“…And behold, a voice out of the cloud which said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him.” Matthew 17:5
Dear Ones:
There are a lot of things that we will never know about God, and the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, the farther we walk with and before Him, the more we realize that our knowledge of Him is so very small. Because of our physical, mental, and even spiritual limitations, we are apt to forget many things with regard to the Lord. But there are some things that we must never forget, but hold them very close to and in our hearts. These are truths upon which true faith is founded, and according to which God WILL meet and reveal Himself to our hearts.
The first is the singularity of God. From the beginning of the Scriptures, the Lord is declaring that He is the ONLY God, the true and living God. With regard to us, the Lord Jesus declares in John 17:3: “And this is eternal life, that they might know Thee, the ONLY TRUE GOD, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” To always begin with the foundation of this truth, both in our pursuit and fellowship with God, is to be sure that our feet are on the unchanging rock of eternal truth. This single truth excludes all consideration of “other” gods, whether they be creations of the imaginations of men, or the contrivances of the enemy, seeking to deceive us by “lying wonders,” false and twisted concepts of God.
The second truth that we must never let go of is that God speaks, not only to humanity as a whole, but to the heart, mind, and soul, of the individual. His call is ever one of faith, seeking to bring us to true faith in Him and in Him alone, according to His word. You might ask, “How does He speak?” Beyond the constant “speaking” through His works, the creation and the Cross, He speaks primarily through His word, and through circumstances. When Jesus was on the mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John, the Father spoke in very clear terms about who Jesus was, “My beloved Son.” He then spoke to the disciples concerning their faith, and the application of that faith: “HEAR YE HIM.” In speaking to the multitudes, and to the disciples, Jesus would often use the phrase: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” The issue is NOT if Jesus speaks to us or not, but rather, are we listening? Are we specifically trusting Him, by the Spirit, to speak to us through His word?
The third truth that we must never forget is that the whole of the gospel, and the revelation of God, and Christ, in the Scriptures, has for its goal to bring us to the experiential knowledge and fact of His Life, eternal Life, and His power. Peter’s declaration to the Lord is so apt here: “Lord, to whom shall we go; YOU have the words of eternal life.” This is the issue, living NOW this Life by the Spirit, the Spirit who IS eternal, for the glory of God.
God has revealed Himself to us in Christ, that we might understand that He IS the way, the only way, by which we can know Him. Secondly, He ever speaks to those who are truly listening, and who are earnestly seeking HIM in the Scriptures. And thirdly, the revelation and the speaking have for their objective to bring us to the knowledge and experience of His LIFE by the Spirit. Simply put, we are called to KNOW Him, and to make Him known.
Dear Father, speak to us this day. Visit us by Thy Spirit, enabling us to hear Thee through Thy word. Strengthen us to believe Thee with all the heart. Then we shall truly know Thee by the gift and power of Thy Spirit. We praise and thank Thee, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad