Chapter 4.18

Mega Mysticism & Spiritual Wisdom & Desires

Table of Topics

A) Mega Mysticism & Spiritual Wisdom

A.1) Proverbs 2:1-6: The Lord gives wisdom

A.2) James 1:5-8: Asking God for wisdom

A.3) Colossians 1:9-11: Asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will

A.4) Ephesians 1:17-19: Praying for spiritual wisdom & revelation

B) Mega Mysticism & Spiritual Desires

B.1) 2 Corinthians 8:16: Titus’ concern for the Corinthians

B.2) Nehemiah 2:11-12: A burden for Jerusalem

B.3) 1 Kings 8:17-19: David’s desire to build a temple

B.4) Mother Teresa’s Calling to the Poor

Extras & Endnotes

Primary Points

• Proverbs 2:1-6 is a promise that “the LORD gives wisdom . . . from His mouth.” However, the source of such “wisdom” is Scripture, Solomon himself, or human research, and 2) the nature of the wisdom is moral, and even doctrinal in nature, not amoral and extra-biblical.
• Interpreting James 1:5-8 from a mega mystical perspective leads to two sobering conclusions. First, the wisdom from God will evidently be rather immediate, coming as thoughts in our mind upon our asking. Secondly, it would be sin to doubt the truth of those thoughts coming into our mind. Thirdly, it leads to the evil practice of divination.
• To be “double-minded” (Jms 1:8) means more than confused, but to be wicked and under God’s displeasure.
• There are no biblical examples of revelation coming to a believer through divine/human mental telepathy as implied by some views of James 1:5-8.
• The mega mystical life according to James 1 is a farce and unlivable. Can or should any human have no doubts about extra-biblical thoughts in their head?
• The “wisdom” referred to in James 1:5-8 is strictly moral in nature in line with a Jewish understanding of the concept and how the writer describes it himself later in 3:13-17.
• God’s will in Colossians 1:9 is His biblical moral will.
• Ephesians 1:18 gives the impression that the enlightenment of the Ephesian Christians is something that still needs to occur. However, such a translation does not take into account that the Greek participle pephōtismenous [“having been enlightened”] is in the perfect tense, meaning an action that has already been completed in the past.
• Regarding Ephesians 1:17-19, we suggest that: 1) the contents of the “wisdom and revelation” are doctrine, not life direction, and 2) that the source of the “wisdom and revelation” will be the ministry of Apostles and Prophets, including the letter to the Ephesians itself. Paul was not expecting each Ephesian Christian to receive private inspiration from God on the doctrinal matters he describes. Rather, Paul is praying that miraculously gifted men like himself will be among the Ephesian congregation. This is illustrated in several ways throughout the epistle.

Primary Points

Continued

• The critical difference between the Ephesian saints and us is that we have the completed canon of NT Scripture, they did not, and therefore needed such ministries operating to obtain such revelation.
• Of course it sounds much more spiritual to claim a desire is directly “inspired” by God instead of simply a personal conviction, but it may not be as honest.
• The concern that God had put in the heart of Titus for the Corinthians (cf. 2 Corinthians 8:16) came from him spending time with them, not some “prompting” of the Spirit.
• When Nehemiah refers to “what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem” (Neh 2:11-12), it would seem his desires were neither unique nor directly from God as he first hears of Jerusalem’s condition through his brother.
• It can be added that Nehemiah’s God-given desires may have been prompted by things concerning the city and walls of Jerusalem that were available to Him in Scripture at the time (cf. Neh 1:8-9; Ps 51:18; 122:6; Isa 58:12).
• There is no way apart from miraculous divine revelation to know if such an extra-biblical desire is from God, or even His will.
• 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 tells us how God is glorified when our desires and ideas of how to serve Him and others are our own, and not directly “inspired” by Him.
• While Mother Teresa’s claims God told her to help the poor, such desires apparently derived from discontent with her circumstances and childhood dreams of doing such a thing.
• Simply put, we see no biblical evidence for the claim that we can know God’s specific will for our life through divinely inspired desires given apart from Scripture, our New Nature, conscience, circumstances, spiritual gifts, and other primary means of personal revelation which we have discussed elsewhere.

A) Mega Mysticism & Spiritual Wisdom

A.1) Proverbs 2:1-6: The Lord gives wisdom

There are several passages in Proverbs that speak of receiving wisdom from God. For example, we read in Proverbs 2:

My son, if you accept my [Solomon’s] words and store up my commands within you, ²    turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, ³ and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, ⁴ and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, ⁵ then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. ⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Prov 2:1-6)

There is instruction here to ask God for wisdom and a promise that “the LORD gives wisdom . . . from His mouth,” which to some could imply the reception of direct extra-biblical divine revelation for the asking. However, we would reject such an interpretation for several reasons. First, the source of such “wisdom . . . from [the] mouth” “of the Lord” is Scripture, Solomon himself, or human research, and 2) the nature of the wisdom is moral, and even doctrinal in nature, not amoral and extra-biblical.

On the first point, was Solomon suggesting that wisdom could come from some direct divine “inspiration”? If so, why then even bother writing Proverbs, because the divinely revealed wisdom contained there would be directly and individually available to all. Promoters of mystical revelation would seem to have a difficult time explaining why we would even need Scripture if direct revelation from God is readily available. How would they distinguish the divine revelation experienced by Apostles and Prophets from the divine revelation they claim?

Secondly, notice that while Solomon instructs his son to cry out for and seek wisdom in Proverbs 2, he prefaces his instruction there by saying, “accept my [Solomon’s] words and store up my commands within you, [therefore] turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding.” Solomon’s son was not to expect some sort of divine revelation from God, but to get the wisdom he sought from Solomon, which is now recorded in Scripture for our own use as well. Wisdom from God is equated with words from Solomon throughout Proverbs (cf. 1:1-8; 3:1; 4:1-7; 5:1-2; 7:1-4).

Thirdly, it would seem Solomon is prescribing other more normal and God-ordained ways of gaining wisdom as well. When he exhorts his son to turn his “turn [his] ear to wisdom and apply [his] heart [leb: “mind”] to understanding, he is clearly speaking about our response to godly teaching, a method that God has certainly provided for us to greatly increase in biblical wisdom.

Likewise, unlike mega mysticism, Solomon recognizes the value of using our reason for gaining wisdom through human research when he encourages his son to “look for it [wisdom] as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure.” This is not referring to looking for signs and listening for some still small voice to help us make extra-biblical decisions as mega mysticism would propose, but rather, this is the kind of hard work often required to really obtain God’s wisdom and which Solomon himself describes elsewhere when he writes, “I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 1:13). ^[1]

Finally, notice in Proverbs 2 the kind of wisdom that will result if Solomon’s son will, “call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding” (v. 3). As we would prayerfully ask God for wisdom, is it extra-biblical amoral direction that we should expect? On the contrary, Solomon says that the wisdom that will result is doctrinal, not directional, in nature for, “then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God” (v. 5). It is not some extra-biblical will of God that Solomon promises with such a prayer, but rather, a knowledge of God’s ways, which today, are fully available to us in Scripture (cf. Prov 9:10).

