Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health: Question 4 – Are You More Sensitive to God’s Presence?

 

Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health,
Question 4 – Are You More Sensitive to God’s Presence? (excerpts and highlights from Chapter 4 of Dr. Whitney's book)*

The author begins the chapter asking, “When was the last time you thought, ‘God is here’?” He then lists possible circumstances or places where this might have been the case, including: during an unusually Spirit-anointed preaching of Holy Scripture; during passionate prayer with God’s people; reveling in God’s magnificent works of Creation; during a time of solitude while walking in a quiet place that was calming and peaceful; during an emotionally-charged moment (e.g., a split-second, adrenaline-rushed deliverance from an automobile accident); while watching in awe at your newborn sleeping; during an especially moving exultation of praise and worship to and before the Lord – times when God’s presence is almost atmospheric.

He then follows this with the question: “how often are you aware of the presence of God?” He offers that through careful consideration of Bible teaching and in growing closer to God, we should be able to discern His inborn presence more readily and more often. The author quotes the Barna Group survey results that show a surprisingly low percentage or no percentage of professing Christians can attest to being aware of God’s presence. He concludes that what results from a true Christian’s dullness to God’s presence may mean that the person is thinking less often of God, His Word, and His will.

Some scriptural references:

-        Proverbs 15:3 – do we believe that “the eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good”

-        Exodus 2:12 – passage that speaks of a young Moses who believed that he could murder someone without anyone’s knowledge. 

The author says: “’No matter what we do not see, we must never forget the One whose presence is unseen yet more real than any other.’ Living apart from a conscious sense that the Lord is present is to live as though God really is not there… relationship with God is reduced to mere religion.”

Discerning God’s Presence

-        The universal presence of God, or God’s omnipresence. -Psalm 139:5-12 and Jeremiah 23:24. Some religions teach, and some Christians believe, that since God is everywhere, then it must mean that God is “everything”. Scripture does not support that teaching. It does not teach that God is "in" animals or in their spirits! God’s omnipresence places Him outside of what we call time and matter. If God is everything as some teach and believe, then we would be compelled to worship that ‘thing’. Which would be out of harmony and conflict with God’s own solemn warnings not to worship anything created. (compare Exodus 20:3-5; Isaiah 46:5) God’s universal presence surrounds us. (Acts 17:28) In truth, God must first reveal Himself to us; He has generally done so through creation. (Romans 1:20) He more specifically does so through His Word in two ways: through the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ, and the written Word, the Bible.

-        The Christological presence of God. God was and is present in Jesus Christ. (John 1:1,14; Colossians 2:9). Jesus is Immanuel, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)

-        The indwelling presence of God. God is present by His Holy Spirit in a unique way within Christians. He is a second, distinct Person living with us in our bodies. (John 14:16-17; Galatians2:20; Romans 8:5,9-11,15-17)

-        The perceptible presence of God. God’s presence is often perceived through His work or influence in situations and persons so powerfully that only God can be its author. (Luke 1:66; Acts11:21) It is through the Incarnate Word and Holy Scripture that our experience with God, including our perception of His presence, is mediated or conveyed. Some professing Christians and some theologians have believed that God can be perceived through so called Christian mysticism – which is false teaching. The essence of that belief is that one would attempt to experience God without the means God has provided. Such persons say that they just “open up” to the presence of God – conjuring up a cosmic experience, or practice a deep “looking into one’s soul” to meet up with the indwelling presence of God; to imagine Him sitting with you. As “spiritual” as this may sound, this is opposite what God teaches in His Word. He tells us that (1) we must seek Him through His Word; (2) seek Him through experiences that are founded on His Word; (3) seek Him through daily life in ways that are informed by His Word. (1 Chronicles16:11; Psalm 25:4,14; 27:4,8) The true Christian will pursue and perceive the presence of God, mediated or conveyed through God’s revelation of Himself in the Bible; He has done so in every way that can be understood by humans through His Holy Word and His Son. (compare Hebrews 1:1-3). Our experience with God cannot be limited to just knowing of His existence and referring to Him as “God” – even the demons can do that. (James 2:19) Rather, we are to become acquainted with Him intimately, through His Word and prayer. We come to know His character; He is not merely present – He is holy! We will come to realize that He is not only merciful – He desires to have us talk with Him. We learn that He knows our thoughts and words even before it begins to take shape in our brains and appears on our lips. (Psalm 139:3-5) He knows our fears, our motivations, our desires, our aspirations, our emotions, our anxieties, our mental and physical condition, and still loves us beyond comprehension. The author notes that if God seems imperceptible – if we are not able to sense His presence – we who have inculcated His Word must stop and meditate on His Word about His omnipresence, His indwelling, His character, His deeds, His holiness and become drawn by God into the reality of His presence in so doing. (compare Matthew 27:46; Psalm 77; Psalm 119:1-18)

