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Loving Christ (Part 2) |
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By Ralph I. Tilley
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To Love Christ is to Listen to Christ François Fénelon prayed, "Speak, O divine Word, O uncreated Word who took on human flesh for me! Let my soul hear you. Say everything you desire—I want everything that is pleasing to you."[26] To love the Lord Jesus Christ with both an agape and philos love, is to allow his Spirit to develop within us the intuitive and instinctive capacity to listen to his voice with a carefully tuned ear. Just as artist Francis Barraud depicted Nipper (a dog listening attentively to a phonograph in the early twentieth century), so the disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ is taught to listen lovingly and attentively to his Master's voice. In doing so, the disciple is following the example of his Lord. In the third of the four Isaiah Servant Songs, the prophet speaks of how the coming Servant will carefully listen to the voice of the Sovereign Lord: "Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward.”[27] From early childhood Jesus had cultivated a listening ear. His Father awakened him to commune with him, to speak to him, to teach him. The Son never rebelled against the voice; instead, he looked forward to listening. Listening is an essential component of prayer and possibly the most important component. It must be assumed that since prayer was a vital part of the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus, listening prayer was integral to his prayer life. Since he did nothing on his own initiative and since he always did those things that pleased his Father, Jesus knew and loved his Father's voice and was careful to listen to him.[28] The servant is not above his Lord. As disciples of the Lord Jesus who wish to cultivate a passionate love for him, the importance of cultivating a listening ear is essential to growth in the knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus. Jesus said, "Whoever is of God hears the words of God."[29] Again, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”[30] To listen is to pray; to pray is to listen. That seventeenth century spiritual master, Brother Lawrence, said it so well because he listened so well: "There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God. Those only can comprehend it who practise and experience it; yet I do not advise you to do it from that motive. It is not pleasure which we ought to seek in this exercise; but let us do it from a principle of love, and because God would have us.”[31] If listening is an integral part of prayer, and if the sheep are to listen to their Shepherd's voice, where do we find this voice to listen to? Answer: we turn to the words of Jesus; we turn to the Word of God. James Houston, founding principal and chancellor of Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, makes reference in one of his books to an old Scottish preacher by the name of John Brown. Houston says of Brown, he "used to pause now and again in his preaching, as if listening to a voice." Then Houston adds, "Prayer is a constant listening to the voice of Jesus, and then meditating on his words.”[32] Old Testament Examples. Carefully listening to the Voice was the learned behavior and practiced discipline of all the Old Testament saints. While serving under the direction of Eli the priest, the young child Samuel was not yet familiar with the voice of the Lord. However, the Lord chose to call the child to a special vocational ministry to serve as his spokesman to his people. One night as the boy was sleeping the Lord spoke to him, though he didn't recognize his voice. Samuel twice got up and went to Eli, thinking he had called him. After this happened twice, the priest discerned the Lord was calling Samuel and instructed him how to respond should the Lord speak to him again. The Lord did speak again and Samuel responded appropriately. "And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant hears."[33] This is the attitude of the true servants of God, "Speak, for your servant hears." Such servants soon learn to love their Master's voice. While many of the Old Testament worthies, such as Samuel, received direct, personal communications from God, many did not—just as we do not. The Lord has primarily chosen to speak to his people through his written revelation: "A constant listening to the voice of Jesus, and then meditating on his words," to repeat Houston. We hear the voice of Jesus in nature, conscience, providence, and Scripture—but primarily in Scripture—whether read or spoken. The disciple of Jesus who is sincerely interested in cultivating and expressing a passionate love for him will live in his word, listening to his voice. This practice has characterized all of God's people through the centuries. The following examples are typical of the servants of God and the Lord Jesus Christ who cultivated their love for God/Christ by listening to his voice in the Scriptures. The Psalms are replete with expressions of listening to God's voice and meditating on his words, and are typical of those Old Covenant saints who walked in the ways of the Lord. The Lord often confided to David the importance of listening to him. Such words were so important to David that he never wanted to forget them—thus putting his pen to paper. Once David heard God say, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you."