Communing with God

Communing With God - (The Spiritual Man - Watchman Nee  Excerpt)

1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 

 'The Heart of Man

The larger context of this one verse speaks of God and the things of God. What He has prepared can neither be seen or heard by man’s outward body nor conceived by his inward heart. The “heart of man” includes among other facets man’s understanding, mind and intellect. Man’s thought cannot envisage God’s work, for the latter transcends the former. It is therefore evident that he who desires to know and commune with God cannot depend solely upon his thought.'

We can't comprehend what God has prepared for us who love Him. We can't THINK into existence what is waiting for us. We can never see what is prepared for us, not now not all on our own. We can't hear from anyone what has been prepared, and we can't imagine in our deepest most profound thoughts what God has made ready for those who love Him.

As Watchman Nee is explaining, our thoughts are not paramount in our walk with Christ. We might find it hard to imagine otherwise because how else are we to…well…think, to comprehend, isn't it all in our thoughts? There is something more in us as human beings as we've already discussed at great length- there is spirit. There is a part of us that isn't explained by any part of us physically, or rationally in our soul-self. 

Remember yesterday- There is a new  birth we must experience and logically we must understand that if we were whole before new birth we would not need a new birth experience. We wouldn't need to be born of the water and Spirit, if our original birth was all that was necessary to our communing with God. We need this new birth- Jesus said so Himself-

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 

Again I ask, why would we need a new birth if we could simply use what we were given at our first birth to see the kingdom of God? The new birth gives new life to the spirit in us and makes it possible for us to comprehend things of the Spirit, things that are beyond true and full comprehension of those not born in the Spirit.

Continuing with the excerpts-

The Holy Spirit

“God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything; even the depths of God” (v.10). This verse sets forth the fact that the Holy Spirit searches everything and not that our mind conceives all. Only the Holy Spirit knows the depths of God. He knows what man does not know. By His intuition the Spirit searches everything. God is thus able to reveal through Him what our heart has never conceived. This “revealing” is not acquired after much thinking, for our heart cannot even conceive it. It is a revelation; it does not require the help of our thought. The next two verses tell us how God reveals Himself. '

1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 

1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 

The Spirit ALONE can reveal the things of God to us! We can never of our own accord know the things of God. We can THINK we know them and mankind has made up a lot of nonsense about God thinking they know the things of God, but in truth we need the things of God to be REVEALED to us by the SPIRIT.

Excerpts continued--

'The Spirit of Man

“For what person knows a man’s thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God” (vv.11 and 12). No one knows man’s thoughts except the spirit of man; likewise, no one knows the things of God but the Holy Spirit. Man’s spirit as well as God’s Spirit apprehend things directly, not by deducing or searching. They perceive through the faculty of intuition. Since the Holy Spirit alone knows the things of God, we must receive the Holy Spirit if we also would know those things. The spirit of the world is cut off from communication with God. It is a dead spirit: it cannot effect communion with Him. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, comprehends the things of God; therefore, by receiving in our intuition what the Holy Spirit knows, we too shall understand the realities of God. “We have received . . . the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God.” How then do we know? Verse 11 tells us man knows by his spirit. The Holy Spirit unfolds to our spirit what He knows intuitively so that we too may know intuitively.'

1Co 2:11  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 

1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 

Man knows the things of man- the spirit of man knows the things of man- we know the things of ourselves. The things of God- the SPIRIT of God knows, not us, not our spirit.  Our spirit can RECEIVE the SPIRIT WHICH IS OF GOD. We already have the spirit of man in us that knows the things of ourselves, but we need to receive the Spirit of God, it must be given to us. All mankind has the spirit of mankind, the spirit of the world, but not all have the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God knows the things of God and will teach us the things of God, things that God freely gives to us.

More tomorrow on this, by the grace, and will of God!

All through Jesus Christ our LORD, our SAVIOR now and forever! Amen.