“KNOWER OF THE HEARTS OF ALL”
E. M. Walkinshaw
Matthew 3: 16, 17; Acts 1: 23–26; 1 Samuel 16: 6–13; John 21: 15–17
I desire to speak simply of man’s relations with God. I therefore read about the Lord Jesus, because His relations with His God were perfect. He was absolutely perfect as Man. We have already referred to Him as without spot and without blemish; how everything within was perfect as well as without. We speak with the greatest reverence of Him, but every movement of His heart, every impulse and motive was perfectly in accord with His Father. It is a great thing to contemplate the perfect manhood of Jesus and to contemplate the delight the Father had in Him. His actions were pleasing to His Father, but those actions flowed from what was within, and the Father took account of that. I believe that is the reason that the Father says, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight”. The Father took account of all His inward motives and every thought of His heart, and found His pleasure in Him. I suppose it refers to the thirty years of His life which very largely are hidden from us. But nothing in that perfect life was hidden from the Father and this is an expression of His pleasure when He says, “in whom I have found my delight”.
God had never had a man like this before. There were many types, and men of moral worth, but none before like Jesus, perfect in blood and flesh. That is probably the reason that when God arranges the centre of His tabernacle system it is not a man but it is the ark. No one could look into the ark, but we know from the Scriptures that it was the same within as it was without. It reminds one of the simple expression of Jesus, “Altogether that which I also say to you”, John 8: 25. His speech was the practical expression of what He was. Let us, therefore, contemplate Jesus as Man. One who, indeed, died for us and has been raised again and who, as from the right hand of God, sent out the Spirit so that we might be maintained in His character here. We can only be maintained in His character by His Spirit.
Now in the second scripture God is spoken to as the “knower of the hearts of all”. What a wonderful expression that is! There is no heart that is not known by Him. It says, “All things are naked and laid bare to his eyes, with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4: 13), and He has to do with us, not looking at the outward appearance, however proper it may appear to be, but knowing every heart and, as knowing every heart, acting according to His sovereign will and knowledge. In the passage that we are considering both would appear to have been qualified for the office, but how wonderful that the “knower of the hearts of all” showed what His sovereign will was.
We must bow to this, dear brethren, that God Himself knows every heart and moves according to His own sovereign will. Hence He raises up persons to serve us. How much respect we have for those who have served us in the past. Our wisdom is to bow simply to His sovereignty, and make room for the ministry He has given through vessels He has chosen. There is no question that Judas had a commission. Somebody served with him when they were sent out two and two, but subsequently he was shamefully exposed and shown to have no affection for Christ. It is said, he went “to his own place”. All the crises, dear brethren, in the testimony expose where we really are with God. Whether for good or for evil, I believe each finds his own place morally. This is a sobering consideration.
I am not suggesting that any believer is Judas, but he is an extreme example of a person who in a crisis failed and went to his own place. All of us sitting here are known by God. How wonderful that in His presence we can judge ourselves, and be in simple liberty and communion with Him.
Now David is a wonderful example of the anointing. The anointing was upon him, but unquestionably it was upon a man who was according to God’s own heart. “I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my heart”, Acts 13: 22. That is inward, dear brethren. He too was under the eye of the Knower of all hearts, and God found in him a man after His own heart who, God says, “shall do all my will”. He is therefore a type of Jesus. David failed; he had to be searched and he invites the searching of God. Nevertheless, by the Holy Spirit he rises to be a wonderful type of Jesus.
Now these men of stature came before Samuel. Even a spiritual man like Samuel can be deceived. It is natural to us all to look on the outward appearance, but the word is, “Look not on his countenance … Jehovah looketh upon the heart”. As each person passes by he is rejected, pointing, I believe, to God’s total rejection of the first order of man. Samuel comes to it, “Jehovah has not chosen these”. The chosen one of Jehovah was not even invited to the conference. How sobering! but he was looking after the sheep. That was an expression of his heart. It sprang from love for Jehovah and for the sheep. I doubt not that Jehovah found him a man after His own heart because he loved the sheep. God refers elsewhere in a prophet to the sheep being men (see Ezekiel 34: 31). How carefully and wisely and lovingly David cared for the people of God.
Immediately he comes in the word is, “Arise, anoint him; for this is he”. We can always afford to wait for the Lord Jesus to come in. I believe He would come into all our occasions. Our motive and object should always be to anoint Him amongst us, this kind of Man. There is Himself personally in the circle where He is everything, but He also is in each one in character. I believe, dear brethren, the more we anoint Christ personally amongst us, the more scope the Holy Spirit has to form us in His character. Let us then come to God’s thoughts that the first has been terminated in the cross of Jesus and everything is established in Jesus risen.
I just refer to Peter, because here again he is in the presence of the “knower of the hearts of all”, and Jesus questions him. I think the Lord would question us like this, “Lovest thou me more than these?”. Naturally we have ambition and competition. Each one of us might suppose he loves the Lord Jesus above the others and therefore the Lord Jesus searches him.
Why is it recorded? Peter is with the Lord, and it is not just to tell us about the fact, but that we might come into the experience of being in the presence of the “knower of the hearts of all”. Jesus says to him the third time. You can understand Peter being grieved. First, do you love Me, Peter? and again, Do you love Me, Peter? Thirdly, Do you really love Me, Peter?—three times. I would be upset if someone asked me three times if I loved the Lord. But eventually Peter says, “Thou knowest all things”, ‘Thou knowest that I love Thee; Thou knowest I have been astray; Thou knowest I denied Thee; Thou knowest I have been impetuous and that I have failed; but Thou knowest that, underneath it all, I love Thee’. The Lord knew that, despite all, Peter really loved Him. So that the searching of the Lord Jesus but brings out in Peter the greater devotion, and it was the devotion of love.
So you see the link between love for Jesus and feeding His sheep. Judas had a commission without love for Christ. Peter had a commission and exercised it in love for Christ. Any service rendered to Him to be acceptable must spring from love for Him and His sheep. Peter had this. May the Lord grant that we may have it, that we may all by love serve one another, but by love. It was supremely seen in Jesus, but is to be seen in us as we give way to His Holy Spirit.
May the Lord help us all to contemplate the manhood of Jesus and, as giving place to His Spirit and giving place to the “knower of the hearts of all”, to be here more in His character for the Father’s pleasure. May He grant it for His name’s sake.
Address at Bad Endbach
29 March 1975