Matthew 16:15 records that the Lord asked the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). Then Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in the heavens” (v. 17). Following this, the record in verses 21-24 tells us: “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, God be merciful to You, Lord! This shall by no means happen to You! But He turned and said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men. Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” The things recorded in this portion of the Word do not fit in with our human concepts, but they are part of the divine revelation.
Many people do not know what the revelation of God is. Actually, the revelation of God is nothing but Christ revealing Himself. If a person wants to know the revelation of God, he must know Christ. In fact, the revelation of God is Christ. Only when we see Christ will we be able to see the revelation of God, and only when we know Christ can we be those who live in the revelation of God.
The revelation of God is His unveiling of Christ for us to see and know. It is God who causes us to see and know Christ. If a person does not see and know Christ, no matter what kind of living he has before God, what kind of things he does, or what kind of behavior he has, they are all outside of God’s revelation. We have seen that everything that is outside of God’s revelation is of religion and is natural. Only when a person sees and knows Christ will all of his living, doing, and behavior be out of God’s revelation.
To many people these words may be hard to comprehend. A clever brother who had a clear mind and who was rich in thought once said that he did not know what God’s revelation was. We should not marvel at hearing such a word because man often cannot understand or comprehend the revelation of God. Only when the Holy Spirit gives man the enlightenment and revelation within is man actually able to see, rather than merely understand or comprehend.
For example, suppose that when we come to the meeting hall, all the doors and windows are shut. Suppose also that on our way to the meeting hall we met a person who described to us the interior setting of the meeting hall. He described how many chairs, lamps, fans, and microphones there are and how they are arranged. We then more or less have some idea and understanding of everything in the meeting hall. However, the doors and windows of the meeting hall are shut, the interior setting is concealed and blocked, and we have no way to see inside. We heard the description from the person we met, and seemingly we understood, apprehended, and comprehended, yet because we cannot see the real situation, we are still not clear. Not until the door is opened, we enter the meeting hall, and the lights are turned on will we really understand. This understanding is different from an outward understanding. An outward understanding is based upon hearing about something without having any light or actual seeing. Once the door is opened and the real situation is revealed before our eyes, we will be able to see the meeting hall in a clear way. Such a seeing is a revelation.
We may have these two different kinds of knowledge of Christ. One is the result of hearing someone speak about Christ and about the kind of relationship we should have with Him. Even though the speaker may have given a clear and reasonable presentation, and we heard it clearly, we still find it vague because the Holy Spirit has not yet shown us the actual matter. We merely heard the presentation, but we have not seen it. Hence, we may understand the doctrines concerning Christ, but we may not be able to see or know the Christ who is in us. We may understand the doctrines, but if we do not have any inward seeing, then even though we may think that we know and understand, we still do not really know or understand.
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