I love the Scriptures. I love the truth behind them even more. I love the person behind the truth even more. Study and research has value. I enjoy finding the patterns, the themes and the progression of thoughts in the Word. However, the most life-changing insights have not come as a result of these activities. There are some events that I can’t describe in any lesser terms than Divine encounters, in which God simply showed me something about Himself that forever changed who I was – or thought I was. It’s as if He by-passed all of my intellect, all of my emotion and all of my imagination and displayed an image of Himself to my spirit. This ‘impression’, for lack of an adequate word, could take days, months or even years before it connects with my natural mind in order for me to articulate it accurately. It’s as if my natural faculties have to race, to keep up with an injection of perception that happened in a part so deep within me, that it’s not immediately available to my mind. I have to draw it out as proverbs say: “Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; But a man of understanding will draw it out.” Once they do catch up … oh, what joy, what emotion, what understanding it brings. His counsel often starts at a level much deeper than our natural intellect. That why our love affair starts with “love the Lord with all your heart” and then moves on to “with all your mind”. There is a progression present here.
I think, actually I know, He does this (by-passing our faculties) purposely to avoid areas that can skew the vision He wants us to have. All of us are at different places in our thoughts and emotions, and we therefore interpret whatever we encounter differently. Our Father does not want to be misunderstood! And so He engineered a way of communication that could not be interfered with by our faculties. “But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”– these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. … which also we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, communicating spiritual things by spiritual means.” (1Co 2:9-10, 13) One translation reads, “combining spiritual things with spiritual words”.
These encounters with Father should shape our faith and theology – our theology should not dictate our encounter with Him!
Peter saw a vision that challenged everything he believed before (as recorded in Acts 10.) Just imagine what a conflict he faced when in this vision the Lord commands him to kill and eat what the scriptures specifically forbid! The vision contradicted the very scriptures he based his life upon. Not only does this change his views on food, as demonstrated later in chapter 15, but also how he views all people. Peter sums it up in these words: “But God has shown me not to call any man common or unclean.” This encounter was against Peter’s upbringing, even against the scriptures that were available to him! Yet, the authority of what he saw took precedence over all he had known before. And in the light of it, the scriptures started making more sense than ever before!
If you are concerned about my approach to scriptures please read ‘The Scriptures in Perspective’ and ‘Truth Preserved; Truth Revealed’
Imagine walking into a cinema half way through the screening of a film. It will take a while to work out the plot and understand the characters. So much has happened before you entered that it might not be possible for you to comprehend it fully. Life is like a massive movie, that we joined halfway through the screening. Except, in the current scene you are playing a leading role, and you did not miss only an hour!
We are part of a very, very big story. It began before creation, but the director had you in mind even then! The scope of this plot is so vast that it makes the few years of our lives on earth seem insignificant, but they are not. You are an essential part of the director’s plan; you are of irreplaceable value to Him.
Paul, seeing the enormity of God’s love plan, prays that we should be strengthened in order to comprehend its breadth and length and height and depth. We need supernatural strengthening to understand this love dream of the Father from whom every family derives its identity. To appreciate His eternal purpose we need a perspective that is much larger than our own lives. It is only from this perspective that we see the true meaning of our lives.
Romans 9 describe so beautifully the certainty of His purpose. It is not dependant on the good or bad that man does – He is not subject to our decisions. His purpose is solely dependant on His own decision and His own initiative:
And that’s not the only time. To Rebecca, also, a promise was made that took priority over genetics. When she became pregnant by our one-of-a-kind ancestor, Isaac, and her babies were still innocent in the womb–incapable of good or bad–she received a special assurance from God. What God did in this case made it perfectly plain that his purpose is not a hit-or-miss thing dependent on what we do or don’t do, but a sure thing determined by his decision, flowing steadily from his initiative. (Rom 9:10-11 MSG)
The fact that God is love and He is all-powerful, leads us to the obvious question of why there is so much suffering and evil present in this world. Again, having a broader perspective will go a long way in explaining this. How this plan began and how it will end, explains the middle. Unfortunately, because we are so close to the middle part, we often try to explain the beginning and the end from our small point of view. ‘… my judgement would be true because I wouldn’t make it out of the narrowness of my experience but in the largeness of the One who sent me, the Father.”(John 8:16 MSG)
Wow, we can learn so much from Jesus – don’t judge from the narrowness of your own experience but in the largeness of the Father!
