Our Heavenly Father desires us to take the truth already established in us by the Holy Spirit to a higher spiritual place that is filled with the light of God's revelatory knowledge.
This is because God is spirit, and as saints we are called upon to walk in the spirit, as well as seek the spiritual sphere of eternal rulership where Jesus is, sitting at the right hand of God (see John 4:24a i.c.w. Galatians 5:16a; Colossians 2:2-3)
John 4:24a:
24a God is spirit, …
Galatians 5:16a:
16a So I say, walk by the Spirit, …
Colossians 3:2-3:
2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
It is the plan of the adversary to stop us from taking God's truth in us to a higher spiritual place in the heart of the eternal rulership of God.
God's Light and Truth
We receive truth when we take the truth of the Word of God already established into the light of His presence. This becomes apparent, as God is light and there is no darkness in Him. This truth is wrapped in His light, and it is revelatory truth (see 1 John 1:5 i.c.w. Psalm 36:9).
1 John 1:5:
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
Psalm 36:9:
9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.
In connection with the shift of the truth in us to a higher spiritual place, there first needs to be a depth or profoundness that can usually be likened to a valley beside a high mountain. The deeper the valley, the higher the mountain.
It is therefore no coincidence that God, the Father, sent His son Jesus Christ to earth, to us, to fulfill His plan. At this Jesus Christ died as a righteous person on the cross of Calvary, thereafter He went down to the world of the imprisoned souls, proclaiming the truth, and then He sat at the right hand of God as King of kings (see 1 Peter 3:18-19 i.c.w. Mark 16:19).
1 Peter 3:18-19:
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.
19 After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits – …
Mark 16:19:
19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.
Thus Jesus Christ prepared the way into the spiritual dimension of the Heavenly Father (see John 3:16; John 14:6 i.c.w. Galatians 4:4).
John 3:16:
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 14:6:
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Galatians 4:4 (The Jewish New Testament from David H. Stern):
… 4 but when the appointed time arrived, God sent forth his Son. He was born from a woman, born into a culture in which legalistic perversion of the Torah was the norm, …
In doing so, the God of Israel clearly revealed Himself as Father through His son Jesus Christ.
It was difficult for the people surrounding Jesus Christ to recognize the revelatory truth of seeing Him as the Father, because they had different expectations. This becomes apparent, among other things, in the remark of Philip, a disciple of Jesus, who didn't recognize the Father in Jesus Christ (see John 14:7-9).
John 14:7-9:
7 f you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Our Own Concept and Control
On the basis of the scripture from John 14:7-9 we also see that our own concepts or expectations lead to a kind of imprisonment of the truth of the Word of God in us, similar – in a sense – to Peter who was put into prison by Herod (see Acts 12:3a.4).
Acts 12:3a.4:
3a When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. …
4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
In this context, Herod is an indication for the spirit of control who plans to imprison the circulation of God's truth in an old time. This becomes apparent by the four squads of four soldiers each (note: demonic alliance, which needs an old time for a prison), ordered by Herod, for each one controlled a quarter of a day in order to stop the truth from leaving (note: the old time frame).
Peter's arrest and imprisonment by Herod during the time of the Unleavened Bread (note: Passover) didn't happen by chance (see Acts 12:3b).
Acts 12:3b:
… 3b This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.
This time frame is associated with the release of the people of Israel from the slavery of Egypt which was accompanied by much resistance from Pharaoh, and also with the crucifixion and victory of Jesus through His death and resurrection.
Here we can see that the time of the Unleavened Bread is a phase where the adversary tries to stop the people of God or the truth and plan of God.
The Revelatory Truth of Peter
It was Peter who received revelation from the Heavenly Father that Jesus Christ is the living son of God (see Matthew 16:16-17).
Matthew 16:16-17:
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
And Satan wanted to hinder the power of this revelatory truth through Herod.
Peter's revelatory knowledge caused Jesus to clarify the substance of Peter's testimony, calling him an unshakable rock that would have the power of the kingdom to allow and disallow (see Matthew 16:18-19).
Matthew 16:18-19:
18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
The Release of Truth and the Bright Light of God
In order to free the truth from the prison of control, we need to be willing to receive the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation as a bright light, who awakens our inner man to ringing in the hour of birth for the revelatory truth in the power of cooperative intercession (see Acts 12:5.7 i.c.w. Ephesians 1:17-18).
Acts 12:5.7:
5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. …
7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
Ephesians 1:17-18:
… 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, …
Therefore, spiritual hunger and thirst for God's revelatory truth need to be present within the church of Christ, so that we enter as a whole into a higher truth of God which is filled with revelation and deliverance. This hunger and thirst equals true asking, seeking and knocking, and this will give a true spiritual result (see Luke 11:9 i.c.w. Acts 12:13).
Luke 11:9:
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Acts 12:13:
13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door.
