The Closed Door
Gateway to Spiritual Fullness
Gateway to Spiritual Fullness
His Precious Word
Gleanings From Deut. 8
There is perhaps not another book in the entire Bible that places so much
emphasis on God’s word as Deuteronomy. In 8 chapters there has been a
deliberate and repeated exhortation to heed, listen, obey and hearken to God’s
command, precepts and judgments. Why is Deuteronomy so adamant about
heeding His Word?
Chapter 8 begins with “All the commandments that I am commanding you today
you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess
the land which the Lord swore to give to your forefathers.” There is a real danger
for us to discard the Old Testament commandments as “laws” and “old covenant”
thereby throwing out the baby with the bath water.
Letters aside, the spirit of the Old Testament is to reveal Christ just as much as
the New Testament. What we have been delivered from is our ever-failing and
utterly untrustworthy natural ability to keep God’s laws and commandments, but
we have not been, and will never be, set free from the spirit of the Old Testament
which is to reveal Christ -- even through laws and commandments.
The “all the commandments” mentioned in verse one, in a spiritual sense, are not
meant as laws to be kept, but rather relate to the completeness of the different
aspects, facets and details of the all-inclusive Christ. When related to the truth,
the entire Bible is a detailed commandment about
God’s Son because of the truth’s uncompromising and unalterable nature. When
related to God’s love for men, the entire Bible is a love story pouring forth from
God’s heart. When related to the salvation of men, the entire Bible is an unfolding
drama of redemption.
Since Christ is so inexhaustibly rich and full, and God wants us to know and
possess His Son in fuller measures, the Word meticulously describes and reveals
every aspect, facet and detail about Christ so that we would not have a distorted
view of Him. Paul told the Ephesian elders in The Book of Acts that he did not
shrink back from declaring to them “the whole counsel of God.” The Bible as “the
whole counsel” contains a complete revelation of Christ. It repeatedly warns us
not to “add to it” nor “take away from it.”
I remember when I was a young boy, my brother and I loved going to the county
fair with our parents because there were lots of fun things to do. One of the fun
things was to pass in front of a set of funny mirrors. In front of one, I was a
round-faced clown; in front of another, I became an elongated stick figure. Sad to
say, many Christians’ view of Christ is greatly distorted very much similar to
passing before those funny mirrors.
Watchman Nee once said the number one reason Christians live in spiritual poverty
was because they did not know the Word. A woeful lack of the knowledge of the
Word coupled with a complacent attitude plunge God’s people into spiritual poverty
and invite the Enemy to wreak havoc.
Today, a casual surfing of many Christian Internet forums will expose a lack of the
stature of Christ. It is not hard to see that the distorted views of Christ stem from
a serious lack of the full knowledge of the “whole counsel of God.” On the other
hand, spiritual blessings and prosperity come from heeding and keeping all His
commandments. Deut. 7: 12-13 says, “Then it shall come about because you
listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep
with you His covenant and His lovingkindness which He swore to your forefathers.
And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of
your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil,
the increase of your herd and the young of your flock, in the land which He swore
to your forefathers to give you.”
In the same way, as Deut. 8:1 suggests, the pre-requisite for possessing the good
land is to keep God’s commandments in full. But, for us New Testament believers,
keeping or “doing all the commandments” firstly refers to our urgent need to
embrace not a select or partial truth, but ALL the truths about Christ in the whole
Bible. Any addition to or deletion from the whole bible will result in our greatly
distorted and diminished understanding and possession of Christ.
Secondly, we have to realize that no matter how much we desire to heed His Word
and embrace all the truths in the whole Bible, we are utterly incapable of keeping
His Word. The truth of the matter is, we can’t even keep our own word, much less
God’s Word.
Here we face an apparent dilemma, on the one hand, we are charged to “keep and
do” all the commandments in full, on the other hand, we are utterly incapable of
keeping them, much less doing them.
So what are we to do? Enter the Beloved Son. The Son is the only One qualified
and capable of keeping and doing His Word.
It is no coincidence that chapter 8 brings out sonship: “Thus you are to know in
your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you as a man disciplines his
son. Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk
in His ways and to fear Him” (8:5-6). As a Son, Christ had to learn obedience
through the things which He suffered (Heb. 5:8). In Christ, we have received
sonship to become God’s “many sons.” And as His many sons, we are being
chastened and conformed to His image in order that the Son in us may “keep the
commandment of the Lord…to walk in His ways and to fear Him.”
So, what do we do to keep His Word? We have to learn to yield ourselves as
sons in the Father’s disciplining hands. The more we learn to yield to His dealings
and chastening, the more a keeper of the Word we will become; for in His
chastening, the character of Christ is constituted into our inner being, and His
Word is inscribed into the tablet of our hearts. It is no longer a matter of us trying
to keep His Word, but altogether a matter of becoming sons who possess the
Son’s character and are inwardly constituted by His Word.
