January 2026 – Wisdom From the Word

Where His Fullness Dwells

Let’s take a deeper look at the concept of fullness as expressed by Paul in two of his letters to the church.

¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:19 (NKJV)

¹⁹ For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, Colossians 1:19 (NKJV)

¹ For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, ² that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:1–3 (NKJV)

The first two verses above contain the word fullness. Paul uses the same Greek word in both and it refers to a fullness or filling up of something. The idea being that there isn’t room for more. Paul then tells us in Colossians 2 that ‘all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’ are found in Christ. He is the completion of the mystery of God. As a member of the Trinity Jesus contains the fullness of what we need to know and encounter, more specifically who we need to know and encounter. All is one of those big little words. It means all, there is nothing missing or wanting.

This leads to an obvious inference; we can experience this fullness. In fact, Paul prayed it for the Ephesians and expressed his desire that they would know Jesus love that goes beyond knowledge and as a result encounter the fullness of Jesus. Let’s take a fuller look at the context of Paul’s prayer.

¹⁶ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16–19 (NKJV)

The precursor is being strengthened in our inner being, encountering Jesus there, becoming established in this level of relationship with Him and then encountering His fullness.

Now given that Paul prayed this for the believers in Ephesus, we can apply this prayer to ourselves, it is available. As we sit with Him we can ask the Spirit to strengthen our inner being, the new creation we have become, to enable us to know Jesus in a deeper way, to encounter His love and the fullness of His being. I can testify from experience that this is real. I don’t constantly walk in this, yet when I sit and focus my heart on Him and pray along these lines I experience Jesus presence in me and on me. I encourage you to regularly join me. We have everything to gain and nothing to lose in pursing Him in this manner.

His Nature

The other day I was laying in the bathtub and thinking about the Lord when my mind went to epistemology and ontology. They are branches of philosophy that address knowledge and existence. I know, those may not be your first thoughts in the tub! It is however how my mind works. The Spirit has spoken to me many times in the bathtub when I am relaxed and not focused on some particular purpose. Now, on to why this is important, we will focus on ontology, more particularly that of Yahweh.

We begin with some definitions. Ontology is about nature or being, the essence of something and epistemology is about knowing or how we acquire knowledge. For example, ontologically a tree is a tree, a rock is a rock, the nature of a predator is predation. Each simply does what it does or is what it is. When we turn to Yahweh our understanding of His ontological status is obviously more nuanced. We will examine it, but perhaps not in the way one would expect. As a brief interjection, being (ontology) must precede knowing (epistemology), which is why for example, Darwinian and neo-Darwinian beliefs are built on sand, not substance. They assume being with no explanation.

Now back to Yahweh. First, we need to understand His character, which means we must turn to His self revelation, scripture. We begin with a long passage from Exodus 33.

¹² Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ ¹³ Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” ¹⁴ And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” ¹⁵ Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. ¹⁶ For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.” ¹⁷ So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.” ¹⁸ And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.” ¹⁹ Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” Exodus 33:12–19 (NKJV)

Here Moses is interceding with Yahweh to know His way, that is His character. Eventually he asks to see Yahweh’s glory and Yahweh responds with a yes and says He will unveil His character to Moses. This takes place later in Exodus 34:6-7. Through these two chapters we can see that Yahweh’s glory is His character and it is expressed in a unique way. It is after his encounter with Yahweh’s character/glory that Mose’s faces is shining when he comes down the mountain.

Paul addressed this in 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 and says that the more we behold His glory the more we reflect it. He is more explicit in chapter 4.

⁶ For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6 (NKJV)

We see here the association between light and God’s glory/character. Which takes us back to ontology. Yahweh’s nature is light.

⁵ This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5 (NKJV)

²³ The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. Revelation 21:23 (NKJV)

Which takes us to the transfiguration. In His incarnation Jesus kept His nature/glory/character veiled. When He unveiled it, Matthew described it as follows.

