In thinking about the necessity of humility for understanding the word of God and of God Himself, the academic process has received the most attention rather than the spiritual process. Since God is Spirit, we must know that we must obtain spiritual understanding or we will know nothing but what the natural man can know without the Spirit of God giving that understanding. This has led to massive problems in the churches.
“For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light” (Col 1:9-12).
This text shows us what Paul prayed for others. He prayed that they would “be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” We can sneer at verses like this and say that it is nothing but a new form of Gnosticism, but that would not be dealing honestly with the text. It tells us very clearly that there is a spiritual wisdom and understanding. Not only that, but Paul gives us the reasons why he prays that. In fact, he gives us several reasons for this. I will only list four.
1. So that they would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord
2. So that they would please Him in all respects
3. So that they would bear fruit in every good work
4. So that they would increase in the knowledge of God
We can read 1 Corinthians 2:13 which tells us about the words we speak: “which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.” It clearly sets out and distinguishes between those things taught by the Spirit which are spiritual thoughts and human wisdom. The soul must have understanding as given by the Spirit in order to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. The soul must have spiritual understanding and wisdom in order to please Him at all and how much more to please Him in all respects. Can the soul bear spiritual fruit apart from the Spirit giving spiritual wisdom and understanding? Can the soul increase in the knowledge of God who is Spirit apart from a spiritual understanding? The answer seems obvious, and yet we seem to seek our knowledge at the hands of academic understanding rather than spiritual understanding. This is not to say that there is no place for academic study of the Bible, but the people of God can only obtain spiritual understanding from the Spirit of God.
Throughout Scripture we see that pride brings dishonor and the proud will be brought down. We also see that God dwells with the humble and shows them His secrets. As the disciples found out from Jesus Himself in John 6:63 and beyond, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” The Pharisees had words to speak and they had many laws about the laws of God. But it is the Spirit of God who gives life and it takes spiritual words to be words of life. A soul must be humbled and turn from a trust in his or her own reason and fleshly trust in self in order to look to Christ as the Prophet who teaches. How much the proud heart wants to look to itself, its reason, its understanding, and its own outlook as right rather than the words of God. As Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:7, “Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” The natural mind finds it easier to look to natural things that appear spiritual or religious rather than look to the Lord for understanding. To look for the Lord for understanding is to seek humility and emptiness of self which are again not in the power of the natural self. But for those who are weary of their own efforts and their own wisdom, they will seek humility and brokenness from self and self-sufficiency at all costs. After all, they knew John 6:68 was true because God said it, but now they have been taught by the Lord just how deep the truth is. “Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.” So the humbled soul knows that this is true both because it is the word of God and because the word of God is in that soul.
God Loves... Himself 
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