Revelation knowledge is the rock-solid foundation of spiritual progress. Wherever there is no revelation, there is no spiritual progress. This is why Jesus said, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Matt 16:18). Revelation knowledge is the only valid basis upon which Jesus builds His Church. Jesus Himself was able to fulfill His ministry on earth only because He depended completely on the Holy Spirit for revelations. He acknowledged this fact when He said, “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” (Jn 5:30). Jesus paid such careful attention to insights from the Holy Spirit that the Bible refers to Him as, “…Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God,…” (Heb 9:14). God has called us to follow His model.
    God has given us the Bible primarily for revelation knowledge. The Bible is not just a record of what God said and did, but also of what He is saying and doing now. We may study and enjoy the historical information, poetry, and moral codes of the Bible, but unless it is a medium of divine revelation to us, we have failed to appreciate the fundamental purpose of its existence. The Pharisees made this mistake: “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” (Jn 5:39-40). Their academic and intellectual approach to the Scripture impeded their spiritual progress, because it did not lead them to Jesus, of whom the Scripture is about.  “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”” (Jn 1:45). It is only in Jesus Himself that you can have life. When you find Him in the pages of the Bible you find life.
    Therefore, we need to approach the Bible as God’s manual of life—His word for us today. The Bible has divine authorship through human instruments, and its divine origin accounts for its accuracy, inerrancy, sufficiency, and timeless relevance. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” (2Tim 3:16); “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2Pet 1:20-21). It important to note that the Incarnation (Jn 1:14) demonstrates God’s will to accomplish His redemptive purposes for the earth only through humanity. Therefore, just as Jesus was fully God and fully man, so also the Bible is fully God’s word and fully human word. God has chosen to reveal His word through man’s word. This is why the Bible speaks of itself in terms of the letters and the spirit of the word: “who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2Cor 3:6).
    Though Jesus is the central theme of the Bible and the perfect revelation of God and His will, unless we come to the Bible with the right attitude, we will not see Him. Therefore, we should prayerfully and humbly turn to the Holy Spirit to show us Jesus in the Bible. ” But whenever a person turns [in repentance] to the Lord, the veil is stripped off and taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom). And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.” (2Cor 3:16-18 AMP). Like the Psalmist as we approach the Bible, we should humbly pray, “Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law.” (Ps 119:18). Then the Holy Spirit will show you your healing in Jesus, your prosperity in Jesus, your deliverance and transformation in Jesus etc. When YOU can see these blessings in Christ, as unveiled by the Holy Spirit, then you can possess them.
    However,  God does not give us revelation to entertain us. Therefore, until we act on what we have heard from God, it does us no good. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. …But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a DOER of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:22,25) (emphasis mine). Irrespective of how many things we have done, if we have not done what WE HAVE HEARD FROM CHRIST we have not done anything. I wonder how many times I have fallen into this category. What a sorry state of affairs—to have heard Christ’s word and done nothing with it, which is the equivalent of having built without a foundation. “But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”” (Lk 6:49). How it must grieve God when we act as if His word to us were merely for our entertainment! Every time you receive a revelation from God, you have had an encounter with Him, which is intended to produce a fundamental transformation in you. Therefore, be willing and obedient and you shall surely eat the good of the land (Isa 1:19). Shalom.