¹ Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; ² and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. ³ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Matthew 17:1–3 (NKJV)

Here we have Jesus’ ontology revealed. Which tells us something about what is in us. Once more, we have wisdom from Paul.

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

This is now, and Paul reveals to us what will happen in the future.

⁴¹ There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. ⁴² So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. ⁴³ It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:41–44 (NKJV)

Paul says that when we receive a spiritual body like Jesus what now has, we will shine with His glory that has been worked into our character here. What we have ontologically become in our Christian journey will shine forth. This is worth meditating on and pursuing.

PS – enjoy your next bath!

NOTE – my book is nearing completion and should be ready in the next 2-3 weeks. The subject areas are below and it is set up with reflective questions and can be used as a learning tool or approached as a devotional book.

Reflective Leadership: Thinking About
Steps on our Journey: Walking with Abraham
Prayer and Spiritual Warfare: Standing our Ground
A Prophetic Perspective: Seeing Differently
Discernment: The Church’s Great Need
Understanding the Kingdom: His Perspective
Intimacy with Jesus: The Capstone

Prayer and Distraction

Many long years ago, okay, 1990, I was pastoring a little church in the country. We regularly sang a song with the following line, ‘Enter into Canaan and possess your possessions for I will go before you saith the Lord.’ What has often come to me over the years is the question of whether we possess our possessions or they possess us. Now in the age of social media I believe that question is more urgent. Social media apps are designed to capture and keep our attention to make money for those who run them. Their presence in our lives is both pernicious and pervasive.

In line with this, years ago, I read some material from Dr. Carolyn Leaf about brain function and attention and she referred to the idea of multitasking as a myth. She called it ‘milkshake multitasking’ and her point was that neurologically we can’t focus on more than one thing at a time so when we attempt to do so everything is shaken up and done poorly. More recent research has demonstrated the cost of trying to multitask. A simple example. If you had 20 minutes to do a task at work and 5 minutes to check your personal email or other social media messages it could be done in 25 minutes, if done sequentially. If you attempted the same task by working for 5 minutes on your task, engaged for 1 minute glance with a social media app, then went back to your work task you lose time. Your brain takes time to refocus and transition from one task to another so your process takes longer than the 25 minutes allotted. Over a day it adds up to a lot.

Think of applying this to prayer. You begin, get distracted by something, come back, get distracted, and on it goes. Do you every really focus on the subject at hand – communion with the Lord?

Another issue is reading. If we do most of our reading on electronic devices we tend to skip over words more than reading on paper and we retain less information. Kindle devices seem to be a bit better and are more like reading a hard copy.

With this brief overview we can now look at how we can approach prayer and scripture. If your first impulse is to turn on or check our phone when you awake, resist the temptation. The social media apps on your phone are designed to capture and keep your attention. One of the inventions coming from the social media companies is infinite scrolling. When you finish one page another one automatically loads. They don’t have to function that way, they do because again, this helps to capture and keep your attention. With what they track and gather I am confident that for most of us the social media giants know much more about us and our likes and habits than our nearest neighbours!

My recommendation, set aside time in the morning to focus on prayer and worship, read a hard copy of your bible. Taking a few minutes doing it on your phone may seem more efficient, it isn’t, and will do more to fracture your attention. Scripture calls us to do a couple of things.

¹⁰ Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10 (NKJV)

¹⁵ And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Colossians 3:15 (NKJV)

These things require our attention and focus. The context of Psalm 46:10 is warfare and the message from Yahweh is to be still, relax and watch Him work. The context of Colossians 3:15 is setting our thoughts and affections on heavenly things and the result is His peace.

Doing these things require intentionality on our part. Distractions have always tried to turn us away from individual prayer and worship and our current culture works harder than any other time in history to draw our thoughts and affections to other things. If you are struggling, it a cultural battle not just an individual one. Seek His face for help and seek out help from godly friends.