-        The heavenly presence of God. God’s presence is manifest in heaven as in no other place. It is the presence of God that makes it "heaven". His glory and splendor are displayed there as nowhere else. (Matthew 6:9;18:10; Isaiah 6:1-5; 2 Samuel 22:14; Psalm29; 33:6; Acts 17:24))

-        The eternal presence of God. God’s presence will be forever enjoyed in heaven, or forever forfeited in hell, as the author notes. In heaven, His presence characterized by His glory that imprints on those surrounding His throne, His lovingkindness, righteousness, and amazing love – among other attributes will be fully experienced by those who eternally live with Him. Those who forfeit God’s presence - rejecting God, a road that leads to a forever death -- their experience of God in hell will only be wrath and judgment – no love, no mercy. (Revelation 21:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Matthew 25:31-46; John 14:1-3)

All access to God is through Jesus Christ; no one comes to the Father except through Jesus – He is the only way (John 14:6). 1 Timothy 2:5 further notes that “there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ.” The author notes that to discern the presence of God, one must first be “Immanuelized” - a person can’t reliably recognize the presence of “God with us” until he or she experiences “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians1:27) And to know the indwelling presence of Christ, one must first, in Jesus’ words, “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)

Opening our Spiritual Eyes to His Presence – Practical Steps

-        Go often to the place where God has revealed Himself most clearly – the Bible. Martin Lloyd-Jones, a Welsh Protestant minister of the 20^th century notes: “The more we know the Bible and read it, the more it will take us into the presence of God. So if you want to set the Lord always before you, spend much of your time with regular daily reading of the Bible.” This will involve meditation on a part of the passage  - absorb it, linger over it until it percolates the soil of our soul, and listen long enough until we hear it for what it is – the voice of God.

-        Acknowledge His presence with you by talking with Him. The author states that when a person’s prayer life is decaying by silence, is it any wonder that he or she feels unaware of the nearness of God? He is very real and very present. The author further reminds the reader of the privilege and meaningfulness of praying through a passage of Scripture, e.g., one of the Psalms or whatever passage one may be guided to by the Spirit. Letting the words that originated in the heart and mind of God Himself become the vehicle to carry the burdens of our heart and mind back to God.

-        Seek Him in the manifestations of His presence given only in congregational worship. We are commanded by God to meet together corporately for worship; it’s not just a ‘blank’ command for the sake of commanding, but it is for our benefit because in such a gathering a release of God’s Spirit in a special way that allows us to corporately experience the presence of God shall occur. (Hebrews 10:21-25; Acts 2:1-3,17-18,43-47; Acts 9:31; Ephesians 5:18-20; 2 Timothy 4:1-5) In a true church, where the Word of God is preached, God’s Son is presented in the Lord’s Supper. His Spirit seeks to minister to us through many and diverse gifts He has bestowed on God’s people. Without the members of the congregation present, it diminishes what we were created to do and we are deprived of critical opportunities to sense God’s presence. It is like a missing chromosome in a person causing a gap in their development.

