THE PREPARATION FOR RECEIVING TRUTH
THE PREPARATION FOR RECEIVING TRUTH
The inability of many, even true-hearted saints, to see the truth of God — that which others see and regard with deep and reverent interest — is a painful anomaly, and the cause of it claims our earnest inquiry.
The first great truth for every learner is that there is no power in the natural mind to form any conception of the things of God. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him”; and it is only in His light that we see light. It is important to bear in mind that it is not enough for the truth to be communicated to us from without, but that the mind within must be first given for the reception of it, as we read “the renewing (that is, entire newness) of your mind”. The most beautiful truth would have as little effect on the natural mind [p. 319] as the most beautiful music on a man without an ear for it. The latter hears sounds, even pleasant sounds, but the charm of music, the real melody of it, is unknown to him; and so it is with the natural mind as to the truth of God. No persuasive description can enable the natural mind to see a divine beauty. There is no power in man to see that which is most beautiful, even though presented in the fairest colours, and reaching to all his need. The crucifixion of Christ proved that there is really no taste in man for what is divinely beautiful. To see it there must be a taste, a capacity for it; and this is the new mind. Thus it is evident that the light must begin from within, and that if there be not the work of the Spirit there, no opening of the word, however striking or impressive, will be truly received or appreciated.
But then the question arises, Why do some saints see truths in Scripture and delight in them, while others remain quite in darkness as to them? Now though every saint has the mind of Christ, and thus the capacity for receiving the truth of God, there is not in all the mind prepared for it and susceptible of the beauty of it; and there must be this before he can really appreciate it. Of course the mind is increased by culture and exercise, but there must be a measure of taste or fitness of mind for the truth before it can be appreciated or comprehended. If in natural men it is necessary that they possess a quality or a taste before they can judge of it elsewhere, how much more needful is it that a saint should be prepared by newness of mind for truth entirely new to him. It is to him that hath that more is given. Every one receives only as he is prepared to receive. There is the budding of the desire for the truth, or the state fit for it, before it is communicated. One must be ready or waiting for it. Abraham was prepared for it, when in retirement at Mamre the Lord appeared unto him and told him, not only the time of Isaac’s birth, but of the judgment of Sodom. He says, “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do? ... For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him”, Genesis 18. The Lord here is confiding His mind to one previously fitted to receive it.
Jacob was prepared for it when he was reduced to a pillow of stone, friendless and alone; Genesis 28. The vision of the ladder reaching to heaven and the Lord standing above it is presented to him when he is in a state to appreciate it. “The meek will he teach his way”. There is a state of soul suited to the truth presented, and unless there is, there will be no appreciation of it.
Moses was prepared for it, when, after having been in the mount forty days, and having seen the perverseness and idolatry of Israel, he says, “Shew me thy glory”, Exodus 33. This is the preparation of heart, and the very circumstances call forth the appreciation and the sense of need.
Mary Magdalene, in John 20, was more fitted for the revelation of the new standing than any of the disciples, not because she knew more, but her personal devotedness to the Lord prepared and fitted her for the communication. Peter and John were with her at the same place, but they were not so intent or fixed in heart on the Lord as she was; and therefore she received more than they. She suffered most to find Him, and she gained the most. “He that seeketh findeth”. And this is the nature of the preparation. There is a drawing to it, or a taste for it, like Zacchaeus desiring to see Jesus; he climbs up into a tree because Jesus was to pass that way. There was an earnest desire, ignorant indeed, but it attests its genuineness by the way it suffers, and this is always abundantly answered. The Lord says, “Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down, for today I must abide at thy house”.
