S. SEKOU ABODUNRIN
That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: Acts 17:27
5. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
7. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. Psalm 139: 5 – 8
Paul states a bible fact in Acts 17 – God is not far from us but Man needs to perceive him. Pause and think about that – God is not far from you!
David in psalm 139 admits the profound fact that God was on every side of him. He also admits that the hand of the Lord was upon him in blessing. The knowledge of this revolutionised his thinking. He did not see God as an enemy who was standing against him, but as a friend who had taken it upon himself to encompass David with his very presence.
The knowledge that David spoke about was two fold. Firstly it was a fresh knowledge of himself. He had come to know himself in the light of a man continually encompassed with God's presence and glory. Everything around him contradicted this truth. This was a knowledge higher than his experience but given to him through the revelation of God. Secondarily it was a knowledge of the Lord not as an adversary or foe but as a friend, consort and companion. This type of knowledge should characterise the believer.
David admits a mighty fact – The presence of God is everywhere the same. This is true of heaven as well as of hell itself. David had not ascended to heaven, yet he knew that the presence of God was a reality there. The only way he'd have come to know this was by the revelation of God in his word. This is easy to admit. What the religious man fails to see is that David admits that even in hell the presence of God is a reality. In simple terms there is no such thing as the absence of God anywhere in the universe for he is everywhere and he is everywhere the same. He is not more present in heaven than he is in hell.
This is wonderful knowledge. When folks are unconscious of this bible fact, they speak of “inviting” God into where they are. This is superstitious. Rather than try to invite him though, we can humbly rest in the knowledge that he is already present. There is no place where God is not. The universe is his.
I love the humility of David. He knew a fact that many of us shy away from – We are the ones that try to run away from his presence and not he from ours. He said “Where shall I run from your presence ..”. A religious mind will not admit this. The religious mind will accuse God of deserting him, when in reality God does not desert man but it is men that desert God.
If you have read this far, you know deep within if this is a reality you live in or some theological truth that you profess. The religious mind will affirm the omnipresence of God and in the same breath say that “God left me”. In reality we are the ones that do the leaving. You must learn to affirm to yourself the abiding presence of God.
In the bible, the picture given of heaven is that of a place where God is acknowledged. You cannot escape this fact as you read through the revelation of John. In hell there is gnashing of teeth. It is easy to think God is absent from hell and present only in heaven, but the truth is that God is present but his presence does not produce freedom until it is acknowledged and embraced in one's consciousness. Hell is the federal headquarters of complaints, heaven is the practice of praise. In reality then, heaven is the way it is because God is continually praised there.
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; Acts 17:22, 28a
It is noteworthy that the people of Athens disagreed strongly with Paul. They would have maintained that they were religious and they were, but Paul would have called it by the proper name – idolatry. Since they were wholly given to idolatry he resorted to freeing their minds by dismantling their religious reasonings with the revelation of God. The people of Athens did not deny the existence of God. The trouble was that he was unknown to them. When men desire God but mistake zeal for knowledge superstition is born inevitably. Their worship betrayed their ignorance. All religious men are superstitious men.
The superstitious bias is manifested differently in different situations, but nevertheless it is not rooted in truth. There is only one way to rid oneself of superstition and that is by receiving and walking in the knowledge of God. When Paul went to the top of Mars hill he went into the presence of intense superstition. These were learned men but Paul admits that their knowledge is sustained by superstition. What Paul said was aimed at dealing out a death blow to superstition.
The understanding of the resurrection of Jesus is the answer to superstitious thinking.
A religious mind today would not go up such a hill for it supposes that demons and the devil actually own portions of the earth. Paul admitted no such thing for in agreement with all bible people he knew that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. Until you learn to live in the light of the truth of God's presence you will find yourself walking gingerly and fearfully in the presence of such spiritual nonsense. Paul diagnosed that the problem was the superstitions of men. It wasn't that the demons or the deities that the people worshipped were powerful.
What we know as demonic power is really the power of superstition. The answer to superstition is the deliverance that comes from the proclamation and affirmation of truth especially the truth of the resurrection of Jesus. Only the revelation of God can separate men from superstition. You can use the name of Jesus to command demons to leave, but you cannot command superstition to go away. The demons will flee at the use of the name of Jesus, but will return because they find a resting place in the superstitions of men. Superstitions are more stubborn than demons.
The most stubborn superstition is religious in nature. It is possible to worship out of a superstitious mind. It has all the trappings of worship but is very far from the real thing for it is based on ignorance of the true knowledge of God – this knowledge is the meaning and import of the resurrection of Jesus. When one is unaware of this he is superstitious in all things.
15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 2 cor 3:15 – 17
Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. The question then is “are there some places where the spirit of the Lord is not? The truth is that the Spirit of the Lord is everywhere. What remains for man is the knowledge of this. When this is not known, ignorance veils the heart.
