Undersight
Undersight
By Ron Wood
In a dream, I saw this block of text as though I were reading a printed page:
Undersight: the ability to see under; to know what is beneath the surface; to discern hidden motives; to observe concealed aspects; to see invisible forces at work; to know the latent versus the patent factors, trends, or spiritual powers at work in people or situations.
Like Superman’s x-ray vision, this ability enables someone who needs to know the real truth to see deeper than others can ordinarily see. This is three-dimensional perception.
Our Creator is the originator of language, placing Adam and Eve in Paradise with the ability to communicate with Him and also invent names for the animals of earth. God uses pictures (visions and dreams) and spoken (rhema) and written (logos) words to speak to us. He also gave us the Last Word, the Word made flesh, Jesus, the Son of God. God is a master communicator.
The Lord loves word-play. He created languages and apparently enjoys using them. Based on the nuances of meaning in my dream, as I meditated further, I drafted this definition:
Undersight: def- "a supernatural grace given by God as a component of business skill, church leadership, or administration enabling a person to succeed and prosper where others would fail due to observing only the obvious or superficial; an element of a wise and discerning heart that has been illuminated to see by the gift of the Holy Spirit.
An application for believers is: "…the eyes of your heart having been enlightened…" (Eph. 1:17-18). An example in Jesus’ life is: "But He knew their thoughts..." (Luke 11:25) A corollary word (a valuable complement to it) would be supervision (Latin), which is the ability to "see over" or render effective management of a project, i.e.- to provide oversight for the welfare of group of people, or to take responsibility for the fulfillment of a corporate task. For example, my father was Supervisor over a large mining operation requiring millions of dollars and 500 men working 24 hours a day.
To supervise means to see over or take oversight. Oversight is a Biblical term. It is derived from episkopos (Greek) - "overview" i.e.- viewing from above, the root word for biskop (Old English word for bishop), as used in the New Testament to identify the task of pastors or elders. "Be on your guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers…" (Acts 20:28)
May I insert a comment here? Notice, their first task was to take care of each other, not to care for the flock, although that was included. Maybe if more shepherds (pastors) in the body of Christ adopted this order of priority for fellow elders in their city, there would not be so many church leaders falling away or leaving the ministry for wrong reasons.
Back to undersight versus oversight: It is one thing to take oversight for a business, family, or church. It is another thing to have the Holy Spirit’s help to actually see beyond the superficial: the bodies, buildings, and budgets which can be counted or tallied. What is really in play here? We need to exercise oversight but we also need "undersight," spiritual discernment, to see the forces affecting us from behind the spiritual curtain.
Perhaps it is true that apostles (in church or in business) have a greater gift of administration ability to exercise government over churches or organizations. But it is also true that prophets (in business or in the church) have a greater gift of discernment to see beyond the natural-- beyond buildings, budgets and bodies-- into the supernatural, to discern spirits or mindsets or belief systems affecting us, even unconsciously. We need oversight and we need undersight in order to see clearly with both eyes.
In the Bible, the Old Testament ministry representing God’s ways was the prophet, also called a "seer." In the New Testament, the apostle was the most visible agent of the Lord. They were like architects for the church. The new Biblical pattern for the Body of Christ, which has not yet been modeled in very many places, is for the apostle and the prophet to team up together in an equal yoke, a mutual partnership, in order to grow and plant churches. Similarly, a husband and wife very often form a complementary team, partners in the work of growing their kingdom unit, the family, with both oversight and "undersight." Two eyes are better than one.
Undersight is a fictitious word. It isn’t in any dictionary. But sometimes new words do make it into our vocabulary, like internet, or multi-tasking, or Google. Learning a new word makes us think differently. Being made in God’s image, we are creative just like our Heavenly Father. God the Creator allowed Adam to enlarge the human vocabulary when he invited him to identify all the new animals in the Garden of Eden. We call this kind of verbal creativity "to coin a new phrase."
Very often new words may confuse us because we don’t know their proper definition, so we go to the dictionary. A definition is simply a framework of descriptive words based on prior knowledge, something we are already familiar with, a tool that enables us to grasp a new word or understand an unfamiliar phrase so we can recognize it and apply it.