[p. 321] Now where there is this divine preparation, there is really no place for the natural mind; such an one has been reduced to self emptiness, all his own efforts in nature are at an end. In one way or the other he is “meek”; either he has reached the end of his own resources in seeking for the Lord, or the Lord has driven him into a position where he has no power or human resources, and therefore the mind of the Lord comes to him in its simplicity and power. Now where there is not this preparation, the natural mind assumes to comprehend the things of God, and when permitted, the consequence is that the divine idea in the truth is reduced to a human level, and this is the real state of things! There is not the ear or the taste, but there is a self-assumed one, which perverts the truth and distorts it to the level of its own capacity, just as a child would judge of a great astronomical discovery; only with this difference, that in the mind of the child there might be some sense of the beauty of the novelty, whereas there can be no such sense as to the truth, in so far as the natural mind is acting. The state for receiving the truth is therefore when the natural mind is suppressed, when one is really “meek”. The light of God can be only seen in His own light, and hence, any one seeing or desiring to see it, must either in his search for it come to the end of himself, or be placed in circumstances where the natural mind can have no voice. The diligent soul is made fat. “If thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God”. There is no possibility of learning God’s mind but from God’s point of view, and hence there must be a setting aside of everything on our side, in order that there should be no obstruction or impediment. In the present day the general impression is that every saint is in a state to receive any truth — that is, that the truth [p. 322] can be received without any preparation, that one can sit and hear, or read, and possess; that there is no need for much seeking or meditation; that truth is more easily learned than a problem in Euclid. There is little or no learning for oneself; there is an acceptance of what comes to hand among one’s fellows, of what every one admits, and there is more attention to subjects than to the state of the mind, or its ability to comprehend them. For example, almost every saint has formed his mind, or assumes that be has, on the church question, that is, he has subscribed directly or indirectly to some accepted order of things. He has heard it all well spoken of, and he rests satisfied that it is as good as can be under the circumstances. He accepts the points for his adoption, because they are commendably presented; and if he comes to examine for himself, he addresses himself to the examination, not as from God’s side, and hence in accordance with the mind of Christ, but from his own side; he judges of it naturally, and hence reduces the divine idea of the church, or any other truth, to a human level. Now, when a truth has been reduced to the level of the natural mind, it has lost its power, and this is the greatest artifice of Satan in the present day.
The first lesson for the saint is that, as he has a new mind, he must clear away everything which would cloud or hinder it, in order that it may act freely and fully. “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”. If you are conformed to this age in anything, in that thing you hinder a clear perception of the truth, and this accounts for the partial way in which saints receive truth. Very few complete the circle, and all because something of this age comes in to interfere with the light. There is a dark part. There must be the cultivation of the new mind as well as the clearing away of all obstacles. It is not merely to clear the land of weeds,
[p. 323] but there is also the cultivation of the good plant which has been introduced into the soil. There is therefore the transforming by the renewing of the mind. The mind is the kingdom; the taste is first secured, and then it is nurtured by presenting to it the endless beauties set forth in the word of God. As an artist improves and perfects his taste by studying the best masters, so does the new mind grow and advance by studying the beauty of Christ in all His ways. If there were none of this world in us, we should see alike about everything as far as we had grown; John 17: 21. The taller tree of course commands a wider circle than the shorter one, but then it only embraces more than the shorter one, not differently. The range of the taller includes all that of the shorter, but there is no difference except in age, experience and progress. It is easy to see how the influence of this world, especially in religious matters, warps the saints, even the most devoted. Paul, though otherwise advised by the Spirit, would go to Jerusalem. God in His mercy turned it all to blessing, because Paul was honest of heart and ready to suffer for Christ. Peter, fearing certain who came from James, declined to eat as he had hitherto done with the gentiles. If the greatest fail, we do well to be on our guard.
In almost every place there are some saints who hold the great truths in the word and see great beauty in them, while others think them either imagination or fanaticism. How can we account for this discrepancy but by the fact that one has the divine idea in him, and that the word reaches him and instructs him, while the other is so hampered or clogged by this age that he has not a prepared heart for the mind of God, he is not in a state to receive it. It is only near the Lord that the “good ground” (Matthew 13: 23) is acquired, and as it is acquired, there is an ear for more, as there is a sense that nothing will suit it but what is according to its own order. When I have seen anything in God’s [p. 324] light, I crave to see everything there as I enjoy it; and I learn to count all things loss, and to leave everything in order to acquire it. I show that I value it by my zeal and suffering in order to acquire it. I give not sleep to mine eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I have reached the desire awakened in my heart. In the sanctuary, as we see with the psalmist in Psalm 73, everything takes quite a new colour; nay, the very opposite colour to that which is presented to him when regarded from man’s sphere. If every one of our opinions were acquired and formed in the Lord’s presence in the sanctuary, apart from human colouring, we should have His mind about everything. There would indeed be many degrees of progress; but what each one had reached would only be part of what the most advanced had attained to; there cannot be two ways of singing the same tune.
In conclusion, two things are evident; one, that we cannot see a truth in Scripture rightly but as we see it in God’s light; and the other, that we must be in a state ourselves to receive it practically. The latter is the preparation for receiving it, and hence, though one may sometimes hear a truth before he needs it, or possesses it practically, yet, if he is really to receive it, he will surely be placed in circumstances where he can truly understand it; for he cannot rightly or with power speak of it till then, for it is not rightly his until it has controlled him, and he cannot press it controllingly on others until he has been controlled by it himself.