The Evangelical Universalist Forum

Depth of the Word of God

Many people think that getting deeper into the Word of God refers to a volume of Bible based knowledge. However, being able to “WOW” people with your infinite knowledge and ability to manipulate the scriptures does not make you deep.

I remember while growing up in the seventies, so many ministries had their own interpretation on the “Seventy Weeks of Daniel”. They all had their colorful pictorial charts to show how the others were wrong and they were right. Each just as fascinating as the other, and giving every ounce of their energy, to show how they had the “deeper revelation.” Another one that I remember bouncing around for a while, was the book “Mystery of Babylon”. Everyone had to tell you of the three Babylonian systems, and show how deep they were. Yes, Babylon can be seen in religion, politics, and the world economy. But it doesn’t take a whole lot of depth to see that. Many people thought they were deep because they could steel someone else’s revelation and call it their own.

So what is the “Depth of God’s Word”? What really constitutes a deeper walk with God? Is it acquired through knowledge? How can this feeble humanity attain such depth.?

I remember getting a phone call a few years ago. I was fighting off a cold and didn’t have much of a voice, so I just let it go to voicemail. When I checked the message, it was my stepmother asking me to call her back. This was highly unusual. Normally I was the one to initiate a call and if I left a message, they would seldom return it. So I immediately called back, voice or no voice. When she answered the phone, she said there was someone who wanted to talk to me. To my surprise, it was my sister Sandra.

I have two sisters. I know their names, Sandra & Sonya, but up until that time, I have never met or spoken to either of them. Now here I am, forty-one years of age, speaking to a sister I have had for nearly thirty-nine years, yet never known.

A few days later, my wife Marilyn told me that she had called again while I was out. They had talked for over an hour. Two days later, after playing a little game of phone tag, she called me on my cell phone. When God said, “This day I set before you a blessing and a curse…”, I didn’t think He was talking about cell phones. This call was on the blessing side. This time we talked for nearly two hours.

Each of us had so many questions. She wanted to know everything there was to know about me. She didn’t want to pry or intrude. However, there was such an intense longing in her to know the brother she had never known. Is this what King David was feeling when he wrote, “My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.” (Psalm 84:2). David also wrote, “Deep calleth unto deep…” From the depths of her heart, she was calling out to reach the depths of the heart of a brother she never knew.

God is longing for that same intimacy with his children. One person translated intimacy with the Father this way, “In to me see.” As I peer into the depths of the heart of God, I will see the fullness of His infinite love for me, and He can then reach into the depths of my heart and fill it with that same love.

Jesus said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (Mathew 5:6). Again, David wrote, “For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.” (Psalm 107:9). When we begin to hunger and thirst after His presence in our lives, our souls begin to long for a greater understanding of His character and nature toward us. This is what drives us deeper into His Word. Abraham Lincoln put it this way, “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book.” There is no way all the goodness of God can be recorded in this book, but it can be communicated. This is where the depth of the Word comes into play. It goes far beyond knowing the words on a page, but it has everything to do with knowing the heart of the one who inspired those words.

Our motivation for study in the Word should never be rooted in religious rituals or men’s philosophy, but in the passionate pursuit of partaking of the loving heart of God. The yoke of mans tradition is heavy and burdensome. According to Mark 7:13, our religious traditions and philosophies make the Word of God worthless in our lives. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 1:17 and Galatians 5:4, that our many words of human wisdom and justification through fleshly works, separate us from the grace of God. God’s Word is easy when it becomes a pursuit of the heart. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all of you who toil and carry burdens, and I, yes, I, will lead you into rest. Put on my yoke, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for the yoke I offer is easy to wear, and the load I ask is light to bear.” (Williams translation).

By no means do I want to minimize the Word of God, nor the study or the history of it. All of scripture is God inspired, but many different men recorded it over a period of hundreds of years. When we read the Word we need to know a little background to understand what each writer was going through and how they perceived things. That just makes it easier to see what was being said. Paul wrote in II Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God (not man), a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

In our endeavors to lay hold of the Word of God, there are three things that we should keep in mind. That our eyes may be opened to see Him (Ephesians 1:18), our ears be opened to hear Him (Revelation 2:7), and the floodgates of our heart be opened, that we might know Him in His fullness (I Peter 3:4). Paul Wrote in I Corinthians 2:9-10 “…Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”

God spoke these words through Isaiah and said,

Isaiah 55:1-3
1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
3. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

My heart and soul cry out for the fullness of the presence of the living God to be revealed in me. Not just a form or a reflection, but the fullness. The burning heart of God for us is that we be so stirred with such a holy passion for His fullness, that our own identity is consumed in His presence. The bible says “Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him (Genesis 5:24).” God mingled with him and amalgamated Enoch’s life with His presence. There is an amalgamation that takes place within our being that fuses us to the Father. When we are in this state, His ways become our ways, His thoughts become our thoughts, and His words become our words. Our heart has become one with His heart.

When my wife and I were married, my sister-in-law gave us the most unusual gift. She was walking along the beach and found what she called our marriage rock. When you look at this rock, you can see that at one time this rock was originally two separate rocks that were fused together, smoothed by the ocean waters, and were inseparable. I keep this rock at my bedside, not only to remind me of the love between Marilyn and I, but also as a remembrance of the boundless love of our Father God.

Not that we lose our individuality. My natural brothers and I all have our different traits, but we all unmistakably bear the identity of our father. Our hearts all pump the same blood; we have the same eyes and features. It’s the same way with our Heavenly Father. We not only take on His likeness but also His image. The way we conduct our lives become distinctively His.

In conclusion, there is one song that is ringing in my heart.

Oh, the glory of your presence
We your temple, give you reverence
So arise to your rest
And be blessed by our praise
As we glory in your embrace
And your presence now fills this place

Steve Doss
highergroundoutreach.net

Wonderful post Steve - full of truth and beauty.
Thank you.

Yeah, great post bro :slight_smile: Very encouraging and thought-provoking :slight_smile:

Matt

Love it Steve. :smiley:

I was about to add a link to your site since you’d forgotten it at the tail of your post, Steve. :slight_smile: But I see you’ve already done so.

This and other articles can be found at Higher Ground Outreach.

(In case anyone is wondering, since we do sometimes have people show up and post articles not written by themselves: HGO is registered here on the forum as steve@highergroundoutreach.net, so odds are good this really is Steve Doss, a pastor supported by St. John’s Episcopal Church in Milwaukie, OR.)

Thanks Jason. That was really helpful. :smiley:

And yes I really am Steve Doss. As far as being supported by St. John’s Episcopal, I’m not affiliated with them other than leasing a conference room from them Sunday afternoons for our own services. But have been really good to our fellowship. :smiley: