CE 1 YEAR: 47 Mysticism

Week 47

Mysticism

The silence of Scripture on Mysticism

Mysticism has been defined as: the belief that God is regularly revealing His extra-biblical will for our lives through mental telepathy, or our correct interpretation of circumstances. Mental telepathy is direct communication from one mind to another apart from any physical means (e.g. seeing or hearing). Mysticism claims that God directly plants extra-biblical direction in your mind that you must recognize as His will. Or correctly interpret “signs” in your circumstances to know His extra-biblical will.

But there are many biblical problems with mysticism. First, there are no biblical promises, examples, or instruction for what mysticism claims. God never promises to speak to us apart from Scripture. There is no instruction in the Bible on how to recognize when God is speaking to us apart from Scripture. There is not a single example in Scripture of God ever guiding one of His people by planting thoughts in their head that they were supposed to recognize as revelation. There is no instruction in Scripture on how to correctly interpret your circumstances as God’s guidance for decision making.

If mysticism claimed that we should expect God to speak to us through a donkey (Num 22:28-30), it would have more biblical support than claiming God speaks to us through mental telepathy. There is no evidence that even Jesus received His revelations through mystical means. On the contrary, Jesus spoke repeatedly of receiving divine revelation by what He physically “saw” and “heard,” not just what He thought (Matt 3:17; 17:5; John 3:11; 3:31-32; 5:19-20, 30; 8:26, 28, 38, 40; 12:28-29).

If God was communicating to Christians in a mystical way, it would be the most important thing happening in our daily lives. And we would expect a great deal of biblical promises, commands, examples, and instruction on how God communicates to us apart from Scripture. But there are none of these things.

This is why mystical teachers have to give us their personal examples of God putting thoughts in their mind to guide them. There are no examples of this in Scripture. Likewise, people have written books to give instruction on discerning the extra-biblical will of God because there is no instruction for this in Scripture.

Scripture teaches that when God wanted to communicate apart from His written word, He personally appeared or spoke through visions, Angels, or other physical and undeniable ways. There are no exceptions of this in Scripture. Which is why it is rather unbiblical for people to claim God speaks to them through some sort of “still small voice” that they really do not hear with their ears. There are no promises or examples of such a thing happening to God’s people in Scripture.

Refuting biblical support for mysticism

One of the most misunderstood passages in the Bible is James 1:5-8. Many interpret this as a promise that if we have a question or need direction that is not available in Scripture, then we can simply ask God and He will guide us. Many believe such guidance would come through an immediate and strong thought in our mind, which would be mental telepathy. Thankfully, this is not true.

Why do we say, “thankfully”? Because the text demands that you do not doubt or question whatever thoughts or “answer” comes to your mind. “When you ask” for wisdom “you must believe and not doubt” that God will “speak” to you. If you doubt this, then you are a sinful, unbelieving person who “should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” So, if you ask for wisdom on an extra-biblical issue, can you trust without a doubt, whatever thoughts, intuitions, or “answers” come to mind as revelation from God? Humble people will admit they cannot.

So, what is the text in James saying? The answer is to correctly define the “wisdom” that is being referred to. It is not extra-biblical wisdom for making all kinds of decisions. The wisdom you can confidently and always get from God is moral wisdom. Specifically, what is morally right or wrong in difficult circumstances (James 1:2-4). The “wisdom” promised in James 1 is defined in James 3: The wisdom from God is first of all morally pure, loves peace, and is considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good moral fruit, impartial and sincere (3:17). According to James, the wisdom God is willing to provide is moral: telling us what is evil or righteous in any given situation. And you confidently possess this wisdom in Scripture.

Another promise often misunderstood is when Christ told His Apostles that the Spirit would guide them in the truth (John 16:12-13). Is this a promise that the Spirit will guide you in extra-biblical decisions? On the contrary, this was a unique promise to the Apostles promising them revelation to write NT Scripture, including prophecy about the future. This promise was fulfilled in the Apostle John’s writing of his Gospel and the Revelation. Likewise, the Gospel of Matthew is a fulfillment of Christ’s promise that the Holy Spirit would enable the Apostles to remember all that He said (John 14:25-26). If these promises were for all Christians, then why would we believe the Apostles were uniquely equipped to write Scripture?

