THE CENTRALITY OF THE WORD OF GOD It is unfortunate that so much of the religion of our day is characterized by a marked absence of intelligence. Some are teaching that God overwhelms us in a mighty display of power. The Holy Spirit is said to "slay" people, knock them unconscious, and lead them in strange and unexplainable ways. God is perceived as mysterious, and His workings beyond comprehension. Salvation is viewed as a once-for-all transaction, initiated and guaranteed forever by a single response of man to the gospel. It is thought to be strangely maintained by God in spite of man's waywardness. These views, however, are mythical, not truthful. Tomorrow:
"I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for THOU HAST MAGNIFIED THY WORD ABOVE ALL THY NAME." (Psa 138:2) ". . . for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!" (Amplified Bible)
Devotion 9 of 30
Man, made in God's image, is an intelligent creation. As a consequence, he is a personality, capable of intimacy with the ultimate personality – the living God. Actually, it is impossible for an intelligent God and an intelligent creation to have fellowship unintelligently. Where there is no comprehension, there is no involvement. Where there is no understanding, there is no fellowship. Where there is no discernment, there is no walk with God.
The "knowledge of God" is intelligence in its highest form. This "knowledge" is the means through which man becomes identified with God. It is "through the knowledge of Him" that we receive "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Pet. 1:3). "Grace and peace are multipled unto us "through the knowledge of God" (2 Pet. 1:2). Our escape from "the pollutions of the world" is accomplished through "the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 2:20).
THE WEAKNESS OF MERE EXPERIENCE
The kingdom of God does not exclude experience. Experience is the affectation of our persons by heavenly influence. It extends beyond sensation, and is intensely personal. Moses went up into the mount, and there confronted God Almighty (Exod. 19:20). That was an experience. Naaman the leper was cleansed from leprosy (2 Kgs. 5:1-27). That was an experience. Saul of Tarsus saw a great light from heaven, and was blinded by it (Acts 9:3-8). That was an experience. The two on the road to Emmaus walked with Jesus, and heard Him open up the scriptures to them (Luke 24:13-31). That was an experience.
There are people earnestly seeking for something to happen to them – a religious experience. They want to see an external display of Divine power, sense in their bodies a moving of the Spirit, and have personal pledges of heavenly support. But mere experience cannot sustain men for long. The impact is generally short-lived. If the effects of experience remain for a prolonged period, it is because the thought processes have become involved.
That is what happened to Peter when he saw a net let down from heaven. That was an extraordinary experience. God was teaching him concerning the acceptability of the Gentiles. A decade had passed since Pentecost, and the preaching of the gospel was still confined to the Jewish community. Surely the vision of the net containing "all manner of four footed beasts of the earth and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air" would get the point across. The vision was even attended by words: "Rise, Peter, kill and eat." Three times the net was lowered, three times the words were spoken. Three times an explanation was given; "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common" (Acts 10:12-16).
The benefit, however, was not realized until "Peter thought on the vision" (Acts 10:19). There is where Peter became involved – not at the point of the experience, but at the point of the involvement of his mind. In this historical example, God has provided us with insight into the nature of Divine fellowship. It is not, nor has it ever been, based upon experience. It is, rather, based upon perception. Further, the highest form of perception is faith (Heb. 11:3), the means by which every Divine benefit is received, and Divine fellowship realized.
SOME FINAL THOUGHTS
God has a purpose, and it has been revealed in Christ – both in His person, and in His word. That communication has been addressed to the mind of man, and requires the thoughtful involvement of man. To be averse to thought is to forfeit knowledge of the truth. To be ignorant of God is to be alienated from Him (Eph 4:18). There can be no comprehension of God's will apart from an understanding of His word. That apprehension is not administered through intuition, mere experience, or philosophical probings. It comes where there is extended thought, mingled with faith, which produces perception, discernment, and comprehension.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You that salvation involves both the heart and mind of those participating in it.