Thirdly, humility is required to keep His commandments. “And you shall remember
all the way which the Lord your God has led you these 40 years in the wilderness,
that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether
you would keep His commandments or not” (Deut. 8:2). The only way we can be
made humble is through His dealings and chastening. It took the children of Israel
40 years to perish in the wilderness; likewise, it will take the dying to our natural
man before any real humility comes forth and before the keeping of His
commandments becomes a remote possibility. Unless we have been humbled
through the dealings and chastening of the cross, there will be no way of
embracing all the truths concerning Christ, and no way of entering into all the
fullness of Christ.
Related to the Word of God, there has always been a fascination among the
students of the Word to find ways of interpreting the Word. Volumes have been
written and courses are offered in churches and seminaries about how to interpret
the various prophesies, symbolisms, typologies, parables, mysteries and signs in
the Word.
Zealous Christians are un-bashful about offering their methods of interpretation,
and adamant about their interpretations as divinely inspired. Every now and then
someone comes along and offers a brand new interpretation and claims
inspiration and authority.
While each method and each interpretation does carry some merits, the single
most important element is largely missed.
The most overlooked fact is that human beings are incapable of interpreting the
Word of God. The Son is the Word incarnate, therefore for us to properly
understand and interpret His Word, the greatest need is to be rooted and
grounded in Him and for Him to be constituted in us.
The seven sons of Scevas in the Book of Acts offer us a window. They zealously
went around the country attempting to cast out evil spirits. But the evil spirit
replied, “Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who are you?” (Acts 19:14-15).
Without a doubt, the message preached was correct: “I adjure you by Jesus
whom Paul preaches.” All doctrinal bases were covered. But the messengers
were wrong – constitutionally. Our messages, or interpretations for that matter,
simply must match the Christ that has been constituted and formed in our inward
being. For this inward constitution of Christ to take place, the interpreter has to
have gone through certain amount of dealings and chastening. Our interpretations
have to match our inward constitution and be an overflow of Christ formed from
deep within.
The Lord does grant us inspirations to peer into His Word and come up with
precious revelations. Many Christians have had this wonderful experience. But it
is never meant to bypass our urgent need to mature and possess greater
measure of Christ.
Paul says, “When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason
as a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things” (I Cor. 13:11).
Clearly, our maturity in the life of Christ has much to do with our speaking. Hence
our greater need is not so much the ability to interpret the Word, but to allow the
Lord to inscribe His Word in our inner being so that maturity starts to take place.
There is nothing like a matured Christian sharing the Word of God. As he speaks,
Christ comes forth. Find a mature Christian, try it next time and just watch and
listen.
May the Lord grant us mercy to love His Truth. May the Lord inscribe His
commandment deep in the tablet of our hearts so that we might become a people
constituted with His Word.
Oliver Peng
Gleanings From Deut. 8
There is perhaps not another book in the entire Bible that places so much
emphasis on God’s word as Deuteronomy. In 8 chapters there has been a
deliberate and repeated exhortation to heed, listen, obey and hearken to God’s
command, precepts and judgments. Why is Deuteronomy so adamant about
heeding His Word?
Chapter 8 begins with “All the commandments that I am commanding you today
you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess
the land which the Lord swore to give to your forefathers.” There is a real danger
for us to discard the Old Testament commandments as “laws” and “old covenant”
thereby throwing out the baby with the bath water.
Letters aside, the spirit of the Old Testament is to reveal Christ just as much as
the New Testament. What we have been delivered from is our ever-failing and
utterly untrustworthy natural ability to keep God’s laws and commandments, but
we have not been, and will never be, set free from the spirit of the Old Testament
which is to reveal Christ -- even through laws and commandments.
The “all the commandments” mentioned in verse one, in a spiritual sense, are not
meant as laws to be kept, but rather relate to the completeness of the different
aspects, facets and details of the all-inclusive Christ. When related to the truth,
the entire Bible is a detailed commandment about
God’s Son because of the truth’s uncompromising and unalterable nature. When
related to God’s love for men, the entire Bible is a love story pouring forth from
God’s heart. When related to the salvation of men, the entire Bible is an unfolding
drama of redemption.
Since Christ is so inexhaustibly rich and full, and God wants us to know and
possess His Son in fuller measures, the Word meticulously describes and reveals
every aspect, facet and detail about Christ so that we would not have a distorted
view of Him. Paul told the Ephesian elders in The Book of Acts that he did not
shrink back from declaring to them “the whole counsel of God.” The Bible as “the
whole counsel” contains a complete revelation of Christ. It repeatedly warns us
not to “add to it” nor “take away from it.”
I remember when I was a young boy, my brother and I loved going to the county
fair with our parents because there were lots of fun things to do. One of the fun
things was to pass in front of a set of funny mirrors. In front of one, I was a
round-faced clown; in front of another, I became an elongated stick figure. Sad to
say, many Christians’ view of Christ is greatly distorted very much similar to
passing before those funny mirrors.
Watchman Nee once said the number one reason Christians live in spiritual poverty
was because they did not know the Word. A woeful lack of the knowledge of the
Word coupled with a complacent attitude plunge God’s people into spiritual poverty
and invite the Enemy to wreak havoc.
