Entry #34 - Give Me Understanding

It is a rare occasion that I respond in rebuttal format to the writings of another author. It is even rarer still that I post my opinion on such matters. First, let me state outright that I am thoroughly enjoying a study on the book of Job written by Lisa Harper. I would strongly recommend this book to my friends. Her writing gives a fresh perspective on a book most Christians find difficult to study. However; that being said, Harper does include a single comment regarding the work of John Calvin that I must address since Calvin’s view contradicts everything I know to be biblically  true about the nature and supremacy of God. I know this post will be quite lengthy with the inclusion of many scriptures—most of which you could easily find on your own—but I have chosen to include them within the post.

Response to John Calvin seminal thesis about Christianity, Institutes of the Christian Religion, as it pertains to the concept of how God [supposedly] has to condescend to communicate to us.

{as presented in JOB: A Story of Unlikely Joy, Lisa Harper, 2018, p.96}

According to McNeill, Calvin states,

“Thus such forms of speaking do not so much express clearly

what God is like as accommodate the knowledge of him to our

slight capacity. To do this he must descend far beneath his

loftiness.”   (McNeill, 1960)

Regarding Calvin's quote, Lisa Harper queries,

“What Calvin is asserting here is that our Creator and Redeemer

has to “dumb Himself down” in order for us to understand Him.

Does that make you feel special and cared for or embarrassed by

your deficiency? Explain your answer.”  (Harper, 2018)

RESPONSE:

I do not believe God ever would “dumb Himself down” to our level—it is our job and responsibility to search and seek for him up to his level. When we don’t understand, that is where faith and trust fill the gaps. When we accept Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, at that moment we are filled with the Holy Spirit who becomes our guide for truth and understanding. But it takes effort on our part! We cannot hope to understand the scriptures if we do not make the effort to study. We cannot hope to understand or catch a glimpse of the greatness of our God unless we are willing to focus on him in our daily lives.

We live in a world seeking instant solutions—instant meals, fast food restaurants, fastest internet connections, instant information via Google (yes, I’m guilty, too), quick health solutions, etc. Even our educational systems succumb to lowering of standards to make learning easy and palatable for all students. Homework is too hard and requires too much effort. Grades are becoming generic to enable all students to “succeed,” whether or not they truly grasp the information. This is our world, our way. But it is not God’s way. I strongly believe that God wants us to put some effort into seeking him. When we do, he will always be found.

Beginning with Moses who admonished the people to seek God—and culminating with Jesus who acknowledged the lack of understanding of the disciples, and the disciples who acknowledged the lack of our understanding—the scriptures are full of passages instructing God’s people to be diligent in seeking him. Nearly the entire writings of Solomon (the wisest man known to us) is devoted to seeking wisdom as more precious than gold. Countless Psalms speak of the search for understanding. Not only this, but many of the prophets also admonished the people to seek God, with no mention of God’s standards being lowered to make it easy. Nowhere in all of these passages is there even a remote hint that God “dumb[s] himself down.” In fact, quite the opposite is always true.

All scriptures point to our inadequacy and God’s supremacy. No scriptures point to a God who lowers his standards to accommodate us. Here are just a few passages, representative of only a small sampling of scriptures (taken from NIV unless otherwise noted):

Deuteronomy 4:29 (NLT)  But from there you will search again for the LORD your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.

Psalm 14:2 and 53:2  The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.

Psalm 18:30  As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless.

Psalm 25:4-5 (NLT)  Show me the right path, O LORD; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.

Psalm 48:1-3  Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain. It is beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth. Like the utmost heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King. God is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress.

Psalm 57:5, 11  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.

Psalm 61:2 and 62:2  From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.   . . .  He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Psalm 63:1  O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Psalm 70:4  But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, “Let God be exalted!”

Psalm 119:27  Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders.

Psalm 119:34  Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart.

Psalm 145:3  Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

Psalm 147:5  Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.

Psalm 150:1-2, 6  Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.  . . .  Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.

Proverbs 1:5  Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—

Proverbs 2:1-6  My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…

Proverbs 3:13-15  Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she [wisdom] is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.

Proverbs 4:7  Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.

Proverbs 9:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverb 14:7, 15 (NLT)  Stay away from fools, for you won’t find knowledge on their lips.  . . .  Only simpletons believe everything they’re told! The prudent carefully consider their steps.

Isaiah 55:6, 8-9  Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.  . . .  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Jeremiah 29:13  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Daniel 2:19-22  Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.  . . .  He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things…”

(Jesus teaching his disciples) 

Mark 9:32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

Luke 9:45  But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

Luke 18:34  The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he [Jesus] was talking about.

Luke 24:45  Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.

John 16:12-13  “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.”

(writings of the disciples to early Christians, and to us)

I Corinthians 13:12  Now we see but a poor reflection; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

Philippians 1:9-10  And this is my prayer: that your love many abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ…

Philippians 4:7  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 2:7  Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

Hebrews 5:11-12  We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again.

1 John 5:20  We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

Once again, I want to emphasize my intent is not to diminish the written work of Lisa Harper in any way—merely to state my personal response to the writings of John Calvin, which Harper includes in her book. I recognize fully that I can be outranked by many teachers, preachers, and theologians. Nevertheless, I will remain fully opposed to the concept that God would ever “descend far beneath his loftiness” [Calvin], nor would he ever “dumb Himself down” [Harper]. It is we who must diligently and faithfully seek him, and only in doing so will we catch a glimpse of God’s truly divine nature. When we come to the inevitable life moments that cause us to cry out to God for answers, and when answers seem far removed, we have the comfort that all will be fully known to us at that moment when Christ shall come to reclaim his own.

Until then, dear friends, I will join Paul and Timothy in my prayer for you:

Colossians 1:9-10  For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God…

Respectfully written and submitted by:

Dotty Willmon, Resurrection Christian

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Works Cited

Lisa Harper, JOB: A Story of Unlikely Joy (Nashville, TN: LifeWay Press, 2018), 96.

John T. McNeill (ed.), Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion (Louisville, KY: The    

Westminster John Knox Press,1960), 121.