-        Continually reaffirm the truth that He is omnipresent. Ruminate on Jesus’ words at Mathew 28:20 – “I am with you always.” The Lord is with us even when we don’t sense His presence; we must, though, reaffirm that this is true as we have a tendency to forget, or if we are not feeling it to be true, when it seems He is far away and is not watching us. (Psalm 34:15) Faith responds in the truth, “God is here. He has promised He would never leave me nor forsake me. Whether I sense His presence or not, the truth is that God is here with me now as at any moment in my life. I will believe the truth.” (John 10:27-29; Hebrews 13:5; Romans8:31-39). The author uses an exercise where he asks the reader to look around for a moment and notice everything in our sight that is blue. After we have sought out those things – you will be surprised at how many you may identify – we could say that we developed ‘blue’ eyes, i.e., eyes sensitive to the things around us that are blue. Similarly, we need to develop “God eyes” he says. We need to develop the sensitivity to see evidence of what we know to be true, i.e., God is with us. In our everyday activities, remind ourselves – even out loud – that “the Lord is here.” Pumping gas, grocery shopping, waiting for a bus or train, teaching in a classroom, working in your cubicle at your office, cooking a meal, bathing an infant, attending school classes, sitting in traffic – remind ourselves that the Lord is present. Practice that often. Doing so trains our minds and hearts towards awareness of God’s presence; we become more and more like Jesus who always recognized His Father’s presence.

The author closes with this prayer from A. W. Tozer:

Our Father, we know that Thou art present with us, but our knowledge is but a figure and shadow of truth, and has little of the spiritual savor and inward sweetness such knowledge should afford. This is for us a great loss and the cause of much weakness of heart. Help us to make at once such amendment of life as is necessary before we can experience the true meaning of the words, “In thy presence is fullness of joy.” Amen.

 

*The foregoing represents my personal reflections on a study by Dr. Donald S. Whitney, Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health. (2001. By Donald S. Whitney. NAVPRESS. ISBN 978-1-61747-187-2) Quotations and excerpts are from that source, unless otherwise identified. For the 2023 Lenten season I provided these thoughts to my local congregation's Bible study group. The questions are not, however, constrained by a particular liturgical season, holiday, or age group: these are questions every Christian may find useful in fulfilling God's command at 2 Corinthians 13:5, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!" The church at Corinth looked a lot like many of our churches today.

Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health
Question 2: Are You Governed Increasingly by God’s Word?*

The author begins by quoting Scottish theologian Thomas Chalmers: “The sum and substance of the preparation needed for a coming eternity is that you believe what the Bible tells you and do what the Bible bids you.” Do we believe that? Following are other probing questions covered in the book and Scripture sources:

-        Do we consider the Bible the single most valuable item on earth?
      (Psalm 12:6; Psalm 19:7-10; Psalm 119:72) Why or why not?

-        Do we suffer from a famine of God’s Word in our lives? The Holy Spirit describes the Bible as “water” (Ephesians 5:26) and food (Jeremiah 15:16). Followers of Christ believe what He believes: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (see Matthew 4:1-11) Interestingly, Jesus was speaking to someone who ironically knows the Bible better than a lot of churchgoers! If God’s Word was created to nourish us, then “eating it”, becoming filled with it is essential.

-        Do we believe the Bible to be the true Word of God? If we dare to call ourselves Christians, then we follow Jesus Christ in His beliefs, words, and actions. See what Jesus says about Holy Scripture – John 17:17; Matthew 5:17-18; Luke 4:16-21; John 6:41-51)

-        Do we believe The Bible--God’s Word-- is authoritative, that it trumps culture in any generation?  (1 Peter 1:24-25; John 6:67-69; Psalm 105:8; Psalm 119:89; Psalm 119:160; Psalm 33:11; Romans 1:16-20; Hebrews 4:12)

-        God uses metaphors or figurative phrases to describe His Word; how might these descriptions clue us on the importance of God’s Word the Bible? In addition to those noted above, God describes His Word as: A light (Psalm 119:105); a fire and a tool (Jeremiah 23:29); a weapon and sword (Ephesians 6:17), and seed (Matthew 3:13-23; 1 Peter 1:23); and likens to water (Habakkuk 2:14; Isaiah 55:10-11; Isaiah 11:9)

-        Do we seek out in the Bible God’s will and purpose for our lives? (Matthew 5:20; Psalm 9:10; Psalm 27:8; Exodus 20:1-17; Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 11:29; Mark 10:17-22; John 5:30; Psalm 40:8; Romans 12:1-2)

-        Do we love God’s Word? (Psalm 119:47,48,97,113,119,127,163)

Scripture speaks of nonChristians as “those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” (2 Thessalonians 2:10) Indifference to God’s Word of truth is a mark of spiritual death. Without guidance by God through His Word, people remain in spiritual darkness – believing anything that ‘sounds’ good, religious, or spiritual (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

For example, can we locate in Scripture the statement quoted by church people and even nonbelievers: “God helps those who help themselves.”

