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For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,... (Col. 1:9)
The Scriptures make it abundantly clear that it is the will of God that every Christian gain a full and clear understanding of the eternal purpose of God. This is not presented as a desirable appendage to our life but something that is at the very heart of our Christian experience and, indeed, of life itself.
In the above Bible passage, Paul is addressing his remarks to a group of ordinary people like us and prays that they may be filled with the "knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." This is even stronger than the English translation shows, as the Greek word used for "knowledge" is the very positive word "epignosis" which has the meaning of "full, complete or perfect knowledge or understanding." The Amplified Bible translates this as "the full (deep and clear) knowledge."
Thus we are left in no doubt as to God's intentions in this matter. Neither are we left in any doubt as to the reason that we need to be filled with this knowledge and understanding. It is so that we may "live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way."
This is perfectly reasonable because, in order to live this kind of life, we need far more than a superficial understanding of the purpose of God. Rather, our understanding of, and submission to, his will and purpose needs to be at the very foundation of our lives, guiding and directing our every thought and action.
If this is so vitally important to us then, how is it that we come to this understanding and gain this knowledge of such inestimable value? The answer to this lies in our comprehension of two distinct truths.
Firstly, as has already been noted, the Bible is, from beginning to end, a revelation of the eternal purpose of God and it never deviates from this aim.
Secondly, spiritual truth ultimately comes to us by "spiritual revelation" that is as "all spiritual wisdom and understanding." What this means is that truth is not apprehended by our reasoning faculties, but is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. (John 6:63)
Thus, just as all Scripture has been given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16), it also must be comprehended by the revelation of the Holy Spirit.
This is why Jesus was so filled with joy when he prayed to his Father:
At that time Jesus said, "I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure." (Matt. 11:25-26)
This is not to say that mind or reason play no part in our coming to an understanding of the Word of God. Quite the contrary, as Paul so eloquently points out.
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" -
but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. (1 Cor. 2:6-14)
No one could say that reason plays no part in Paul's teaching. However, he made it quite clear that it represented wisdom of a different class altogether from that to which the world aspires through purely intellectual effort. It is governed by a completely different set of rules. He refers to intellectual knowledge as the "wisdom of this world."
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written, He catches the wise in their craftiness,... (1 Cor. 3:19)
In like manner, the apprehension of spiritual truth should not be seen as an emotional experience. If we approach the knowledge of God in this way it is effectively saying that if something "feels good" then it must be good and in line with the will of God. This leads us to a self-centred understanding of the purpose of God and provides a very shallow and unstable basis for faith. At one extreme it leads to emotional excess, where ecstatic emotional experience is seen as the measure of success in our search for God. On the other hand it has led many to turn to worldly psychological techniques such as self-analysis, self-awareness, self-image building and the like.
It is of course true that the apprehension of spiritual truth can often stir our emotions. However, emotions are notoriously unreliable and can be the playthings of subtle and not so subtle influences around us. It is also true that spiritual revelation will also ultimately illuminate the intellect, that is we will be able to understand what has been revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. But the intellect is also unreliable having been tossed to and fro by many ungodly, philosophical, intellectual and academic pressures, the debilitating influences of which have, over the centuries, seeped into theological thinking.
Spiritual truth is infinitely greater than anything the human intellect or psyche can contain. When spiritual truth is apprehended the best the mind and the emotions can do is to cling onto its coat-tails and go along for the ride.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. (Eph. 4:14-15)
It is important to note at this point that there is indeed a body of truth in the Bible that requires no special revelation. God's condemnation of murder (Exod. 20:13), idolatry (Exod. 20:3), adultery (Exod. 20:14), sexual immorality (Col. 3:5-6), homosexuality (Rom. 1:18-32), drunkenness, witchcraft (Gal. 5:19-21), bearing false witness (Exod. 20:16) and the like is written plainly and can be readily understood.
The only purpose of arguments raised against such pronouncements is to rationalise the behaviour of those who have chosen to ignore them. Such arguments will, however, in no way hinder the ultimate judgement of God against such behaviour. Neither will mankind have any complaint against such judgements as his warnings have been given and are abundantly clear to all.
However, it is not these matters that are primarily being discussed here, as the Word of God takes us far beyond into the realm of his grace where, in response to our faith, sin is forgiven, we are cleansed from its effects and the life and nature of Christ is built into our very being. It is these truths that are revealed to us by his Spirit and which God intends to become a living experience to each and every one of us.