Therefore, there is no contextual or biblical reason to expect amoral, extra-biblical direction from God when we read further that, “For the LORD gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding [not extra-biblical direction]” (v. 6). It is simply a mega mystical bias that would read into this verse that this wisdom is to come through some sort of divine/human mental telepathy. On the contrary, Solomon describes the wisdom as coming from himself, and now recorded in Scripture, or from learning from our human experiences and research.

A.2) James 1:5-8: Asking God for wisdom

If Proverbs 2:1-6 is not promising or prescribing some sort of divine/human mental telepathy to receive extra-biblical amoral widsom, then neither is James 1:5-8. This is perhaps the most quoted verse of Scripture to support mega mysticism. The two passages are virtually identical, both advocating asking God for wisdom. In James we read:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  ⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and [morally] complete, not lacking anything.  ⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, Who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.  ⁶But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  ⁷That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;  ⁸he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

Let us begin by suggesting how this statement would be interpreted from a mega mystical perspective. First, when we need to make a decision that is more specific than what Scripture addresses, we can pray and ask God for further revelation. This revelation will not be contrary to what Scripture says, just outside of and in addition to what it says, because Scripture won’t tell us, for example, whether to move to Cleveland or Chattanooga.

Interpreting this passage from a mega mystical perspective leads to two rather sobering conclusions. First, the wisdom from God will evidently be rather immediate, coming as thoughts in our mind upon our asking. Secondly, it would be sin to doubt the truth of those thoughts coming into our mind. If the word “Chatanooga” comes into our mind instead of Cleveland, then we’d better head for Tennessee without hesitation because God has spoken. Both the immediacy and great authority of such revelation is reflected in the NLT which reads:

But when you ask Him [for wisdom], be sure that you really expect Him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord [because] they can’t make up their minds.”

Concerning the last statement, it is important to recognize that the text clearly teaches that the doubt in this circumstance is a displeasing sin against God. So much so that God will not help such a person (cf. v. 7) and they are labeled with the morally derogatory term of “dipsychos,” (lit. “double-souled”). To the Jews whom this epistle is addressed to (cf. 1:1), this word would have meant more than simply being innocently confused or unsure about what to do. It meant the person was wicked with a disobedient attitude toward God.

Accordingly, Douglas Moo, Distinguished Professor of NT at Wheaton College writes that to be “double-minded” in James is to be: “insincere and inconsistent in his allegiance to God” ^[2] which speaks of an unbeliever, not a confused believer. ^[3] Accordingly, the epistle describes “double-minded” people later when we read:

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. . . .

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (Jms 4:4, 7-8)

Here, “double-minded” people are described as “adulterous” and having a “friendship with the world” and a “hatred toward God, even being “an enemy of God” (v. 4). They are also, unsubmitted to God, under the control of the devil, separated from God, having impure hearts (v. 8). In a word, the “double-minded” can simply be labeled “sinners” (v. 8), a word that is never used in the NT to describe the saints of God.

Unfortunately, then, Dr. Moo misses a very important point here. It is not a doubt about God and His nature that is in question here, but rather a doubt that God has granted the wisdom that has been asked for. In other words, according to a mega mystical reading of the text, one could have a trusting attitude toward God, but simply have doubts that the “message” he is receiving in answer to his request for wisdom is from God. If the mega mystic desires to use this passage as biblical support for his view then it is saying that doubting the impulses and impressions we receive after asking God for wisdom is sin.

A final concern with a mega mystical interpretation is that it suggests the evil practice of divination. We discuss this concern in more detail elsewhere, ^[4] but God specifically prohibited His people from having a “question and answer” type encounter with spiritists and mediums like the heathen did. The ability to ask an oracle specific questions of guidance and get specific answers has been the desire of mystics in all ages. Yet, as we have noted elsewhere, “God has indwelled us with a new nature, not a new oracle.” ^[5] A mega mystical interpretation of James 1 could promote the kind of oracular relationship with God that He condemns.

Unfortunately, one will be fairly disappointed and frustrated with a more in-depth study of this text from commentaries and theologies. Most simply ignore the practical ramifications of a face-value interpretation of this instruction, not discussing at all how it is to be applied, let alone how it relates to the sufficiency of Scripture. For example, the rightly respected Bible teacher John MacArthur agrees with our face value interpretation above but does not address the significant ramifications of it. He interprets the text as saying:

It is the Lord’s loving desire to impart divine understanding abundantly to His faithful saints. . . . When we simply come in our trials to God asking for His . . . wisdom, He immediately . . . gives it to us. ^[6]

This is all fine, but neither Dr. MacArthur nor any other commentator we could find explains how that revelation comes to us, and we are still apparently left with a command to simply trust the thoughts that come into our head “immediately,” as Dr. MacArthur puts it, after asking for those thoughts.

Dr. MacArthur goes on to reflect a very mega mystical interpretation of this passage and in the quote below we have taken the liberty of inserting this perspective into his commentary:

Some Christians simply doubt that God will give them what they need [i.e. private inspiration], and rationalize their doubt in countless ways. . . . A request [for private inspiration] that does not take God at His word, that doubts either His ability or His trustworthiness [to give private inspiration], is presumptuous and worthless and is an affront. . . . His request [for private inspiration] is not really a request at all, because he foolishly and disdainfully does not believe it will be honored by God. Among other things, such a person is terribly immature, like a child, “tossed here and there by waves.”

Simply put, he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Although he claims to be a believer, his action [doubting that the immediate thoughts that come to mind after asking for wisdom, are directly from God and can be trusted as much as Scripture itself] reveals he is an unbeliever. When he goes through a severe trial, he turns to human resources rather than singularly trusting the Lord for answers and for help [by asking for private inspiration]. . . .

As James points out later in the letter, that person’s problem, of course, is sin. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you,” he admonishes. “Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (4:8). There the “double-minded” are called “sinners,” a term used only for unbelievers. ^[7]

Again, the face-value mega mystical interpretation of this text and the view of commentators on it is that 1) When we need wisdom in a particular situation we should ask God and expect to have it, 2) This wisdom need not be a quote from Scripture, but is rather immediate, occurring as thoughts in our mind, and 3) If we doubt that those extra-biblical thoughts and direction are from God we are sinning, and actually an unbeliever. So much for a mega mystical interpretation of James 1:5-8. On the proper interpretation and application of this difficult passage we would offer the following responses.