Others misunderstand the descriptions of the Holy Spirit as our paraklēton (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7; 1 John 2:1). Some translations interpret this word as “Counselor” and one who speaks to you. However, the correct interpretation is “Advocate,” or one who speaks for you. This meaning is clear in 1 John 2:1 and described in Rom 8:26-27.

The reference to the Father drawing people to Him (John 6:44) refers to God pulling people to Him for salvation, not the Spirit prompting us in extra-biblical direction.

When Jesus spoke of His sheep hearing His voice (John 10:27), He was speaking of their salvation and conversion experience, not extra-biblical revelation.

Christ’s promises of direct revelation in the context of Apostles, speaking before pagan leaders during a period of great persecution (Luke 12:11-12; cf. Luke 21:14-15; Matt 10:19-20; Mark 13:11), is quite different from the claim of mystical guidance for extra-biblical decisions in everyday life.

The Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit guiding the early Church in specific decisions (Acts 13:1-2; 15: 2, 6-7, 28). But the direction was spoken through the miraculously inspired and authenticated Prophets or Apostles who were present.

There are several Bible verses describing God leading us in “the way.” These refer to a moral lifestyle, not specific divine direction on “the way” a person should choose in an extra-biblical decision. The Hebrew word derek used in many of these passages refers to the moral actions of men who either follow the way of righteousness or wickedness. (1 Kgs 2:2-3; 16:26; Ps 1:1-2, 6; 5:8; 23:3; 25:4-5, 8-10, 12; 27:11; 31:3; 32:8; 51:12-13; 86:11; 139:23-24; 143:8, 10; Prov 4:14, 19, 26-7; 8:20; 11:5; 12:26; 15:9-10; 22:6; Isa 2:3; 30:19-21; 48:17-18; 55:7; Jer 12:1; 36:3).

This helps us to understand Proverbs 3:5-6 which is commonly interpreted in a mystical way. The literal Hebrew of verse 6 reads “He will make your paths straight.” The verses mentioned above about “the way” in Scripture demonstrate that the “straight” way in the OT refers to moral living by obeying God’s commands. This interpretation of Proverbs 3:5-6 is supported by verse 7 which instructs us to fear the Lord and turn away from evil. A mystical interpretation of this verse leads us to depend on our feelings to guide us. But trusting the Lord, not leaning on our own understanding, and acknowledging God in all of our decisions is nothing more (or less!) than depending on Scripture.

The problem of signs

Many Christians seek for miraculous “signs” from God to guide them in decision making. Some claim that we are to follow the method used by Abraham’s servant to find a wife for Isaac (Gen 24:12-21). Does God intend this to be instruction on how to find the perfect wife? The answer is “no” for at least 2 reasons.

First, Abraham’s servant was given a very unique promise. The Prophet Abraham told him the Lord would send an Angel to ensure his success (Gen 24:40). This man was promised divine guidance and intervention from an Angel. If a real Prophet of God like Abraham could tell you the same thing, then perhaps there would be instruction here for how you can find a wife. But there are no Prophets like Abraham today, and it is unlikely that you will be promised guidance from an Angel to find a wife.

Another reason not to accept this passage as instruction on how to get guidance from God is that it would be foolish to do so. Imagine trying to actually apply it to your life. You could hire a dating agency to find a wife for your son. The agent could drive into a gas station, pray a prayer, and choose the first woman who comes along and fills his water jug.

Some have used the example of “Gideon’s fleece” (Judg 6:11-40) as a model of asking God for signs to guide them. What people forget is that Gideon saw and spoke with an Angel! The purpose of “Gideon’s fleeces” was to prove the Angel was from God, not to authenticate a decision. There is nothing to apply to decision making in Gideon’s story, unless an Angel appears to you too. And if God wants you to lead and risk the lives of 300 men in battle against a huge army, maybe He will.