Practically I know I check my phone and social media regularly during the day. I do this because I keep my notifications on mute 99.9% of the time. I only turn on the ringer on my phone on if I am expecting a call. Otherwise, I call people back. I know many years ago when I first had a work BlackBerry about a week into my having it, I walked across the street to the Rogers store and asked them how to turn off the vibrate on my emails. The staff person I spoke with was shocked. I explained that I received plenty of emails and I didn’t need to know every time I received one, I could simply check regularly.

These were simply strategies I used. I don’t know if this is an issue for you, I do know research says it is a growing problem in our culture so, commit some time, seek His face and decide if you need to make any lifestyle adjustments to focus your heart on Jesus.

The Power of the Cross

One more post from my older writing. Next week I will look at prayer and social media distractions.

THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS – THE POWER OF GOD – 1 CORINTHIANS 1:18 (OCTOBER 1992)

In continuing on with the idea of spiritual maturity I want to look at the work of the cross in our lives. I believe that as we look at what the scriptures teach we will find a new liberty in our walk with Him.

The foundation for understanding how the cross works in our lives is the awareness of the place of the spirit and soul in relation to the cross. When we are born again Christ joins His Spirit to our spirit (1 Cor. 6:17, Rom. 8:9). At this time the sin nature/old man is crucified and Christ imparts His life and Himself to our spirits so that we are born again as a new creation (Rom. 6:9, Gal. 2:20, 2 Cor. 5:17, Col. 3:9-10). The work of the cross in our spirits takes place at conversion and is a one time event never to be repeated.

The reason we do not necessarily walk after the Spirit in newness of life is that the cross needs to work in the soul/flesh and this work needs to continue until we die or Christ returns. To walk after the Spirit means taking up the cross so that we do not walk after the soul. (Matt. 10:38, 16:24-26, Mk. 8:34, 10:21, Lk. 9:23, 14:27).

Taking up the cross does not mean crucifying ourselves. Nowhere in the scriptures are we told to crucify ourselves because it is impossible. We are told to take up the cross and to recognize that we are already crucified. If taking up the cross meant crucifixion it would mean either a very slow painful process or one which needs to be often repeated because Jesus said we are to take up the cross daily (Lk. 9:23). The taking up of the cross is simply the submission of our will to His will, not self crucifixion.

Christ’s cross was submission to His Father’s will and that is the cross we are also called to carry. When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane to the point that He was sweating blood (Lk. 22:44) there was no confusion in His mind regarding His Father’s will. The battle was Jesus knowing His Father’s will and His soul wanting to draw back from the horror that He knew lay ahead. He was choosing to submit when He said, “not my will, but Yours, be done.” Keep in mind that there was no sin in Christ’s soul.

The soul life is our natural life and is described by Paul as the fleshly/carnal nature or the carnal man (Rom. 7:14,18,25, 8:1, 3-9, 12-13, 1 Cor. 3:1-4). To be carnal or spiritually immature is to be in the habit of walking after the flesh or desires of the soul rather than submitting to the cross and denying our soul/self.

To walk after the Spirit means that not only do we have to cease doing evil deeds but good deeds as well. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the personification of the soul life, whereas the tree of life is the personification of the spiritual life. For Jesus to be made manifest means that not only do have to recognize the evil works of the flesh but also; “good deeds” rooted in things like selfish ambition (Gal. 5:20) that produce confusion and an open door to demonic deception (Jas. 3:16), or simply our desire to do what we know needs to be done, like Moses trying to be the deliverer of Israel 40 years ahead of Yahweh’s schedule.

The idea of ceasing our good deeds in an offensive doctrine but true nevertheless. It has always been, and always will be in the Kingdom of God, that works born of the flesh are flesh and works born of the Spirit are spirit (Jn. 3:6). The soul is unable to produce that which is spiritual (1 Cor. 15:45).

I earlier mentioned the idea that the soul is not to be crucified. Not only is it not to be crucified, it is instead to be purified by submission to the leading of the Spirit. 1 Peter 1:22 says, “you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit.” The soul is purified as it submits to the Spirit. This is the true taking up of the cross.

