OBTAINING THE KNOWLEDGE OF
GOD
By
Dr. Stephen Jones: 11/05/2018
When
men deny the foundation truth that God created the heavens and the earth, all
sorts of mischief follows.
In
ancient times, the Greeks and others believed that spirit was both eternal
(theoretically uncreated) and good. They believed that the devil created
matter, making it inherently evil. In other words, if they had tried writing
the Bible, they would have begun with: “In the beginning, the devil created the
earth and saw, to his satisfaction, that it was evil.”
The
Greeks believed, for the most part, that the mind was spiritual and therefore
good. Most of their philosophies, then, were valued, and the term philosophy
itself meant “love of wisdom.” They started out as optimists, believing that it
was possible to obtain knowledge (ultimate truth) through contemplation.
The
Bible would agree with such optimism, had not Adam sinned and had not his sin
brought death (mortality), turning his mind into a “carnal mind.” But after sin
entered the picture, the carnal mind lost its ability to reach the goal of ultimate
truth. 1
Corinthians 2:14 says,
14 But a natural [psukikos, “soulish”] man [that is, the soul’s conscious
mind] does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are
foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually
appraised.
As
a philosopher in his own right, Paul, who had studied the various Greek
philosophies, understood that the soul had been affected negatively by Adam’s
sin (Romans
5:12) and had lost its spiritual capability. It could still learn and
understand many things, of course, particularly things that were observable in
this natural world.
However,
it lost the ability to discern spiritual things. Hence, he was helpless and was
in need of divine intervention by the Holy Spirit in order to learn the
ultimate truth of the Gospel.
Buddhism
vs. Biblical Christianity
Far
to the east, in India, a man named Siddhartha Gautama Saka was developing his
philosophical religion later known as Buddhism. He himself was called “The
Buddha,” (Enlightened One). His philosophy deconstructed the Hindu idea of the
soul. He examined the soul, much like peeling an onion, only to find that it
had no solid core. In other words, one’s sense of self is just an illusion.
Reality is “non-self,” because you do not exist.
It
is unfortunate that in his exploration of the inner self (soul), he did not
find the spirit. That is like exploring the temple of God and failing to
discover the Most Holy Place. But yet it is understandable, because one’s
spirit is invisible to the soul. The soul, having taken the position of
dominance when Adam and Eve sinned, has been blinded in that area and cannot
perceive the spirit without divine intervention.
Of
course, like many others, he did not view the body as the true self. He
differed with the Biblical view in that the Bible sets forth TWO selves, the
first being the natural man that was created, and the second being the
spiritual self that is begotten by God through the Holy Spirit. There is the
first creation man and the new creation man, and a person’s sense of self
depends on who the person identifies with.
By
the law of God, one is able to identify with either self: the soulish self or
the spiritual self. Neither self is abolished, nor does the Bible treat either
self as an illusion. In fact, it does not glorify God at all when men deny the
existence of that which God has created. To put to death the old man (first
creation man), or to “crucify the flesh,” one must recognize its existence and
its reality. One cannot crucify an illusion.
But
Buddha recognized only one self and set forth the idea that this self is an
illusion. Man’s inner core (the soul) was thought to be devoid of a spiritual
entity. Hence, instead of crucifying the old man and legally transferring one’s
identity to the new creation man, Buddha sought to deny the old man’s existence
altogether.
Buddha
and the Apostle Paul both believed that the soul was incapable of discovering
ultimate truth. But their conclusions differed, because Paul recognized that
man also had a spirit that was distinct from the soul. Apparently, Buddha
failed to recognize this, so when he discovered the emptiness of the soul, he
thought that man had no real existence at all.
This
is one reason it is important to understand that man is a tripartite being,
having a body, soul, and spirit. The Greeks (like many Christians today)
believed that the soul was spiritual, which meant that man was believed to be a
dichotomous being (body and soul).
Those
Christians who recognize only a body and a spiritual soul have difficulty
making the change of identity from the old man to the new. While they probably
recognize the existence of the new creation man and know that they should
reckon the old man of flesh to be dead, they usually end up identifying with
the soul instead of the spirit. Why? Because they identify with the “spiritual
soul,” not realizing that this is an oxymoron.
The
laws of blood make it clear that “the fleshly soul is in the blood” (Leviticus
17:11, literal translation). Paul understood this to say clearly that the
soul was fleshly, or carnal, not spiritual. Even as the blood was to be given
life (oxygenated by the breath), so also is the soul to be given life by the
spirit (“ruach, “wind, breath, spirit”).
Materialists
seek knowledge through the mind of the body (i.e., the brain). The Greeks
believed that the body was inherently evil, and so they sought knowledge
through the soul. Christians led by the Apostle Paul’s biblical philosophy, see
the body and the soul as “flesh and blood,” so they seek knowledge through a
third entity—their spirit.
The
human spirit comes alive through the Holy Spirit, sent by God to fulfill His
New Covenant vow. God intervenes in the created world by sending the Holy
Spirit to interact with the human spirit and to “speak” to the soul. Faith is
the result of hearing His voice (Romans 10:17);
hence, faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8),
for it is dependent upon God’s act of speaking.