First, why would we assume that the “wisdom” God wants to give us will come through subjective, unverifiable impulses? This is especially so when we do not have a single biblical example of revelation coming to someone in this manner. ^[8] If we’re going to be biblical about it, it would seem we must understand the wisdom as coming in another way. If some want to claim that we can expect such immediate wisdom to come through a vision, audible voice, or other supernatural means actually described in Scripture, at least they have biblical precedent, but there is no such biblical support for “an inner voice” or what we refer to as private inspiration or divine/human mental telepathy.

Another reason that it is unlikely that we are to assume mere mental impressions as the means of divine wisdom here is because the mega mystical life according to this passage is a farce and unlivable. Can or should any human have no doubts about extra-biblical thoughts in their head? Can we live the way the text commands us to live if the wisdom comes the way mega mystics claim? Wouldn’t we think a person who so confidently claims such extra-biblical revelation is an arrogant fool? Is it not human, and even humble, to have at least a little doubt about the extra-biblical decisions we make in life, even if we think God is guiding us? But this text allows for no doubt whatsoever. ^[9] Therefore, we had better equate the scope of the wisdom being spoken of here as one that we will have no doubts about.

Therefore, we would apply what we have learned concerning the nature of biblical wisdom above and limit it here as well to moral and doctrinal wisdom, just as the similar passage in Proverbs 2 does. Regarding the need for moral wisdom here, notice that the immediate context of James 1:5-8 is our proper response in a trial such that our moral perfection will be furthered (cf. vs. 2-4). It is a wisdom that enables us to resist temptation in the trial we are facing (cf. vs. 12-15). In fact, this epistle specifically describes the kind of wisdom the writer has in mind when we read later:

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his [morally] good life, by [moral] deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. . . . The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all [morally] pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good [moral] fruit, impartial and sincere.” (3:13, 17).

The wisdom spoken of in James is from a Jewish perspective which, as noted in the previous chapter, saw wisdom primarily as ethical. Accordingly, Patrick Hartin writes in his commentary: “Wisdom [in James] is . . . the Hebrew concept of knowing how to conduct life in conformity with God’s [moral] Law.” ^[10]

In addition, however, there is a need for some doctrinal wisdom in the midst of our trials. One thinks of Job and how different he would have understood his difficulties if he had possessed the biblical information regarding it that we now do. The writer of this passage also provides some doctrinal wisdom to help those in difficulty to respond correctly. It would appear that poverty was, “the most outstanding and difficult trial facing the readers of the letter.” ^[11] Accordingly, Dr. Moo writes:

The letter implies that these Jewish believers were mainly poor people who were caught in a situation of considerable social tension. Oppressed and taken advantage of by wealthy landlords (5:4-6), hauled into court by rich people (2:6) who also scorn their Christian faith (2:7), the readers are exhorted to be patient and reminded that the coming of their Lord, the judge and deliverer, is at hand (5:7-1l). In the meantime, the trials they are suffering are to be met with steadfast endurance, so that their Christian character might reach full maturity and their reward, ‘the crown of life’, be secured (1:2-4, 12). ^[12]

Because the trial his readers are experiencing concerns poverty, he provides them biblical wisdom concerning God’s special regard for the poor (v. 9) and His special judgment on the rich (vs. 10-11). Such wisdom would indeed help them patiently endure their poverty.

The wisdom God is willing to provide then is moral and doctrinal in nature, such as a conviction to be holy or a belief in the unconditional love of God, not how to choose between two equally moral choices in occupation, marriage, purchases, and the whole slew of extra-biblical decisions that mega mystics claim we need extra-biblical revelation for.

This interpretation of James 1:5-8 has at least two advantages. First, we can be absolutely certain of the divinity of such moral and doctrinal convictions because they come from sure sources of revelation. Secondly, we can suggest several biblical sources for such moral and doctrinal wisdom such as Scripture, our conscience, and our new nature. Apart from these we need no additional moral or doctrinal revelation for our trials.

Accordingly, the renowned OT scholar Bruce Waltke comments on James 1:5-8:

[W]hen a believer is told to “not take a job until you have God’s mind,” I think he may be led astray. His faulty logic and faulty exegesis cause him to believe in divination, but there is no such biblical example to follow for Christians.

Christians are quick to point to James 1:5 as their proof text: “if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” They interpret “wisdom” to mean God’s special revelation, and the reasoning goes something like this: If you need special wisdom when making a decision, go to God, consult Him, and wait for Him to give you the answer you’re looking for. . . . I find the word “wisdom” constantly used out of context in churches. . . .

[I]n James the word “wisdom” is not referring to guidance. Wisdom refers to a way of life. James defines wisdom in James 3:13 when he talks about earthly wisdom being self-centered and ambitious. This kind of wisdom is not of God. “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17). Wisdom is a way of life, revealed in the person’s character. So when James says, “if any of you lacks wisdom,” he is referring to lacking purity, peacefulness, gentleness, and the like. . . .

[Mega mysticism] often reflects our microwave mindset that what we need will be immediately available to us with no need to wait. This is where a proper understanding of James 1:5 comes in: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God.” When we pray to God for wisdom, we are looking for Him to develop the character of wisdom in our lives. “The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17). . . . Rather than asking for Him to “reveal His will,” we ask Him to develop His character of wisdom in our lives. Then we will know how He thinks and what is important to Him; then we will truly know His will. ^[13]

A.3) Colossians 1:9-11: Asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will

To the Colossians Paul writes:

[W]e have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. ¹⁰And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,  ¹¹being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.  (1:9-12)

The prayer to be filled “with the knowledge of [God’s] will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding” could be interpreted to refer to some sort of private inspiration for the purpose of making decisions on extra-biblical matters. However, we reject such an interpretation on the following grounds.

First, it should be recognized that a mega mystical interpretation has serious consequences. We would then have to believe that it would be impossible to possess “the knowledge of [God’s] will” and “live a life worthy of the Lord and . . . please Him in every way” unless He spoke to us in a more mystical and direct way apart from Scripture. While this is precisely what mega mystics are claiming, it would sentence a multitude of Christians throughout history, who have not experienced God in this way, to a life of disobedience. Here we understand the seriousness of our topic. If extra-biblical, mystical, miraculous revelation from God is needed to know God’s will then all Christians had better get some because only those who hear God apart from Scripture have a chance to “live a life worthy of the Lord and . . . please Him in every way.”

Fortunately, Paul does not say that. A mega mystical interpretation of this passage ignores the fact that the Apostle immediately describes the contents of God’s will that the Colossians need to know. In other words, the “knowledge of His will” which is needed to “live a life worthy of the Lord and . . . please Him in every way” enables us to be people who are “bearing fruit in every good work [and] growing in the knowledge of God.” Once again we have moral and doctrinal issues involved here, not amoral extra-biblical ones. “Fruit” in the NT is a moral concept (cf. Gal 5:22-3), and the “knowledge of God” has to do with doctrinal issues such as His love and concern for us. There is no hint of a need or promise for extra-biblical revelation.

Paul goes on in the letter to explain the source of the “spiritual wisdom and understanding” that they need, to be filled “with the knowledge of [God’s] will,” and it has nothing to do with the private inspiration advocated by mega mysticism. In fact, the source is one that is very important to recognize but often overlooked in the modern church. Simply put, Paul makes it clear a few verses later he expects the Colossians to receive the “spiritual wisdom and understanding” that they need, to be filled “with the knowledge of [God’s] will,” through his apostolic ministry. Paul writes:

I have become its [the Church’s] servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— ²⁶the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.  ²⁷To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

²⁸We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.  ²⁹To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me. . . .

My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,  ³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  (Col 1:25-2:3)

In other words, Paul intends to be the answer to his own prayer that the Colossians would know all they need to know to “live a life worthy of the Lord and . . . please Him in every way.” Again, there is no hint of a need for direct, private inspiration, and several statements argue against such a notion.

First, notice that “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” that Paul is speaking of in Colossians is nothing more (and nothing less!) than “the mystery of God, namely, Christ” (2:2). In Christ is all the wisdom we need. Does such wisdom come through private inspiration? No, Paul exhorts these same Christians later in the letter, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom” (Col 3:16). Again, “all” the “wisdom” we need is in “the word of Christ” and all of the “word of Christ” is found in Scripture and His indwelling in our New Nature. Mega mysticism is the belief that the “word of Christ” that can “dwell in [us] richly” so that we can “teach and admonish one another with all wisdom” is found in the extra-biblical impulses and impressions that may enter our head. On the contrary, Paul later warns the Colossians about mystical revelations and “people [who] enter into visions, which fill them with foolish pride because of their human way of thinking” (Col 2:18 NCV).

Secondly, even though Paul prays earlier in the letter that the Colossians would obtain this wisdom about Christ (1:9-10), here (1:25-2:3) he explains that he, and the divine revelation that he possesses, is to be the answer to that prayer. It is through Paul, who can teach with “all wisdom” (1:28), and whom God has commissioned to provide “the word of God in its fullness” (1:25), that “the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (1:9) will be “disclosed to the saints” (1:26), so that they will have “the full riches of complete understanding” (2:2), and be able to “live a life worthy of the Lord and . . . please Him in every way” (1:10). There is no additional wisdom needed accept the truths concerning Christ that Paul could give the Colossians and that we now have recorded in Scripture. The sufficiency of such biblical and apostolic wisdom is proven by the fact that Paul believed his ministry of revelation could “present everyone perfect in Christ” (1:28).

Additional support for our interpretation is that it is virtually impossible to find a widely respected NT scholar who will interpret Colossians 1:9-10 as evidence that we should be expecting God to speak to us through private inspiration. Accordingly, N. T. Wright, reflecting the interpretation of all commentators we could find, writes:

It is this ‘knowledge’ which forms the basis both of holiness (v.10) and of thanksgiving (vv.12ff., in the light of 2:2), and which is the central characteristic of the humanity that is now renewed in Christ (3:10). The ‘knowledge of God’s will’ is more than simply an insight into how God wants his people to behave: it is an understanding of God’s whole saving purpose in Christ, and hence (as in v. 10b) a knowledge of God himself. . . . What Paul is speaking of here is not an esoteric knowledge, confined to private religious experience or exclusive sects. It is a knowledge of his (i.e. God’s) will’, which is open to all God’s people. ^[14]

If private inspiration had been needed for the Colossians to please God in every way then we would have expected him to instruct us as the mega mystics do who stress the need to spend considerable time in quiet, “listening” for God to directly reveal extra-biblical wisdom to us. The Apostle never instructs anyone to do anything of the kind, but rather, to meditate on, understand, and obey the divine revelation of Scripture, and to follow our New Nature.

Accordingly, NT scholar D. A. Carson comments on Colossians 1:9:

Paul asks God to fill believers with the knowledge of his will. “For this reason,” he writes, “since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (1:9).

We must think through what Paul means by “the knowledge of his [i.e., God’s] will” with which he wants believers to be filled. Very frequently we are inclined to use the expression “the will of God” to refer to God’s will for my vocation or for some aspect of my future that is determined by an impending choice. We “seek the Lord’s will” over whom we should marry, over major purchases, over what church to attend when we move to a new city. . . .

[T]his focus is often quite misleading, perhaps even dangerous, for it encourages me to think of “the Lord’s will” primarily in terms of my future, my vocation, my needs-and that is often another form of self-centeredness, no matter how piously put. Worse, it expunges from my consciousness the dominant ways in which the Bible speaks of the will of the Lord.

Consider such passages as the following: “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground” (Ps. 143: 10). To do the will of God in this passage is virtually synonymous with obeying what God has mandated. What God has mandated [in Scripture] is his will; our responsibility is to do it. The psalmist does not here encourage us to find God’s will, for he assumes it is already known. Rather, he is concerned with performance of that will. When he says “Teach me,” he does not say, “Teach me your will,” but “Teach me to do your will.” ^[15]

A.4) Ephesians 1:17-19: Praying for spiritual wisdom & revelation

There is a similar prayer to Colossians 1:9-10 at Ephesians 1:17-19. Paul writes:

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you spiritual wisdom and revelation in your growing knowledge of Him, – since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened [pephōtismenous]– so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what is the wealth of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the incomparable  greatness of His power toward us who believe . . . (Eph 1:17-19 NET ^[16])

Again, such language as being given “spiritual wisdom and revelation,” (v. 17) and being “enlightened” (v. 18) have suggested to some an expectation of direct revelation from the Spirit apart from Scripture.

Let us first address the meaning of verse 18. Several translations give the sense that the enlightenment is something Paul is praying for to happen in the future. For example, the NIV reads: “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know . . .” This gives the impression that the enlightenment of the Ephesian Christians is something that still needs to occur. However, such a translation does not take into account that the Greek participle pephōtismenous [“having been enlightened”] is in the perfect tense, meaning an action that has already been completed in the past with continuing results in the present. Accordingly, Harold Hoehner, Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, notes in the Bible Knowledge Commentary:

The neb, nasb, and niv state another request: I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. However, this is not a new sentence in Greek. It seems to be parenthetical, as in the kjv, asv, and rsv. In other words, Paul had prayed (v. 17) that they might have true spiritual insight into God, and then he included the phrase, “having the eyes of your heart enlightened” (rsv). Paul’s request for them to know God was within proper bounds because their hearts had been enlightened (the Gr. perf. tense indicates past action with continuing results). ^[17]

Likewise, the translators of the NET Bible quoted above note:

The perfect participle πεφωτισμένους (pephōtismenous) may either be part of the prayer (“that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened”) or part of the basis of the prayer (“since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened”). Although the participle follows the ἵνα of v. 17, it is awkward grammatically in the clause. Further, perfect adverbial participles are usually causal in NT Greek.