We need to be aware that no matter how pure the soul becomes, it (just like Christ’s in the Garden) can never take the lead in spiritual matters because it lacks the capacity. It was designed to be the servant of the spirit and when it embraces this place it prospers (3 Jn. 2). It can prosper in no other way.

The idea of taking up the cross is very important in our daily lives. An example from my own life relates to prayer. I was praying one morning and had a sense in my spirit that it was time to stop and go upstairs to have breakfast with my family. At this time I was also aware in my mind (soul) of some things I thought it was important to pray about so I continued to pray. Almost immediately I realized I was not praying in the Spirit and had to repent of my rebellion before I went up for breakfast.

I can think of other illustrations as simple as not taking that dessert or extra helping at the table when the Holy Spirit says no, or not exercising our rights out of submission to the Holy Spirit. When someone has wronged us and we have every legal right to seek justice we need to seek the mind of the Lord on the matter. When we feel anger or bitterness at something someone has said or done, no matter how right the cause, we need to repent of our wrong heart attitude and submit to Him. When we truly submit grace comes flowing into our hearts, our feelings change and the fruit of the Spirit is made manifest.

These are for the most part simple things but very important as they release His grace in our lives as we obey. I know that if we are not faithful in the little things He is not able to trust us with the larger things (Lk. 6:10). The big battles are won or lost by the character we cultivate in the little daily decisions that can seem so inconsequential.

Having said all of the above, Romans 8:1-2 best sums up the Christian walk. As we daily choose to submit and take up the cross it becomes a habit and we know the cross as the power of God. By walking after the Spirit we experience the reality of the law of the Spirit of life moving against and overcoming the law of sin and death. The result is the mind being conformed to the likeness of Christ (Col. 3:10, Eph. 4:23) and the fruit of the Spirit being seen in our lives (Gal. 5:22-23). The message of the cross is the power of God!

A Heart of Wisdom

I am returning to regular posts as my book is progressing well. For the next bit I am posting some articles I wrote over 30 years ago that are very relevant for today. In the early 1990’s I did a monthly article called The Apostolic Gospel and later compiled them into a booklet. Below is an excerpt.

THE APOSTOLIC GOSPEL: A HEART OF WISDOM

“So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom” Ps. 90:12). In this hour the Holy Spirit desires to stir up in our hearts the reality of Moses’ prophetic cry to Yahweh. In this passage the Hebrew word translated as gain is bow or boh; it implies movement and means to gain or bring forth or carry. The Holy Spirit is teaching us that at the end of our days we will bring, gain, or carry the contents of our heart to the Judgment Seat. Moses’ desire is that each of us will bring to the Judgment Seat a heart filled with the fruits of wisdom. The Holy Spirit desires that we understand the requirement of presenting our hearts to Jesus when we stand before Him. Just as we can bring nothing to merit salvation, neither will we be able to present our own works at the Judgment Seat. All we can present is our hearts. All creation will know in that hour whether the treasure we have been carrying in our hearts (Matt 6:21) consists of gold, silver, and precious stones; or wood, hay, and stubble (1 Cor. 3:12-15). As the contents of our hearts pass under the fiery gaze of Jesus’ eyes (Rev.1:14) all that is not of Him will be consumed. That which sprang from faith will remain as our dead works are consumed (Heb. 6:1).

Gaining hearts of wisdom is an area where we, the church, greatly need to be exercised, and it is one of the many areas in which the Holy Spirit desires to lead us “into all truth” (Jn. 16:13). There is a great need for us to understand the scriptural reality that “He has put eternity in their (our) hearts.” (Eccl. 3:11). When we understand that the foundation of eternity has been laid in our hearts our first choice is whether to spend that eternity in heaven or hell. If we choose heaven, we must further decide whether to truly live out of the eternity dwelling in our hearts. It is only in embracing this mode of living that we can ever hope to “gain a heart of wisdom” because our hearts are the centres of our value systems and the centres of our needs. They colour and touch every area of our lives. Wise hearts are those that have learned to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matt. 6:33) and come into agreement with Jesus and His values, “You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.” (Lk. 4:8).