[34 Could it be that David became the man of God that he did because he learned to carefully discern the voice of God? One psalmist expressed his delight in listening and meditating on the words of God by recording, "I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words. My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise."[35] Another psalmist expressed his same purpose by saying, "Let me hear what the LORD will speak."[36] However, there is a price to pay when we fail to carefully listen and act on what God has spoken. Referring to Israel's disobedience following their deliverance from Egypt and failure to enter Canaan, the Lord said through the psalmist: "But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels. Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! I would soon subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes."[37] How much better if they and we would assume the attitude of another psalmist: "Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation."[38] The Gospels. To quote Houston again: "Prayer is a constant listening to the voice of Jesus, and then meditating on his words." The Lord Jesus was continuously speaking to his disciples. He spoke in the Temple and synagogues, he spoke on hillsides and in boats, he spoke as he traveled with the Twelve on highways and byways, he spoke in houses and marketplaces. He spoke often. He spoke what he first heard from his own Father; he then shared this truth in spoken principles and precepts about the Kingdom of God. He spoke often in parables. While all heard with their ears, not all listened with their hearts. Jesus said such results were predictable. He once illustrated this varied response to the Word of God in a parable. In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus spoke about how a farmer is like a messenger of God who speaks the words of God. Just as the Palestinian farmer broadcast his seed and reaped a variety of responses, so Jesus said there is a variety of responses among those who hear the Word of God. While charging neither the messenger nor the Word of God with any defect, Jesus said the harvest depended on the receptivity of the hearers. It was only the "good soil" listeners who became abundantly productive: "As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."[39] Listening must always precede doing. Noting this, Frederic Bruner says, "The two final verbs in the brief story of the fruitful soil are 'bears fruit and does things.' The word translated 'does things' is the important word found frequently in the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere, the Greek word poiein, which means 'to do' or 'make.' For example, 'not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord" will get into the Kingdom of heaven, but only the person who is doing (poion) the will of my Father . . .' 7:21)." Then Bruner makes an insightful comment: "But in this great parable we are now given the source of this doing, and here even the sequence of verbs is instructive: 'But the seed sown on the good earth is the person who is listening to the Word and understanding it; this person, of course, bears fruit and does things' (v. 23). Hearing comes first . . . understanding comes next (Matthew's special way of describing faith), and the doing of fruitbearing naturally (dē, 'of course'!) follows."[40] Is it any wonder Jesus often concluded his teachings with the exhortation: "He who has ears, let him hear"?[41] The Acts. The record of the book of Acts is a record of the Holy Spirit speaking and the early Christians listening—then acting. There would have never been a book of Acts if there had never been good listeners. Before his ascension into heaven, the Lord Jesus stressed to his disciples the importance of listening. Jesus' last recorded words in Luke's Gospel are: "And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."[42] Jesus spoke; the disciples listened—and obeyed. They gathered in the upper room and sought the face of God. They waited; they prayed; they listened—then they were baptized with power, filled with the Spirit, and began to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. But they continued to listen. Jesus had informed the Twelve in his Final Discourse, that when the Holy Spirit was given he would "teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."[43] Furthermore, Jesus said he was unable to share with the disciples all the truth they needed to hear. But it would be different when the Spirit came: "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come."