| The
Manifest Presence of God - Part 6
Walter Beuttler
Thus
says the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither
let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory
in his riches: But let him that glories glory in this, that he understands
and knows Me, that I am the LORD which exercise loving kindness,
judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I
delight, says the LORD. Jeremiah 9:23-24
God
is infinite, but we are finite.
Therefore, we cannot fully know or comprehend God. But in many of His ways, the Lord desires
to be both known and understood.
The
secret things belong to the Lord our God: but those things which
are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we
may do all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29:29
There
are two areas of knowledge concerning God; the things which are
secret, which are known only to Him, and those things that
are revealed, which can be discovered only under certain
conditions.
The
Godhead is an example of the secret things, which belong to God. The Lord has never revealed how He can
be three, yet only one at the same time.
We may attempt illustrations, but none are satisfactory. Also, the fact that God has everlastingly
existed without having a beginning is beyond our ability to comprehend.
The
Lord placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and told them that
they could freely eat the fruit of all the trees, except one particular
tree. Man is spoken of as being a free-moral
agent, able to do as he wills.
However, the Word of God does not indicate the absolute freedom
of man. Rather, man
is limited, Of all these things ye may freely eat, BUT.
In
the original intention, the freedom of man as a free moral agent
was circumscribed; he was not totally free, rather he was limited
as he had been created to be dependent.
You may go outside the circle of My will if you so choose,
but if you do, such and such will take place.
Therefore, man's freedom was relative rather than absolute.
Adam
and Eve were under duress.
If they went beyond the freedom given them, there was a resultant
consequence. Also, the Lord has placed a limit on our
knowledge of good. If
we, with intellectual curiosity seek to go beyond the circle of
Divine revelation, and attempt to press into things, which God has
not revealed, we will get into trouble.
For
instance, our pursuing the origin of sin- we may trace it back to
Satan and find that there was pride in his heart.
But what originated this pride?
God must have created the capacity, or given consent that
pride could develop in Satan's heart.
If
we press this kind of rationale, we will find, before we become
aware of it, that a question is raised concerning the holiness and
integrity of God. We have placed the Lord in the position
of being a defendant, with our being the prosecutor. This will result in infidelity, and in
time, our rejection of God.
All this may happen because we are pressing beyond the limits
of that which belongs unto us.
In
their curiosity, some Bible teachers have attempted to press beyond
the limits of Divine restraint, and intrude into the things, which
God has kept from man. For
instance, how God deals with those who have never heard the Gospel. Many false and destructive doctrines have
developed in this very way.
And
the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden
you may freely eat But of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof
you shall surely die. Genesis 2:16-17
Some
years ago, I visited a particular lady.
I kept ringing the doorbell, as I knew she was always at
home. Finally she answered and said, Please
excuse me, as it took a long time for me to find the will of God
as to whether I should open the door to you or not.
She
said, I believe in being spiritual, and I do nothing without first
asking God. I ask Him
about all my personal affairs, and even about what I should wear. This goes beyond the intention of God,
as He has given us latitude - of every tree ... you may freely eat,
but...
We
do not need to ask the Lord concerning which dress, suit, or shoes,
we wear. There are
many things in the area of our daily lives in which the Lord has
given us the sense and wisdom to simply make our own choice, but
there is a limit - But. Here, God established this limitation.
God
can be adequately understood within the sphere of those things,
which belong to us. We
must learn to respect the silence of God, and when God does not
wish to explain, we should be content.
God
shares some of His secrets with some of His people, but not everything
with everyone.
We
tell certain secrets to our friends, but the older we become, the
less we tell, because we have learned.
God is very judicious, but He does share secrets with some.
And
the LORD said, shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do. Genesis 18:17
The
Lord shared with Abraham the fact that He was about to destroy Sodom
and Gomorrah.
The
secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and he will show
them His covenant. Psalm 25:14
One
year, I was speaking to a group of ministers in an old castle in
the Pyrenees Mountain area of France and mentioned this verse. One minister said to me, Do you know that
in the French Bible, this reads, the intimate communion of the
Lord is with them that fear Him.
This
fear speaks of a reverential respect.
Thus, our attainment of an intimate knowledge of God involves
our relationship to Him. In
Matthew 11:25, the attitude, which will bring us into this intimate
knowledge, is given.
At
that time Jesus answered and said, I thank You, O Father, Lord of
heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the
wise and prudent, and have revealed them to babes.
We
must set aside our intellect and submit to the activity of the Holy
Spirit in order to receive the understanding of His ways.
That
the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give
to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.
The
eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know
what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory
of His inheritance in the saints.
And
what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe,
according to the working of His mighty power. Ephesians 1:17-19
To
receive the knowledge of God involves our having esteem for, and
placing great value upon the knowledge of God.
For instance, in Proverbs 2:4,
If
you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures.
Most
all of the choicest things of God lie beneath the surface, and they
must be searched out. These
are not for the lukewarm, or the half-hearted, but for those who
are earnest and have a heart appreciation of these things, and who
demonstrate this by going after them with effort.
Some
things are not obtainable without our contending to succeed, as
in an obstacle course. For
instance, Moses put the tent of the Tabernacle afar off.
And
Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it outside the camp, afar
off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which
sought the Lord went out to the Tabernacle of the congregation,
which was outside the camp. Exodus 33:7
Moses
did not make it easy or convenient, rather, he put it out-of-the-way
so it would take an effort to enter.
Those who truly sought the Lord gladly made the effort. This was in fact a way of separating the
wheat from the chaff, the earnest from the indifferent. The Lord has a way of separating people.
One
time I attended a service where the pastor understood the ways of
God. When the altar service would begin, he
would sit on the platform and do nothing for a considerable time,
until many had left. Then
he would begin to minister to those who were sincere in their seeking
of the Lord, and, there were remarkable results.
Later,
I asked him why he waited so long.
He responded, I wait until I know that only those who are
truly seeking the Lord are present.
He knew that the earnest would stay, and the half-hearted
would leave after a short time.
The
Lord not only has a way of testing our earnestness, but He assesses
us from the effort that we are willing to make.
Only then will He begin to share the secrets of His presence. |
