Masterpiece Revelations

In Philippians 1:8-10, the Apostle Paul said that as we grow in love we will mature to the place where we can tell the difference between that which is good and that which is excellent.


The New American Standard Version renders it, "so that you may be able to discern what is best." There are good teachings out there and then there are excellent teachings. Our Father's intent is that we would recognize the difference. One is what Hebrews calls "the milk of the word" and the other is the "meat of the word."
The two are not the same. You probably know good teaching from bad teaching but do you know a good truth from an excellent truth? Young's Literal Translation describes it as "proving the things that differ."

Look at the two images above. One is a good painting and the other is an excellent paining. Which would you want to have? I confess that because of my lack of artistic sophistication, I'm not wild about either of them. Take a look at them. Which of the two would you want to own?

The top painting in this blog is called "Iris and Butterfly" and was painted by Claire Bull. The piece is fine art and can be purchased for 450 dollars.

The bottom painting is called "Irises" and was painted by Vincent Van Gogh one year before his death. It became the most expensive painting when it was sold for $53.9 million to Alan Bond in 1987.

That's a big difference that illustrates good and excellent. Thus it is in the realm of biblical truth. There are good teachings that will encourage and help you, but there are also excellent truths that can revolutionize your life. Note that Young's Literal Translation speaks of approving those things that differ. Don't make the mistake of thinking that something different is necessarily wrong. Sometimes when we open our hearts and minds to new things that are different to us, we find ourselves growing in grace in ways we couldn't have imagined. Don't be gullible. Check the Bible for yourself to see if the different teaching you may be exposed to fits with what the Scripture teaches. If not, reject it. If it does then embrace it gladly - even if that means admitting that it's something different than you've believed before. That's the only way to grow in grace.

There are excellent realities to be discovered in Jesus Christ. Let us open ourselves to the leadership of the Holy Spirit and the Scripture so that we may see the masterpieces of Divine revelation!