T(r)oy's Marbles
4. knowing God's will
Dear C---,
We’ve proposed an "ancient" epistemology as our foundation. Specifically, I’ve proposed that the basis of knowing God’s heart for us is composed of equal parts revelation and faith. Yesterday we noted the idea that this is the language of relationship and, more specifically, we noted that it does take faith to accept this foundation. Today, we’re going to look at the first two of a series of considerations regarding the “how” part of this question. Since our knowledge is dependant on God’s revelation, we need to ask ourselves: “Okay, so how does God reveal himself to us?”
This is to say: God will often use a variety of ways to “get through to us”. That’s because, like I said yesterday, we can be fairly “slow to learn” sometimes. And, since God is infinitely patient with us, he just keeps trying all sorts of means to help us see.
Let it also be noted that the following (concerning the question of “how” God reveals himself to us) is not intended to be a “check-list” or a “step-by-step formula.” What follows may best be received as mere observations, noted for a very practical purpose: it is my conviction that, if we are familiar with even a handful of the ways we can discern God’s will, we will be more capable of recognizing the hand of God at work in our lives. Consider these as “guideposts” that help light the way for us.
Okay, let’s dig in now. The first “guidepost”:
For starters, God reveals himself to us through the Bible. The Psalmist reminds us: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” The Bible helps us know some things for certain: we should not commit adultery, we should not steal, we should not lie.
(What’s interesting to me about this is the amount of energy Immanuel Kant spent on establishing such “categorical imperatives”. Because he did not accept the a priori authority of the Bible, he had to go to great lengths to prove that we could take such basics as “thou shalt not lie” and “thou shalt not steal” as universally applicable moral foundations. This is because he did not accept the epistemological foundation of revelation and faith. Because of that, he had to find some other foundation. And today we have discovered: there is no foundation apart from revelation and faith! So, take a lesson from history: start with the Bible when you’re asking what God’s will is for humanity. And then, choose to believe that it is God’s revelation.)
We also find other “guiding” principles in the Bible, besides those very obvious commandments mentioned above. What I’m speaking of here are things like: we should be kind and gentle. We should not be lustful or greedy. We should forgive. We should care for the poor.
This is to say: we live in a culture where it may be regarded as a "no-brainer" to refrain from things like murder, adultery, theft and perjury, but it still remains to be established whether or not we should forgive (and even bless!) our enemies. It still remains to be established whether or not it is okay to entertain lustful thoughts towards another person while remaining married to someone else: “I can go window shopping as long as I don’t buy” the expression goes. But, should one entertain lust, even if one never acts upon it? Jesus tells us no. Jesus tells us to look at the heart and deal with our sin on a heart level.
This is counter-cultural. If you were to conduct a survey about these issues, you would discover, thankfully, a general consensus regarding murder and theft; but, ask those same people what to do about lust and I’m convinced we would discover a wide degree of variance in the responses. But the Bible is unequivocal on even this matter. We know we shouldn’t lust because God has told us so in the words of Jesus. Now, will we trust God’s Word as revealed to us in the person of Jesus (and written down by his closest followers)?
Yes, it takes a lot of faith to believe God reveals himself to us in the Bible, but this is essentially what God is asking us to do because it is how he has chosen to reveal himself to us.
Now: because it is sometimes unclear how to interpret the Bible, God has given us another means by which we can know his will. And this is the purpose on which the apostles in the New Testament focused their energy: making plain God’s will, God’s heart.
Earlier, I cited some verses in I John, where the apostle mentioned that God had revealed himself to us in concrete terms: we have seen, our ears have heard, our hands have touched. Did you catch the other phrase he used repeatedly? “And we proclaim”. In other words, John felt it was his job to proclaim, to draw attention to, the revelation of God.
The apostle Paul says a similar thing in Ephesians. In explaining his purpose in ministry, he cites the idea that he’s there to “make plain” God’s will to others. Read:
“Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets…
“I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”
Did you catch what Paul was about? He felt that it was his job “to preach”, “to make plain”, “to make known” the wisdom of God. That’s his job as an apostle and a teacher: to help people understand the will of God. It’s not that people can’t ascertain the will of God by themselves; it’s simply that Paul views himself here as a servant: he just wants to help, to be of assistance in this endeavor.
In Colossians, he repeats this idea:
“I have become [the church’s] servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.”
Paul viewed it as his job to “present the word of God (the revelation of God) in its fullness.” This involved “admonishment” and “teaching”. And this is precisely what he put all his labor and energy towards.
Okay, enough “beating around the bush”: at the very least, in the same way that Paul served Christians in the ancient church through helping them understand God’s will and purposes, your pastor or other Christian teachers or a Christian with the gift of discernment in our present day can help you determine God’s will. This is, of course, providing they are truly in tune with God. And, of course, this requires a certain measure of faith and trust, too. (Scary, isn’t it?) But, the fact remains: when you seek the counsel of the saints you can be that much surer of God’s will. It is not a “solo cure” kind of thing, but it does help.
Along with this, the Bible tells us some other ways God chooses to reveal his will to us. But that’s enough for today, I think. We’ll look at some of these other items tomorrow.
Until then,
Troy
Click here to read part 5 of Discerning God's Will.
teachings | Comments (0) | October 05, 2006