Today, a casual surfing of many Christian Internet forums will expose a lack of the
stature of Christ. It is not hard to see that the distorted views of Christ stem from
a serious lack of the full knowledge of the “whole counsel of God.” On the other
hand, spiritual blessings and prosperity come from heeding and keeping all His
commandments. Deut. 7: 12-13 says, “Then it shall come about because you
listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep
with you His covenant and His lovingkindness which He swore to your forefathers.
And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of
your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil,
the increase of your herd and the young of your flock, in the land which He swore
to your forefathers to give you.”
In the same way, as Deut. 8:1 suggests, the pre-requisite for possessing the good
land is to keep God’s commandments in full. But, for us New Testament believers,
keeping or “doing all the commandments” firstly refers to our urgent need to
embrace not a select or partial truth, but ALL the truths about Christ in the whole
Bible. Any addition to or deletion from the whole bible will result in our greatly
distorted and diminished understanding and possession of Christ.
Secondly, we have to realize that no matter how much we desire to heed His Word
and embrace all the truths in the whole Bible, we are utterly incapable of keeping
His Word. The truth of the matter is, we can’t even keep our own word, much less
God’s Word.
Here we face an apparent dilemma, on the one hand, we are charged to “keep and
do” all the commandments in full, on the other hand, we are utterly incapable of
keeping them, much less doing them.
So what are we to do? Enter the Beloved Son. The Son is the only One qualified
and capable of keeping and doing His Word.
It is no coincidence that chapter 8 brings out sonship: “Thus you are to know in
your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you as a man disciplines his
son. Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk
in His ways and to fear Him” (8:5-6). As a Son, Christ had to learn obedience
through the things which He suffered (Heb. 5:8). In Christ, we have received
sonship to become God’s “many sons.” And as His many sons, we are being
chastened and conformed to His image in order that the Son in us may “keep the
commandment of the Lord…to walk in His ways and to fear Him.”
So, what do we do to keep His Word? We have to learn to yield ourselves as
sons in the Father’s disciplining hands. The more we learn to yield to His dealings
and chastening, the more a keeper of the Word we will become; for in His
chastening, the character of Christ is constituted into our inner being, and His
Word is inscribed into the tablet of our hearts. It is no longer a matter of us trying
to keep His Word, but altogether a matter of becoming sons who possess the
Son’s character and are inwardly constituted by His Word.
Thirdly, humility is required to keep His commandments. “And you shall remember
all the way which the Lord your God has led you these 40 years in the wilderness,
that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether
you would keep His commandments or not” (Deut. 8:2). The only way we can be
made humble is through His dealings and chastening. It took the children of Israel
40 years to perish in the wilderness; likewise, it will take the dying to our natural
man before any real humility comes forth and before the keeping of His
commandments becomes a remote possibility. Unless we have been humbled
through the dealings and chastening of the cross, there will be no way of
embracing all the truths concerning Christ, and no way of entering into all the
fullness of Christ.
Related to the Word of God, there has always been a fascination among the
students of the Word to find ways of interpreting the Word. Volumes have been
written and courses are offered in churches and seminaries about how to interpret
the various prophesies, symbolisms, typologies, parables, mysteries and signs in
the Word.
Zealous Christians are un-bashful about offering their methods of interpretation,
and adamant about their interpretations as divinely inspired. Every now and then
someone comes along and offers a brand new interpretation and claims
inspiration and authority.
While each method and each interpretation does carry some merits, the single
most important element is largely missed.
The most overlooked fact is that human beings are incapable of interpreting the
Word of God. The Son is the Word incarnate, therefore for us to properly
understand and interpret His Word, the greatest need is to be rooted and
grounded in Him and for Him to be constituted in us.
The seven sons of Scevas in the Book of Acts offer us a window. They zealously
went around the country attempting to cast out evil spirits. But the evil spirit
replied, “Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who are you?” (Acts 19:14-15).
Without a doubt, the message preached was correct: “I adjure you by Jesus
whom Paul preaches.” All doctrinal bases were covered. But the messengers
were wrong – constitutionally. Our messages, or interpretations for that matter,
simply must match the Christ that has been constituted and formed in our inward
being. For this inward constitution of Christ to take place, the interpreter has to
have gone through certain amount of dealings and chastening. Our interpretations
have to match our inward constitution and be an overflow of Christ formed from
deep within.
The Lord does grant us inspirations to peer into His Word and come up with
precious revelations. Many Christians have had this wonderful experience. But it
is never meant to bypass our urgent need to mature and possess greater
measure of Christ.
Paul says, “When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason
as a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things” (I Cor. 13:11).
Clearly, our maturity in the life of Christ has much to do with our speaking. Hence
our greater need is not so much the ability to interpret the Word, but to allow the
Lord to inscribe His Word in our inner being so that maturity starts to take place.
There is nothing like a matured Christian sharing the Word of God. As he speaks,
Christ comes forth. Find a mature Christian, try it next time and just watch and
listen.
May the Lord grant us mercy to love His Truth. May the Lord inscribe His
commandment deep in the tablet of our hearts so that we might become a people
constituted with His Word.
Oliver Peng
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