Unction from the Holy One
THE SOMEWHAT ODD-SOUNDING TITLE simply means instructions from God--a phrase drawn from the KJV rendering of 1 John 2:20.
Every believer understands that to know God is the highest and best form of
knowledge; and this spiritual knowledge is a source of strength to the
Christian. It strengthens his faith. Believers are constantly spoken of in the
Scriptures as being persons who are enlightened and taught of the Lord; they
are said to "have an unction from the Holy One," (1John 2:20 KJV) and it
is the Spirit's peculiar office to lead them into all truth, and all this for
the increase and the fostering of their faith. You can become personally
acquainted with Christ and become a loyal, trust-worthy follower.
Knowledge strengthens love, as well as
faith. You cannot love the one you barely knew. Knowledge opens the door, and then
through that door, we see our Saviour. We cannot love a Christ whom we do not
know, at least, to some degree. If we know but little of the excellences of
Jesus, what he has done for us, and what he is doing now, we cannot love him
much; but the more we know him, the more we shall love him. ‘For this very reason”, says 2 Peter 1:5 “make every effort to add to your faith
goodness; and to goodness, knowledge’.
Knowledge also strengthens hope. How
can we hope for a thing if we do not know of its existence? Hope may be a telescope, but till we receive instruction, our ignorance stands in the front
of the glass, and we can see nothing whatever; knowledge removes the
interposing object, and when we look through the bright optic glass we discern
the glory to be revealed, and anticipate it with joyous confidence.
Knowledge supplies us with reasons for
patience. How shall we have patience unless we know something of the sympathy
of Christ, and understand the heavenly benefits our God in heaven has in store
us. Besides, there is not one single grace
of the Christian which, under God, will not be nurtured and developed to perfection by holy knowledge the Father exudes. How important, then, is it that
we should grow not only in grace but in the "knowledge" of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
“And
ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” said the Lord
(John 8:32). In John 8 (after Jesus
forgave and sent away the woman caught in adultery) there is a long discourse
between the Jews and
the Lord, and many Jews (those to whom
it
has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,) saw the truth in Jesus’ words and believed Him--the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot
receive because it does not see Him nor know Him. But you know Him, for He dwells with you and shall be in you (John 14:17). When the disciples
had asked Jesus “Why do You speak to the people in
parables?” Jesus
answered them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them, it has not
been granted (Mathew 10, 11)
.
Paul
pleads in Romans 10:14, 15 “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have
not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not
heard? And how shall they hear without preaching?” high-lighting the truth to know Him, first you have to be told about
Him! In verse 17 he says “So
faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ”.
Romans 11:34 "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or
who has been his counselor?" If it
were not for the fact that God reveals His thoughts to us we would know nothing
about them. God, however, does reveal things to us but He does not reveal
everything to us. God is under no obligation to reveal the fullness of what He
knows to us. Although the Bible reveals many things to us, it does not reveal
everything. The Bible leaves many of our questions unanswered. Further, when
God reveals personal things to us, plans for our future and the like, He does
not reveal the complete picture. Who can say that they know God's complete plan
for their life?
The renowned Bible scholar Mayer
says: “We may go a certain distance in the devout understanding of the ways of
God, but there is a point beyond which
we cannot advance, and as we gaze down into the profound abyss of the
divine dealings, we must cry, O the depth! (Romans 11:33). The origin, the
maintenance, and the ultimate end of creation, providence, and redemption is
God. To Him must be the glory! In other words, we shall find that the whole
story of sin, redemption, and salvation will unravel and reveal the nature of
God, as the prismatic band of colour of the sunlight”.
Given that God
transcends the creation, and given that the mind of God transcends the minds of
people, one can see why faith and trust are such major themes in the Bible.
Since we do not know all the answers, we must trust God. We must trust that
what He has revealed is true and we must trust that what He has not revealed is
in His hands. Colossians 2:3 says
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. They are
‘hidden’ that we may be drawn from His treasure according to His will. He knows
what we should know and when.
To pretend to know all or being desperate to know all the
answers will only result in frustration. Some preachers, in their desperation, to know more, or desiring to impress the listeners, try to “discover truths”
that are not there! The importance of dispersing true knowledge is emphasized
in Malachi 2:7 "For the lips of a priest ought to
preserve knowledge because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty and people
seek instruction from his mouth”. Believers trust their leaders to possess the right kind of knowledge. In Matthew 11:25, 26 Jesus said, "I praise You, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and
intelligent and have revealed them to
infants. "Yes, Father, for this
way was well-pleasing in Your sight”. We must keep this possibility in mind. He
further intimates us “no one knows the
Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him” (Matthew 11:27).
Take that sublime episode of the transfiguration of Jesus
for instance. At that time Jesus warned the disciples (only three of them were
in the know) not to tell anyone until after the resurrection. Mathew assigns
only seven verses to describe an incident which I consider to be one of the major milestones in the Lord’s life
on earth. The other synoptic gospels are also guarded and brief in their
description. As for John, he limits his report of the otherworldly experience
to only one line – “We gazed on His glory, the kind of glory that belongs to
the Father's unique Son, who is full of grace and truth” (John 1:14b). We will never know what exactly happened that
glorious day, or what the purpose of that remarkable display was. Peter was so
overwhelmed and in a trace. John was writing fifty years after the incidence! What
the three witnessed on the mountain was something no human eye has seen until
then or after that, but they never bragged about it.
Paul writes thus
in Philippians 3:7,
8 about knowing Christ:
“But
whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the
sake of Christ. More than that, I count
all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and
count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ. He prayed for them that their love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all
judgment (Phil. 1:9). To the
Ephesians he writes (1:18, 19) “Then, with
the eyes of your hearts enlightened, you will know the confidence that is
produced by God having called you, the rich glory that is his inheritance among
the saints, and the unlimited greatness
of his power for us who believe”.
In His famous
discussion with the Samaritan woman at the well side, Jesus tells the woman
three things about God and worship: 1) It is not important where we worship,
but how—that is in spirit and truth. 2) God is seeking those who worship Him 3)
We worship a God whom we know.
When Jesus healed the man born blind (John 9) and he
publicly claimed Jesus had opened his eyes, the people were sceptic and brought
him to the Pharisees. They spoke to his parents to verify if the man was really
born blind. Afterwards they subjected the ex-blind man to intense questioning twice
(and tried to make him change his testimony).
But he stuck to his guns and this was his ultimate statement: "I
don't know whether he is a sinner or not. The
one thing I do know is that I used to be blind and now I can see!" (John 9:25 ). Can there be any greater testimony to
comfort a world that is steeped in spiritual blindness, that it is Jesus alone
who can lead us into light?
The Book of Proverbs has a great deal to say about divine
knowledge and I give below a few samples:
·
9.10 The fear of
the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is
understanding
·
18:15 Intelligent
people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge
·
12:1 Whoever loves
discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.
·
19:2 Enthusiasm
without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes.
·
3:20 By his
knowledge the deep fountains of the earth burst forth, and the dew settles
beneath the night sky.
·
15:14 A wise person
is hungry for knowledge…
·
18:2 Choose my
instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will
guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7)
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