When God gives us a new insight, the goal is so that we can utilize it to enlarge His kingdom and improve our lives. The Lord wants His grace in us to increase and spread beyond the present boundaries of our limited understanding. To do that, we need to think new, act new, and face new opportunities around us with faith instead of fear.
Let me ask you some questions: What factors in your life are puzzling you? Are you stymied? Does your present situation seem perplexing? Do you sense that there may be forces involved acting behind the scenes? Our Lord reveals mysteries. God can give you "insight with understanding" (Daniel 9:22), which means not only do you see behind the scenes, but you can comprehend what you’ve seen by the Spirit.
Ask the Lord to open your spiritual eyes. Be sure and use your Biblical framework- the Scriptures- as your window for viewing reality. Wait in the Lord’s presence; still your soul with quiet praise; give your undivided attention to the Lord. As you worship God, allow your spirit- your inner man- to be bathed in the light that comes from the glory of God through the face of Jesus Christ. Go beyond your limited understanding and allow the way you perceive things to move up to a higher level, where the Holy Spirit reveals the truth about things to you.
Discerning God’s will or seeing reality as it actually is doesn’t mean checking your brain at the door. Discerning of spirits is not the "gift of suspicion." God wants us to always exercise sound judgment. He values our mind and reasons with us. He gave us the ability to use logic, thoughtfulness, and wants us to learn from our experiences. Nor does spiritual sight mean neglecting the foundation of the Scriptures. Everything subjective must be evaluated in the light of God’s objective written Word.
The visible has to be observed, measured, and recorded. How do you measure success? You can’t unless you track the numbers. What about invisible or intangible areas? They also require observation and action. Can you see purity of heart? Can you see honesty or humility? Yes, you can. Can you see greed? Can you see legalism perverting grace? Yes, you can. Can you see an open door and discern the timing to step through? Yes!
Undersight © 2006 by Ron Wood, President of Touched By Grace Inc.
By Ron Wood
In a dream, I saw this block of text as though I were reading a printed page:
Undersight: the ability to see under; to know what is beneath the surface; to discern hidden motives; to observe concealed aspects; to see invisible forces at work; to know the latent versus the patent factors, trends, or spiritual powers at work in people or situations.
Like Superman’s x-ray vision, this ability enables someone who needs to know the real truth to see deeper than others can ordinarily see. This is three-dimensional perception.
Our Creator is the originator of language, placing Adam and Eve in Paradise with the ability to communicate with Him and also invent names for the animals of earth. God uses pictures (visions and dreams) and spoken (rhema) and written (logos) words to speak to us. He also gave us the Last Word, the Word made flesh, Jesus, the Son of God. God is a master communicator.
The Lord loves word-play. He created languages and apparently enjoys using them. Based on the nuances of meaning in my dream, as I meditated further, I drafted this definition:
Undersight: def- "a supernatural grace given by God as a component of business skill, church leadership, or administration enabling a person to succeed and prosper where others would fail due to observing only the obvious or superficial; an element of a wise and discerning heart that has been illuminated to see by the gift of the Holy Spirit.
An application for believers is: "…the eyes of your heart having been enlightened…" (Eph. 1:17-18). An example in Jesus’ life is: "But He knew their thoughts..." (Luke 11:25) A corollary word (a valuable complement to it) would be supervision (Latin), which is the ability to "see over" or render effective management of a project, i.e.- to provide oversight for the welfare of group of people, or to take responsibility for the fulfillment of a corporate task. For example, my father was Supervisor over a large mining operation requiring millions of dollars and 500 men working 24 hours a day.
To supervise means to see over or take oversight. Oversight is a Biblical term. It is derived from episkopos (Greek) - "overview" i.e.- viewing from above, the root word for biskop (Old English word for bishop), as used in the New Testament to identify the task of pastors or elders. "Be on your guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers…" (Acts 20:28)
May I insert a comment here? Notice, their first task was to take care of each other, not to care for the flock, although that was included. Maybe if more shepherds (pastors) in the body of Christ adopted this order of priority for fellow elders in their city, there would not be so many church leaders falling away or leaving the ministry for wrong reasons.
