Carl wrote:
>
> God desires everyone to know Him, but many people are too fightened to
do so
> and others are to prideful to allow themselves to do so. And that is a
shame
> for they are missing out on the joy and love God provides. Clark Tanner
> delves into this in this sermon.
>
> May God bless,
> Carl
> my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
> my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
>
> ---
>
> The Knowledge Of God
The knowledge of all the gods there have ever been
comes from the creative minds of frightened humans.
Period
> by Clark Tanner
>
> "For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus
which
> exists among you, and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving
> thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God
of
> our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of
> wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him."
>
> With verse 14 Paul has ended his lengthy and praise-filled salutation to
the
> Ephesians. The more I study the epistles of this man, the more I
understand
> and appreciate those who have been so drawn to him as a person, even
now,
> 2000 years after he walked this earth.
> Paul is so filled with Christ; so overflowing with the Holy Spirit in
power
> and love, that he can't even say 'hello' without bursting into a virtual
> song of wonder and praise.
>
> "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
> Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us
> with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ"... and
off
> he goes!
>
> I recently ran across a statistic compiled by a German scholar whose
name I
> can't pronounce. He determined that in Paul's 13 epistles, some very
short
> (Philemon is little more than a page long), he uses the term "In Christ"
or
> some form of it ~ "in Him", "in the Lord" ~ no less than 164 times! How
he
> loved to talk about Jesus!
>
> Here in the first chapter of Ephesians he spells out all these spiritual
> blessings God has lavished on us out of the kind intention of His will.
He
> tells us that the end, or the purpose of all this blessing is that we
should
> be to the praise of the Father's glory. Our calling, our hope, our
> forgiveness, our redemption, our inheritance, the gift of the Holy
Spirit in
> us, sealing us, preserving and protecting us as God's own possession.
>
> And it's im****tant to remind you of those things today as we continue,
> because Paul begins his next thought with "For this reason..."
>
> Due to the fact that God has blessed us with all these spiritual
blessings,
> and has sealed us unto Himself in the Holy Spirit in order to redeem us
to
> Himself as His own possession.. because He has done all this to make us
His
> (glory to His name)... "for this reason"...
> I, Paul, give thanks for you without ceasing, and I never forget to
mention
> you in my prayers, asking God to give this to you: the Spirit of wisdom
and
> revelation in the knowledge of Him.
>
> In other words, Paul is praying for the Ephesians the most im****tant
prayer
> any Believer can pray for another Believer. That God would take them
deeper
> and deeper into an intimate knowledge of Himself.
>
> Man's chief end is to know God and to enjoy Him forever, it was
determined
> in the Westminster Catechism; but Paul knew and taught that basic truth
long
> before.
>
> "...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give
to
> you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him".
>
> Now something that, I must admit, surprised me about the various
> translations I checked , is that only the NIV translates verse 17 to say
> "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, giving the word 'Spirit' a capital
S.
>
> The same Greek word is used for spirit throughout the New Testament,
whether
> referring to the Holy Spirit or the spirit of man. The application of it
is
> generally determined by the context. For example, chapter 1:13 uses the
term
> Holy Spirit and that makes it quite obvious. But over in chapter 2,
verse
> 18, when Paul says that we all have our access in one Spirit to the
Father,
> it is understood that he is referring to none other than the Holy
Spirit,
> the third Person of the trinity, as we know that it is His office to
bring
> us, draw us, to God.
>
> So looking closely at our text, verse 17, I have to assert that the
wording
> of it and what Paul is praying for the Ephesians is for something that
only
> the Holy Spirit of God can give.
> He is not praying for them to have an attitude, or a strength of
> determination, or any other thing that can be conjured up, mustered up
> within a man; he is praying and asking God for this particular thing
because
> he is praying for spiritual wisdom and revelation, that can only come
from
> God.
>
> Now does that mean he's praying for God to give them the Holy Spirit?
No. He's
> writing to believers. They have the Holy Spirit since their salvation.