By Peter's rescue we can see how Satan in a spirit of control tries to block the truth in individuals, as well as in society through “Herod's regime”.
This becomes apparent in the locked prison door and the closed iron city gates which were opened through the supernatural presence of God in form of an angel, without Peter having to touch them (see Acts 12:9-10).
Acts 12:9-10:
9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.
10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
The Spirit of Control and the Religious Spirit
The spirit of control works closely together with the religious spirit which doesn't define itself by the relationship with God, but merely by the power of intellect, and by this resists the spiritual work of God (see 1 Corinthians 1:21).
1 Corinthians 1:21:
21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
Speaking in spiritual context, the spirit of control causes great tiredness, aiming to stop the truth of God in a believer to get to a higher place of revelation (see Acts 12:6).
Acts 12:6:
6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.
The Higher Place of Revelation
The higher spiritual place of revelation helps to turn the written word of God (note: Greek, „lọgos“) into a spoken word of God (note: „rhēma“) for a particular situation.
On the basis of the presence of the bright light (note: angel => in this context symbolizing the spirit of wisdom and revelation) together with Peter who girded himself with a belt (note: symbol for truth; see Ephesians 6:14a), had shoes on his feet by now (note: symbol for the presence of peace; see Ephesians 6:15) and was dressed in a robe (note: symbol for the anointing allocated him by God), Peter became the revelatory truth with power and peace for the praying saints in Mary's house.
The light of the revelatory truth in Peter intensified, because he first met the “first love” (note: “Rhoda” means “rose” => “first love“; see Acts 12:8.12-13).
Acts 12:8.12-13:
8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. …
12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.
13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door.
It is the “first love” that is connected with the bright light and the high place, because the letter to the church in Ephesus speaks of considering the first love in order to thus prevent the lamp stand from falling from its raised position (see Revelation 2:4-5).
Revelation 2:4-5:
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.
5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
Being confronted with challenges and tests in the times where God wants to move the truth of His word in us to a higher place, is inevitable. If, however, we pay attention to the help God sends, things that previously seemed impossible, suddenly become possible (see Luke 18:27).
Luke 18:27:
27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
As a result, the truth we already carry inside of us comes into a greater influence of light, causing the truth to intensify and even showing itself in a new facet, we previously have not known in this way.
It can be compared to the time where Jesus, after rising from the dead, revealed Himself over a period of forty days in various ways in His resurrection body (see Acts 1:3).
Acts 1:3:
3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
Here Jesus Christ appeared to various people in the following facets:
-
Mary Magdalene (see Mark 16:9; John 20:11-17) => Jesus Christ as bridegroom (Mary saw Jesus as the gardener, who is an expression for the lover from Song of Songs; see John 20:14-16 i.c.w. Song of Songs 4:12-16; Song of Songs 5:1; Song of Songs 6:2-3)
-
to the other women – Mary, mother of James, Salome, Joanna (see Matthew 28:8-10) => Jesus as the risen one (see Matthew 28:9-10)
-
to Peter (see 1Corinthians 15:5) => the empty tomb as a sign for Jesus Christ, the resurrected one (see John 20:6-7)
-
to the two Emmaus disciples (see Mark 16:12-13; Luke 24:13-32) => Jesus Christ as the true Rabbi/teacher (see Luke 24:13-32)
-
to the ten apostles in the house in Jerusalem, without Thomas (see Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-24) => Jesus as the crucified and risen one
-
to the eleven apostles, Thomas included (see John 20:26-29) => Jesus Christ as giver of faith
-
to the seven disciples at Sea of Tiberias where Jesus performed a fish-catching-miracle (see John 21:1-14) => Jesus Christ as the Heavenly Father and giver of supernatural provision, as well as the one who restores (see John 21:5.15-17)
-
to the five hundred and the eleven disciples on the Mount of Galilee (see Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:15-18; 1 Corinthians 15:6) => Jesus Christ as the strong one and commander (see Matthew 28:18-20)
-
to His half-brother James (see 1 Corinthians 15:7) => Jesus Christ as the first among many brethren (see Romans 8:29)
-
to His disciples in Jerusalem (see Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:3-8) => Jesus Christ as the fulfilled Word of God (see Luke 24:44-49)
After these supernatural encounters Jesus Christ ascended to heaven before the eyes of His disciples on the Mount of Olives.
The Various Facets of Jesus as the Risen One
On the basis of the above mentioned supernatural encounters we can see that some people did not recognize Jesus Christ, despite the fact that they were with Him over many years and had a personal relationship with Him.
In light of this we are called upon to renew our spirit and mind to be able to perceive Jesus Christ in our time in the way He meets and speaks to us, so that we may fill our environment with the light emanating from us.
Amen and Amen.
In His Wisdom,
Daniel Glimm
Übersetzung: Margit Kelly