To live this way, we need to understand that there is much more to the walk of a believer than simply being born again. The New Testament is filled with the truth that we have been empowered and are responsible to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4) and that we will be judged in terms of how well we have walked out that new life (2 Cor. 5:10, Rom. 14:10-12, Eph.2:10, 4:1, Phil. 2:12). Sadly, most of us in the church are either ignorant or terribly neglectful of these truths because we are so conformed to the world (Rom. 12:2, 13:11-14, 2 Cor. 5:15, Eph 4:1, 17).

A heart of wisdom recognizes that Jesus commissioned us (anointed, gave us authority and ability) to “make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I (He) have commanded (us)” (Matt. 28:19-20). This passage is pregnant with possibility and importance in terms of our calling, commission and responsibility as believers. We need to awaken to our responsibility! Paul said, “it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” (Rom. 13:11).

To carry out the “Great Commission” we need to understand that not only are we called to make disciples of individual members of all nations (Greek ethnos, ethnic groups or nationalities, people groups), but we are called to disciple entire nations. The Lord has called the church, not democracy, communism, humanism, or any other created thing (Rom. 8:37-39, Matt. 5:14-16), to be the light of the world. With the calling we have both the authority and responsibility to speak to the situations and institutions affecting our nations, and to provide the light to lead them out of darkness (Eph. 5:8-14). I am not suggesting that the church should use political power to take over countries of the world, because His kingdom is not of this world (Jn. 18:36, Matt. 6:9-10). We are however called to give light to our leaders and to set an example for the world to follow, rather than us following the ways of the world.

For example, one time I listened to a “Christian” radio program talking about a talent contest for “worship” bands. Concepts like this make me wonder if we as the church have drifted so far away from the Lord that we are not even able to recognize or discern when we have embraced the ways of Satan? Have we invited him right into our midst, as Saul did by bringing king Agag back to Israel, thinking he could control the enemy he had conquered? Would we exercise any more discernment if we thought about having contests for the sermon of the week in our local assemblies? Do we not understand that our weapons are not carnal?

Our foolishness in these areas demonstrates an ignorance of the Lord, of His ways, and knowing the power of the cross. This is but one example of our many failures to walk out our commission to teach the nations His ways. The scriptures are clear that there will come a time when “the law shall come forth out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Is. 2:1-3). I believe there will be a literal fulfillment of this in Jerusalem, and through Israel, when Yahweh gathers His people back to their land. There is, however, also the reality that this prophecy speaks of the commission of the church to be a standard for the nations. This means that we have a responsibility to come to maturity and then teach individuals, people groups, and nations to discern between good and evil (Heb. 5:13-14).

To walk in this reality and truly walk out our calling in the earth we need to function in a much greater level of anointing then that which is presently observable in most aspects of the local church. We need to learn to go beyond our programs and ideologies and into the Holy of Holies to dwell in His presence and draw on His wisdom. All the gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12 and the love that motivates them in 1 Corinthians 13 need to be drawn out from behind the veil so that they transition from hope to reality. We also need the fivefold ministry of Ephesians 4:11 to function in individual members of the body if the body is to be properly equipped to come to maturity. Much of the present day church is functioning in the spiritual gifts to a limited extent and some segments have discerned the need for the fivefold ministry. We are beginning to wake up to and walk in these job descriptions. With these signs of hope and life in this time of darkness, let us press in to see the glory of the Lord manifest to a needy world through a mature body (Is. 60:1-2).

I say these things not to condemn, but rather to encourage and exhort us to search the scriptures and follow after the exhortations in them. Jesus was very clear that our eternal position in His kingdom will be based on how we walk out His teachings (Matt. 5:19) and the words of Paul strongly exhort us, “Be diligent to present yourselves approved to God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15).