Our Father is not at all worried about the end. Hear His promise: “Shall I intervene and pull them into life? Shall I snatch them from a certain death? Who is afraid of you, Death? Who cares about your threats, Tomb? In the end I’m abolishing regret, banishing sorrow,” Hosea 13:14
We’ll definitely have to look into Romans chapter 9,10 and 11 at another time. The conclusion is that what was perceived as God excluding the gentiles, turned out to be part of His plan to include them; what seemed to be His rejection of Israel, eventually results in their inclusion; what looked like God accepting Jacob and rejecting Esau, was part of a bigger plan to reconcile them to one another and to Him. Paul concludes his arguments with this all-inclusive summary: “For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.” Romans 11:32. What could be considered as a catastrophic failure – the fact that the overwhelming majority of the worlds population does not know Jesus Christ – will also be turned as surely as God has promised: “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” and again “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.” Isaiah 25:6-7 and again ” Then I heard every creature in Heaven and earth, in underworld and sea, join in, all voices in all places, singing: To the One on the Throne! To the Lamb! The blessing, the honour, the glory, the strength, For age after age after age.” Revelation 5:13
The end of this big love story is of a triumphant God, not of a defeated God who has to live with the knowledge that most of the ones whom He loves are separated from Him forever. The bigger plan, His eternal purpose, is to have mercy on all. And He is not just willing, but … unfortunately, not able. No! I exclaim with Paul: “Oh, how inexhaustible are God’s resources and God’s wisdom and God’s knowledge!” He is well able to accomplish all His purpose.
Yes, yes, yes!
I dance the dance of Truth in the Desert of the Real!
(shimmies off down the dunes with a new TentStake in her hand)
1. The Canon of the Scriptures was not complete when Peter saw the vision. The progression of revelation was still in the process of completion. We are in a different situation today. No revelation can be added to that which the apostles received (see Eph. 2:20).
2. Jesus taught the disciples explicitly that the Gentiles were included, but they were a bit slow to catch on. It is, therefore, not as if what Peter received was entirely new. I do agree that it was new in terms of the vision that he saw and the eating of unclean animals.
3. Peter was dispensationally in error, because he did not discern that that which was indeed God’s will at a certain time in the history of Israel was now fulfilled in Christ. We cannot be in that situation today, because we live in a time after the completion of the canon and the complete revelation of God’s will with regards to His church (Jew and Gentile included in one Body by virtue of the unity of the Spirit) has already been revealed. You have to compare apples with apples or else you will reach the wrong conclusions.
4. God confirmed to Peter that His vision was accurate when Peter experienced the inclusion of the Gentiles at the house of Cornelius. Hence there had to be a an objective confirmation of what he experienced.
5. The same Peter who received this vision had to be rebuked by Paul later in his life. The fact that he received a ‘revelation’ did not make him infallible in terms of the application of what he received.
6. I agree and disagree with your statement that encounter should determine theology. The main aim of theology is the objective testing of truth. Theology must test encounter, but should never restrict encounter to the point where it hinders that which God wants to reveal to us from the Scriptures.
7. Please do not misunderstand me; I am not saying that we cannot receive new light from the ancient Scriptures, but I am saying that we have to stick to the Bible’s own statements about the way we should arrive at truth. The Bible places a very high premium on systematic truth (‘doctrine’). It is impossible to read 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus and reach any other conclusion.
8. Even though Peter and Paul experienced divine encounters and revelations concerning God’s NT economy there was still a need for feedback from the Body of Christ, as witnessed in Acts 15.
Act 15:6 And the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.
9. This way of receiving new light (Peter in Acts 10) is not the norm, but the exception; especially in the context of what happened in the book of Acts. Both Peter and Paul had to have unusual experiences in order to ‘change their theology’, as it were.
10. The first meaning of 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 is in reference to revelation given to the apostles and secondarily of illumination given to saints on the basis of that which was revealed to the apostles. In Eph. 3 we are told in effect that we do not need to seek revelation, because Paul and the apostles already received all the revelation we need. The Word of God is complete! All we need is illumination and this comes by primarily by reading (Eph. 3:4), searching (Acts 17:11), studying (1 Tim. 2:15 ) and pondering the written revelation (Jas. 1:25) with a focus on Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2, Col. 3:16, Heb. 1:1-3). In Acts 2:42 it is clear that the early church fully submitted to the apostles’ doctrine and in Col. 4:6, 1 Thes. 5:27 and 1 Tim. 4:13, when there were written material on NT revelation available, believers were exhorted to focus on the written revelation.
