FYI: Andy has arrived at 'All Nations...
It strikes me that the only things we can truly know about God can only be revealed by God himself, at least at the point of conceptual origin.
The fullness of God is beyond the restraints of the knowledge of man.
Indeed God is beyond the world of man.
Man's knowledge, at least physically speaking, can only result from and be developed by what he sees and feels and learns in the physical world. A world in which the fullness of God cannot be contained or restrained.
Man's Spiritual knowledge, however, can only be strengthened and sustained through the intervention and revelation of God through His Holy Spirit. To grow Spiritually our knowledge e must be edified by the revelation of God. It seems that this spiritual revelation, once instigated in the Spiritual realm, can be taught and consequently learned through communication in the physical realm but the origin of each spiritual concept must find it's origin in the revelation of the Holy Spirit otherwise it would not be a true revelation of God.
For example, I may share with you that Salvation is found in the works of Christ and you may believe me. Although, on the surface, this may seem like a purely physical event i think, for this knowledge to be successfully transferred, there are a number of underlying spiritual transactions that must occur.
Not the least of these is the revelation given by the spirit at the moment that the receiver of the information believes this spiritual concept. It is commonly accepted that no receiver of this information can become a believer of this information without the revelation and conviction of the Holy Spirit. It is by the Spirit that we become believers.
However, where did this concept originate from? Has it not always been passed from person to person in the physical?
Has it always been an essentially physical concept lacking any spirituality save for the spiritual revelation given at the moment of belief?
The concept of salvation must have been given by revelation at it's origin. Whether it be the revelation given by Jesus Christ as revealed to him by the Holy Spirit or the revelation of the salvific messiah to some prophet or patriarch as given to them by the Holy Spirit, the revelation must have been originally instigated by God in the spiritual realm.
But what about concepts that teach us of God and which are seem to be clearly essentially physical concepts? For example, "God is the great provider."? Surely this is a physical concept learned in the physical realm and taught and learned solely in the physical realm and yet is it not an enhancement to our spiritual knowledge of God?
Well, how do you know that it is God who is the provider? Most people in western society, see themselves as the provider. They are the workers and the provision comes from their wages. They do not give thanks at the supper table. The only people they have to thank are themselves for their hard work or, perhaps, their employer for the provision of a job.
However it has long been the understanding of christians and Jews that any provision of any good thing comes from God himself.
One of the earliest records of man believing this concept is Job in about 2400BC. In Job 38:41 God himself shares with Job that it is He Himself who provides the raven with food. This is the direct revelation of God rgarding the concept of the providence of the Almighty God. It is from this revelation or perhaps a revelation earlier than this and yet undoubtedly similar that this concept has been passed down from generation to generation.
Everything we know about God, everything that expresses the truth of God and everything that educates us as to the nature of God, although passed on from man to man, must originally have been the direct revelation of God to man.
I feel it is good to remeber this. Maybe as a disciple of Jesus I seek out the most mature and most educated Christians in order to obtain revelations of God's nature. Maybe I only trust the concepts taught by great theologians or by tutors, lecturers, preachers, vicars, pastors or priests. Maybe I am too quick to disregard young christians and too quick to blindly accept concepts taught by mature Christians. Maybe I do not take enough time to search God's word for direct revelation from Himself.
Let us not be deceived.
I believe there is a certain credibility that accompanies the teaching of a mature Christian and a certain trust that may be given to one in whom dwells the richness of researched theology. But may we seek to see that the sweetness of any concept comes from the sweetness of the revelation of the Holy Spirit and not necessarily the sweetness of the vessel in whom the treasure has been deposited.