What
> he is praying for simply, is the Holy Spirit's help and continued
unction in
> bringing to these faithful believers ever greater wisdom and revelation
in
> the knowledge of God.
>
> Christian, we spend a great deal of time closely examining Paul's
doctrine;
> debating the finer points and talking about how we should be living
> according to the truth of them.
>
> And of course I agree and consistently teach that Paul's aim was to
magnify
> Christ and to point us to Him, and it is Christ we need to study and
learn
> to know personally, and it is Christ who is our ultimate example in all
> things.
>
> But we could learn some things by looking at the example of the Apostle
Paul
> too.
>
> When was the last time you prayed for the spiritual growth and
well-being of
> another Christian? Oh, you may have prayed for your child. You may pray
> often for your child. Your child may give you very frequent cause to run
to
> your room and fall on your knees in prayer. And I hope you pray for your
> spouse. I believe there is a great deal of spiritual power in the prayer
of
> a husband for his wife and visa versa.
>
> But I wonder how many Christians, even among pastors of congregations of
> people, intercede for other believers ~ for believers everywhere ~ and
pray,
> not for things, not for health, not for help in specific, known
> cir***stances, ... but just that the Holy Spirit would give them wisdom
and
> revelation in the knowledge of the Father of glory.
>
> Since I've been studying this great epistle for this series, I have been
> moved to pray these things for you. On my morning walks I like to run
your
> faces past my mind's eye and pray for you by name. And if I know of any
> particular, present need, I mention that. But some things I can pray for
> each and every one and never have to wonder whether I am praying for a
> legitimate need or not. I can pray that the Lord will enlighten the eyes
of
> your heart, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what
are
> the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is
the
> surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe; and be
confident
> that I am praying aright. Because I'm praying the scriptures for you.
Can't
> go wrong there!
>
> I can pray that the Lord will give you an ever greater hunger for His
word,
> and that He will use your study to draw you ever closer to Himself, and
that
> as you grow in the grace and knowledge of Him you will be used of Him to
> illumine the world around you.
>
> These and many other things I can pray for you from the scriptures, and
I
> hope that you will pray the same for me. I don't care if you pray that
the
> Lord will give me physical comfort. I don't care if you pray that the
Lord
> will meet my financial needs or keep me safe from harm or illness.
>
> But I will be blessed beyond measure, if you will pray that the Lord
give me
> the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.
>
> You see believers, this is a great and wonderful privilege we have; to
pray
> this way for one another. Because no one outside of Christ can pray
this.
> When we pray this way, we're asking God to give us and give our fellow
> believers something that is only available to us who have the Holy
Spirit of
> God.
>
> Proverbs 9:10 declares, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom,
> and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
>
> Man in his natural mind cannot begin to comprehend God. In fact, one
basic
> truth that the scriptures teach us from beginning to end, is that apart
from
> the Spirit and spiritual birth, God is infinitely and eternally out of
man's
> grasp.
>
> Actually, the best commentary on Ephesians 1:17 to be found is I
Corinthians
> chapter 2.
>
> Listen to verses 6 thru 8 of that chapter:
> "Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however,
not
> of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we
> speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God
predestined
> before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of
this
> age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have
> crucified the Lord of glory;"
>
> Then in verse 14 Paul says,
>
> But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for
they
> are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are
> spiritually appraised."
>
> He is, in effect, repeating Jesus' teaching when He told the Pharisee,
> Nicodemus, "...unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of
God."
>
> I have a copy of an e-mail that was sent to the host of a website. We
used
> it just this last week in our Wednesday night study, to challenge our
> ability to answer some questions. So I'm getting a lot of mileage out of
> this e-mail. But I want to read it to you today, because it so clearly
> illustrates the truth of these things Paul has been saying to us from I
Cor.
