by H.E. Hayhoe
That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him: in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.
This 10th verse is the key to all the ways of God: the ultimate, the finality, the consummation, and the eternity that is in the mind of God. The 10th verse gives us the purpose of God; the 11th brings the Church into association with Christ in that coming day of glory. Oh, that wonderful day that is coming!
God as God could not die, but God became a man in the Person of Christ, took a life capable of death (although not subject to it), and yielded up that life on the cross. The pathway of His sufferings is the only way for two things: first, it was the only way that we could really learn the depth of that divine bosom; second, it was the only way that sin could be put away. If the Lord Jesus has not won your heart and mine, what more could He do to win them? For every Christian blessing is a gift, and every child of God on the earth is blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. I do not possess more than you, and you do not possess more than I do. Blessing is not attained by our own efforts.
Every Christian blessing is the gift of God and every believer is equally blessed of God, but the enjoyment and apprehension of it depend upon the state of soul. All your happiness and all your intelligence are not the fruit of a brilliant mind. The more brilliant your mind is the more you are going to go wrong if you trust it. A verse to substantiate that is 1 Cor. 3:2020And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. (1 Corinthians 3:20), "The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain." The Greek word for "vain" is "vacuum". There is not anything there at all.
Learning God’s Thoughts
“If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise." 1 Cor. 3:1818Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. (1 Corinthians 3:18). What does that mean? We get the habit of reading the Bible and we think we have done a nice thing, but we do not stop to think what it means. So to become a fool means to take the place of knowing nothing and letting God teach us.
Do you know why children learn so rapidly? It is because they have nothing to unlearn. When they go to school there is no inner resistance to learning. What about grown-ups? They have to get rid of their own thoughts to get God's thoughts. Always remember this as a principle in the things of God, that even the natural mind in a Christian will always resist the truth. Scripture says the carnal mind is enmity against God. The carnal mind is our own mind. That is true of every unconverted person in the world, no matter what the nationality or who they are, and it is true of every Christian that their natural mind will resist the truth.
Our Coming Glories
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. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 1 Cor. 2:9, 109But 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. 10But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. (1 Corinthians 2:9‑10).
There is not a, glory that Christ has acquired as a man that does not belong to the believer, but your entrance into these things depends upon your state of soul. We need the work of Christ for our consciences; that is, we need to learn that the work was finished on the cross. We need the Person of Christ for our meditation, and we need the coming glories of Christ before us to separate us from this world.
Why is it that Christians go after the world? Because the devil has robbed even Christians of the glory that is coming. We, by the Spirit, should live in heaven before we get there. That is why the Spirit was sent down. It is not a brilliant mind, but a state of soul that enjoys Christ. Each of us gets as much of Christ as we want, and our lives show how much we want. There should be more diligence to learn of Christ and of what is ours in Christ.
Guidance from the Bible
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.
There is not a man on earth, wonderful though he maybe, who would know the things of God except he be taught of God. The only thing that will pierce through the horizon of this world is the Bible. How much do you read it? You should read the Bible until you are so saturated with it that you think and speak in the very language and wisdom of Scripture.
Many forget that the Bible tells them how to live as husband and wife, how to conduct their family, and how to run their business. There is not a path for the child of God but what the Word of God is there to guide him. If you are reading the Word of God and letting your mind become saturated with it, when any problem confronts you in life, you will have the wisdom of the Word to guide you.
In Prov. 28:1414Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief. (Proverbs 28:14) it says, "Happy is the man that feareth always." This means that we are afraid to take a step without the Word of God to guide us. In Jer. 10:2323O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. (Jeremiah 10:23) it says, "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." You cannot take a right step or bring your family up correctly without the wisdom of the Word of God to guide you. Some of the most brilliant people in the world and even some gifted Christians have had most unhappy lives without the Word of God guiding them.
The Divine Guest
“That we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." He wants us in the good of Christian Blessing I these things and has given us the Holy Spirit that we might know. We should be careful how we treat the Divine Guest within us. If we grieve Him, He will not leave us, but we will miss the things that are freely given us of God, for it is the Spirit that unfolds these things to us.
May each of us see that the Bible is the wisdom of God and man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Oh, that each of us could learn that the wisdom of God is the only path for our feet.