The Reality of the Word Part 6
Identity is a very important concept to be understood when reading the scriptures.
It is of vital importance to know who God is as well as who you are.
Identity as explained from the scriptures for the believer can’t be grasped from the five senses rather it is a revelation.
Both the identity of the believer and knowing who God is will come by revelation.
From our explanation, we have seen that God is only known in Christ.
In Exodus 3:13-15
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
This was Moses’ response to God when he encountered him at the burning bush. He wanted to know the identity of the person he was interacting with. God told him “I am what I am”. However, I am what I am is not a proper name rather God was explaining to Moses that he will be whatever Israel needs so as to rescue them from the bondage and slavery of Egypt. Egypt is an allegory of sin and death. It’s an allegory of spiritual death. The name he was asking about is connected to God’s promise which he made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob with respect to delivering their descendants from the bondage of Egypt. God’s name and identity can only be understood by what he does. His name is not an appellation or a title. God’s name is his authority or influence. It’s only revealed in his redemptive sacrifice.
In Luke 10:21-24
21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
22 All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
23 And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:
24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
Verse 22 is quite apt as regards how the father is known and how the son is known.
1. The father reveals who the son is
2. The son reveals who the father is
It means the entirety of the revelation of God is found in Christ Jesus.
Jesus also said in verse 21 “the father has hidden these things from the wise and prudent and has revealed it to babes”. Two pairs of contrasting words were used in the sentence above.
1. To hide and to reveal.
2. The wise and the prudent; babes.
The phrase “these things” as seen in verse 21 can be understood when the previous verses are read. The train of thought is in relation to the preaching of the gospel and people’s response after they heard the gospel. Jesus had sent the seventy out to go and preach. On their return, they were relaying to Jesus what they did.
To say that God hides will mean that God is darkness. However, in 1st John 1:1-5, John wrote specifically in verse 5 that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Also in John 1:4-5, John reiterated that God is light.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
The puzzle to be dismantled is “how does God hide himself “? God is hidden from the heart of the unbelieving man. When a person rejects the gospel which is the revelation of God to man, God becomes hidden from such a person. God is hidden from a man whose intelligence and wisdom doesn’t acknowledge the revelation of God in Christ.
On the other hand, God is also revealed to a man who has chosen to repose his faith in the revelation of God in Christ. When a man believes the gospel , God is revealed to such a person. The issue of God hiding himself or revealing himself is connected to people’s response to the gospel. God is hidden in human philosophies and scientific discoveries that downplays the revelation of God in Christ.
The phrases ‘the wise and prudent’ and ‘babes’ are also descriptive of people’s attitude or approach to the gospel when they hear it.
The prudent will refer to those whose intelligence or sagacity has hindered them from believing the gospel. The preaching of the cross to them will appear foolish. These kinds of men will usually scoff at the preaching of the cross. As a result of their attitude, God is hidden from them
Prudent is used in the following references:
Matthew 11:25
At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
Acts 13:7
Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
1st Corinthians 1:19
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
On the contrary, babes will be an attitude of men whose heart will respond or yield to the gospel. They will not scoff at the preaching of the gospel. God revealing himself to babes will be seen in people’s response when they believe the gospel.
Babes can also be used to refer to people who are yet to grow up spiritually. Babes can be used in the scriptures either positively or negatively.
The following texts show the use of the word babe in a positive light.
Matthew 11:25
At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
Matthew 21:16
And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?
This is not talking of babies biologically but people’s attitude to the gospel.
The use of babes in a negative-sense is seen in the following references:
Ephesians 4:14 …. be no more children tossed to and fro
Hebrews 5:13…. he is a babe
Galatians 4:1, 3…when we were children
1st Corinthians 3:1… even as unto babes
1st Corinthians 13:11…put away childish things.
God is hidden from the unsaved because of their attitude to the gospel while God is revealed to the believer because the believer’s heart has received the revelation of God in Christ. God being hidden from the unbelieving man is more of what he didn’t do than what he did.
Confession:
I have revelation knowledge because I have believed the gospel. I know who God is. God has been revealed to me in Christ.
