To make real progress in your walk with God, you MUST be a disciple. A disciple is unquestionably a lifelong student, following a Master and His Message meticulously. Now, what is the sequence of the scholarship of a disciple? By that I mean, in what order should a disciple pursue his spiritual education/scholarship/discipleship?
This sequence works in two streams: learning and life. The sequence of your scholarship on the path of learning is Scriptures, Classics & Books, in that descending order (2 Timothy 2:15, 1 Timothy 4:13, 15, Acts 17:11, 18:24-25, 2 Timothy 4:13). On the path of life, the sequence of your scholarship is Christ, \”Tutors and Governors\” as well as the Brethren, in that descending order (Mark 1:16-20, Luke 9:23, John 12:26, 15:1-5, Galatians 4:1-2, Philippians 2:1-4).
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On the stream of learning
By learning, I mean engagement with written texts and by life, I mean the substance/spirit/reality of those texts. So, what makes learning profitable to you is your growing capacity to engage with the spirit of the text, such that the substance it carries and the reality it should produce in your life becomes experienced firsthand.
When you read the Holy Scriptures, you come across the letter, which is a deliberate packaging or \”shell\” enclosing/hiding the reality of life that God is communicating. That shell is to keep this reality out of reach of those who will abuse the Word of God.
With this shell, you can be sound in theological knowledge, which is like having access to the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but you will not have access to the reality (the tree of Life) until you diligently seek to know the LORD. (Please read 2 Corinthians 3:6). That shell (of letters) is how God pegs the spiritual access and privileges of those who will not seek the LORD with all their hearts.
\”…for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.\” KJV
Hebrews 11:6
\”…For we come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who give all their passion and strength into seeking him.\” TPT
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On the stream of Life
You must note that learning is almost always linear but life is geometric. What you will take multiple lessons (studies/teachings) to learn to the point of practice, after some years, can be installed in a moment of truth as such a lesson is manifestly declared in the life of a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ you are privileged to observe.
This is why your scholarship must be at the mercy of a genuine relationship with God, where there is real communion and heartfelt longing for the LORD. The person you are following is Christ. That is the recommendation of the Father to you and the preoccupation of the Holy Spirit in you (Matthew 3:17, John 16:13-14).
Tutors and Governors are functionaries saddled with the responsibility of equipping the saints and administering their possibilities in life and service. What brings them into this cadre in the kingdom is not primarily their ordination but their personal pursuit of the LORD that is yielding spiritual growth and practical results for the kingdom of God. Their growth (and testimony) then becomes an activator for the building up of other lives.
Furthermore, the life of God is communicated directly to us as we follow Jesus diligently. This finds expression in your reading and studying of the Scriptures as well as your devotional response in meditations and secret, importunate praying. This is what gives clarity and clearance on whom to submit to as Tutors and Governors.
Truth is you cannot follow Jesus without following saints who have gone ahead of you, dead and alive. And there are dimensions in your walk with God that you will never experience without following those who through faith and patience obtained the promise (Hebrews 6:12).
A progressive walk with God is by grace alone through faith alone and to the glory of God alone. What you have read so far are the provisions of grace for you to gain ascendancy in your heavenly calling to follow Jesus Christ. Your positive response to grace is what we call faith; which means you are willing to commit to the task that grace bestows on you to bring down the glory of God for your generation.
\”Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace…\” Romans 4:16 KJV
\”But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.\” (KJV)
1 Corinthians 15:10
But God’s amazing grace has made me who I am! And his grace to me was not fruitless. In fact, I worked harder than all the rest, yet not in my own strength but God’s, for his empowering grace is poured out upon me. (TPT)
