The Deep Things of God

.... Congratulations on completing the first module on the Oracles of God! Hopefully it has been helpful in presenting the prophetic process, yet two important elements of mystery remain. Both pertain to the spiritual life itself, and we will discuss them in the five postings of this module.
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.... Let's start by introducing the first of these mysteries. You may need to think about this one. When God communicates with us in giving prophecy, we know that the Holy Spirit speaks through deep groanings that cannot be uttered (Romans 8:26). But what exactly are those groanings? And the second mystery is this: if the whole process we’ve described is a means, then in what way is Jesus Himself the end of that means? ‘For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy’ (Revelation 19:10).
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.... Actually those two mysteries dovetail back into one, so let’s return to the basic communication itself and consider it again very carefully:

.... "But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of a man who is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual."

(1 Corinthians 2:10-13)

.... When the Holy Spirit speaks to us He is revealing the deep things of God, and Paul describes the sense in which we should understand this statement: ‘no one know the things of man except the spirit of a man that’s in him. Even so no one knows the things of God except the spirit of God.’

... In other words, your own spirit knows you perfectly well, searching out your subjectivity, your character traits and your deepest moods and attitudes -- though no other person can pick up on those things about you. In the same way, the Holy Spirit searches the deep things of God. He understands the Father's Divine emotions, His character and nature, and the heart and mind of God that went into producing these traits. So when the Holy Spirit reveals the deep things of God to us, He is showing us the Divine subjectivity of God in each matter. And part of the reason He reveals it in such a deep way is because He wants to conform us to the same image:

.... ". . . through the knowledge of Him . . . that . . . you may be partakers of the divine nature . . ."

(2 Peter 1:4)

.... So when the Holy Spirit speaks to us through deep groanings, He is showing us the heart of God in a particular matter that He wants to reveal to us. This mood or impression is a reflection of His actual character, focused into the application He is addressing, and translated into a living expression.
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.... For example, think of how you would feel if you suddenly received news that made you very sad, and even overwhelmed. That troublesome feeling would be an exact, spiritual representation of the information you just received, combined with the passion of your heart. You would feel this combination as a mood or an impression that weighed in your spirit as you pondered it further. And something similar occurs with God:

.... "Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled."

(John 11:33)

.... This is the story of the death of Lazarus, and in this passage we are seeing the same unique connection. Jesus, who searches the hearts, has picked up on the sorrow of others, and it has quickly produced a sympathetic groaning deeply within Himself. Like them, Jesus was moved to tears because of the love He felt for Lazarus -- and His love for the family and friends as well -- and they were amazed to see how closely He had connected with their own thoughts: "Behold how He loved him!" (John 11:33-36).

.... Conversely, when you receive deep groanings from the Holy Spirit, you are receiving the ‘mood’ of God, including a representation of the full information that produce that mood. This groaning is a living facet of God’s own heart, to be deeply explored within your own heart, by which the information it contains may also appear. It is portrayed in this fashion so you can get the full picture, to understand it in the same sense that God is moved with it, and so it can help to form your own heart and character, to remake you in His image. Talk about an interpersonal connection!

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... We’ll discuss this further in our next posting.

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Daily Bible Reading: Acts 14