-        If we believe in the authority of God’s Word, is what we are learning being applied, so that there is a change in our thinking and perspective? Do our preferences, moral core align with Scripture? Do we allow God’s Word to override generational culture, so-called “church” culture, societal and/or world culture where they do not intersect with God’s Word?  (Psalm 119:11; Proverbs 2; Colossians 2:2-4; Deuteronomy 12:28; Jeremiah 7:23; John 14:15-24; Romans 6:11-13; 1 John 2:3-5; Galatians 5:13-21; Romans 1:16,18,21-32; Revelation 3:1-6; Revelation 2:18-29; 1 Corinthians 6:9-20; 1 Corinthians 5; Proverbs 19:13,16,18,20-23,27    

-        Does God’s Word shape our prayers? Do we know how to pray God’s Word? (Matthew 6:5-15; Psalm 77; Psalm 42; 1 Thessalonians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 3:10-12 , 5:16-18; Colossians 1:3,9-14; Nehemiah 1; Jude 1:20-21; Ephesians 6:18; 1 Peter 4:7; Mark 11:25; James 5:13-18; Romans 8:26-27)

Lastly, the author suggests meditating on certain areas from a biblical perspective, for example: Church (what it is, attendance, worship inside and outside of, baptism, membership, serving in, giving to, learning in, praying with, fellowship, Lord’s Supper; community of oneness); Discipleship (meditation on Scripture, prayer, evangelism, missions, priorities of schedules, stewardship of “God’s manifold grace,” fasting, silence and solitude, legalism vs. relationship with God); Money (giving, saving, investing, controlling debt, contentment, budgeting, gambling, wasting, not loving it, simplifying with less). Find Scriptures that guide us relative to these disciplines and behaviors, and/or consider certain other areas we individually may have recently been praying about and seek the Bible’s viewpoint on it – locating Scriptures that provide deeper insight and thought.

*The foregoing represents my personal reflections on a study by Dr. Donald S. Whitney, Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health. (2001. By Donald S. Whitney. NAVPRESS. ISBN 978-1-61747-187-2) Quotations and excerpts are from that source, unless otherwise identified. For the 2023 Lenten season I provided these thoughts to my local congregation's Bible study group. The questions are not, however, constrained by a particular liturgical season, holiday, or age group: these are questions every Christian may find useful in fulfilling God's command at 2 Corinthians 13:5, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!" The church at Corinth looked a lot like many of our churches today.

Be - Atta - What? The Nine Beatitudes from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount

Our youth group had this assignment recently - to understand the Beatitudes or the statements of promised Blessings by Christ that He spoke during what would be called His Sermon on the Mount. 

Here they are listed as they occur in Matthew's Gospel. The Bible version is the New Revised Standard Version.

Matthew 5:1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

           A view from a mount near the Sea of Galilee. Jesus preached His Sermon on the Mount
                on a hillside near the Sea.

Here is the initial and general write up I provided:

Many of us are growing up in households where we are told the “do-nots” and the “dos” of behavior by our parents, and then when we go to school we are given more! Things like, “say thank you, say please, don’t read in the dark – turn on some light, don’t hit your brother/sister, don’t watch tv – do your homework, don’t chase a ball into the street, don’t eat so many sweets, don’t push the swing too high, don’t touch the stove, don’t run with scissors – even as you read this you are remembering some of those and other “do-nots” and “dos” from your parents, uncles, aunties, and grandparents. Sometimes we are kind of ‘bribed’ (clearing my throat) – I mean, taught that we could be rewarded for good behavior; consequently, the reward became our goal for “obeying the law”. So the standards were “do-not, do this” and you receive a reward for obedience. From time to time the parents or other authoritative figures would explain to you the “underpinnings” [look this up if you don’t know what it means] of those household laws – that is, why they were important, how they would protect you and keep you safe, how they would help shape you into a responsible adult, how it involved a closer relationship with your parents and one another in your family and with your friends. Maybe even how does God feel by the way you act. And maybe we didn’t want to hear the explanation and just focused on the rewards! 