For example, we are told that when we receive Christ, we "participate in the divine nature" (2 Pet. 1:4). This is a truth of inestimable value, but is of no value to us whatsoever until we see real and practical evidence of it working within us. It is when we begin to see the attributes of that divine nature in our behaviour that we can say that we have started to apprehend that truth. Thus it is that the Holy Spirit works to produce love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness and all the other "fruits of the Spirit" from our innermost being.
How then does this spiritual revelation come to us and what is our role in this process?
In the parable of the sower, Jesus referred to the Word of God as "seed" (Matt. 13:3-23) the sowing of the seed depicting the preaching and teaching of the Word. The sown seed falls into ground of varying fertility and some ultimately germinates and produces a harvest, the size of which depends upon the goodness of the soil and its immediate environment.
In a similar way, the Word of God comes into our mind as it is heard and read, where it lies until "germination" takes place. Germination is the process whereby the latent force of life within the Word of God takes root within us producing a spiritual harvest which can be observed and experienced.
This process of germination is the work of the Holy Spirit and his alone. We can utterly rely upon him to remind us of the Word which has lodged in our mind as and when he works out his eternal purpose to build into us the nature and character of Christ.
But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)
By this means the truth of God's Word becomes a reality to us, as it is woven by the Holy Spirit into the fabric of our lives. He does this work according to his schedule and his alone. There is no time limit as to how long a truth may be dormant within us before it becomes spiritual knowledge and reality.
Certain types of natural seed seem to have an indestructible quality. Grain found in the tombs of the Pharaohs has been shown still to have the power of germination after lying dormant for four or five thousand years. So it is with the Word of God which is totally indestructible.
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. (1 Pet. 1:23)
Thus, we first receive truth by hearing the Word of God and grasping it, as much as is possible, with our minds. Here it lays until the Holy Spirit, in the midst of his dealings with us, brings the Word up out of our memory and makes it a practical and recognisable part of our experience. It is at this point that the true knowledge of spiritual truth is born within us and with it a conviction and certainty which cannot be shaken.
At the birth of Jesus, there was a great gathering of angels, shepherds and wise men all saying amazing and wonderful things about this child. It is clear, however, that Mary did not fully understand the meaning of these words at the time.
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2:19)
This is an illustration of how best to receive the preaching and teaching where we hear of all the amazing and wonderful things about Jesus and his redeeming work within us. That is, to "treasure" the Word, think about it, seek to understand it as best we can and then store it away until the Holy Spirit starts to deal with us and activate the power and the reality of the word within our lives.
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord. and on his law he meditates day and night. (Ps. 1:1-2)
In this way, not only does the Word become part of us, but also truth is separated from error, because whatever is error fades away and forever remains hidden from sight and forgotten. We can trust the Holy Spirit utterly to keep us safe from that which is harmful.
Now that we understand that knowledge of the will and purpose of God is by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, does this in any way diminish the integrity of or the necessity for the written Word of God? Not at all, for two major reasons.
Firstly, the Holy Spirit works within to give us spiritual understanding of the written Word as read or as heard through preaching and teaching. Receiving that Word is always the starting point. It is not, however, by any means the finishing point, a purely intellectual understanding being insufficient to bring us into a real and fruitful relationship with God.
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3)
In other words, in the eternal purpose of God, we are to learn to know God rather than just know about him, this relationship bringing us to the actual experience of the reality of the "unsearchable riches of Christ." However, it all starts with the "hearing" of the written word.
Secondly, the Bible is and always will be the final arbiter as to what is genuine spiritual revelation and experience. The illumination of the Holy Spirit will always be in harmony with the written Word of God.
A builder constructs a house by laying a foundation, setting up a framework and then installing the outer covering. If, upon a sound foundation, a builder erects a framework which is both complete and stable, the house, when finished, will stand a good chance of being both good to look at and able to withstand the forces of the elements which may beat against it. On the other hand, if the framework is weak, the outer covering, on its own, will not be able to keep the house from disintegrating in times of stress.
So it is with our understanding of the Word of God. Our foundation is our faith in Jesus Christ. If then, upon this foundation, we have built a sound understanding of the basic truths of the Word, then the experiences of our lives will result in our growing up into Christ rather than causing our faith to disintegrate.
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line. line upon line; here a little and there a little. (Isa. 28:10 [KJV])
In this way the Holy Spirit builds the Word of God into our lives. Once the structure is complete he starts putting on the outer covering, "here a little and there a little," according to his sovereign will.
It is the purpose of these studies to assist in the construction and/or strengthening of this basic framework of understanding. It is, of course, the work of the Holy Spirit even to build this structure, and we may put our faith in him completely to carry out this task. Once this framework is in place, however, it will provide a starting point from which we may be filled with "the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding."
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