"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter." Proverbs 25:2
"不 像 摩 西 將 帕 子 蒙 在 臉 上 、 叫 以 色 列 人 不 能 定 睛 看 到 那 將 廢 者 的 結 局 ．但 他 們 的 心 地 剛 硬 ． 直 到 今 日 誦 讀 舊 約 的 時 候 、 這 帕 子 還 沒 有 揭 去 ． 這 帕 子 在 基 督 裡 已 經 廢 去 了 。然 而 直 到 今 日 、 每 逢 誦 讀 摩 西 書 的 時 候 、 帕 子 還 在 他 們 心 上 。 但 他 們 的 心 幾 時 歸 向 主 、 帕 子 就 幾 時 除 去 了 。主 就 是 那 靈 、 主 的 靈 在 那 裡 、 那 裡 就 得 以 自 由 。我 們 眾 人 既 然 敞 著 臉 、 得 以 看 見 主 的 榮 光 (耶穌) 、 好 像 從 鏡 子 裡 返 照 、 就 變 成 主 的 形 狀 、 榮 上 加 榮 (從榮成榮) 、 如 同 從 主 的 靈 變 成 的 。" 歌林多後書 3:18
"And are not like Moses, who put a veil on his face, so that the children of Israel might not see clearly to the end of the present order of things: But their minds were made hard: for to this very day at the reading of the old testament the same veil is still unlifted; though it is taken away in Christ. But to this day, at the reading of the law of Moses, a veil is over their heart. But when it is turned to the Lord, the veil will be taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there the heart is free. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord (Jesus), are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the LORD." 2 Corinthians 3:18
"於 是 從 摩 西 和 眾 先 知 起 、 凡 經 上 所 指 著 自 己 (耶穌)的 話 、 都 給 他 們 講 解 明 白 了 。" 路加 24:27
"And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself (Jesus)." Luke 24:27
從神的第一句話，"要有光 ，" 耶穌就顯明了。這是我的"亮光"。
亮光是不是真理? 不一定，要看有沒有耶穌。但是真理雖然寫在知識的文字上，
Why is it that gold and diamond are not found on the surface ground? Neither is deeper truth of the gospel and beauty of Christ revealed in the literal reading of the word. One must dig down to see His full glory and be touched by the reward of mystery God had hidden in and between His words. The Bible is filled with symbolism to teach, declare and prophesy. God can appear to us and erase all doubt, but chose to reveal Himself in the Bible only to those who look for Him by faith and grace.
But many only want to hang their faith on the strict gospel truth plain as day, and dismiss the rich subtlety of finding Jesus Christ and His heart throughout the scriptures in the form of personal revelation (亮光). If one bases his or her belief only in literal interpretation of verses, sadly the lovely manifestation of Christ become absent from the reading (especially in the Old Testament) where He needs to be the object of our spiritual desires and quest. In as much truth is written in the word, it more so lives in our hearts through seeing and experiencing Jesus personally by way of revelation. Often we say to search for the will and heart of God in our Bible studies, but forget that only the hidden needs to be searched out.
Proverbs 25:2 says, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter." From the first words of God, "Let there be light!" Jesus was revealed; but the literalists scoff at such a liberal interpretation as frivolous and far-fetched individual interpretation, and not of the Truth (真理). To the contrary! when truth is preached to us or superficially read, it is only knowledge we received; but by the finding of grace and Jesus in each word, phrase, chapter and story does it live warmly in our hearts, and come alive in our faith! Only by the searching with the heart, and not just the mind, does the holy spirit reveal to us fully the truth like nuggets of gold and precious diamonds, through faith that Jesus lives in the good book as on the road to Emmaus, although we are blind to His physical presence, He burns in our hearts! All this is possible only if we believe in the utmost importance of such personal revelations, sought only in the spirit of grace, and shared in the spirit of love with one another.
The rest God so wants us to have is hidden in the "secret place of the most high," (Psalms 91:1). Why is a "secret place?" So that it is not easily found, but only the faithful is allowed to enter. Such faith must have a strong foundation or we waiver like weeds in the wind, and easily fall back to our own reliance such as the Israelite believing the report of giants in the land of milk and honey that kept them from entering the land of rest. When we have the faith in spite of circumstances, that is our rest in this world. And what is that secret to great faith? It is to see the grace in all that God has done, and not just the knowledge of it; for to see grace is believing that Jesus Christ is both the arm and heart of God who had already accomplished the redemption for our rest. To not see Jesus on the cross in every aspect of our spiritual nourishment is to fall back on our own will and ability as overcomers. The Israelite knew of that promise and came to the Jordan river, seeing Canaan, but still failed to cross. This is similar to many believers having received Christ as their savior but still not entering the rest He promised. Knowledge of God's will lead them to the cusp of rest, their belief in God's will instilled the desire, but the lack of grace revelation failed to inspire faith in God to overcome the giants (sin), already surrendering in their minds, and in thinking that they need to deal with such a challenge made them coward before the Devil's lie like so many tiny grasshoppers.
Under the leadership of Moses, the people see law and obedience as the way to God's blessing and to enter rest. Although they were blessed and provided for in the wilderness, it was never because of obedience but grace. Until the law was given on Mount Sinai, the entire journey from Egypt was pure grace. The fact that Moses could not enter Canaan but had to die in the wilderness should remind us that obedience to law can never lead us into spiritual rest. Only when Joshua (Jesus) becomes our leader (focus) can we enter Canaan. Therefore, the secret of entering God's rest in our Bible study is not with a mind to learn obedience, but to know Jesus Christ more and more, and see His grace and love spilled across the many pages that is God's love letter to us. It is not an easy thing to do, entering this rest, for it goes counter to our worldly understanding of fairness and responsibility. Instead, by simply beholding the glory of Jesus Christ, we are transformed from glory to glory (His glory to conceal and our glory to search), and effortlessly entering into the secret place of the most high. Paul said, "Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." In this he is not telling us to be more obedient, but striving to turn from earned (through obedience) righteousness over to imputed (in faith) righteousness by the blood of the lamb.
Jesus himself said,"...He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" From Mathew 13:34-43, He tells the disciples of the hidden things in the parables, which was told not to clarify but to confound those with unbelief and pride. If one is not willing to search deep into the word -- not for knowledge, but the living heart of Jesus -- he will be confused like Nicodemus and those in Jesus' home country where he did little miracles because of their unbelief. In the same way, if we read the Bible without the perspective of grace, we become full of knowledge like the Pharisees and Scribes, but with little revelation. When we don't see Jesus in every scripture alone or linked, we are like them, blinded by pride, unbelieving by knowledge.
Unlike any book written by man, the Bible is not one for learning -- though it is full of wisdom and principle. First and foremost, the Bible is a living, breathing, document of God's spirit and grace. If we come to it to learn of ourselves and of God's way, we have a road map but no light, and continue to lose our ways as we have done since the Garden of Eden. Instead, the Bible contains the tree of life that is Jesus Christ, the fruits of which are for us to eat and digest (read and meditate), and the purpose to take us back to our father's bosom (return to Eden, His pleasure), and not to remain in knowledge of good and evil (learning of law and obedience righteousness). All has been accomplish on our behalf by Jesus Christ, and such is our part -- to enjoy Jesus Christ, and immerse in His glory found shining from deep revelation; we then become the precious gemstones on the breastplate of our high priest, reflecting His light and love for all the lost to see. Amen
James
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