Something similar happened with the ancient nation of Israel. When God gave them the Law at Mount Sinai through Moses (found in Exodus, Leviticus and emphasized in Deuteronomy), after He saved and delivered them from bondage in Egypt, it was His follow-up to what Moses told Pharaoh several times – God wanted to bring the people out of Egypt to bring them into relationship with Him, so that they could serve and worship Him according to His promise. God created the Law to teach His people how to worship, to teach them the proper way to depend upon Him, to reveal to them who He was (for 400 years they lived in a society that worshiped animal spirits, humans, Pharoahs, idols and images, things of nature and magic; they only had stories of this God of Abraham and who He was; now He was there, showing them that He was the true God, that no power – not even the mighty Egyptian Pharaoh and his armies which kept them in bondage and fear for hundreds of years – could trump this God of Abraham). God wanted them to learn that He was their true reward, their true Promised Land. That a relationship with God was the best; that treating family members and neighbors/others with a new level of righteousness, i.e., being fair and respectful, would reflect their LORD’s character and bring them peace and joy – the ‘side effects’ of worshiping the true God. This God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would reward them with lands full of crops, the rain to keep their crops alive and flourishing, the fruit of the womb, no shortage of livestock and other animals that would give provisions to the people, that He would protect them from their warring neighbor countries, would provide healthcare and all needs - when and only if they obeyed Yahweh, the Great I Am. They would be the most prosperous and the strongest nation in all of that known world - if they obeyed Yahweh. Readers of Israel’s history know that, despite all of what God had done and provided, the people still rebelled. For centuries. The rewards of obedience were not enough for them!

Religious leaders sought to “improve the law” by adding interpretations that would require  more duties and create burdens on people to try to keep them in line, but mostly in line in ways that benefited the rich, the king, and the religious establishment. Only a small few grasped the essence of the Law of Moses God had given  them – that God was not only a Rewarder, but that He was a Father to them who wanted a reciprocal [look it up if you don’t know what that word means] relationship. By the time Jesus came, the religious establishment had enlarged the Law – adding various rules and regulations that had little to do with relationship with God.

For example, the sabbath law which was a simple, concise Word from God in the Ten Commandments that would give His people an opportunity for true rest from labor and to enter more deeply into relationship with God, where they learned how to trust and depend on Him for their lives and livelihood, that law had become polluted and expanded to hundreds of regulations by the religious establishment: how many steps you could walk on the sabbath; that you were not allowed to pick up sticks to keep the fires going – in fact, they iterated all the things you could not do. They were very big on not even getting medical attention on the sabbath – you’d have to wait until the next day. The laws were strict and restricting; much of the essence, i.e., the things of God, had faded from the law and now it was all about being legally right. Instead of drawing people to God, the religious establishment was seeking to be more important than God, in fact, to be a god to be obeyed, or else.

So, for hundreds and hundreds of years, the people of Israel/Judah were subjected to religious teachers who did not teach the essence of the law of Moses, only the legal demands – adding rules and regulations that created burdensome obligations. These superfluous additions took the focus off the true God and Father, rather than encouraging a relationship with God. The leaders exalted Abraham as Father – claiming their worth and righteousness in his name; they would even make it wrong for a person to say the LORD's name. It seemed like the “dos” and “do-nots” – those legal burdens on the people that had little to do with God or had a "God flavor", would continue to be the norm for His people.

In Jesus’ first advent, His commission was two-fold: He came as the Lamb to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29, 35-36), not just the sins of Israel. He also came to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to let those long oppressed by burdens and taxes to be set free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:16-21). He would teach the truth about the kingdom of God and be a revelation of the God of Moses and Abraham. (Matthew 4:12-17,23;Matthew 5-7; 13:1-53).

Jesus would reframe the true Law of Moses through teaching the true essence of God’s law. In interpreting the Law and God’s intent behind it – for the religious establishment had failed in their obligations to do that, Jesus taught the people the fundamentals of worship that the Law was intended to bring to people – the essence and underpinnings of the Law to instruct the people what a real relationship with God was about. One of the most notable and recognizable of Jesus’ teachings of such are found in the Sermon on the Mount; Matthew's Gospel reports the Sermon in three consecutive chapters - 5,6,7. In the opening part of His sermon, Jesus speaks to the “blessings” (also referred to as the “beatitudes”) inherent in true worship of God. He contrasts the legalistic structure that the religious leaders had created and substantially voided out the essence of the Law; Jesus speaks to the spirit of the Law, which was that of relationship with the true God. As we examine these blessings - all 9 of them - that help us to see how they support God's covenant with Israel, and which transcend to those covered by God's New Covenant through Christ, we will consider what good news Jesus is intentionally teaching to them and to us today. 

