Open Minds, Pt. II

The honest agnostic believes that truth exists, but once he sees the great range of belief systems in existence today, perhaps he gives up hope of ever knowing truth with any degree of certainty. Giving up hope leads us to hopelessness and eventually despair. More commonly in America, it leads to any number of lifestyles that try to drown out that haunting voice that exists in the inner man of every human being – a deep longing to understand.

The Christian starts by believing that absolute truth has been revealed to us. We have it in the infallible Word of God. But having the Scriptures does not guarantee understanding. In fact, when Jesus appeared on the scene of human existence, He found His people without understanding. In fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy, “You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive” (Matt 13:14). Imagine having the perfect teacher right there with you, but not understanding him. We find that even his closest twelve disciples seldom understood his teachings. True understanding requires a particular transaction beyond just hearing. Only after His resurrection do we find that Christ “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” regarding the mystery of the gospel.

We need our minds opened to spiritual truths by the source of those truths. We need both Spirit and Word. In a small way, the agnostic is right to conclude that Truth in all of its depth and mystery is beyond us in our natural selves. But God hasn’t left us to ourselves. I close with a lengthy citation, because this passage expresses the point most clearly.

1 Corinthians 2:9-16(NASB95)

“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.” For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.