Today's Lesson for July 10, 2013
But what does this word carnal mean?
The word ‘carnal’ is Strong’s G4560 and means fleshly. It comes from G4561, which means carnally or fleshly minded. So it’s what occupies our thinking that makes us carnal, and it’s what we think that gives birth to actions.
Being carnal does not just mean that I’m going out and living in sin. What it does mean is simply that I’m more worried about the things of the world. I’m more worried about the cheque book, what I’m eating, how I look, about my job. Carnal reasoning about all of these things is simply not living in faith, and without faith it is impossible to please God.
And so also, the word ‘mystery’ needs to be better understood. In the English language, it implies a riddle that will never be solved, or something that we are not supposed to know. But that isn’t true in the Greek meaning of this word. Here, it rather means something that we should seek out and find the answer to, because this is the way that God wants to govern our lives; through the mysteries. God speaks to us through these mysteries and guides us into a fuller and more intimate relationship with Him.
‘Mystery’ is Strong’s G3466, ‘musterion’. In the Thayer’s Lexicon, this word means, “a hidden or secret thing, not obvious to the understanding: a hidden purpose or counsel; the secret counsels which govern God in dealing with the righteous,...”
Another example, and more evidence of this, is how Jesus used parables to speak to the people. And when He was asked why He spoke to the people in parables, His answer was that the mysteries of the Kingdom were in the parables.
Matt 13:34-35
All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables ; and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: "I will open My mouth in parables ; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world." NKJV
So Jesus was teaching in parables, and the righteous ones were slowly getting a clearer understanding of the message. The evil and wicked, however, couldn’t understand a word of it. Now it’s worth noting here that the disciples, although sometimes slow to understand, were the ones who eventually learned the secrets of the parable and came into the revelation of the mysteries. And these were the people who changed the world with their message of faith.
John 10:1
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. NKJV
You will come to see that Jesus was very adamant about teaching in parables. In fact, He taught in no other way. And after feeding the five thousand, when many found His teachings too difficult to understand and left, He told His disciples that they were welcome to leave too if they wanted to; but there was no way He was changing what He was saying.
Mark 4:10-11
But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables... “ NKJV
And in the last move of God, the mysteries of the Kingdom are being released once again. These teachings will prepare you and guide you into these mysteries and propel you into a deeper understanding of the Word of God than you’ve ever dreamed possible. But more than that, they will also draw you into an intimacy with God that is so close that you will start to commune with Him daily. And this is essential if you want to be a part of the last, great move of God.
Far too many times did Jesus emphasise the parables; He even failed to speak to the multitudes in anything but parables according to Matt. 13:34. And far too many things are impossible to understand or explain without the symbolic and prophetic understanding of Scripture. Eat His flesh, drink His blood, understand the tabernacle and sacrifices, read the seasons without the feasts, the only way in is through the door, but the door was shut to the five virgins who were foolish to the mysteries.... The list of evidence is unending, to fail to see and understand prophetic Scripture is to be in the same place as the Sadducees and Pharisees two thousand years ago. And they were not part of that move.
If you are on the outside, it comes to you in parables, so if you want to get to the inside you must start to understand the parables. Those on the outside are outside the sheepfold, and those who wish to go in, must go through the door; no other way is acceptable according to John 10. So the door must be the parables, the mysteries.
So, it is true to say that you won’t even be a part of the move if you don’t start to read the Scriptures prophetically and come into the true revelation of what God is saying. After all, that is exactly the position we’ve just mentioned, that the Pharisees were in, when they missed the first coming of Jesus. And in this course we will show you why the Pharisees missed it, what they missed and also clearly show you why they should never have missed it at all.