It is important to reiterate:  The Beatitudes and the teachings contained in the Sermon on the Mount were not just an 'event', a one-and-done and solely historic episode, nor were they given to be a palliative or a salve on our human condition; instead, these are to be fundamental means of growing in relationship with God; they were to become integrated, even renewed, into our daily faith walk. They are a continual awareness of who we are in Christ. Jesus' initial listeners of this Sermon - persons of Jewish heritage - understood the phrases "blessing of God" or "blessed by God" differently than how it is most often used now. For the Jewish person, to be blessed or receive a blessing meant for them to be called into the presence of the LORD, Adonai, Yahweh - to experience God's shalom peace and uniquely commune with Him. Today, though, we most often equate the "blessing of God" to mean a material reward or position of some type that lasts for a little while, brings us a temporary pleasure or happiness, or easing of our situations - something which would essentially aggrandize the human and his/her circumstance. The human satisfaction is the desired focus, rather than having the most incredible experience a human can have - the privilege of uniquely communing with the Sovereign of the universe, the sanctified person's Abba Father, having an experience of eternal reverbrations. As one reads through the Beatitude expositions found at the links below, the recurring theme will be a God-centered awareness and relationship.  (Psalm 34:8; Psalm 65:4; Romans 6:4,11)  This and the following papers were written so that we may bathe in the Light of His wisdom and power, as our knowledge of God grows deeper and more rooted.

The promised Blessings of Jesus (the Beatitudes) in His Sermon on the Mount are posted individually, showing us the relationship with God which He continues to desire.

Bonus: "Order My Steps in Your Word," feat. HCC Choir

EXPOSITION/EXPLANATIONS OF THE BEATITUDES ARE AT LINKS BELOW. (The series is designed to be used as a small group Bible study.) 

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

About Mary (continuation of My Word Does Not Return to Me Empty)

 Part 2 – The Virgin  : About Mary

Luke 1:26-38 - God’s timing of His Word and fulfillment of promises. One of the greatest dramas in the whole of account of human history – The Incarnation. The mystery of ages begins to be revealed. God in flesh, to live among us and be with us – we His human creatures made by Him in His own image. Ensuring the fulfillment of prophecy by being the fulfillment. God’s love embodied in the Savior He appointed to reconcile us to Himself, Christ the Lord, the Messiah of God.

So, let us start with the specific prophecy of Isaiah 7:13-14. The prophecy tells us that “a virgin will conceive and bear a Son and his name will be called Immanuel (God with us).” God has said of Himself that for Him, nothing is impossible.

For a Jewish person learned in the Mosaic Law this concept was an oxymoron – a contradiction or in the very least, a paradox of what was known. The Law identified God’s holiness in the purity of virginity. The Law in and of itself did not support a virgin or an unmarried woman being made pregnant and simultaneously finding favor with God. Those women upon whom God’s mighty hand had removed their shame of a barren womb and caused them to become pregnant were all married – Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, Leah; and in the first century, notably Elizabeth. They were not virgins. And yet, God said in Isaiah that His plan would involve a virgin who bore a son, that this would be an essential hallmark of His salvation plan, of God’s imminent action in the world. Even while this prophecy was paradoxical, God had provided every reason for mankind to trust Him and His Word (compare Exodus 14:31; Deuteronomy 1:31-33; Psalm 119; Proverbs 3; 1 Chronicle 5:20) 

Nor did the Law discuss alternative options for a virgin birth – primarily because pregnancy was to be the potential result of honorable marriage in the Jewish civil/moral/ceremonial laws and customs. Any proven indication that a young woman and man had violated that law could subject each of them to the consequences of breaking that solemn law – the extreme consequence being death by stoning (see this sobering message at Deuteronomy 22). Marriage was a divine institution of God, something holy; God took seriously violation of that holy act. The challenge presented by this paradoxical prophecy – as with other prophecies humans have tried to understand with our limited capacities and even more limited faith – could result in persons not believing in it. And did. It would be one of those points of stumbling that would be associated with the identity of the Messiah (Isaiah 8:14; Romans 9:33).