> 2
>
> "Hello Todd. You seem like a well meaning fellow and all but the thing
that
> makes all of this quite illogical is this: You say "God" (and I use that
> term loosely) wants all people to repent of their sins and misdeeds. To
> reach "salvation" one must have faith and repent and all of that. Wait a
> second here. If there really is a God, one who is all-powerful, all
knowing,
> all this, all that, who had no beginning and will have no end, what
would he
> care if people repented or not? That is, if he even created them in the
> first place. If he had to concern himself with all of that trouble,
wouldn't
> he have just skipped that part of creation? Wouldn't he say, 'To heck
with
> mankind, they're not worth all the trouble in the first place'. And what
> would God care what I or anybody else believes? He'll continue being God
> without regard for me or anyone else. Are you saying I'll ruin his
existence
> if I don't repent or believe? I hardly think so. I'd be just another
atom in
> the universe to him. You see, it makes no difference either way. He
either
> does not exist (which is highly probable) or does exist but doesn't care
> about anyone because he is God. One more thing that is disturbing. Just
who
> created God anyway??? Don't give me that 'it's just a mystery' stuff
either.
> It is totally illogical and senseless in addition to impossible that he
> never had a beginning or will have no end. Best regards, Lou
>
> I wish I could respond to Lou. I hope someone from that website did
respond,
> in love and in persuasive terms. Because frankly, if I knew Lou's e-mail
> address, I would write to him and tell him that I agree with him. I
would
> tell him that the god he described does not exist. I would tell him that
the
> God who is revealed in the scriptures, which is the only place available
to
> learn of God, is quite the opposite of the uncaring, unfeeling god of
his
> e-mail.
>
> Nevertheless, my point here is that Lou is simply confirming to us that
the
> natural man cannot fathom the things of the Spirit.
>
> The best that the natural man can ever hope to come up with is a god of
> futility. A mental image that is by nature as shallow and
two-dimensional as
> a character in a grade B novel.
>
> A figure carved out of stone or wood and made to stand in a corner or on
a
> shelf, to be dusted once a week, but that has no life or breath in it.
>
> Because the natural man, since he can think no higher than his human
spirit
> will let him, can therefore only make gods like himself and no higher.
>
> But since no one can know God or His thoughts except the Spirit of God,
then
> God cannot be known except by His Spirit. Again in II Corinthians, verse
10
>
> "For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches
all
> things, even the depths of God."
>
> So now we touch on this word 'revelation'. "For to us God revealed
them..."
>
> Paul prays, "...that...the Father of glory may give to you the Spirit of
> wisdom and revelation.
>
> We've been seeing that man cannot have the knowledge of God apart from
His
> Spirit. The wisdom, or the learning, the understanding of the things of
the
> Spirit.
>
> But I can go farther and say that apart from God's revelation of Himself
to
> the spirit, there can be no understanding of God at all.
>
> Here is probably the clearest and best example.
>
> The disciples walked and talked with Jesus for over three years. They
were
> with Him constantly, listening to Him teach, seeing His miracles, asking
Him
> questions, seeing Him in all the aspects and cir***stances of life.
>
> But they did not understand. They did not perceive His purpose in
coming,
> until after the resurrection...and even then they continued to ask
questions
> that exposed their ignorance. "We were hoping that it was He who was
going
> to redeem Israel"
>
> "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?"
>
> It wasn't until they were gathered in the upper room, and there came
from
> heaven a noise like a violent, ru****ng wind, and it filled the whole
house
> where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire
> distributing themselves and they rested on each one of them. And they
were
> all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues,
as
> the Spirit was giving them utterance.
>
> And they stepped out onto the streets of Jerusalem...
>
> Now I want you to take notice here... they weren't given a crash course
in
> theology. They didn't stay sequestered in the upper room for another 13
> weeks while Jesus appeared to them with a dry erase board and a box of
> scrolls and taught them doctrine and homiletics and how to properly
exegete
> the scriptures.