Greek
Skepticism
Skepticism
(in various forms) was a Greek philosophy that denied man’s ability to know.
From a biblical position, it was based on the philosophy that the soul is one’s
“self.” They saw the soul’s inadequacy and saw no solution to the problem
through the spirit, because in turn they thought that the soul was spiritual.
Paul certainly knew about Skepticism as a philosophy, and he agreed with them
up to a point. Paul too did not think that the soul was capable of accepting
and discerning spiritual things (1
Corinthians 2:14).
The
original School of Skepticism was founded by Pyrrho of Elea in the fourth
century B.C. Where did he get this idea? Vishal Mangalwadi, a
Hindu-turned-Christian, tells us in his excellent work, The Book That Made
Your World, page 7,
“Deconstructionists
blame language for creating the illusion of the self, but the Buddha blamed the
mind. It cannot be God’s image. Therefore, the mind had to be a product of
primeval cosmic ignorance, Avidya. The Buddha’s rejection of the self
made sense to the classical skeptics such as Pyrrho of Elea (360-270 BC), who
traveled to India with Alexander the Great and interacted with Buddhist philosophers.
After returning to Greece, he established a new school of skeptical philosophy
to teach that nothing is truly knowable. If so, why should anyone pay
philosophers to teach anything? No wonder, education, philosophy, and science
declined in Greece.”
Buddha
had lost sight of the creation story and the fall of man. Hence, even though he
knew that the mind had a problem, he did not know that the original sin had
caused the mind to lose its ability to know spiritual truth. He did not know
that the carnal mind, by usurping authority over the spirit, had cut itself off
from ultimate truth. By seeing no higher source of truth beyond the soul, he
simply denied the existence (and reality) of the soul.
Buddha’s
solution, then, was to shut down the mind altogether and to escape life and its
sufferings, all caused by this “primeval cosmic ignorance, Avidya.” But
escapism is a negative concept. One cannot move forward by negating. Negating
the soul is useful only in preparing the way for a positive experience through
the human spirit, but if one does not recognize the spirit, one reaches only
the dead end of non-existence.
Biblical
philosophy does not declare the soul’s essence to be non-existent but rather
that the soul’s essence—the old man of flesh—must be recognized and then “crucified
with Christ” (Galatians 2:20). Christ is the solution, because He alone
made it possible to crucify the old man of flesh and change one’s identity to
the new creation man.
The
Good God
Greek
religion recognized a pantheon of carnally-minded gods and goddesses with
conflicting agendas. Their mythologies set forth imperfect deities who seem to
enjoy the right to sin—even against each other. Such gods could only spring
from similar carnal minds, where men created gods in their own image. Men had
to respect their power and try not to criticize them in order to survive their
wrath, but worshiping such deities provided no real example of virtue to
emulate. Neither could such gods lead men into ultimate truth.
Biblical
philosophy hinges on the idea that a good God created all things and that
creation is inherently good. Sin is a later invasion of evil and disharmony,
but it is also temporary. Through Time, God is working toward the ultimate goal
of reconciling all things to Himself (2
Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 1:20). Because all things started out as a
harmonious and joyful song, when the sons of God sang with joy (Job 38:7),
it will end well, because God has the power, wisdom, and love to accomplish His
purpose in spite of sin.
Belief
in a good God is incompatible with the final conclusions of the Buddhists and
Skeptics. Christians (who understand this) do not seek to escape but to
transform. They are not discouraged by the current state of the world, for they
have something called Hope, an expectation and vision of the Kingdom of
God that is sure to come.
While
many Christians in the past 170 years adopted the escapist idea of the
“rapture,” along with the idea that the earth will be destroyed, others are
motivated by the Spirit of God to conform the world and creation itself to the
image of God. The Protestant Reformers, who received the Scriptures in printed
form after the adoption of the printing press, changed the world because of
this view of the world.
They
were not Skeptics. If they had believed that truth was unknowable, they would
not have searched the Scriptures, nor would they have taught it to others. They
sought to build “The New World” in America, and although their success was
limited in extending liberty to all men equally, their light pierced the
darkness and put the world on course toward “Liberty and Justice for All.”
Men’s
philosophies of life and their belief systems affect their actions. If enough
people believe a concept, it will change the culture. If enough cultures
believe that concept, it will change the world. Nations rise and fall according
to the ideals of their people. Most nations are destroyed from within through
the degradation of culture. (Of course, I do not discount the sovereignty of
God or His judgments in such matters.)
Believing
in a good God who is sovereign gives us the hope of the Kingdom of God on earth
as it is in heaven. Matter was not created evil, so the earth is being
cleansed, not destroyed. The Feast of Tabernacles brings transformation of
sinful flesh back to its original calling and purpose as a material expression
of heaven. Those who have this hope are motivated to build a better world and
not merely to escape it in a rapture and live in a purely spiritual state in
heaven.