Back to undersight versus oversight: It is one thing to take oversight for a business, family, or church. It is another thing to have the Holy Spirit’s help to actually see beyond the superficial: the bodies, buildings, and budgets which can be counted or tallied. What is really in play here? We need to exercise oversight but we also need "undersight," spiritual discernment, to see the forces affecting us from behind the spiritual curtain.
Perhaps it is true that apostles (in church or in business) have a greater gift of administration ability to exercise government over churches or organizations. But it is also true that prophets (in business or in the church) have a greater gift of discernment to see beyond the natural-- beyond buildings, budgets and bodies-- into the supernatural, to discern spirits or mindsets or belief systems affecting us, even unconsciously. We need oversight and we need undersight in order to see clearly with both eyes.
In the Bible, the Old Testament ministry representing God’s ways was the prophet, also called a "seer." In the New Testament, the apostle was the most visible agent of the Lord. They were like architects for the church. The new Biblical pattern for the Body of Christ, which has not yet been modeled in very many places, is for the apostle and the prophet to team up together in an equal yoke, a mutual partnership, in order to grow and plant churches. Similarly, a husband and wife very often form a complementary team, partners in the work of growing their kingdom unit, the family, with both oversight and "undersight." Two eyes are better than one.
Undersight is a fictitious word. It isn’t in any dictionary. But sometimes new words do make it into our vocabulary, like internet, or multi-tasking, or Google. Learning a new word makes us think differently. Being made in God’s image, we are creative just like our Heavenly Father. God the Creator allowed Adam to enlarge the human vocabulary when he invited him to identify all the new animals in the Garden of Eden. We call this kind of verbal creativity "to coin a new phrase."
Very often new words may confuse us because we don’t know their proper definition, so we go to the dictionary. A definition is simply a framework of descriptive words based on prior knowledge, something we are already familiar with, a tool that enables us to grasp a new word or understand an unfamiliar phrase so we can recognize it and apply it.
When God gives us a new insight, the goal is so that we can utilize it to enlarge His kingdom and improve our lives. The Lord wants His grace in us to increase and spread beyond the present boundaries of our limited understanding. To do that, we need to think new, act new, and face new opportunities around us with faith instead of fear.
Let me ask you some questions: What factors in your life are puzzling you? Are you stymied? Does your present situation seem perplexing? Do you sense that there may be forces involved acting behind the scenes? Our Lord reveals mysteries. God can give you "insight with understanding" (Daniel 9:22), which means not only do you see behind the scenes, but you can comprehend what you’ve seen by the Spirit.
Ask the Lord to open your spiritual eyes. Be sure and use your Biblical framework- the Scriptures- as your window for viewing reality. Wait in the Lord’s presence; still your soul with quiet praise; give your undivided attention to the Lord. As you worship God, allow your spirit- your inner man- to be bathed in the light that comes from the glory of God through the face of Jesus Christ. Go beyond your limited understanding and allow the way you perceive things to move up to a higher level, where the Holy Spirit reveals the truth about things to you.
Discerning God’s will or seeing reality as it actually is doesn’t mean checking your brain at the door. Discerning of spirits is not the "gift of suspicion." God wants us to always exercise sound judgment. He values our mind and reasons with us. He gave us the ability to use logic, thoughtfulness, and wants us to learn from our experiences. Nor does spiritual sight mean neglecting the foundation of the Scriptures. Everything subjective must be evaluated in the light of God’s objective written Word.
The visible has to be observed, measured, and recorded. How do you measure success? You can’t unless you track the numbers. What about invisible or intangible areas? They also require observation and action. Can you see purity of heart? Can you see honesty or humility? Yes, you can. Can you see greed? Can you see legalism perverting grace? Yes, you can. Can you see an open door and discern the timing to step through? Yes!
Undersight © 2006 by Ron Wood, President of Touched By Grace Inc.
<< Home