Traveling 800 years later to the account at Luke 1. The Bible account does not indicate that time lapsed between the angel Gabriel’s announcement of God’s plan and Mary/Miriam’s saying yes, i.e., she did not say “Hmmm, I must give this some heavy thought; return later and I will let you know what I decide.” Let’s look at Mary’s person and character – she was not born a prophetess. As a female, her presence at the temple would be with the other females in what was called the Ezrat HaNashim – the court of the women, located in the outer forecourt. They did not worship alongside the men. She had no certification of worship leadership, she was no religious savant, she carried no other designation or activity that would have elevated her status within her society and community. She was no princess, nor anyone born to wealth – just the very opposite. She lived in the common, poor circumstances of village folk within a political framework that fostered policies to keep her and others poor. She was simply one of hundreds of ordinary Jewish girls in their teens; thus, to the world, Mary was an obscure ‘nobody’. Mary had been shaped by Jewish law and traditions – as had others of her peers, and recognized her place within the community where she hoped to eventually become a married woman and contribute to the ongoing growth of that community through her own childbearing. Her heart shaped by faith was opened to God because she knew His character as repeatedly told to her in the stories of her people’s history. 

Based on what God has revealed of Himself and of His purpose, one can firmly believe that when God spoke the prophecy in Isaiah 7, He had already ordained or predestined Mary’s role in His salvific plan from before the foundation of the world. What transpired at Luke 1:26-38 was a fulfillment of that part of God’s plan formed from before time.

Now, without a doubt, there are Bible scholars and others who will not agree with that position. Perhaps some of those same scholars also promote the idea that there were two Isaiahs attached to the book of Isaiah. After all, they may say, the prophecy does not identify the virgin by the name ‘Mary’ specifically – which may fuel their ‘logic argument”. If so, that is a weak argument that falls apart quickly. While some may at God’s discretion, not every prophecy names the individual or individuals involved. The prophecy at Isaiah 7 says that the child’s name would be Immanuel – God with us - but at God’s discretion, leaves off the familiar name for the child – Jesus – which is a form of Joshua/Yeshua meaning God is salvation – which was a common enough name (as well as some derivative thereof) for a Jewish male. A closer look at the name “Immanuel” reveals a deeper punctuation of God’s salvation plan by indicating that when this foretold One arrived on the scene, He would be God living among them – that He would be fully God and fully man. The child to be born and live as a human is also referred to as Anointed within the other prophecies that speak of Him, and is called the Son of David or seed of Jesse. Nor does the prophecy at Isaiah 40:3 name John, son of Zechariah, as the one preparing the way for the Lord (we know him as John the Baptizer; in Hebrew his name would be Yohanan, which means “Yahweh has been gracious”). 

Another path of human logic about Mary and the prophecy at Isaiah 7 is the presumption of the possibility that perhaps God may have asked other young women candidates to carry out the plan and only Mary said yes, thus solving the riddle, suggesting that Mary was one of a pool of candidates who were interviewed for that role. They may say, after all - this is a legitimate point of view based on human experience and human reason. It is a procedure that is often used; even when we were kids playing and chose team members, we considered the benefits of so-and-so versus the other, and chose who we thought would help us be winners. At various times of year, humans choose political leaders to represent them and operationalize policies we agree with. Or, as an employer, when we search for a special person to fill an essential position or role in our business, we analyze resumes, interview candidates until we find whom we perceive to be the right fit. 

But, what would such a lottery approach tell us about God’s plan of salvation? Does it not suggest that His plan could possibly hinge on the ‘luck of the draw’, that Mary was God’s best guess for the person who would carry Jesus into the world as very human, yet very God? That God was hoping that the right candidate would step up to the plate? That Mary was but one of a pool of optimal candidates who could potentially fit the bill? 