Finally, the context both here and throughout Ephesians seems to emphasize the motif of light as a property belonging to believers. Thus, it seems that the author is saying, “I know that you are saved, that you have had the blinders of the devil removed; because of this, I can now pray that you will fully understand and see the light of God’s glorious revelation.” Hence, the translation takes the participle to form a part of the basis for the prayer [not a hoped for result]. ^[18]

Therefore, enlightened hearts is something Paul describes the Ephesians as already having. Accordingly, the prayer would read that God, “may give you spiritual wisdom and revelation in a knowledge of Him (your heart having already been enlightened), so that you would know . . .” The enlightenment that Paul is speaking of then is not some future operation of the Spirit yet to occur that will provide some sort of private inspiration about God’s will. Rather, he is referring to the enlightenment that had already taken place at the time of their conversion.

Accordingly, NT scholar Peter O’Brien paraphrases verse 18 as follows:

At 2 Corinthians 4:6 similar language is employed to indicate that God has shone [past tense] in his people’s hearts to give them ‘the illumination’ of the glorious knowledge of God in the face of Christ’. . . . Once Paul’s readers were ‘darkened in their understanding’ (Eph. 4:18) and could themselves be described as ‘darkness’ (5:8). With their conversion, however, a decisive transformation has [past tense] occurred: they have been enlightened by the Spirit of God. ^[19]

Dr. O’Brien’s reference to 2 Corinthians 4:6 is pertinent, as we believe Paul is sharing essentially the same idea there as in Ephesians 1:18 when he writes:

For God, Who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made [past tense] His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:6).

In essence then, the Apostle is referring to the spiritual regeneration that the Ephesians had experienced at conversion that now allows them to grasp divine revelation, a topic we have discussed at length elsewhere. ^[20]

Now, what is the meaning of v. 17 in which Paul is asking that they would have “spiritual wisdom and revelation”? First, it is unlikely that the Apostle is praying that God would give them “the Holy Spirit of wisdom and revelation” as the NIV has it. He has already noted in this passage that these believers have the Holy Spirit (cf. vs. 13-14), and it would seem odd that He would be praying that such believers would get the Spirit again. Pneuma here then is best translated “spiritual,” which agrees with the common translation of the Apostle’s rather identical prayer for the Colossians that they would have, “all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (1:9). ^[21]

Also, like the parallel passage in Colossians, we suggest that: 1) the contents of the “wisdom and revelation” are doctrine, not life direction, and 2) that the source of the “wisdom and revelation” will be the ministry of Apostles and Prophets, including the letter to the Ephesians itself.

On the first point, Paul immediately defines the results and contents of the “wisdom and revelation.” It is to “know [God] better,” and “the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.” In other words, Paul’s prayer is that the Ephesians would possess sound doctrine, not extra-biblical revelations for personal direction in their life.

The fact that the contents of the “wisdom and revelation” that Paul speaks of here is simply biblical doctrine is supported by similar language just a few verses earlier where Paul writes:

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸that He lavished on us [along] with all wisdom and understanding. ⁹And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ,  ¹⁰to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.  (Eph 1:7-10)

Here, Paul also says that God has given us spiritual “wisdom and understanding” along with our redemption (vs. 7-8). ^[22] He then clearly describes its contents as being, “the mystery of His will” which does not refer to our daily extra-biblical amoral decisions, but the doctrinal knowledge that He wants to “bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” We see again, then, that the contents of God’s revelation to us is doctrinal, not directional.

On the second point, like we discovered in Colossians, Paul envisioned divinely enabled men like NT Apostles and Prophets to be the source of the “wisdom and revelation” that he was praying the Ephesians would have. It is perhaps because of our American culture that we automatically think in independent, private, and personal terms instead of the corporate terms of biblical culture. Such an American perspective will mislead us in interpreting and applying Scripture and this passage is no exception. Paul was not expecting each Ephesian Christian to receive private inspiration from God on the doctrinal matters he describes. Rather, Paul is praying that miraculously gifted men like himself will be among the Ephesian congregation. This is illustrated in several ways throughout the epistle.

First, Paul indicates that this revelation will come to the Ephesians through gifted men such as the Apostles, Prophets, and teachers he describes in chapter 4 where he writes:

It was He who gave some to be Apostles, some to be Prophets, some to be Evangelists, and some to be Pastors and Teachers,  ¹²to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up  ¹³until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Eph 4:11 – 13)

Paul clearly states here that the ministry of these gifted men will be sufficient to provide all of the revelation the Ephesians would need in order to attain “to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Elsewhere in Knowing Our God we thoroughly discuss the biblical definition of NT Apostles and Prophets concluding that they possessed divine knowledge to provide Scripture-quality revelation in the absence of such Scripture. ^[23] This is the critical difference between the Ephesian saints and us. We have the completed canon of NT Scripture, they did not, and therefore needed such ministries operating to obtain such revelation. This is precisely why Paul tells the Ephesians that they are “members of God’s household [the Church], built on the [revelational] foundation of the Apostles and [NT] Prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief [revelational] cornerstone” (Eph 2:19-20). The “spiritual wisdom and revelation,” then that Paul prays the Ephesians will have was expected to manifest itself among certain gifted men, not every Ephesian believer.

More specifically, like in Colossians, Paul describes himself as at least one of those Apostles who is the source of the “spiritual wisdom and revelation” he speaks of in 1:17, to impart to the Ephesians the doctrines that will enable them to “know [God] better,” and “the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe” (1:18). Accordingly, in chapter 3 he writes:

Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace [a gift] that was given to me for you, ³that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.  ⁴In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, ⁵which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy Apostles and Prophets [not every individual Christian].

⁶This mystery is that through the Gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. ⁷I became a servant of this Gospel by the gift [of Apostleship] of God’s grace given me through the working of His power. (Eph 3:2-7)

Paul then exercises this revelational ministry in this letter to answer his own prayer for the Ephesians. Surely this divinely revealed document is a gold mine for knowing the character and ways of God “better” (1:18). He writes a great deal about “the hope to which He has called” the Ephesians, including their predestination to eternal life (1:4-5), and their being guaranteed such a hope by the sealing of the Holy Spirit (1:13-14). The “riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints” has already been described as well (cf. 1:3-14), and probably includes Paul’s revelation that it includes both Jews and Gentiles (cf. 3:6). “His incomparably great power for us who believe” refers to the Christian’s power over sin described in chapters 4 and 5 (cf. 4:20-24; 5:8-18), and their power over Satan himself discussed in chapter 6 (cf. 6:10-18). Dr. O’Brien then is surely on the mark to suggest that Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:17-18, “is that they may comprehend what God has already done for them in Christ and which is set forth in vv. [1:]3-14.” ^[24]

We should note here that Paul is obviously not speaking of merely an intellectual knowledge concerning Christ in these passages from Colossians and Ephesians, but an experiential, life changing wisdom. Accordingly, he writes in Ephesians 3:

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Eph 3:17-19).

