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The UK Bible Students Website Christian Biblical Studies |
HOW AND WHY GOD CONCEALS
TRUTH
Part Two
By L.N.
All Scripture references are to the King James
(Authorised) Version, unless noted otherwise.
I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot
bear them now.
— John 16: 12 —
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THE PRECEDING instalment of this series concluded that God operates
on a ‘need to know’ basis and that he
conceals information when concealment is a benefit to his people and,
secondarily, to the world. This principle is evinced in both the Old and the
New Testament.
For example, with reference to the impending destruction of Sodom, Gen. 18: 17, 18 informs us: ‘And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?’
This text gives us the clue that the Almighty is disposed to explain his actions to those with whom, like Abraham, he has a covenant relationship. For it was to Abraham that God promised a son through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed, later confirming this with an oath. This promise is known as the Abrahamic or ‘oath-bound’ covenant, and underpins all God’s subsequent dealings with his people Israel and the Gentiles who would subsequently become believers in Christ (Gen. 12: 1-3; 22: 15-18; Gal. 3: 7-9). Psa. 25: 14 says something similar: ‘The secret of the LORD is with them that fear [reverence] him; and he will shew them his covenant.’ Compare with Amos 3: 7: ‘Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but that he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.’
This is not to say that God is obligated to announce all his plans in advance or to bare his motives, and he does not do so. In the instance of Elisha and the child who had died, the prophet makes the curious statement that God had ‘hid it’ from him (2 Kings 4: 18-20, 27). And although Jehovah unfolded a number of important prophecies to the virtuous Daniel, he nonetheless blocked him from understanding certain details pertaining to the great time of trouble yet future, that period which would precede the establishment of Christ’s kingdom on earth, telling him to ‘shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of
the end’ (Dan. 12: 4).
Limited Horizons
In the first instalment of this series, we noted that Jesus himself was not wholly enlightened on the details of ‘this generation shall not pass away’, when he observed that of ‘that day and that hour, knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father’ (Mark 13: 32; see also Matt. 24: 34-36).
It may seem strange that the Son of God was kept in ignorance on any aspect of the Father’s plans, but we must assume there was good reason for this. No doubt all things were subsequently revealed to Jesus upon his resurrection for, as second only to the Almighty, and appointed by God as his chief agent in implementing heaven’s plan, Jesus would have had be privy to all knowledge required to perform his exalted office.
The Father has vested all authority in the Son (Matt. 28: 18): ‘All
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.’ See also John
17: 1, 2 [‘power over all flesh’]).
However,
it seems that the wider lesson to be drawn from Mark 13: 32 is not so much what
it tells us about Jesus, but more that it informs us that while in the flesh the servants of God are
limited in their capacity to understand matters which transcend the time in which they live and act. This
explains why human predictions in the religious and secular fields invariably
fail to come true.
Of course, it goes without saying that Jesus was different. He was perfect, and while in the flesh was filled with the holy spirit and understood heavenly things inaccessible to any other. Nonetheless, for reasons best known to his Father, Jesus was kept in the dark on certain aspects of his Father’s plans, including, for example, the extent to which he would have to suffer at Calvary. Perhaps his knowing such things in advance would have undermined the value of the test of his faith, for ‘though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered’ (Heb. 5: 8; italics added). In his Inscrutability, Jehovah always reserves the right to withhold information, even from his only-begotten Son. This elementary fact that Jesus was dependent on God for his knowledge and direction argues against the doctrine of the Trinity.
The case of the Apostle Paul is an interesting one. Speaking in the third person, he tells us that he was given a ‘vision’ of the ‘third heaven’, in which he was shown spectacular things that he was forbidden to disclose (2 Cor. 12: 1-5, 7). Apparently his knowledge of such things was intended for his own edification; the revelation perhaps enhanced the effectiveness of his service to the church at large, and to us through his writings. This idea may be reflected in his statement of 1 Tim. 1: 16: ‘I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.’
God versus Kings
In Prov. 25: 2 we read, ‘It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter’.
Originally fashioned by God in his own image, Man retains the inquisitive faculty with which he was endowed, and which God intended for him to exercise. Indeed, there is no end to Man’s curiosity about the way the world works, for he is an assiduous harvester of information. From the highest heights to the deepest depths, on the earth, under the sea, and out into the universe, the human mind investigates and analyses his own mind and the laws of nature, in order to understand and, where possible, to manipulate things to his liking. Man’s ingenuity has often produced mixed results, but it has also brought much good, and as a whole the race has benefited from the practical application of scientific knowledge.
This verse from Proverbs (25: 2) succinctly describes the ongoing tension which exists between God the Maker always at the top of this relationship and his creation, Man, who is the supplicant, seeking for answers to God’s secrets, but always falling short of the truth, because he lacks humility. It is erroneous to assume that atheism is simply the result of a sincere and unprejudiced assessment of facts bearing on the existence of God, and that were atheists presented with credible evidence they would immediately revise their opinion. However, human-inspired philosophies elevate Man’s status to that of God, ousting him from his throne; they fail to properly interpret the evidence of things around them because their basic assumptions are flawed. One wonders what evidence would be deemed sufficient to an atheist to prove the existence of God beyond the shadow of a doubt. The fact is that many do not believe because they do not want to believe.
In the next
instalment we will examine the occasional benefits of ignorance for God’s people
and the world in general.
Continues . . .
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September 2015. Author asserts standard rights, but you are free to reproduce or reprint this article without express permission. Please acknowledge the source.