Eph 3:3 how that by revelation was made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words,
4 whereby, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ;
Act 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Col 4:16 And when this epistle has been read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that you also read the epistle from Laodicea.
1Th 5:27 I adjure you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the brethren.
1Ti 4:13 Till I come, give heed to reading, to exhortation, to teaching.
Also consider:
Act 17:11 And these were more noble than those of Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily to see if those things were so.
Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them.
Job 23:12 I have not gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured up the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
Psa 119:99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies [are] my meditation.
A Few Questions to Consider:
1. Should one test a ‘revelation’ based on encounter, at all?
2. How do you know that your ‘revelation is in fact accurate?
3. What is the purpose of an objective, measurable standard of truth if it is not meant to test ‘revelation’, intuition, experience, etc.
4. Should we submit our ‘revelation’ to the rest of the Body of Christ if aspects of it is revolutionary and contrary to everything that is and has been taught by evangelical Christianity, including names like Andrew Murray, Watchman Nee, Austin Sparks, A.W. Tozer; deeper life teachers who undoubtedly experienced the reality of ‘revelation knowledge’. Should one be teachable and willing to submit your novel views in humility to other believers? Is it plain wrong to submit your ‘revelations’ to other believers for corporate discernment?
5. What is the difference between your approach to truth / knowing (epistemology) and that of the Roman Catholic Church with their doctrine of apostolic succession? In the current Apostles and Prophets Movement, for instance, there are hundreds of so called ‘apostles’ running around with various extra-biblical ‘revelations’.
6. Joseph Smith, Taze Russell, Mary Baker Eddy and various others all had ‘new revelations’ from the Scriptures and their ‘revelations’ led to what we know today as Mormonism, The Jehovah’s Witnesses and Christian Science respectively. Do you think they submitted their subjective ‘revelations’ to the objective standard of the Scriptures?
7. William Branham became a law unto himself because he did not want to submit his ‘revelations’ to the rest of the Body. He ended up calling himself the seventh angelic messenger to the Laodicean Church Age.
8. Oral Roberts saw a 900 foot Jesus who told him that he has a limited period of time to raise $8 million to build a medical center or else he would die (he definitely did not want his theology to interfere with his ‘encounter’). He subsequently shared this with his television audience and raised $9.1 million. Eight years later the medical center closed down. What is wrong with this picture?
9. Benny Hinn often speaks of his communication with the deceased Kathryn Kuhlman, in complete disregard of the Bible’s warnings against this practice [Deut. 18:2b (‘necromancy’)]. He believes, however, that this is an encounter sanctioned by God and refuses to test this encounter in the light of the written Word. What, would you say, is wrong with Benny’s approach to truth?
10. What is God’s way of protecting His children against the deceptions of the angel of light – satan (2 Cor. 11:14)? Do you think your article will help Christians with discernment or hinder them?
Jesus said to the Sadducees:
Mat 22:29 …You err, not knowing the Scriptures (systematic truth) nor the power of God (Holy Spirit illumination and experience).
It is not the one or the other, it is both and.
Albert
Andre, I love what you are saying here.
“Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; But a man of understanding will draw it out.â€
Tradition teaches mostly to fear drawing out our heart. It tells us only that our hearts are deceitfully wicked and we must come to them (traditional leaders) for revelation…not our hearts.
I read the linked earlier posts dealing with scripture and truth.
It is interesting that Jesus defined scripture as the psalms, the law & the prophets. Like you said, it is highly unlikely that any of the writings of the New Testament were ever thought of as scripture by their authors. To me the New Testament writings are commentaries on the fulfillment of scripture by the “Word became fleshâ€.
Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.â€
I have always wondered at how He transcends time, a mere product of His own creation and how, in Christ, He made a covenant not with us but with Himself, the “I amâ€, leaving us out of the solution for our miserable predicament and revealing that Love covers a multitude of sin….and not only covers it but removes it and the standard by which we judge it.