Likewise, when he exhorts the Colossians to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” the Apostle is speaking of a whole-hearted knowledge that involves the reason, will, and emotions.

One problem with mega mysticism is the growing doubt that this kind of experience can occur through the personal meditation or public teaching of Scripture, but that more mystical means are needed and that the revelation we need goes beyond what Scripture says.

It is precisely because the revelation Paul speaks of is to be found in the apostolic revelation recorded in Scripture, that Paul repeatedly commands Timothy and Titus in the Pastoral Epistles to preach the apostolic doctrine. If private inspiration, as opposed to biblical revelation, were so important, we would expect instructions in the Pastoral Epistles enabling Timothy and Titus to instruct people on how to obtain it as mega mystics attempt to instruct us today. There is nothing of the kind because Paul knew that the revelation he prayed for was contained in the revelation received by the Apostles and recorded in Scripture. If our interpretation of Colossians 1:9-11 and Ephesians 1:17-18 is correct, mega mystics should take notice that Paul never prays that Christians would receive the private inspiration that they deem so critical to the Christian life.

B) Mega Mysticism & Spiritual Desires

Another form of mystical revelation being claimed today is that God will guide us by planting desires in our hearts which we act upon. First of all, it needs to be recognized that there are several sources of God-pleasing desires that direct our lives, including our conscience, New Nature, knowledge of Scripture, and spiritual gifts. Some of these we have discussed further elsewhere. ^[25] Unfortunately, desires that can be completely explained by these means are often attributed in mega mysticism to an extra-biblical revelation from God. Such an interpretation often disparages these other primary, God-given sources of direction for our lives, and gives mega mystical testimonies a super-supernatural aura about them that they do not deserve. Of course it sounds much more spiritual to claim a desire is directly inspired by God instead of simply a personal conviction, but it may not be as honest.

B.1) 2 Corinthians 8:16: Titus’ concern for the Corinthians

Another way in which God may influence specific desires is ordaining certain circumstances. For example, the Apostle Paul wrote the Corinthians: “I thank God, Who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you” (2 Cor 8:16). A mega mystical interpretation of such a statement would suggest this as proof that God guides us by directly “inspiring” us with desires for particular people. However, when we learn the context, we realize that such an explanation is unnecessary.

Evidently, Paul directed Titus to go to Corinth on his first visit, after boasting to him about them (cf. 2 Cor 7:14). During Titus’ visit the Corinthians personally gave him “comfort,” and communicated their love and respect for Titus’ mentor Paul (cf. 2 Cor 7:7). Paul tells the Corinthians they had made Titus “happy . . . because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you” and that, “just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting about you to Titus has proved to be true as well. And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling” (2 Cor 7:13).

Because of the result of Titus’ first visit, and Paul’s desire to have someone administer a free will offering in Corinth, Paul writes, “We urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part” (2 Cor 8:6). Paul then records Titus’ response to Paul’s urging: “For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative” (2 Cor 8:17). Do we then need to interpret Titus’ God-given desire to return to the Corinthians as an example of a direct divine prompting from God? There would seem to be several more obvious and “natural” explanations.

B.2) Nehemiah 2:11-12: A burden for Jerusalem

Some point to the OT example of Nehemiah as biblical support for divinely inspired extra-biblical direction. For example, Nehemiah writes:

I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem” (Neh 2:11-12).

Again, the mega mystical claim is that this involves some sort of immediate, personal, divine revelation of God’s will for Nehemiah that He directly “put in [his] heart.” There are facts to suggest otherwise.

First, it would seem his desires need not be interpreted as unique or directly from God as he first hears of Jerusalem’s condition through his brother who reported, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire” (Neh 1:3). The Jews naturally understood that their people were “in great trouble and disgrace” because “the wall of Jerusalem is broken down.”

The need to rebuild the walls was obvious to all, Nehemiah himself later remarking, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace” (2:17; cf. Ezra 1:5).

Nehemiah did not say, “let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem” because God told me to. He certainly didn’t have a vision, apparition, visit from an Angel, or an ephod like other biblical characters did. ^[26] At the least, it would seem best to conclude that Nehemiah endeavored to rebuild the walls for the obvious reason that it would help the Jews to do so.

However, it is probable that biblical revelation that Nehemiah possessed also prompted his desires and may be behind his description of “what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem.” There were many statements and even prophecies in the OT Scriptures Nehemiah had that specifically referred to the city and walls of Jerusalem. For example, hundreds of years before Nehemiah lived, King David recorded this prayer to God: “In Your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem” (Ps 51:18). Likewise, David had instructed:

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.” For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.” For the sake of the house [temple] of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity. (Ps 122:6-9)

Such sentiments recorded in Scripture could alone be the instrument through which it could be said God put into Nehemiah’s heart a desire to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

But Nehemiah also possessed specific prophecies regarding the walls of Jerusalem. Demonstrating that he was well acquainted with these Scriptures, he prays to God:

Remember the instruction You gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to Me and obey My commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for My Name.’” [Jerusalem] (Neh 1:8-9)

Nehemiah knew it was God’s desire to return His people to Jerusalem. More specifically, he had a remarkable prophecy concerning the very walls of Jerusalem:

Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. (Isa 58:12)

Even more than this, Nehemiah possessed written prophecy that indicated the timing of the fulfillment of these predictions. And with the rebuilt temple already existing from the ministry of Ezra, the following prophecy obviously came alive to him. He had no doubt read in Isaiah:

This is what the Lord says . . . of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’ of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be built,’ and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’ . . . of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.” ’ (Isa 44:24, 26, 28)

And Nehemiah knew that in Ezra’s day Cyrus had given the following proclamation:

This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “The LORD, the God of Heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the Earth and He has appointed me to build a temple for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of His people among you—may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God Who is in Jerusalem. (Ezra 1:2-3)

We do not have a record of Cyrus specifically commanding the walls of Jerusalem to be rebuilt. But because every other prophecy in Scripture, that was to occur by now, has been perfectly and specifically fulfilled, it would be unreasonable to think otherwise with this one.