Of course, God may “open doors” of opportunity for us. But there is no way for us to be certain such things are from God. Notice how even the Apostle Paul responded to an “opened door” he knew was from “the Lord” (2 Cor 2:12-13). Paul did not view an “open door,” even for preaching the Gospel, as a clear command of God.

God rarely, if ever, intends your circumstances to be a divine revelation of guidance to do something. This is why there is absolutely no instruction in Scripture on how to correctly interpret your circumstances as God’s guidance for decision making.

Other problems with mysticism

We understand that some may be offended by what is being taught in these chapters about knowing God’s will. The belief that God is speaking directly to people apart from Scripture can be very precious to them. But understanding the completeness and authority of Scripture will protect you from the potential dangers of mysticism. All kinds of Christians justify foolish and even sinful decisions by claiming God told them to do something. Other Christians live in great turmoil, trying to find the will of God apart from Scripture. Christian, everything God needs or desires to say to you is written in Scripture.

Remember, false Christianity is often trying to convince you that you need something that God has already given you. As a false teaching, mysticism denies that God has already given you a clear revelation of His will and how to please Him.

Mysticism is intimidating when others are claiming that God is regularly “speaking” to them and guiding them apart from Scripture. These claims create a great deal of disappointment and envy among Christians. When God does not “speak” or “guide” as miraculously and personally as He is supposedly doing for others, we will wonder why. You might falsely conclude it is because you are sinning, or God does not care about you, or you are not spiritual enough to receive these supposed “messages” from God.

Unfortunately, mystics are rarely honest enough to confess the multitude of times they thought God was telling them to do something, and they were wrong.

The popularity of mysticism among Christians is a subtle attack on the authority of Scripture. It repeatedly complains that God’s word is not specific enough in telling us what to do, and we therefore need extra-biblical revelation to know God’s will. But such a claim is worthless. No human can confidently know what extra-biblical thoughts would be revelation from God. If God just put a thought in your mind to move to Africa, how could you possibly know it was from Him?

In this life you can rarely be sure of any source of guidance apart from Scripture. No matter how good or gripping a thought, idea, or desire may be, if there is not a specific verse of Scripture that would verify it as God’s will, then we must always admit that it may only be our own human, and possibly mistaken thought. And if we cannot trust our thoughts beyond clear statements of Scripture, then we are back to the fact that the only divine direction we can fully trust is the written Word of God.

Finally, in many cases, mysticism leads to the sin of divination. Divination is interpreting signs, dreams, “fleeces,” circumstances, and omens as revelation from God. In mysticism, superstition and divination become divine revelation. God said such pagan practices were detestable to Him (Deut 18:10-14). Are you sure that your approach to knowing God’s will is not the sin of divination?

Practical application: Seriously, take a moment to answer that question. Apply what you have learned in these chapters to evaluate how you make decisions and discern God’s will.

In your small group meeting this week, share praises and prayer requests and then discuss these questions:

1) How do we define mysticism?

2) What is “mental telepathy”? How does this apply to mysticism?

3) What is the biggest biblical problem with mysticism?

4) In the Bible, what did God always do if He wanted to communicate to someone apart from His written word?

5) What is a common interpretation of James 1:5-8? How does James 3:17 help us correctly interpret this?

6) What is the literal translation of Proverbs 3:6? What is the suggested interpretation of this? What do you think?

7) Does God intend the method used by Abraham’s servant to find a wife for Isaac, to be instruction on how to find the perfect wife? What are two reasons suggested for denying this? What do you think?

8) Why is “Gideon’s fleece” not a good example of looking for signs to get God’s direction?

9) How did the Apostle Paul respond to an “open door” in 2 Corinthians 2:12-13? What does this tell us about such things?

10) What are several harmful things about mysticism? Have you personally experienced any of these?

11) What is divination? How can mysticism lead to this?

12) What was most meaningful to you in this chapter? Why?