A PIECE OF GOD'S MIND
by Ivan Maddox
How did we get the Bible?
2 Timothy 3:16
3:16 All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Galatians 1:11-12.
1:11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not
after man.
1:12 For I
neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of
Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:20-21.
1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation.
1:21 For
the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
The scripture was "received by inspiration of God,"
or "God-breathed." It came
into being when "holy men of God spake as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost." The
books of the New Testament, in particular, were received from God by means of
Jesus Christ, who is the head of all things to the Church. In short, we received the written word of God
by revelation from God, that is, by God revealing His word to men.
What does receiving something by revelation from God mean? In I Corinthians 12 we are given a list of the
manifestation of the spirit.
1Corinthians 12:7-11.
12:7 But the manifestation of the
Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
12:8 For
to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of
knowledge by the same Spirit;
12:9 To
another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same
Spirit;
12:10 To
another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of
spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of
tongues:
12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every
man severally as he will.
Of these nine manifestations, or evidences, of the spirit,
three have to do with revelation, or receiving information from God independent
of your senses. These are Word of
Knowledge, Word of Wisdom, and Discerning of Spirits. Revelation from God enables us to receive
information directly from God, and thus to know things that it would be
impossible for us to know by our senses. And revelation from God is one hundred percent
accurate, one hundred percent of the time.
What are these revelation manifestations?
Word of Knowledge is information received directly from God
concerning things about which it is impossible for us to know anything by our
senses. Word of Wisdom is practical
direction from God instructing us in what to do in a given situation. It is God's solution to a given problem. Discerning of spirits is information from God
concerning what is going on in the spirit realm, and what to do about it.
Which of the revelation manifestations were used in the
writing of God's Word? All three of
them! That means that the whole Bible,
from Genesis to Revelation, consists of revelation from God, and is a
combination of Word of Knowledge, Word of Wisdom, and Discerning of Spirits.
In practical terms, the implications of this are astounding.
This means that we never have to wait to
receive revelation from God. By means of
His provision through the writers of His Word, we have "revelation on tap,"
or "revelation on demand." Any
time we want to hear directly from God, all we have to do is open up His book
and hear Him speak!
This means also that the Christian's PRIMARY source for
revelation is NOT to be the spirit of God, but rather the written Word of God. Our primary source for Word of Knowledge, Word
of Wisdom, and Discerning of Spirits is to be scripture. Any information we receive by the spirit is
only supplemental to that, and must be judged by our foundational revelation
from God, the written Word.
Where is Word of Knowledge in the Bible? Everything we know about the past in the
category of the senses realm from the Bible, and everything we know about the
future, is by means of Word of Knowledge. We know about the creation of the heavens and
the earth by Word of Knowledge. We know
about the fall of man by Word of Knowledge. We know about the flood of Noah by Word of
Knowledge. We know about Abraham and
Moses and David and the history of
What about Word of Wisdom in the Bible? Every time the Bible instructs us in how to
live, we are receiving Word of Wisdom from it. We know about what is right and wrong by means
of Word of Wisdom. We know how God
designed life to work -- what works and what doesn't -- by means of Word of
Wisdom. We learn how to handle ourselves
in difficult situations, what to do when it seems God is nowhere to be found,
how to comfort others, how to love when we don't feel like loving, by means of
Word of Wisdom. We learn how to walk in
the spirit by means of Word of Wisdom. We
learn how to grow up in Christ by means of Word of Wisdom. We learn how to be born again, how to teach
God's Word, how to please God, by means of Word of Wisdom.
And what about Discerning of Spirits? Where is this in the Bible? Everything we know about God Himself, we know
by means of Discerning of Spirits. Everything
we know about God's attributes and character, everything we know about God's
will, we know by means of Discerning of Spirits. Everything we know about the devil and his
kingdom, we know by Discerning of Spirits. Everything we know about angels and their
service, we know by means of Discerning of Spirits. Everything we know about people's hearts,
people's motives, people's character in the Bible, we know by means of
Discerning of Spirits. Everything we
know about how to tell who is of God and who is not, we know by means of
Discerning of Spirits.
From this it should be evident that Word of Knowledge, Word
of Wisdom and Discerning of Spirits are not separate and discrete entities. They are intermingled so tightly in the
written Word that it is almost impossible to separate them. They are different manifestations, not because
there is any difference in how they are received, but only because their
content is different.
In Isaiah 55 God says something very important about His way
of thinking that we tend to misunderstand.
Isaiah 55:6-9.
55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may
be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
55:7 Let
the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him
return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he
will abundantly pardon.
55:8 For
my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
55:9 For
as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
We tend to read this passage, especially verses 8 and 9, as
if God had said, "East is east and west is west, and never the twain shall
meet." But that's not the meaning
of what He said here.
God is putting us on notice here that He doesn't think like
we think. His way of thinking is alien
to us. More important, God's way of
thinking is right. Ours is wrong. The way God sees things is the way they really
are. The way God wants things done
happens to be the only right way of doing things. God wants us to come around to His way of
thinking.
Fortunately for us, God has not left us without a means of
doing this. God's remedy is His Word. God's Word is a man-sized piece of God's mind,
perfectly suited for the human brain.
Isaiah 55:10-11.
55:10 For
as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth
not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the
sower, and bread to the eater:
55:11 So
shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it
shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and
it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
God's Word can come to us in several different ways. To those who have the spirit of God, God can
speak directly by means of Word of Knowledge, Word of Wisdom, and Discerning of
Spirits. God can speak to a person by
means of situations and circumstances. God speaks VOLUMES to us by means of His
Written Word. And in the fullness of
time, God spoke to us in a unique and vivid way by means of the life, works,
character, words, death, resurrection and present ministry of Jesus Christ, who
was God's Word, God's mind, God's heart lived out and demonstrated in the flesh
in real-life, everyday situations.
God's desire is that we let His Word dwell in us richly, to
the end that we change the way we look at things, and thus change the way we
live our lives. The scripture refers to
this process as "putting on the mind of Christ."
Romans 13:14.
13:14 But
put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
What is the Bible? The
Bible is God speaking directly to you right now. The Bible is instant revelation from heaven. It is God's will on paper. We have a gold mine of revelation from God
right here in our hands that most of us have not even begun to dig into.
Do you need to hear a word from the Lord right now? Read the book! Do you need to know God's will in a particular
area of your life? Read the book! If that specific area is covered right there
in black and white, that was your answer!
The temptation today for people who want the deeper things
of God is to seek after direct revelation from God, whether by means of the
manifestation of the spirit, or by prophets, or by angels, or by other
supernatural phenomena. But our starting
point and our standard source for hearing from God must always be the written
Word of God. This is the revelation that
all men can receive equally, and against which all other revelation must be
checked and judged.
It is from the written Word of God that we learn what God's mind and God's heart look like. It is by means of the written Word that we learn to recognize God's voice, and to distinguish it from the voice of an impostor. As we read God's Word, and as we become doers of the Word and not hearers only, we will find ourselves thinking more and more like God and like His son Jesus Christ.