Perhaps Cyrus did give such a command and it was never recorded. More probably, the fulfillment is meant to be interpreted as coming through Cyrus’ great grandson, Artaxerxes who granted Ezra “everything he asked” (Ezra 7:6; cf. vs. 11-26) for a return trip to Jerusalem decades after the temple had been rebuilt. And it was this same Artaxerxes who was “pleased . . . to send” Nehemiah in response to his request “to send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it” (Neh 2:4-6). No doubt, Artaxerxes knew the decrees given by his grandfather concerning Israel, prompting his response to both Ezra and Nehemiah. Nevertheless, there was a great deal of biblical revelation for Nehemiah to know that God wanted the walls of Jerusalem rebuilt. ^[27]

B.3) 1 Kings 8:17-19: David’s desire to build a temple

Even the great King David, who had experienced divine revelation, had a great, noble, and burning desire to do something for God that turned out to be outside of God’s will. His son Solomon is recorded as saying:

My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Because it was in your heart to build a temple for My Name, you did well to have this in your heart. Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is your own flesh and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for My Name.’ (1 Kgs 8:17-19)

This example illustrates several important aspects of our desires in relation to God’s will. Again, there is no way apart from miraculous divine revelation to know if such an extra-biblical desire is from God, or even His will. God had never commanded a temple to be built for Him (cf. 2 Sam 7:5-7) so it would not have been sin for David to neglect doing so.

Nonetheless, David’s desire was a good, God honoring one which he would have been perfectly free to pursue. Therefore, having no divine revelation otherwise, even the Prophet Nathan told him, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you” (2 Sam 7:3). And no doubt David would have accomplished his desire, and it would have pleased God. But it was not God’s will for David to build Him a temple, and even David and Nathan needed a miraculous communication through the Prophet Nathan that it was God’s will for Solomon to build the temple, not David.

It was desires like this that the Apostle Paul was speaking of when he wrote the Thessalonian Christians:

We constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of His calling, and that by His power He may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.  ¹²We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thess 1:11-12)

Do we see then how God is glorified when our desires and ideas of how to specifically serve Him and others are our own, and not directly “inspired” by Him? It is surely more spiritual and God-pleasing when such specific desires, ideas, and plans come out of our faith, love, and hard work, rather than being dictated to us by some detailed miraculous revelation. While we might yearn for the latter because we hate risk, God would rather have us live by faith and trust Him in the risk.

Such an example also reminds us of the mega mystical bent exposed in many building or ministry campaigns. Far too often the leader claims some sort of extra-biblical revelation from God that He wants the building built or the ministry pursued. There is an assumption that such a burning, maybe even wonderful, but still extra-biblical desire is directly inspired by God. From a mega mystical perspective it is not spiritual enough to merely say the desire is simply their own, or just makes good sense, but it must be claimed, even if it is a lie, that God has given them an extra-biblical desire and others must make the necessary sacrifices to get it done.

B.4) Mother Teresa’s Calling to the Poor

An extra-biblical example of our topic concerns the world renowned Mother Teresa. Ruth Tucker, associate Professor of Missiology at Calvin Theological Seminary writes in her book, God Talk: Cautions For Those Who Hear God’s Voice:

Another missionary who distinctly heard the call of God was Mother Teresa. She left her comfortable position as a geography teacher and went into the streets to minister to the poorest of the poor. It was not because she had such a profound concern or sense of pity for the sick and homeless in Calcutta-a point that is repeatedly emphasized [and confirmed] by those who have been closest to her.

She was traveling by train to Darjeeling, India, when she “heard the voice of God.” When asked how she could hear a voice amid the noise of a rattling train, she responded: “I was sure it was God’s voice. I was certain that He was calling me. The message was clear I must leave the convent to help the poor by living among them. This was a command, something to be done, something definite. I knew where I had to be. But I did not know how to get there.”

It is well known that Mother Teresa had not felt fulfilled behind the cloistered walls of an elite girls’ school. Apart from the “voice of God,” she may have heard voices from the past. As a girl she had read with fascination stories of danger and sacrifice and self-denial, stories about “sisters so poor that they lived in thatched huts with wild animals rampaging through the encampments and hardly enough money for food and clothes,” and a story about “a Mother Superior [who] was saved by her orphans from a snake poised to bite.” ^[28]

What Mother Teresa is describing is what we have discussed elsewhere as a “commanding call.” ^[29] While we would not rule out the possibility that Mother Teresa received a specific extra-biblica revelation apart from any natural means to a specific task, her “calling” does not fit the examples of such a thing in Scripture, and as Dr. Tucker suggests, there may be other more normal sources of motivation involved.

Simply put, we see no biblical evidence for the claim that we can know God’s specific will for our life through divinely inspired desires given apart from Scripture, our New Nature, conscience, circumstances, spiritual gifts, and other primary means of personal revelation which we have discussed elsewhere. ^[30] For all the modern talk about the direct divine inspiration of our desires, David’s desire came from the completely free expression of his love for God without divine intervention. This is the kind of desire God takes the most pleasure in, not the ones He may dictate and control us with.

Extras & Endnotes

Gauging Your Grasp

1) What is our interpretation/application of Proverbs 2:1-6? Do you agree or disagree and why?

2) What is our interpretation/application of James 1:5-8? Do you agree or disagree and why?

3) What is our interpretation/application of Colossians 1:9-11? Do you agree or disagree and why?

4) What is our interpretation/application of Ephesians 1:17-19? Do you agree or disagree and why?

5) What is our interpretation/application of 2 Corinthians 8:16? Do you agree or disagree and why?

6) What is our interpretation/application of Nehemiah 2:11-12? Do you agree or disagree and why?

7) What is our interpretation/application of 1 Kings 8:17-19? Do you agree or disagree and why?

8) What is our interpretation/application of Mother Teresa’s Calling to the Poor? Do you agree or disagree and why?

Publications & Particulars

1. Which would seem to make Albert Barnes’ interpretation of Proverbs 2:6 inaccurate when he writes, “People do not gain wisdom by any efforts of their own, but God gives it according to the laws of His own goodness.” (Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament; online at http://www.ccel.org) ↑

2. Douglas Moo, The Letter of James (TNTC) (Eerdmans, 1985), 62-66. ↑

3. Dr. Moo adds concerning the phrase “double-minded”:

   The word double-minded (dipsychos) means literally ‘double-souled’, a suggestive indication of the depths of the division within this person. The word is used here for the first time in Greek literature, and some think James himself may have coined it. But however new the word may be, the idea is not. The Old Testament characterizes the sinner as having a ‘divided heart’ (Ps. 12:2; Ho. 10:2) and pronounces a blessing on those who pursue God with ‘a whole heart’ (Ps. 119:2). The rabbis captured the essential sinfulness of man by depicting him as having two tendencies, good and evil, warring in the soul. And Jesus, when asked by a scribe what was the greatest commandment, quoted Deuteronomy 6:5: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind’ (Mt. 22:37).

   To have a fundamental cleavage in one’s basic attitude towards God; to be believing now one way, now another – this is the direct opposite of the faith James urges us to exhibit in prayer (v. 6a). Certainly God does not answer prayers uttered in such unbelief. We should note that this ‘double-mindedness’ is the antithesis both of that ‘wholeness’ or ‘perfection’ (teleios) which is the goal of Christian living (V. 4) and of God’s ‘single’, ‘whole-hearted’ character (v- 5). This desire for singleness and purity of intention is a leading theme in verses 2-8, and occurs throughout the letter (see especially 4:4-10).