When my heart is not properly adjusted to Christ Jesus I am deluded into thinking that he is not present. When this happens, the religious mind, which is also a veiled mind, believes that the Lord is absent or that he Lord has left. The Lord does not come and go, it is our hearts that get veiled by ignorance or unveiled by focusing on the Lord. If I am word-conscious, the word focuses my heart on the Lord until the awareness of God envelops me.
Paul uses the term "Moses" prior to verse 14 to refer to the Old Testament prophet Moses but from verse 14 onwards it refers not to the man, but to the Old Testament. The term "Moses" was a portable way or a shorthand for the Old Testament. The religious mind reads "Moses" without a proper understanding of the resurrection of Christ Jesus and he will be able to “prove” from "Moses" his superstitions. This is because his heart is veiled by superstitious reasoning devoid of a resurrection consciousness. The trouble is not with "Moses" but with the veiled heart. The heart then is either turned towards or away from the Lord. When the heart is turned towards the Lord an unveiling takes place and man is able to acknowledge the presence of God.
The presence of God therefore is an unveiled heart.
A veiled heart cannot walk in the truth of God even though it is deeply religious. This is because man is designed such that whatever you are conscious of will inevitably dominate your awareness, get larger in your world and become more real to you. It seems so real that God is not present when in reality he is present. Religion robs me of fellowship with God when he is so near. God is everywhere. When I feel like he is absent I have proof that my heart is not horizoned by Christ Jesus and so it is veiled. I do not cry for him to come, I cry for my heart to ascend into a fresh comprehension of the living God.
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God Ephesians 3: 18,19
The apostle Paul does not tell us what it is that we are to comprehend the breadth, length, depth and height of. In context I will say that it is the subject matter of the mystery that was hidden in God which God revealed through Paul for the edification of the church. Whatever it is, he is not asking that God do something again, but that the saints press into a greater comprehension in all dimensions of being. The fulness of God is Christ Jesus. When he says that we should be filled with the fulness of God he is saying we should be filled with a Christ-consciousness. This is the atmosphere of God.
The christian is not one whose sole purpose is to go to heaven, but one who is filled with the very fulness of God. According to scriptures, the key to living in this fulness of God is an awareness of God's love. Love opens you up to all that God is in you. When I feel a scarcity of his presence it is really symptomatic of a low estimation of love – the love of God. This love is not what you feel for others even though that is beautiful, nor is it what you feel towards God, but what God's heart is towards you. It is this love that holds your heart captive and delivers it into a new conception of God in all fulness.
... to be continued
That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: Acts 17:27
5. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
7. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. Psalm 139: 5 – 8
Paul states a bible fact in Acts 17 – God is not far from us but Man needs to perceive him. Pause and think about that – God is not far from you!
David in psalm 139 admits the profound fact that God was on every side of him. He also admits that the hand of the Lord was upon him in blessing. The knowledge of this revolutionised his thinking. He did not see God as an enemy who was standing against him, but as a friend who had taken it upon himself to encompass David with his very presence.
The knowledge that David spoke about was two fold. Firstly it was a fresh knowledge of himself. He had come to know himself in the light of a man continually encompassed with God's presence and glory. Everything around him contradicted this truth. This was a knowledge higher than his experience but given to him through the revelation of God. Secondarily it was a knowledge of the Lord not as an adversary or foe but as a friend, consort and companion. This type of knowledge should characterise the believer.
David admits a mighty fact – The presence of God is everywhere the same. This is true of heaven as well as of hell itself. David had not ascended to heaven, yet he knew that the presence of God was a reality there. The only way he'd have come to know this was by the revelation of God in his word. This is easy to admit. What the religious man fails to see is that David admits that even in hell the presence of God is a reality. In simple terms there is no such thing as the absence of God anywhere in the universe for he is everywhere and he is everywhere the same. He is not more present in heaven than he is in hell.
This is wonderful knowledge. When folks are unconscious of this bible fact, they speak of “inviting” God into where they are. This is superstitious. Rather than try to invite him though, we can humbly rest in the knowledge that he is already present. There is no place where God is not. The universe is his.
I love the humility of David. He knew a fact that many of us shy away from – We are the ones that try to run away from his presence and not he from ours. He said “Where shall I run from your presence ..”. A religious mind will not admit this. The religious mind will accuse God of deserting him, when in reality God does not desert man but it is men that desert God.
If you have read this far, you know deep within if this is a reality you live in or some theological truth that you profess. The religious mind will affirm the omnipresence of God and in the same breath say that “God left me”. In reality we are the ones that do the leaving. You must learn to affirm to yourself the abiding presence of God.
In the bible, the picture given of heaven is that of a place where God is acknowledged. You cannot escape this fact as you read through the revelation of John. In hell there is gnashing of teeth. It is easy to think God is absent from hell and present only in heaven, but the truth is that God is present but his presence does not produce freedom until it is acknowledged and embraced in one's consciousness. Hell is the federal headquarters of complaints, heaven is the practice of praise. In reality then, heaven is the way it is because God is continually praised there.
