Taught By God

On the road between Jerusalem and Emmaus, two men were unaware they had just been greeted and taught by the resurrected Messiah. His words were not those of any ordinary man but had the authority and power of God Himself. Later, Luke 24:32 tells us: “They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” And so their amazed reaction is reflected by every other person who has experienced the empowering words of Jesus and allowed Him to change their life!

Throughout history, people have expressed their views pertaining to what God might be like and what His character and nature are. Many, and most of the time these ponderings are nothing more than man’s own imagination or educated guesses and reasonings. Occasionally these man-made viewpoints have had devastating effects and have even lead people further away from truly knowing and understanding God. The bible has gone as far as declaring that some of the false views are actually “doctrines created by demons.” We wonder if men create religions that are so harmful and far-off base, can any of us know who the true creator of the universe is? Can we ever actually comprehend His character and what He desires for us? Can the true God be known at all?

Though we might be spiritually short-sighted, God is quite aware of this problem-causing limitation of ours. When we ignore Him or worship inaccurate deities of our own making, He is not shocked, dismayed or caught off guard. He is so lovingly understanding of our problem that He was able to foresee it long before He created mankind; long before we fell into sin; and long before each one of us were individually born into this world. The omnipotence of God is so overwhelming that He was able to develop a solution to a problem long before the problem itself ever existed! If man himself is incapable of reaching God and knowing him personally, then God must be the one to transcend the void and make Himself known to us. What we are unable to do, He is able to accomplish with no problem what-so-ever.

God has revealed Himself in three distinct ways. First, the very world in which we live, with all it’s complexities and uncountable life forms point to their creator. Scripture states: “What may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — His eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Second, His Spirit has impressed upon the heart and mind of the early prophets to pen the revelations found within His written word. Scripture reveals: “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Third, and most important, God Himself entered our world and gave us instruction and spiritual guidance. Jesus even quoted the scripture which foretold of His teachings: “All your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children’s peace.”

In harmony with the teachings of Christ is the understanding given to the believer by God’s indwelling Holy Spirit. As we study scripture and grow in the instructions of Jesus, His spirit whispers to our intellect and richly illuminates these words of power and of life. We become receptive vessels for receiving the truths which lie within God’s written word. This is in full contrast to the unrepentant mind which can read the same words but is in no way capable of comprehending their richness and full meaning. Scripture explains it this way: “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

So what does God want us to know about Himself? This question actually has a plain and simple answer. There are no big mysteries involved which should cause anyone to travel to a distant mountain peek in search of an ancient and secluded spiritual guru. We just need to look at the life; the teachings; the facts; and the example which Christ left for us. It’s that simple. When the disciples asked for Jesus to show God the father, He let it be known that He had been showing God to His followers all along. He replied: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.”

Here’s the good part… the true account of Christ is quickly becoming available to all. It is the most widely published written document in history. It has been translated into the greatest number of languages and read by the greatest number of people of any other book the world has ever known. Scholars are increasingly amazed at the accuracy of the modern translations when compared to the most ancient documents available. If we don’t know anything about the Living God, it’s plausible we have made little effort to know Him. He has given us the means to know Him intimately. He has given us His Son that we all might be “Taught by God!”