   We see then that the term is ethical more than mental, a division of allegiance rather than a confusion of the mind. Recognizing the very close and constant parallels in James with the Sermon on the Mount, we would suggest the “double-hearted” person here is synonymous with the “double-hearted” person in Matthew 6:24 who is trying to serve “two masters.” ↑

4. Regarding mega mysticism’s practice of divination see section 14.9.G. ↑

5. Regarding the distinction between mega mystical private inspiration and the affect of the New Nature in us see section 7.12.C. ↑

6. John MacArthur, MacArthur’s New Testement Commentary, Electronic Edition STEP Files CD-ROM (Parsons Technology, 1997), Jms 1:5-8. ↑

7. Ibid. ↑

8. Regarding the claim that there is no biblical evidence that God communicates with believers through some sort of direct divine/human mental telepathy in which thoughts are planted in the mind, see chapter 4.6. ↑

9. Accordingly, the Expositors Bible Commentary notes: “The extent of faith that God looks for is emphasized by the words “not doubt” (meden diakrinomenos). The true force of this expression is “and not doubt at all.” (Frank E. Gaebelein ed. CD-ROM [Zondervan, n.d.], Jms 1:5-8) ↑

10. Patrick J. Hartin, James (Liturgical, 2003), 59.

    Accordingly, Donald Burdick comments in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary:

    The type of Greek conditional sentence found here assumes that people facing trials do lack wisdom. What they need is not the speculative or theoretical wisdom of a philosophical system. It is the kind of wisdom that plays such a large part in the Book of Proverbs (1:2-4; 2:10-15; 4:5-9). It is the God-given understanding that enables a person to avoid the paths of wickedness and to live a life of [moral] righteousness. In this context wisdom is [doctrinally] understanding the nature and purpose of trials and knowing how to meet them victoriously. ↑

11. Moo, 66. ↑

12. Ibid. ↑

13. Bruce Waltke, Finding the Will of God: A Pagan Notion? (Eerdmans, 1995), 54-5, 101-2. ↑

14. N. T. Wright, The Epistles of Paul to the Colossians and to Philemon (Eerdmans, 1986), 57-8. ↑

15. D. A. Carson, A Call to Spiritual Reformation (Baker, 1992), 101. ↑

16. The NET Bible is primarily a product of Dallas Theological Seminary (see http://www.Bible.org). ↑

17. Harold Hoehner, “Ephesians” Bible Knowledge Commentary, eds. John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck, (SP Publications, NT, 1983; OT, 1985) ↑

18. Online at http://net.bible.org/bible, in loc. ↑

19. Peter T. Obrien, The Letter to the Ephesians (Eerdmans, 1999), 133-4. ↑

20. For further discussion regarding the epistemological effects and necessity of spiritual regeneration see especially chapters 4.12-4.16. ↑

21. cf. NLT, NEB. Accordingly the NET translation notes say:

    Or “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,” or “a spirit of wisdom and revelation.” Verse 17 involves a complex exegetical problem revolving around the Greek term πνεῦμα (pneuma). Some take it to mean “the Spirit,” others “a spirit,” and still others “spiritual.”

    (1) If “the Spirit” is meant, the idea must be a metonymy of cause for effect, because the author had just indicated in vv. 13-14 that the Spirit was already given (hence, there is no need for him to pray that he be given again). But the effect of the Spirit is wisdom and revelation.

    (2) If “a spirit” is meant, the idea may be that the readers will have the ability to gain wisdom and insight as they read Paul’s letters, but the exact meaning of “a spirit” remains ambiguous.

    (3) To take the genitives following πνεῦμα as attributed genitives (see ExSyn 89-91), in which the head noun (“S/spirit”) functions semantically like an adjective (“spiritual”) is both grammatically probable and exegetically consistent. (Online at http://net.bible.org/bible, in loc.)

    Likewise, Francis Foulkes writes in his Tyndale New Testament Commentary:

    The gift, above all others, which he asks from God for his readers is a spirit of wisdom and of revelation (cf. Col. 1:9). Sometimes in the letters the word spirit refers to the human spirit (e.g. in 4:23; Rom. 1:9; 2 Cor. 7:13), or it may refer to a quality of mind or soul that a person may receive or show, in particular a spiritual attitude or endowment. . . . Then often, of course, it refers to the Holy Spirit of God.

    Robinson says, ‘With the article [e.g. “the”], very generally, the word indicates the personal Holy Spirit; while without it [as in Eph 1:17], some special manifestation or bestowal of the Holy Spirit is signified.’ So probably here we should take it as NEB ‘the spiritual powers of wisdom and vision’, but understand these as possible only as the gift of the Spirit. (The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians [Eerdmans, 1989], 68). ↑

22. Unfortunately, most translations seem to imply that the “wisdom and understanding” in Ephesians 1:8-9 as God’s, instead of what God gives us in addition to redemption. For example, the TEV reads, “In all His wisdom and insight God did what He had purposed, and made known to us the secret plan He had already decided to complete by means of Christ.” Contrast this with the NLT which reads, “He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.” The NLT would seem to be correct as the following verse (9) tells us the contents of this “wisdom and understanding” (cf. NEB) which we possess.

    Accordingly, O’Brien writes:

    Although some interpreters have taken the expression ‘with all wisdom and insight’ as qualifying what follows, namely, ‘he made known’ (v. 9), and referring to God’s own wisdom and insight, on balance it is better to link them with the preceding relative clause, that he lavished on us, and to understand them of God’s gifts of grace. . . . The generous bestowal of God’s grace is accompanied by other spiritual gifts, namely, all wisdom and insight. . . . God intended that we should understand his saving purposes. (107-8; see also Wood in EBC, Charles Hodge in Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, Electronic Edition STEP Files CD-ROM [Findex.Com, 2003], and F. F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians [Eerdmans, 1984]). ↑

23. Regarding the revelatory attributes of Apostles and Prophets see relevant parts of Books 8 and 9 ↑

24. O’Brien, Ephesians, 129. ↑

25. Regarding these extra-biblical sources of biblical revelation see chapters 7.11-7.14. ↑

26. For examples of biblical miraculous revelation see chapters 10.7-10.11. ↑

27. It is because Nehemiah did not have any specific revelation telling him personally to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, that we believe he is a rare biblical example of visionary faith in which we have no such specific revelation. See section 6.15.A. ↑

28. Ruth Tucker, God Talk: Cautions For Those Who Hear God’s Voice (Intervarsity, 2005), 85. ↑

29. Ibid. ↑

30. Regarding these extra-biblical sources of biblical revelation see chapters 7.11-7.14. ↑