Introduction
One of the recurring prayers of Paul is that Christians should grow in the knowledge of the Lord. He writes,
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. 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… (Ephesians 1:17–18, NIV)
To the Colossians, he wrote,
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, (Colossians 1:9, NIV)
Too many Christians are not growing in the knowledge of the Lord. What led to the destruction of Israel, has become common practice in our churches:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. (Hosea 4:6, ESV)
The knowledge which Paul refers to is clearly the knowledge of God’s revealed will in the Scriptures.
… of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the Word of God fully known… (Colossians 1:25, ESV)
The Bible is the Word of God, and growing in the knowledge of it will inescapably result in spiritual growth.
“If we are to grow in grace and to go forward and exercise our senses, as the author of the epistle to the Hebrews puts it (Hebrews 5:14), then we must of necessity ask certain questions and be anxious to know how the things that have happened to us really have come to take place.” (Lloyd-Jones, D. M. (1997). God the Holy Spirit (p. 64). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.)
Christians today simply need to spend more time studying the Bible! Moreover, Christians need to get used to eating the solid food of the Word (1 Corinthians 1:1-3). We can’t keep on keeping ourselves busy with the “elementary teaching about Christ, [but] go on to maturity…” (Hebrews 6:1)
The subject matter of this study may indeed be solid for many, however, it’s foundational: once we develop an understanding of these major themes of the Bible, other things will fall into place.
About the studies
To get the most out of the questions and answers, and to grow in your knowledge of the Word of God, you would need to put and effort into reading through the studies before you begin with the discussions.
I plead with you to make an effort to grow in your knowledge of the Lord, so that, with Paul, you will be able to say, “… I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.” (2 Timothy 1:12, ESV)
Remember, hasten slowly. There is no need to get through a chapter every week.
Go to the study meetings prepared, and share your thoughts with other; be enriched and be enriching.
May the Lord equip us all through the enlightening work of the Holy Spirit.
Ultimate Standards 