In the New Testament, there are four places which speak very clearly of the inward knowledge. The first two are in Hebrews 8:11 and 1 John 2:27. Both of these say that we do not need others to teach us, but that we can know God from within. However, they say it differently. Hebrews 8 says that the law of the life of God, which is the natural function of the life of God, can cause us to know God. And 1 John 2 says that the teaching of the anointing, which is the revealing moving of the Holy Spirit, can cause us to know God. To know God by the law of life is to know Him by His life. To know God by the teaching of the anointing is to know Him by His Spirit.
The other two places which speak of the inward knowledge are John 17:3 and Ephesians 1:17. John 17:3 says that those who have the eternal life of God are those who know God. This means that God’s life within can cause us to know Him. Ephesians 1:17 says that God gives us the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we may know Him. The spirit mentioned here is our human spirit related to the Spirit of God. This means that our spirit with the Spirit of God can cause us to know God from within.
These four passages in the Bible show us that our inward knowledge of God is by two means: one is by the law of life, which comes from the life of God; the other is by the teaching of the anointing, which comes from the Holy Spirit of God. Because we have these two means of knowing God within us, our knowledge of God can be in two phases. The law of life primarily causes us to know the nature of God, which is the characteristic of His life. Whenever His life works and functions in us to express this characteristic, it naturally manifests the nature of God to us and causes us to know it. The teaching of the anointing primarily makes us know God Himself. This is because the teaching of the anointing comes from the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is the embodiment of God Himself. When the Holy Spirit anoints and works in us, He always anoints God Himself into us, thus causing us to know God Himself. The law of life and the teaching of the anointing cause us to know from within the nature of God and God Himself. This is what we call here the inward knowledge.
We can see a shadow of these two phases of the knowledge of the nature of God and God Himself in the Old Testament. God gave the law and the prophets in order that the children of Israel might know His nature and Himself through them. This knowledge was from without.
The characteristics of the Old Testament are the law and the prophets. The reason God gave the law and established the prophets was to cause His people to know Him. Thus, the law and the prophets are the two means by which God led the people of Israel to know Him. By these two means, they could have the knowledge of God in two phases.
God gave the law in order to lead the Israelites to know His nature. The law comes from the nature of God, for it speaks of what God likes and dislikes. Everything the nature of God likes is what He wanted them to do. Everything that the nature of God detests is what He forbade them to do. For example: God is a jealous God; therefore, He forbade them to worship idols. God is loving; therefore, He forbade them to kill. God is holy; therefore, He wanted them to be holy. God is honest; therefore, He wanted them to be honest. The type of law that was given to them was according to the type of nature God has. Thus, the whole law showed the nature of God to them. Some items speak of the brightness of God, others of the holiness and goodness of God, and still others of the love of God. God used the demanding and forbidding of every item of the law to lead the people of Israel to know every aspect of His nature.
God also established prophets in order to lead the people of Israel to know Himself; for the prophets of the Old Testament were established by God to represent Himself, His Person. The words they spoke were the revelation and guidance given by God according to His own will. For example, Moses was a prophet established by God (Deut. 18:15). The words he spoke to the children of Israel concerning the building of the tabernacle were the revelation of God to them concerning that matter. When he led them to walk in the wilderness, it was God who led them to walk in the wilderness. Thus, God used all kinds of revelation and guidance by the prophets to lead the children of Israel to know Him, His Person.
Since the law is derived from the nature of God, its character is fixed and unchangeable. The law says that one should honor his parents, should not kill, should not commit adultery, and should not steal. These are all fixed, ironclad laws and cannot be changed. They are just as applicable to one person as to another, or to one living in Jerusalem as to one in Samaria. They are not altered due to the change of person, event, time, or place. If the children of Israel were willing to accept the standard of these laws, not only would they know the eternal and unchangeable nature of God, but the style, character, and taste of their living would also correspond to that nature.
On the other hand, since the prophets represented God Himself and spoke out the will of God for a particular time, their activity was flexible and could be changed. It was not limited and fixed. This is because God does all things according to His own will, and He Himself is flexible and cannot be limited. The prophets may at one time give people one kind of revelation, and at another time give another kind of revelation. Here they may give people this kind of guidance, and there they may give them that kind of guidance. Thus, the standard of the law given to men was fixed and limited. But the revelation and guidance which the prophets gave to them was flexible and unlimited. If the Israelites were willing to follow the revelation and guidance of the prophets, they could know God in His very Person by them, and they could know His will for that time. They could also make themselves correspond to God Himself and to His will, whether in action or in rest, in work or in battle.