Secrecies Versus Certainties

[Michael Parnell]

Deut. 29:29 - "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law."

Two types of realities or "things" are mentioned in this verse: The "secret" things and the "revealed" things. Obviously there are some things which are not meant for us to know. Some things we aren't meant to know right now and some things we will probably never know at all on this side of eternity. God has various purposes for withholding from us various things for various reasons, among which are discipline and development. God's Word is as prudent in its reservations as it is in its revelations. However, enough is revealed to make faith intelligent. Enough is hidden to give faith range for growth. The bottom line is that the things that are not revealed belong to God and we do not know them as yet; but the revealed things of Scripture belong to people forever, that they may know and do the will of God.

Why don't we just admit what we cannot deny, that is, that in spite of the volumes of revelation that we have already had made known to us, we are encircled by yet, many baffling mysteries or secret things.

Jesus told his disciples in John 16:12 "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." I believe He still conveys this to us by His Spirit at times. The word, "bear" in the Greek is the word, "bastazo" (pronounced - bas-tad'-zo), and it means "to carry or bear what is burdensome, not able to understand a matter or receive it calmly." The Amplified version puts verse 12 like this: "I have still many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them or to take them upon you or to grasp them now." To paraphrase, He was saying, "It would be best for Me not to tell you that the whole Mosaic system must be set aside. Right now, you can't handle the fact that the Sabbath and Jewish festivals will be abolished. If I tried to tell you now, you're not ready to grasp that Gentiles must be equal members of the church. Because of your religious upbringing and traditions, you will have problems comprehending that many cherished dreams of yours about what the Messiah will do when He comes will not come to pass at this time. However, don't fret about it guys, I will reveal these things to you when the Holy Spirit shall come (John 16:13-15)."

Revelation from God comes to us in increments. Paul said in 2 Cor. 3:18, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." Again, let me render to you how the Amplified Bible says it: "And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit."

Some folks pick up the Word of God, upon getting saved and starting a new relationship with Christ, only to put it down in disappointment because they were thinking; "well now I can understand the Bible". You can, but it will take time. For example, you can't start teaching first-graders twelfth-grade subjects. That's why we have grades in school beginning with kindergarten all the way up through college.

Knowledge and learning come by way of a process (unless you're a child prodigy). Why do we think that learning from and about God is going to be over-night? Jesus said in Matthew 11:29, "…learn of Me;"

Yes, I did say earlier the revealed things of Scripture belong to people forever, that they may know and do the will of God. However, I did not say that we are going to have an instant comprehension of those revealed things. That is going to come through and by time spent with the Father in His Word.

Paul said that his prayer, or one of his prayers for the Ephesians was, "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him:" (Ephes. 1:17) Read this well: There is NO REVELATION (disclosure, discovery, exposure, eye-opener, realization) without R-E-L-A-T-I-O-N-S-H-I-P (association, connection, affiliation, rapport, bond, link, correlation, correspondence)! Your "revelation" will only go as deep as your "relationship" with God. So, let me go ahead and burst your bubble, as lovingly as possible, so it will hopefully spur you on to a new level: If your relationship with God amounts to a few minutes on Sunday morning, YOU HAVE NO RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD. That's not a relationship, that's merely a duty visit.

I have heard people who rarely, if ever, attend church anywhere make statements to the effect that "I don't feel led (by the Holy Spirit) to do this or that". I've got a news flash for you: IF THAT SPIRIT THAT YOU ARE BEING LED BY DOESN'T LEAD YOU TO JOIN YOURSELF UP TO AND WITH A LOCAL BODY OF GENUINE BELIEVERS, A LOCAL CHURCH, YOU'RE LISTENING TO THE WRONG SPIRIT AND IT AIN'T THE HOLY SPIRIT! (I just threw that little smidgeon of revelation in for free. It won't cost you a thing.)

Now back to the point. God does not play hide and seek with us, especially His children. He desires for us, as Paul said, to have "…the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him:" Yes, the secret things do belong to the Lord, but there is still much, much, much more about Himself that He desires to reveal to us and, even more so, in us. The question is: Are we able to bear it?

Pastor Mike