Thanks and praise to God that He created us with minds that think, that analyze, that imagine things and seek answers. That He gives us the ability to think outside the box and let us see new possibilities. That He has created us in His image, and is the Creator God who gives us minds and abilities to reason and create novel things with our minds and hands. Lord, like any other gift you provide to us, we pray that we will use these gifts of open-mindedness, of analytical thinking and probing, of questioning and of seeking answers, of reasoning out, talking through paradoxes – all in ways that honor you, and which feed true worship and thanksgiving to you (see Philippians 4:8-9; Psalm 25:4-5; Psalm 51:6; Psalm 119:5-6; , 66-67; Psalm 143:10).  Help us to reason with the mind of Christ that God the Holy Spirit strives to create within us (see 1 Corinthians 2:6-16; Romans 11:33-12:3). Help us remember that we must take care that our thoughts harmonize with the tenet of scripture so that we are not misled to believe faith-eroding concepts. Remind us that when we come to difficult passages to interpret scripture with scripture, i.e., the Spirit-wrapped and infused Word of God by the Holy Spirit and the understanding He gives, and not rely on our own understanding. (compare Psalm 111:7, 10; Psalms 119:4, 15, 27, 33-34; 2 Peter 3:1-2, 15-18; Genesis 40:8; Proverbs 3:5-8; Daniel 2:30; Luke 24:13-27; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:19-21) 

Some lean into their own interpretations possibly because they see God’s Word as being too rigid and find some pleasure in human reasoning when it comes to doctrine (compare Isaiah 5:21,24; Isaiah 9:8-10; Isaiah 28:13; and Isaiah 29:13-14). 

(Interestingly there is a version of the Bible in publication called the New Life Version, which seems to have tampered with the language at Luke 1:28 to imply Mary was the winning candidate among other women. It is the only version that I’ve found so far that has done this.) 

If we are believing in the sureness of God’s salvation, we are trusting God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – even when we don’t immediately or fully understand His Word. We can trust Him as the Eternal One before whom is all of time, and who existed before time was created. We can be assured by what the ‘God-breathed’ scripture tells us, that God had already settled before the foundation of the world how the salvation plan would be executed, and how God’s long-held plan harmonizes with the rest of scripture in the Old and New Testament, that is, His Gospel and Word. Thus, we can have confidence in believing that the person Mary had already been determined by God as part of His plan from before time (compare Ephesians 1:3-4; Acts 4:27-28; Romans 8:29-30). 

The unadulterated language of Luke 1:28 states plainly that God had chosen her – that she had been pre-determined as part of God’s plan. (compare to God’s predestination or the fore-ordination of God’s King in His over-arching salvation plan, versus human supposition at 1 Samuel 16:1-13) The verses at 28-38 indicate a girl who, by grace, had learned already to develop a strong belief in Yahweh, to believe in His Word and promises. Her mind and heart had been shaped by the word, acts, and promises of God. Through a learned faith in the only true God and the Spirit’s work in her, she was able to say yes. She believed in the Providence of God. She trusted Him. She had a healthy innocence about her – based in the belief that her life was in the hands of the Almighty Elohim, El Shaddai, Yahweh Tzebaot, Adonai. She believed the messenger of God and was humbled by God’s unmerited favor upon her, and she obeyed. She could not possibly understand all of the ramifications of her ‘yes’, no more than we could have foreseen all that God would be doing in our lives when we said yes to His call on us – in that way we can identify with Mary because just as God had determined from before time how Mary would be a part of His salvation plan, from before time God had called us to be a part of that salvific drama (recall the reading at Ephesians 1). 

[In the Bible book of Revelation, chapter 12, we receive a high-level vision of God shepherding and shaping time, circumstance, events and historical markers to bring forth His salvific plan. Again, in this glimpse into God’s eternal workings, nothing is left to chance or supposition, nor can the enemy supplant God’s salvific will. (The ‘woman’ is Israel with whom God’s covenant relation existed; Israel would bring forth/’give birth’ to the promised Savior and Messiah, through whom God’s salvific plan would be operationalized and executed).]

To take the view that the identity of the young woman who would carry within her body the Son of God would be left to chance is not only out of harmony with all else to be known about God, it also casts a shadow on God’s promises – painting them with a dependence on human response to make them come true. 

As with any part of scripture that is hard to understand, we must always petition the Father to have the Holy Spirit enlighten us – since He is the true author of scripture. (see John 16:13-14; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)