John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
The doctrine of the inability of the human mind and the need for divine illumination is so fully developed in the New Testament that it is nothing short of astonishing that we should have gone so far astray about the whole thing. Fundamentalism has stood aloof from the Liberal in self-conscious superiority and has on its own part fallen into error, the error of textualism, which is simply orthodoxy without the Holy Ghost. Everywhere among Conservatives we find persons who are Bible-taught but not Spirit-taught. They conceive truth to be something which they can grasp with the mind. If a man hold to the fundamentals of the Christian faith he is thought to possess divine truth. But it does not follow. There is no truth apart from the Spirit. The most brilliant intellect may be imbecilic when confronted with the mysteries of God. For a man to understand revealed truth requires an act of God equal to the original act which inspired the text.
“Except it be given him from heaven.” Here is the other side of the truth; here is hope for all, for these words do certainly mean that there is such a thing as a gift of knowing, a gift that comes from heaven. Christ taught His disciples to expect of the coming of the Spirit of Truth who would teach them all things. He explained Peter’s knowledge of His Saviourhood as being a direct revelation from the Father in heaven. And in one of His prayers He said, “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” By “wise and prudent” our Lord meant not Greek philosophers but Jewish Bible students and teachers of the Law.
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The inward kernel of truth has the same configuration as the outward shell. The mind can grasp the shell but only the Spirit of God can lay hold of the internal essence. Our great error has been that we have trusted to the shell and have believed we were sound in the faith because we were able to explain the external shape of truth as found in the letter of the Word. From this mortal error Fundamentalism is slowly dying. We have forgotten that the essence of spiritual truth cannot come to the one who knows the external shell of truth unless there is first a miraculous operation of the Spirit within the heart. Those overtones of religious delight which accompany truth when the Spirit illuminates it are all but missing from the Church today. Those transporting glimpses of the Celestial Country are few and dim; the fragrance of “Sharon’s dewy Rose” is hardly discernible. Consequently we have been forced to look elsewhere for our delights and we have found them in the dubious artistry of converted opera singers or the tinkling melodies of odd and curious musical arrangements. We have tried to secure spiritual pleasures by working upon fleshly emotions and whipping up synthetic feelings by mean wholly carnal. And the total effect has been evil.
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We need to re-examine the whole thing. We need to learn that truth consists not in correct doctrine, but in correct doctrine plus the inward enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. We must declare again the mystery of wisdom from above. A re-preachment of this vital truth could result in a fresh breath from God upon a stale and suffocating orthodoxy.
Tozer, A.W. The Divine Conquest. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company. 78-84.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, brother, this is something every Christian today must ponder on. It is so hard to maintain that spirituality, especially for those who really dig deep into the books and study the Scriptures. There is indeed a fine line between being Bible-taught and Spirit-taught that if unchecked, can easily be crossed.
In this day and age, it is tempting to grandstand and just forget about the very reason for knowing and being given the gift of knowledge in the first place, it is so easy to fall and just know, but not live what we know.
Thanks, Bro, for another thought-provoking post. There goes another book under my wish list. Yay, so many to read, so little time.
@ Zhey Chua:
You’re welcome, sis. I read this chapter and just went “wow! what a lesson I needed to learn!”. That said, I was also pondering that there are those who might take the “Spirit-taught” thing a little too far as well, yet their spirit might not be the Spirit that Christ promised, and they fall into the error of elevating feelings above Scripture. The reverse will just make us “clanging cymbals”.
A balance needs to be realized, but that wisdom comes not by our own effort, and we should desire it.
That makes two of us.
“True spirituality rests on the whole written word, applied to the soul by the Holy Spirit as the only infallible interpreter of its far-reaching spirituality.” Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
I was very blessed by this post Brother Isaiah
I completely agree with you. Those who rely on their own logic and capabilities will, in fact, find themselves in a dark, dark place (metaphorically). Only through the touch and a true experience through the Holy Spirit do I find it possible for one to be truly enlightened in regards to the truth of our Jesus Christ.
I have recently finished reading The Lost Letters of Pergamum: A Story from the New Testament World by Bruce W. Longenecker, and Ben Witherington. Using the style of correspondent letters, as seen especially in the New Testament, the authors paint a picture of how things were during Jesus’ times. This book, though fictional, was written by a Biblical scholar who weaves into his story much historical information. The letters are mainly between a person mentioned once in the Bible in Revelations called Herod Antipas and Luke.
Although the Antipas and Luke initially begin to share stories between each other in a completely Aristotelean and philosophic manner, relying mostly on their intellect, Luke introduces Antipas to a new omnipresent, omnibenevolent, omniscient God, completely different to the gods he had worshiped (i.e. Zeus, etc).
The story was very touching, and through correspondence through Luke, and eventually joining a “Bible Study Group” of sorts, Antipas eventually becomes the martyr he is revealed to be in Revelations 2:13 as he defends a fellow Christian.
Highly recommend the book Brother Isaiah!
Best,
BK