Since the fall of man, his sinful mind began to allow flights of fancy in his own heart and mind, allowing imagination to take the place of divine revelation. Paul describes it well when he writes, “They . . . became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Rom. 1:21-22). Based upon his own imagination, intuition or similar subjective experience, man thinks he has come to know ultimate reality. It is this that constitutes mysticism in the natural man. Man, being religious by his very nature, then appeals to his feelings as a source of knowledge in divine things.
The Believer’s Danger
While the believer would perhaps not go to such extremes, yet ultimately this same tendency exists in him. Mysticism can spoil the believer’s enjoyment of Christ, just as it may prevent the unbeliever from coming to Christ. Although the seeds of it were present from the beginning of Christianity, mysticism began to surface in an outward way in the fourth century A.D. Alarmed at the worldliness that was coming into the church, some began to seek for a higher life and a more godly walk. Certainly this was a right desire, but instead of looking to Christ, men began to look at themselves, and the result was monasticism. All of this ministered to human pride instead of exalting Christ, because it was ultimately occupation with self.
We must remember, however, that we are living in the dispensation when the Spirit of God is here on earth, dwelling in every true believer and dwelling collectively among believers as the house of God. This precious truth carries us beyond a mere cold adherence to the truth and gives us that personal and collective communion with God Himself. “Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). In the Old Testament, God’s Word was written on “tables of stone,” but in the New Testament Paul speaks of the Corinthians as an epistle written in “fleshy tables of the heart” (2 Cor. 3:3). It is by the Spirit of God that we have our enjoyment of Christ. By that same Spirit we understand the Word of God, enter into all truth, engage in worship and service to the Lord, and receive guidance in our pathway.
Understanding Truth
In the understanding of divine things in this dispensation, as also in worship, in ministry, and in guidance in our pathway, we can see that every believer must guard against falling into mysticism. The truth revealed in the New Testament can be understood only by the Spirit of God’s leading, and human imagination can easily be mixed with it. Doctrine can be distorted and a wrong thought entertained, perhaps without the individual’s realizing it. An interpretation of Scripture may be partly from the Spirit of God, yet have man’s thoughts mixed with it. In guidance for our pathway, this can also be true. Paul was prevented from going into Bithynia (see Acts 16:7), and some might well ask by what parameter he could be sure that it was the Spirit of God leading and not mere imagination. Surely in this dispensation there is the direct leading of the Spirit of God, even if there may be no definite Scripture involved. How then do we differentiate this from mysticism?
Surely there is a need for proper balance, as there is danger on both sides. There is a clear path of truth between the extremes of mysticism and hard literalism. As another has remarked, the Word without the Spirit makes a rationalist, while the Spirit without the Word makes a fanatic. In the former, the Spirit of God is displaced, and the whole character of this dispensation denied. Our enjoyment of Christ is lost, and obedience is reduced to a cold formality without power. In the latter, however, man’s imagination goes beyond and even eclipses divine revelation, so that God’s Word is slighted, and man is turned back on himself. In such a case, Satan uses man’s mind in a subtle way, and even in divine things, self becomes the object, instead of Christ.
What Can Happen
When mysticism takes over, its effects are far-reaching. It may begin with self-examination, which sometimes is a good thing. In the wilderness, Israel had to learn themselves and then to learn what God was. However, occupation with self, even perhaps with right motives, will never bring us happiness and will never draw us to Christ. Rather, in being occupied with self, we will either be overwhelmed by the evil of our flesh or puffed up by what we consider to be our own goodness. This was Job’s sin — he took pride in his own goodness and failed to realize that any good in his life was the result of a work of grace in his soul. Mysticism, as we have already mentioned, turns man back on himself and eventually results in unbelief in what God has said. The confusion that follows often gives rise to wild and fanciful thoughts, supposedly based on God’s Word, but frequently going beyond it. As we will see in another article in this issue, it is ultimately the denial of the entire ruin of man in the flesh.
Detecting Mysticism
How, then, do we distinguish between mysticism and what is proper to saints in this dispensation — the leading of the Spirit? We would suggest the following things that the Word of God brings before us.
First of all, Scripture never emphasizes the subjective as a basis or guide for our thoughts and affections. Rather, a risen Christ in glory is presented to us, and the Spirit of God in us delights to bring Him before us. The subjective is real and most valuable, but it is always the result of the objective — of our having Christ before us, never ourselves. The Spirit never occupies us with His work in us; rather, He occupies us with Christ. The mystic, on the other hand, is greatly taken up with the work in himself. Occupation with self is a sure sign that it is not the Spirit of God at work, unless there is some failure that He is bringing before us. In such a case, the Spirit must take up the failure with us, but only in order that we may judge it, get right with God, and then go on.
Second, the Spirit always leads according to the Word, never contrary to it. While the Spirit may lead us without a definite Scripture, He never leads contrary to the Word, for it is He that inspired that same Word. In being familiar with God’s Word, we find that the Spirit of God delights to open it up to us according to the mind of God, and in this way many questions are answered by a verse, a parallel incident, or other application of the Scriptures. A profound reverence for and subjection to the authority of Scripture distinguishes real spirituality from mysticism.
Third, when Christ is before us as an Object, our conscience is in exercise directly with God, as to His claims over us. The conscience of the mystic may be in exercise too, but because he is looking for good in himself instead of looking at Christ, everything is distorted, and he fails to see things in their true light. Legality comes in, and often an emphasis on externals is present, when inward reality is lacking. Instead of the conscience being in direct relation to God, men and their authority may become prominent, and thus God is displaced. A true desire to be like Christ may be there, but it can never be fulfilled, because the true Object is not before him. It is a false ministry which brings something between God and the conscience, while true ministry puts my conscience directly in relation to God.
Occupation With the Blesser
Finally, we must remember that all the enjoyment of our blessings is based on what we already possess. We are “dead to sin” (Rom. 6:2); we are “blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3); we are “meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1:12). We accept these things by faith, not experience. In taking, by faith, the place where God has put us, we find that we are not occupied with ourselves, but with the One who has brought us there. All that goes with it — such as joy in the heart, affection for Christ, and our not being conformed to this world — results from our enjoyment of that place, but these things themselves are not our object. Experience may be wonderful, and God intends that it be so, but occupation with experience will never produce it.
In summary, we see that God sets before us His beloved Son as our Object and that in being occupied with Him, we are gradually “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). But it is His work, His power and His glory. The moment we look at ourselves or become taken up with His work in us, we spoil it. We take His glory to be ours and rob Christ of what is due to Him. Only in having Christ as an Object outside of ourselves can we walk before God in a right way.
W. J. Prost