[44] Acts is a witness and fulfillment of Jesus' words, for the disciples discovered an inner Voice in the coming of the Spirit that was in perfect harmony with what Jesus taught. The apostles and early Christians had an excellent sense of hearing. From Peter and John, to Phillip and Stephen, to Ananias and Paul, to Barnabas and Timothy, to Cornelius and Apollos, to Priscilla and Aquila, these, and many more godly believers, had learned to cultivate a vital love for the Lord Jesus by listening to his voice. This is one of the reasons they met regularly for prayer and gathered in the synagogues—to hear the word of God. And they heard the voice of God by direct impressions upon their own consciousness, through the Spirit's reminding them of the words of Jesus, and through the Old Testament Scriptures. Their moral guidance and the body of truth they taught were provided to them through the written word of God and the spoken words of Jesus; their ministry guidance was given to them by the personal and direct guidance of the Holy Spirit. Thus, we have repeated recorded examples of the Spirit's speaking to these primitive listeners. Here is one such example: "Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off."[45] Interestingly, the exercise of listening in the early church was often coupled with fasting; fasting seemed to enhance their listening faculties. F. F. Bruce remarks: "There are indications that NT Christians were specially sensitive to the Spirit's communications during fasting."[46] The Witness of Church History. The Spirit does not reveal any new truth to his church today; the written Word of God contains all revealed truth necessary for salvation and doctrine. In light of this, J. I. Packer says, "Once the Scriptures were written, and the prophetic and apostolic witness to Christ was complete, no need remained for private revelations of new truths."[47] Nonetheless, even though revelation was closed with the formulation of the Canon, the true disciple of the Lord Jesus desires to understand the old truth, be led into all truth, and regularly experiences the need of personal guidance. How can this be accomplished? By listening well. In A Quest for Godliness, Packer explores why so many of the Puritan theologians and preachers were great men of God; he examines the thoughts and practices of one of his favorite Puritans, John Owen. On the subject as to how God communicates with his people, Packer distills Owen's thinking under three main headings: First, he imparts to the Scriptures the permanent quality of light. Owen appeals to biblical references to Scripture as "light in a dark place" (2 Pet 1:19), a "light" to men's feet and a lamp to their path (Ps. 119:105), a word whose entrance gives "light" (130), and other similar passages. By light, Owen means that which dispels darkness and illuminates people and situations. Light, by its very nature, is self-evidencing. "Let a light be ever so mean and contemptible; yet if it shines, it casts out beams and rays in a dark place, it will evidence itself." Scripture, through the covenanted action of the Holy Spirit, constantly "shines," in the sense of giving spiritual illumination and insight as to who and what one is in the sight of God, and who and what Jesus Christ is, both in himself and in relation to one's own self and finally, in the broadest and most inclusive sense, how one ought to live. Thus it makes evident its divine origin. Second, the Spirit makes the Scriptures powerful to produce spiritual effects. They evidence their divine origin by their disruptive and re-creative impact on human lives. Owen quotes in this connection the biblical descriptions of the word of God as "quick and powerful," "able to build you up," and "the power of God" (Heb. 4:12; Acts 20:31; 1 Cor. 1:18). Third, the Holy Spirit makes Scripture impinge on the individual consciousness as a word addressed personally to each man by God himself, evoking awe, and a sense of being in God's presence and under his eye. This is what Owen means when he speaks of the "majesty" of the Scriptures. So he writes: "the Holy Ghost speaking in and by the word imparting to it virtue, power, efficacy, majesty, and authority, affords us the witness, that our faith is resolved into. . . . This leads us to our fourth topic: the establishing of faith in Scripture. The internal testimony of the Holy Spirit, whereby the external testimony comes to be recognised and received, is not, says Owen, an inward voice, revealing facts otherwise unknown and unknowable (that is, a private revelation), nor is it an unreasoning conviction, objectively groundless, coming to us out of the blue; it is, rather, an activity of inward illumination, whereby a man's natural spiritual blindness is removed, the veil is taken from the eyes of his heart, his pride and his prejudice are alike broken down, and he is given both an understanding and a "taste" (Heb. 5: 14) of spiritual realities. This, Owen observes, is what the New Testament is referring to when it uses the verb "reveal" in texts like Matthew 11:25-27 and Ephesians 1:17-19, and it is also what the apostle John has in mind when he speaks of the Spirit as an "unction" that '"teaches all things" (1 John 2:27).[48] Packer then observes in conclusion: "The mark of this understanding is that Scripture now appears coherent: to the man enlightened by the Spirit, Scripture is no longer a bewildering jumble of isolated items, as it may well have seemed to him before, but 'under the benefit of this assistance all the parts of the Scripture, in their harmony and correspondency, all the truths of it in their power and necessity, come in together to give evidence one to another, and all of them to the whole."[49] As we have said, the church's greatest saints have been the church's best listeners. It does not take a gift of the Spirit to be a good listener nor a high IQ; it only takes an obedient, willing, and thirsty appetite for God. For those who have learned to listen to the voice of Christ well, the Lord Jesus has led them faithfully and fruitfully. For those who have been stiff-necked and reluctant, their path has been fraught with unnecessary difficulties—often coming under God's discipline. Dallas Willard has said it well, "Knowledge and experience of hearing God teaches us many things that can keep us from harm and keep us from harming others in our spiritual adventure of life in God's kingdom. One of the most important things we can learn is the superiority of the voice—however the "voice" may come, even as the still small voice within the silence of our own minds—over the other types of encounters."[50] As we have said, this "voice" most often comes through the Scriptures. Thus the need to always keep in view the words of the apostle, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly"[51]—"live in you, make its home in you." For the disciple of the Lord Jesus who earnestly follows him in obedience, and soaks his soul with the "word of Christ," God is committed through his Spirit to lead such a one in the footsteps of Jesus. With the Bible before us and the Spirit within us and the church behind us (i. e., what the church has always affirmed to be true in its long history) and beside us (i. e., being accountable in fellowship with other Christians), God will lead his people like a shepherd his sheep—if we only will carefully listen. The words of E. Stanley Jones are so appropriate here, coming as they do from one who developed during Christian pilgrimage a keen sense of hearing. Jones said, "God cannot guide you in any way that is not Christ-like. Jesus was supreme sanity. There was nothing psychopathic about Him. He went off into no visions, no dreams. He got His guidance through prayer as you and I do.[52] In matters where the disciple of Jesus is in need of personal guidance, the need of discerning the will of God in critical decision-making, the Christian soon discovers he can be vulnerable to "outside forces." Many believers have ended up on the shores of embarrassment and unfruitfulness because what they thought was the voice of the Shepherd was nothing but an echo of their own over-heated imagination. Impressions come from a variety of sources—the flesh, Satan, one's own imagination, and the Spirit of God. I heard one of my mentors years ago share an incident when he was young in the faith. Walking along one day on a Michigan side-road with another young Christian, his companion—eager to be a witness for Christ—spied a house in the near distance and told Stephen he felt impressed to go to the house and share his witness for Christ. Stephen told his friend that he would wait until he returned. Some minutes later the zealous young Christian returned, albeit, with an embarrassed look. He confessed to Stephen, "That house was a chicken house!" In that case, the listened-to-voice only made for embarrassment; in many cases the listened-to-impressions can have disastrous consequences. I don't believe I have ever heard or read better advice on how to carefully discern the voice of Christ than that shared by the venerable and faith-filled George Müller: I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the trouble with people is right here. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in this state it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His will is. Having surrendered my own will, I do not leave the result to feeling or simply impressions. If I do so, I make myself liable to great delusions. I seek the will of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If the Holy Ghost guides us at all, He will do it according to the Scriptures, and never contrary to them. Next I take into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God's will in connection with His Word and Spirit. I ask God in prayer to reveal His will to me aright. Thus, through prayer to God, the study of His Word, and reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly. In trivial matters, and in transactions involving most important issues, I have found this method always effective.[53] Yes, to listen to Christ—primarily through the written Word and, otherwise, always in harmony with the Word—is to love Christ. By such spiritual cultivation, one's love for the Good Shepherd is kept vibrant and passionate. In the words of Abraham Kuyper: "the Lord does have his own voice, and it's our job . . . to distinguish it from the sound bites we accumulate from a thousand others.”[54] Unless otherwise noted, the Bible version used in this article is the English Standard Version. 26François Fénelon, Meditations on the Heart of God, p. 30. |
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