In Parts 1 and 2, I discussed some “holiness is not” statements. I want to continue by saying that if I have learned one thing in my 54 years as a child of God, it is that not one of us knows all there is to know about any subject, especially biblical ones. We all know some. We all know a little. Some know more than others, but no one knows all there is to know about God, about His Word, His Character, or His Nature. I Corinthians 13:9 says “For we know in part.” Our knowledge is fragmental, and at its best, incomplete. In Verse 12, Paul wrote that we are looking as if in a dark glass. We get a blurred shadow of things, and we know part of the picture, but he put off our knowing everything into the future. He said that we will know as we are known. This simply means that God knows all about me now, and one day, when I am like Him, I will know all there is to know about Him. I also read in I Corinthians 8:12 that Paul said when we start thinking we know everything, we are really closest to knowing nothing at all. In Galatians 6:3, he said that if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he is deceived. By whom? By the devil, by others, by the Church? No , he is deceived by HIMSELF. What I’m trying to teach us is that we are all students of the Word. We are all in need of learning and we have access to the best, wisest, most efficient teacher who ever lived. The Teacher is three fold.
First, we have Jesus, the Word. Matthew 9:35, “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the Kingdom. From Genesis to Revelation, Jesus, the Word is teaching. He taught verbally, and by example (I Peter 2:21). The multitudes loved what Jesus did, but they also loved what He said (John 7:46).
Secondly, we have have a God chosen teacher. A man ordained, hand picked by God to write a big portion of NT doctrine, named Paul, the Apostle. I Timothy 2:7, “Whereunto I am ordained a preacher and an apostle. ( speak the truth in Christ I lie not; a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity (sincere faith and honesty). His instructions were left for us to follow.
Then, Number 3, we have a teacher living in us. If He is not living in you yet, He’s available. Matter of fact, one is not likely to learn much without Him. John 14:26, “But the comforter which is the Holy Ghost, He shall teach you all things.” And see, what He is in short, is He is an interpreter. When we go to India, we are lost without our interpreter. We could speak for hours in English and get nowhere. WE must have someone who understands us, who can convey our words to the hearers. I Corinthians 2:14, “But the natural man (the unregenerate, or the unlearned; the one who is unfamiliar with spiritual language, receives not the things of the Spirit of God. He cannot know them, for they are spiritually discerned.” The term “natural man” has a two fold meaning. It is speaking of the unsaved person, but it also defines those who are new to spiritual things. I Corinthians 3:1, Paul called them babes in Christ. In Ephesians 4:14, he called them children tossed to and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine. In Hebrews 5:15, the Bible says they can only digest the milk of the Word. It says they are unskillful in the Word of righteousness, for they are just babies. They need an interpreter of the simplest of Scriptures. So settle it. Don’t try to figure out any Bible teaching without these teachers, especially this third one. He’s called a guide, one who walks with us, and one who lives in us. So when we come up against something we cannot grasp, we can ask Him, and He will reveal it to us. He will do that privately, or through one who is more learned in Scripture. John 16:13 says the Holy Ghost will guide us into all truth. This does not mean that any of us will ever know ALL truth. No! He will show you a nugget, and me a revelation, and someone else a fragment, and others a portion, and we’ll share it with one another, and we keep passing it on to others who are hungry, also (II Timothy 2:2). Learning about God is a lifelong quest. It is not something that appears instantly, but all through life, we continue to seek after Him. We take His yoke upon us and learn of Him. We follow on to know Him (Hosea 6:3). We will grow, and we will advance in our ability to digest the meat. But we must never lose our desire for the milk of the Word. I Peter 2:2 is speaking to all of us, babes in Christ, and seasoned saints. “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word that you may grow thereby.” Holiness is a subject that is inexhaustible, and yet there are some who act as if they know every jot and tittle of the word, and this kind has done more to disgrace God’s holiness than any other. All religions have their opinions about holiness, but it is the Word of God that we wish to base our beliefs upon!