1 Timothy 4:15 “Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.”
The context of the above quoted passage of scripture is that the apostle Paul was instructing Timothy to meditate on God’s word. And so we see that the apostle Paul confirms the same truth to us that Jesus taught which is that believers must meditate on God’s word. I want you to notice the outcome of Timothy’s meditation in God’s word i.e. Paul stated that his progress would be evident to all. In other words Timothy’s spiritual growth was directly related to his meditation in God’s word. That same principle is applicable to all believers, i.e. our spiritual growth is directly related to the amount of time we spend meditating (thinking) on God’s word. As believers we have to overcome all of the carnal thinking that we have been exposed to all our lives, and now we have to train our minds to think in line with God’s word and meditation has the effect of changing our thought patterns to line up with the word of God. Ultimately our thought patterns affect our behaviour, which is why Paul stated that those who meditate in God’s word will display clear evidence of progress in their spiritual walk.
Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit clearly teaches us what we are to think about (meditate on), which is ultimately the word of God, for it is really only God’s word that meets all of the requirements in this passage of scripture. When one mediates on God’s word the believer takes a passage of scripture and begins to think about just that passage. As the believer does that the Holy Spirit begins to reveal to the saint exactly what God is saying in that scripture and He thus opens the saints understanding to God’s word. Clearly God expects the believer to give themselves wholly to thinking in line with His word, and so the believer is expected to judge their thought life and bring it in line with God’s word at all times.
Romans 8:5-6 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (6) For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul teaches us to set our minds on the things of the Spirit. To set your mind on something is to constantly meditate on that thing. And so we see that spiritual believers, i.e. those who are spiritually minded constantly meditate on God’s word even as our Lord Jesus did. Therefore the point remains that the more we meditate on God’s word the more of His word we will understand, and the more of God’s word that we understand, the more of His word that will sink down into our spirits thus causing our spirits to grow stronger. The principle is very clear that if we are going to grow spiritually we are going to have to set time aside to meditate on God’s word, for our spirits will never grow beyond the degree to which our minds have been renewed. In other words we cannot have a strong spirit and at the same time a mind that is not renewed to the word of God, for the two always go hand in hand, and the reason for that is because the word of God enters our spirits through our minds.
Michael E.B. Maher
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