>
> They had a certain knowledge, a learning that He had stored up in them
while
> He was with them, but they had no revelation of the Spirit, until He
came
> from the Son and filled them; baptized them, there in that upper room.
>
> And when He did, these disciples who only days before were still asking
> questions in ignorance; these same ones whose hearts were still filled
with
> fear and doubt when they met him after the resurrection on the Mount of
> Olives; who stood gazing into the sky as He ascended and even after He
was
> out of their sight, as though they thought He was going to return
> immediately and had to be exhorted by angels to go about the task He had
> given them to do...
>
> ...now stepped immediately out of the upper room and preached a Holy
Spirit
> inspired sermon that had even those who crucified their Lord crying,
"What
> must we do to be saved?"
>
> So you see, it is not enough to have just a head-knowledge of Jesus. To
> examine Him and scrutinize His word and His actions and think to
understand
> Him that way.
>
> Our relation****p to Him must be based on the revelation of Himself
through
> His Spirit to our spirits; it will only be in the spirit and by the
Spirit
> of wisdom and revelation that we will begin to understand His mission in
the
> world, His purpose in us; Only by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation
that
> we begin to know the Father.
>
> I'd like to enter into a pact with you, that we pray these things for
each
> other faithfully.
>
> Not a pact that calls for some legalistic accountability. I'm not going
to
> call you on the phone one day and say, "Hey! The Lord has revealed to me
> that you haven't prayed for me for over a week...what's the deal?"
>
> But let's simply agree, earnestly and sincerely, that in the course of
our
> days, as the Lord brings us to each other's minds, or even if it's
something
> other than the Lord that brings us to mind... even if it's the Enemy,
trying
> to make us think poorly of one another in an attempt to destroy our
unity...
> let's agree to turn that around and say, "Lord, give (this one or that
one)
> the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You."
>
> And in the days and weeks and months to come let's watch and see what
> marvelous things the Father of glory does in and through us as a family
of
> believers.
>
> I want to finish today by reading you an excerpt from D. Martin
Lloyd-Jones'
> commentary on this verse. I enjoyed what he said and I want to share it
with
> you.
>
> "We have been considering one of the most im****tant doctrines of the
> Christian faith. The Protestant Reformers used to tell their hearers
that
> there is a double action of the Holy Spirit. There is the 'Testimonium
> Spiritus Externus' - the Spirit that is in the Word, as it were, the
Spirit
> that inspired the men who produced the Word. That is essential. But it
is
> not enough. Before I know that this is God's Word and God's truth,
before I
> can read the Bible and discover health and food for my soul, something
> additional is necessary - the 'Testimonium Spiritus Internus'. The
Spirit in
> the Word, the Spirit in the reader! And without the Spirit in him no man
> will be able to understand the meaning of the Word. The two operations
are
> absolutely essential.
>
> In other words we have seen that the Apostle prays for the Ephesian
> believers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may
> give them 'the Spirit of wisdom (the Spirit in the Word) and 'the Spirit
of
> revelation', (the ability to see it and to receive it and revel in it
and to
> enjoy it). What a perfect provision for damned, blind, helpless,
wretched
> sinners! All the truth I need to know and the ability to receive it and
to
> apprehend it! And all given freely through the Holy Spirit of God! What
a
> perfect salvation! 'All I need, in Thee to find'."
>
> {Wisdom: The Spirit in the Word} {Revelation: The Spirit in the
believer,
> taking the Word and from it revealing the person of the Father in all
His
> glory}
>
> I am constrained to return to an anthem of praise that I have found
myself
> repeating with increasing frequency, my friends...
>
> ...what a wonderful and loving God we serve, whose plan and design for
us in
> everything He has done, every gift He has given, every promise He has
made,
> His very call to us, His purpose in us and through us, is all for the
sake
> of having our company; our fellow****p. He wants to be with us and us
with
> Him, so much, so very, very much, that He even teaches us to pray for
one
> another, an ever-deepening knowledge and understanding of Him. Not just
> facts about Him... but Him.
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