Adam could not keep his inheritance. Samson could not retain his strength. Solomon became foolish in his wisdom.
Beloved Christian: stop evaluating yourself after the flesh. For the man or woman of God, it no longer matters whether he or she is good looking or tall or smart or rich or poor. Those distinctions of the flesh are vain and of no importance whatsoever to God.
In the new life of the spirit, such superficial distinctions are done away with: “In this new life one’s nationality or race or education or social position is unimportant; such things mean nothing. Whether a person has Christ is what matters, and he is equally available to all.” (Colossians 3:11).
Spiritual supremacy
In the final analysis, all the knowledge of man is useless. The knowledge of man is irrelevant vis-à-vis the knowledge of God.
God is the one: “who turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge foolishness.” (Isaiah 44:25). Paul correctly contends that the knowledge of God surpasses knowledge. (Ephesians 3:19). Therefore, he warns Timothy to disdain the knowledge of men: “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babble and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge.” (1 Timothy 6:20).
God is contemptuous of every achievement of the flesh. The knowledge of man is so inconsequential that it will soon become irrelevant and will vanish away: “Where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.” (1 Corinthians 13:8-9). Indeed, all the highfalutin knowledge that we spend all our life studying and acquiring will become completely useless and of no consequence whatsoever in the after-life.
How can the natural man understand the word of God? How can ignorant man acquire the knowledge of God? Which university would he have to enrol in? Which curriculum would he have to follow? Nicodemus, for you to be able to understand the things of God, you are going to have to be born again. You are going to have to be born of the Spirit and then start learning all over again from the spiritual kindergarten.
Everything about the New Testament believer is going to be of the spirit. Then the Lord is going to have to teach us by himself. Jesus says: “It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.” (John 6:45).
Flesh counts for nothing
The Lord asked me a question. He said: “Femi if I were to give you a trillion dollars, where would you keep it; how would you spend it?” In order for the Lord to give us stupendous wealth, certain fundamental issues would have to be addressed first. When God gave an incredible real estate (the entire planet earth) to Adam, the thief easily took it away from him. He did not even have to fight Adam, or put a gun to his head. He just conned him out of it. He deceived Eve and Eve persuaded Adam.
Thus, the devil boasted to Jesus that Adam’s inheritance was now his: “The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, ‘I will give you all their authority and splendour, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.’” (Luke 4:5-6).
When God put super-human strength in Samson, it only took Delilah to get it from him. Thanks to Delilah, the Philistines found out the source of his strength. They cut off his hair and plucked out his eyes. Samson ended up as a slave; treading corn. Do you know how Samson triumphed over his enemies? He had to die. Samson was the first suicide bomber. He killed many more Philistines in his death than he did in his life. He triumphed over his enemies by laying down his life.
When God gave Solomon wisdom, such as he had never given to any man, Solomon soon became one of the most foolish men that ever lived. Solomon had: “seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David.” (1 Kings 11:3-4).
Spiritual banking
In short, Adam could not retain his inheritance. Samson could not retain his strength. Solomon became foolish in his wisdom. If God gives riches to Adamic man, the thief will steal it from him. He will retain the riches with his flesh and in his flesh. He will keep the riches in earthly places: “where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19).
But from the foundations of the earth, God always had a better plan. Let me put this in graphic detail as I have come to understand it at the feet of Jesus. God says: “I’m going to get you a bank, and it is a spiritual bank. The thief cannot steal anything I give you in that bank. He cannot kill anything that is deposited in that bank. He cannot destroy anything that is in the vault of that bank. Since it is a spiritual bank, it is completely outside his area of operation. As long as your inheritance is placed in the spiritual bank of Jesus Christ, it is secure and impregnable.”
As there are certain physical laws governing physical banking transactions, so are there spiritual laws governing spiritual banking transactions. You don’t just walk into First Bank and ask for one thousand dollars even if the money is in your account. You have to follow standard banking procedures concerning cheque withdrawals. Similarly, unless you understand kingdom dynamics, you will not be able to convert your spiritual blessings into physical blessings.
Eternal life
Then God says: “I have to ensure that you have the absorptive capacity to enjoy the wealth I have for you. I don’t want you to be subject to the limitations of the flesh, which would mean you would only enjoy it for eighty or maybe one hundred and twenty years. I want you to be able to enjoy it forever. So I’ve got to give you eternal life. That way, you would not be limited by time.”
“But I cannot give you eternal life in the flesh, because all flesh is grass. All flesh must grow old and die. In order for me to give you eternal life, you have to be born of the Spirit. While the flesh grows old and dies from day to day, the youth of the spirit is continually renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:5).
Although Sarah was an eighty year-old woman, kings fought over her. She did not need a face-lift for this to happen. She did not need cosmetic breast-enlargement. She did not need false nails and false eyelashes. One thing is needful and that one thing is Christ. (Luke 10:42). Jesus says: “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” (John 3:5).