisions and purposes related to salvation. The Prophets and the Epistles teach us how God wants us to behave in the world.
We also must be growing in our ability to discern His specific guidance for us as an individual, as the Spirit assists us with the many decisions with which we are faced as we press on in our pilgrimage toward the fullness of Christ.
The Word of God that we have just discussed is both general and specific as it renews our mind. The Word brings the necessary knowledge, wisdom, and understanding without which we are drawn into the likeness of the ways of the world.
When religious people do not submit themselves to a daily walk with the Lord, as in the case of many church leaders throughout the centuries, they lack understanding of God and His ways. They end up destroying the work of God and persecuting and killing those who do walk with the Lord. They do always err in their heart. They do always resist the Holy Spirit.
We must have the revelation of God’s will in constant application to our consciousness so that His will acts as a mold on us. As the mold comes down on our thinking and awareness we are transformed into His image. The mind of Christ is being created in us.