The Spirit of Christ - Part 2

.... In our previous posting we discussed how the Sprit of Christ communicated with the prophets in foretelling Jesus. He spoke to them in terms that were absolutely clear, yet the prophets could not seem to understand those terms initially. They had to search and make diligent inquiry to see "What is it that You’re trying to say to me?" (1 Peter 1:10-11). And this paradox introduced the first mystery of prophecy:

.... "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."

(Isaiah 55:8-9)

.... Although God spoke in terms that were absolutely clear, it did not necessarily follow that the prophets were on His level so that they could receive the communication with such clarity. Something that God had given very clearly could be well beyond the comprehension of the natural man.
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.... So whatever terms the Spirit of Christ used in testifying to the prophets, they were not merely words of human wisdom like the words on this page or the sound a voice. Because if they were, the prophets could pick up on them easily enough. They could still have made something out of it; they wouldn’t have to search diligently and inquire, just to know what was said.

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.... Therefore, the Holy Spirit spoke in a deeper way, using a mode of communication that seems to escape an immediate definition. So we, too, must search and inquire diligently, from deeply within our hearts in crying: "Lord, God, give me the revelation of what you’re trying to say to me!" just as the prophets had begun:

.... "I cried out to God with my voice-- to God with my voice; and He gave ear to me. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; my hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, and my spirit makes diligent search."

(Psalm 77:1-6)

.... So what is this language by which the Holy Spirit communicates to our hearts, if not in words of human wisdom?

.... "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 2:13)

.... The Holy Spirit teaches through a language of spiritual comparisons. He shows us things in the spirit that are understood without words; yet they convey a testimony of who Jesus is and what He is like. And somehow, through much seeking of God in response, we can pick up on this testimony and eventually define it, for it will become clearer and clearer as we meditate on it. At that point, we may even be able to put it into words.

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.... We will discuss this mode of communication further in our next posting.

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Daily Bible Reading: Acts 4