Devotional Reading (3)

 

Continuing with Charles F. Whiston on devotional reading:

 

“But in devotional reading our whole being (not only our intellects) must be quieted; and made open, receptive, expectant; and above all else, humble. It is not so much the work of the intellect as the attentive receptiveness of the whole man.  Any spirit set upon ferreting out the hidden mysteries of God will result in total failure.  Humility will accomplish what cleverness and pride cannot accomplish.”

 

Whiston’s observation that, “Any spirit set upon ferreting out the hidden mysteries of God will result in total failure,” is not only true with devotional reading, it is true with all Bible reading and study. We do not figure the Bible out anymore than we figure God out, God reveals Himself and His Word to us out of His own good pleasure; by His grace as we respond in obedience and humility to Him, He continues to reveal Himself, taking us into the depths and heights of His Word.

 

Therefore, I would tweak Whiston’s statement on humility in that we don’t really accomplish anything by humility other than putting ourselves in a position where God can speak to us and exalt us into His glory, into Himself…all the while recognizing that humility flows from His enabling grace and that it is not of ourselves. After all, Jesus is indeed our Alpha and Omega and everything in between! I am pretty certain that Whiston would agree with this, and I’ll try to remember to point this out when we get to another quote from him in a future post.

 

In terms of our cleverness in ferreting out the mysteries of God, I have a friend who has a friend who is a retired engineer. This well-meaning engineer decided that he would put his engineering background to use in figuring out the book of Revelation, he has written two books on the subject; he is also teaching a weekly class on Revelation. (I once knew another former engineer who had the same approach to Revelation and the Bible, applying calculations to this prophecy and that prophecy, to the point where he determined where the safest places were to live based on the prophecies; this man had quite the following within his tribe.)

 

A year or so ago, when my friend first shared with me about his engineer friend and the engineer’s teaching and approach, I didn’t say anything, I just listened. However, after we had a more involved conversation early this year I sent my friend a few thoughts, here are some of them:

 

“Ever since Revelation was written, up until around 1840 or so, most of the Church would have agreed with the following quote from Johnson's book, Discipleship on the Edge, an Expository Journey Through the Book of Revelation:

 

" ‘But the most unique feature of this kind of literature is its driving force. Apocalyptic seeks to do two things: first, it seeks to set the present in light of the unseen realities of the future. For if we know what the future holds it determines the choices we make in the present. Second, and more importantly, it seeks to set the present in light of the invisible realities of the present. The fundamental conviction of apocalyptic literature is that "things are not as they seem"; there is more to reality than meets the unaided eyes or ears; there is more to the present historical moment than we can deduce. And apocalyptic writing seeks to unveil that unseen reality of the present, to pull back the curtain on the present so that we see what is really going on.’ (Page 26).

 

“Here is a quote I came upon today by Michael W. Newman, while I haven't read what Newman's actual approach to Revelation is, I think he makes a great point in this quote:

 

" ‘If you're approaching the book of Revelation like an engineer poring over a schematic diagram of God's eternal plan, I want to urge you to reconsider your position. The book of Revelation is more comparable to a painting, a mural, than it is to a set of technical drawings.’

 

“A year or so ago when you mentioned your friend's approach to Revelation I didn't say anything, but I immediately saw the fallacy in the approach - you don't approach Revelation, or even the Bible, trying to figure it out - see 1 Corinthians Chapter 2.”

 

Both Michael W. Newman and I use concepts that are akin to Whiston’s, and I think all three are in line with 1 Corinthians 1:17 – 2:16, one of the great epistemological passages of the Bible – which teaches us that we don’t figure God out, God reveals Himself to us; God is not figured out or known through natural ability or means.

 

(And let me hasten to say that I encounter this in the academy all the time, including in Bible commentaries. Many commentaries are a mixture of receiving the Word as the Word and then venturing into human theory and conjecture and learning and treating these things on the same level as the Word – Scripture must always and forever be above us, speaking to us, we must never be so presumptuous as to stand in judgement on God and His Word. We are to be transposed upward in the Word, we are not called to attempt to bring the Word down into the dust of naturalistic human understanding so as to make the Word of God as the words of men. Yes, yes, yes, we do seek to communicate the Word in ways that men can receive it, but we do so as servants of the Word, as servants of God.)

 

Now of course we are called to study to show ourselves approved unto God, accurately handling the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15!!!). But we do this as students at the feet of the Master, and even when we grow into master workmen and builders we are still to sit at the feet of the Master, always relying on the Holy Spirit to enlighten us and nurture us in Christ Jesus. If we will teach, then we must ever be students of our Lord Jesus Christ…and of one another in Him.

 

Is it fair to say that in devotional reading, we must be devoted to our Master, our Lord, our Savior…Jesus Christ?