“don’t judge from the narrowness of your own experience but in the largeness of the Fatherâ€.
Wonderful statement. If the heaven of heavens cannot contain God, how can my pitiful experiences reveal Him. He is so much more than what any of us perceive from our own experience.
“The end of this big love story is of a triumphant God, not of a defeated God who has to live with the knowledge that most of the ones whom He loves are separated from Him forever. The bigger plan, His eternal purpose, is to have mercy on all. And He is not just willing, but … unfortunately, not able. No! I exclaim with Paul: “Oh, how inexhaustible are God’s resources and God’s wisdom and God’s knowledge!†He is well able to accomplish all His purpose.â€
Amen! Amen! Amen Andre!
I so relate to your writings and I am pleased that I have found them as you are so skilled at verbalizing what is in your heart….much better than I.
Thanks for sharing Christ with us.
I plan on linking to this post.
[...] Treat yourself by reading his “perpective”. [...]
Hi Steve,
Thank you for the encouragement. I know our paths have crossed for a purpose – so exciting to see what Father is doing,
Andre
Hi Albert,
I think you’ve missed the theme and purpose of this writing. I specifically placed references to articles that speaks about our attitude to scripture for the purpose of completeness. Based on your comments, I don’t think you’ve read them.
My purpose in pointing out the specific example of Peter is to emphasize the impact of the experience he had. There are other areas also where Paul quotes scripture and then blatantly contradics it! I’ll reserve that example for another time.
Suffice to say that my intention was to point out the reality and authority of encounter that they had with God and that such encounters are just as available to us.
It seems that the specific concern you have (and it’s not just you) is that this approach could lead some into spiritual experiences that are not scriptural. And that is possible. However, have you ever considered the outcome of the docmatic statements you made above? I have no doubt that you experience God beyond the confines of those statements, so this is not an attack on your relationship with Him, but a challenge to how you communicate it.
If you can read your comment again with this question: Does this inspire encounter with Father. Do these statements awaken love for God and His Truth. Does it introduce one to the liberty of friendship with Him, or does it restrict one’s encounter to the letter that kills? Admittedly, you did not write for that purpose, but rather to point out potential problems with what I wrote.
My point is this: I can encourage real spiritual encounter with Father, and risk that some will become vulnerable to deception.
The alternative is much more destructive! How many people are nutralised in lifeless religion. The ‘letter’ does kill.
To simply re-state the docmatic principels of ‘How to approach the Bible’ or how the ‘Canon’ of scriptures came to be etc…. will continue to produce a boring, religious, worthless and ultimately destructive ‘christian’ experience. Do you think that makes people any less vulnerable to deception? I don’t think so. I am confident that if one loves the truth, God will lead you into all truth.
One can turn the question around and say how do we differ from any of the religious leaders from the past who commited murder and other evil acts, yet their doctrine was as orthodox as it gets! I think the statement that we do not need to seek revelation because God has already shown the Apostles everything, is sad. Father does not desire a second hand relationship with us – just as ridicilous as it would be for me to communicate to my son via my daughter. I desire direct relationship with each of my children.
At the end we need to look beyond the mere words and understand one-anothers hearts. At that level I know we will come to appreciate that we have much more in common with one another than our different ways of communicating would suggest.
Your last statement shows how much we do have in common: “It is not the one or the other, it is both and.”
Andre
It is amazing how deep the water of a mans spirit is. I have so much to give but to always draw it out takes looking intently into that mirror that reflects our life as Christ’s. I belief a time will come that the earth that is in birth bangs even unto know will reveal the sons of God, it will be those that has discovered their true identity in Christ and even in the midst of contradiction will walk as a blue print of their original design which is Christ. It will be those that as Peter’s shadow fell over the cripple and was healed and delivered. So much can be said about the revealing of the sons of God that I cannot wait for that day that already is in us to be revealed.
Someone told me the other day about some course that he attended, it was a deliverance course that keeps on for months if not for years, my question is how long will the church still be ingaged with this kind of trash that leads to little if not to nothing. When will we discover the Christ in the letter and not the letter in the Christ. Nowhere do I read in scripture about long sessions of counselling and deliverance, I belief it is because we are still busy with the spiderweb but we need to kill the spider.
God help us as the church that we will get back to basics, Christ in you the hope of Glory!
Regards.
Chris.