I originally published this blog on November 3rd, 2012. It was one of the very first writings I made public. Today, I felt led by the Holy Spirit to republish it. What I like about the Holy Spirit is His continuity. What God said yesterday, is as relevant today as it was then. Our Lord is one God whose mind and heart is consistent from day to day, year to year, and generation to generation. Amen.
YHWH Is Not Done Talking
God still speaks today just as He did nearly 2000 years ago. In the first century A.D. the church received the current word of God for their day and it was what they needed to hear, for it spoke directly to what they were experiencing. Likewise, we need to hear the current word of God for our generation as we grapple with a new set of circumstances.
For almost 400 years between the Old and New Testaments, God did not speak to His chosen people. There was a famine in the land, not for food, but for the word of God. What if the Israelite’s would have decided that God was through speaking forever and resisted any new revelation?
Entrenched doctrine blinds us to the truth
In fact, this very thing happened to the majority of Israel when they rejected the Son of God. Being entrenched in their doctrine and believing that they had all God’s truth, they rejected and crucified the very Messiah they earnestly waited for. Brethren, I can’t say this emphatically enough: as it was with them, so it is with us today.
God always records His dealings with Israel and when they are grafted back into the olive tree (during the millennium) it is very possible more scripture will be written. Does this shock you? Imagine being a Pharisee in the first century A.D. and reading the book of Galatians. If it happened like that to them it may certainly happen to us.
Paul says,
“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
1 Corinthians 13:11
The principle that is put forth in the scripture above is one of greater clarity which follows greater maturity. As a child grows, his understanding evolves and deepens. Just as it is vital for natural children to open their minds to accept new ways of thinking about familiar things, I believe that it is important that we remain open-minded as we mature too.
For example, one can know a person somewhat through letters. However, the degree to which the writing is understood depends a great deal on how intimately one knows the author. A point that is relatively obscure to those unfamiliar with the writer may be instantly clear to someone who enjoys a close relationship with Him. Plus, if there is a personal relationship, any difficulty understanding what he wrote can be cleared up simply by speaking directly with the penman.
Be open-minded to further revelation
As our relationship matures with our Father we need to open our minds to receive a deeper understanding of His scriptures too. As I have come to know God better I have started to gain more perspective on how the current word of God relates to the Bible. It is plain to me now that, to the first century Christians, the current word of God (which is now our New Testament) was more important than the law and the prophets combined.
The current word spoke directly to what they were presently experiencing and illuminated scripture in new and exciting ways. Likewise, the current word of God today is more important than both the Old and New Testaments combined for it speaks to what God is doing now.
The current word harmonizes
Does the current word of God contradict what God has said in the past? No, it does not. God is consistent and He changes not. However, here is a fundamental truth:
“Though the current word of God does not contradict scripture it may contradict our present understanding of the Old and New Testaments. It is the blind belief in our own error that causes many to stumble when further truth is revealed.”
For example, if you were a Pharisee in the first century, the New Testament writings would have seemed blasphemous. From the Pharisees’ perspective, the New Testament epistles contradicted almost all that Israel held to be rock solid truth. Their accepted teaching demanded that what Jesus and His followers taught was heretical. Yet, it was not the new revelation that contradicted God’s truth, but their old misunderstanding.
The erroneous doctrine of the Pharisees blinded them to the current word of God. God’s chosen had drifted so far from His truth that when the Son of God came speaking further revelation perfectly consistent with the Old Testament they could not receive it.
Here is a truth,
“Just as Jesus came to His own and they received Him not, so to in our generation Jesus will come to us and many will again miss the time of their visitation.”
The current word of God is more than the Holy writ. God has something on His mind nowadays just as he did in the first century. God is also eager to share His revelation with all those who will listen. We need to come to know God well enough to be able to say, “That sounds like something He would say” and “My spirit bears witness with that revelation”.
We recognize truth because we know His voice
Nowadays, when someone brings a new revelation to me I will know instantly whether it has the “ring of truth” because the Spirit within me immediately accepts or rejects it. This allows me the security to be open to search out new perspectives and consider new truths without immediately rejecting them. I do not need to fear what people might say because God will either testify for or against their words through His Spirit and His scriptures.
This type of confidence in the Holy Spirit makes many people nervous and sometimes even agitated. To them, the Bible is the foundation of their faith and anyone who challenges their current understanding of it is viewed as attacking God Himself. However, the foundation of our faith should be our relationship with Jesus and not primarily our understanding of the scriptures. At the great white throne judgment it is not how well we can recite the Bible that will commend us to God but how well Jesus knows us.
It’s time to get personal
The Bible is good, but a personal relationship with God is better. In fact, the better your personal relationship is with God the better you will be able to understand the Bible. God’s people are taught to death by misguided church leaders. People are led to believe that knowledge of the scriptures brings about godliness in their lives. They are told that if they could only know the truth, they could live it. However, the knowledge of good kills our spirits. Only revelation makes our spirits alive. Teaching, as it is currently practiced in most of the church, is a fraud.
Lack of teaching is not the problem
Yet, knowing the depth of the word does not cause you to live it. Knowledge feeds our heads, but usually doesn’t change our hearts. What does change our hearts is intimate contact with God’s Holy Spirit.
Teaching is like a rudder on a boat. We all know a rudder is absolutely necessary to steer any ship; however, unless there is movement, the rudder is useless. First, the wind of the Holy Spirit must fill our sails, driving us forward. Only after we are moving is it time to steer the ship.
Can you be a good Christian without a Bible?
A significant portion of the world’s believers do not have access to Bibles. Yet, for their apparent ignorance of the scriptures, they still accomplish mighty exploits in God. They preach salvation, heal the sick, cast out demons, and listen to God’s voice without a fraction of the teaching that we have received in the western world. Teaching is not nearly as necessary as leaders tell us.
Scripture is not our God
Truly, my aim is simply to place the scriptures in their proper place in our lives. The Old and New Testaments teach us what God did with others in the past. From both Testaments we can extract valuable principles and perspectives but we need a current revelation so that we may know God’s mind today.
Have the guts to preach the current word of God
Many of us have the current word yet we refuse to speak it because we fear what people will say. We protest that “the people are not ready to hear this” and “they would not understand”. However, God would not give us these revelations if He didn’t want His people to hear them. Therefore the bottom line is this:
“We must dare to speak the current word of God. We must speak this revelation just as God reveals it. Speak it no matter what the cost or else we are unprofitable servants.”
No Compromise by Keith Green
Podcast: God’s River of Revelation
How important is the flow of God’s Spirit speaking to us personally? Is the revelation and insight He desires to give us for our own personal lives something that we should be pursuing? Or is this optional for us as believers? Listen as we discuss the powerful river of revelation that God is flowing to His people – and why He does it. . .