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; Acts 17:22, 28a
It is noteworthy that the people of Athens disagreed strongly with Paul. They would have maintained that they were religious and they were, but Paul would have called it by the proper name – idolatry. Since they were wholly given to idolatry he resorted to freeing their minds by dismantling their religious reasonings with the revelation of God. The people of Athens did not deny the existence of God. The trouble was that he was unknown to them. When men desire God but mistake zeal for knowledge superstition is born inevitably. Their worship betrayed their ignorance. All religious men are superstitious men.
The superstitious bias is manifested differently in different situations, but nevertheless it is not rooted in truth. There is only one way to rid oneself of superstition and that is by receiving and walking in the knowledge of God. When Paul went to the top of Mars hill he went into the presence of intense superstition. These were learned men but Paul admits that their knowledge is sustained by superstition. What Paul said was aimed at dealing out a death blow to superstition.
The understanding of the resurrection of Jesus is the answer to superstitious thinking.
A religious mind today would not go up such a hill for it supposes that demons and the devil actually own portions of the earth. Paul admitted no such thing for in agreement with all bible people he knew that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. Until you learn to live in the light of the truth of God's presence you will find yourself walking gingerly and fearfully in the presence of such spiritual nonsense. Paul diagnosed that the problem was the superstitions of men. It wasn't that the demons or the deities that the people worshipped were powerful.
What we know as demonic power is really the power of superstition. The answer to superstition is the deliverance that comes from the proclamation and affirmation of truth especially the truth of the resurrection of Jesus. Only the revelation of God can separate men from superstition. You can use the name of Jesus to command demons to leave, but you cannot command superstition to go away. The demons will flee at the use of the name of Jesus, but will return because they find a resting place in the superstitions of men. Superstitions are more stubborn than demons.
The most stubborn superstition is religious in nature. It is possible to worship out of a superstitious mind. It has all the trappings of worship but is very far from the real thing for it is based on ignorance of the true knowledge of God – this knowledge is the meaning and import of the resurrection of Jesus. When one is unaware of this he is superstitious in all things.
15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 2 cor 3:15 – 17
Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. The question then is “are there some places where the spirit of the Lord is not? The truth is that the Spirit of the Lord is everywhere. What remains for man is the knowledge of this. When this is not known, ignorance veils the heart.
When my heart is not properly adjusted to Christ Jesus I am deluded into thinking that he is not present. When this happens, the religious mind, which is also a veiled mind, believes that the Lord is absent or that he Lord has left. The Lord does not come and go, it is our hearts that get veiled by ignorance or unveiled by focusing on the Lord. If I am word-conscious, the word focuses my heart on the Lord until the awareness of God envelops me.
Paul uses the term "Moses" prior to verse 14 to refer to the Old Testament prophet Moses but from verse 14 onwards it refers not to the man, but to the Old Testament. The term "Moses" was a portable way or a shorthand for the Old Testament. The religious mind reads "Moses" without a proper understanding of the resurrection of Christ Jesus and he will be able to “prove” from "Moses" his superstitions. This is because his heart is veiled by superstitious reasoning devoid of a resurrection consciousness. The trouble is not with "Moses" but with the veiled heart. The heart then is either turned towards or away from the Lord. When the heart is turned towards the Lord an unveiling takes place and man is able to acknowledge the presence of God.
The presence of God therefore is an unveiled heart.
A veiled heart cannot walk in the truth of God even though it is deeply religious. This is because man is designed such that whatever you are conscious of will inevitably dominate your awareness, get larger in your world and become more real to you. It seems so real that God is not present when in reality he is present. Religion robs me of fellowship with God when he is so near. God is everywhere. When I feel like he is absent I have proof that my heart is not horizoned by Christ Jesus and so it is veiled. I do not cry for him to come, I cry for my heart to ascend into a fresh comprehension of the living God.
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God Ephesians 3: 18,19
The apostle Paul does not tell us what it is that we are to comprehend the breadth, length, depth and height of. In context I will say that it is the subject matter of the mystery that was hidden in God which God revealed through Paul for the edification of the church. Whatever it is, he is not asking that God do something again, but that the saints press into a greater comprehension in all dimensions of being. The fulness of God is Christ Jesus. When he says that we should be filled with the fulness of God he is saying we should be filled with a Christ-consciousness. This is the atmosphere of God.
The christian is not one whose sole purpose is to go to heaven, but one who is filled with the very fulness of God. According to scriptures, the key to living in this fulness of God is an awareness of God's love. Love opens you up to all that God is in you. When I feel a scarcity of his presence it is really symptomatic of a low estimation of love – the love of God. This love is not what you feel for others even though that is beautiful, nor is it what you feel towards God, but what God's heart is towards you. It is this love that holds your heart captive and delivers it into a new conception of God in all fulness.
... to be continued
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