Things Revealed

Dear Kimberly,

A couple months ago I found myself in a theological conversation with someone who didn’t adamantly disagree with me, but who also didn’t agree enthusiastically. While I can’t remember the exact words or topics that led us to this one, I do remember one question in particular:

“So where does mystery begin?”

Here was my answer:

“Where the bible ends.”

I don’t know how much of it you’ve encountered, but it’s actually a really popular idea to claim that something God or bible related is a mystery that we can never hope to understand. You know what I want to say to that? “I’m sorry you don’t understand, but just because you don’t doesn’t mean that I can’t.”

The reasons behind this are, sadly, often reinforced by the church, the family, and long-practiced “Christian” traditional thought. A person reads the bible, thinks what they've read disagrees with something else they read in the bible, knows there cannot be any contradiction in scripture, but since they think what they’ve read looks like a contradiction the whole thing must be some great, cosmic mystery, only understandable by a god who is also mostly a mystery to them. Yeah, not a very promising view of Christianity and if true, it doesn’t leave much hope for Christians. 

I’ll let you in on a little secret: not only are there no contradictions in scripture, there are also no apparent contradictions or “paradoxes,” as they’re called. None at all. You know why? Because God doesn’t go around saying he’s the only one who can make sense of something that would otherwise be a contradiction. 

A contradiction equals nothing. The phrase “square circle” (I’m borrowing from Cheung’s Systematic Theology) is a contradiction; by definition, something that is a square is not a circle, and vice versa. It is, in fact, nonsense; it is nothing. It is this way with all contradictions, so it is very odd that people would claim to have have found “apparent contradictions” in the bible. What they mean is that they think something in the bible can't make sense and if it weren't in the bible, they would call it a contradiction. But since it is in the bible, and since they are a Christian, they know better than to use the "c" word.

The problem is not a problem of the bible being too difficult or too “lofty” to understand. Rather, it is one of people either not understanding or not agreeing with what it says, and to cry “mystery!” is the only excuse they can make. They think they’re being really humble, you know...they think that by admitting that the bible is too wonderful a book written by a god to great to be known they sound pious and holy. Unfortunately, by making such a claim they display their ignorance. 

One of my favorite verses (can you have a favorite?) is Deuteronomy 29:29. It says:

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” (NIV)

Now we come back to the conversation I had earlier this year. When I was asked where “mystery” begins, it was only natural that my response should be “where the bible ends,” based on this verse. All that is needed is an understanding of what scripture is. It is, in fact, the word of God. It is revelation. As we discussed last time, it doesn’t make sense to a person who lacks the Spirit, but to a believer, it is comprehensive for this life; it is all we are given, and all we need to know.

I say it is all we need to know because there is obviously infinitely more we could know, if God had chosen to reveal it. This is because God is an infinite God; he has no beginning and no end, and therefore there will always be more we can learn about him, and we will continue to learn more about him all throughout eternity (again, read Cheung’s book!). This is the part of God’s character often referred to as incomprehensibility, supported by passages like Romans 11:33-36:

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

    How unsearchable his judgments,

    and his paths beyond tracing out!

‘Who has known the mind of the Lord?

    Or who has been his counselor?’

‘Who has ever given to God,

    that God should repay them?’

For from him and through him and for him are all things.

    To him be the glory forever! Amen.” (NIV)

This passaged indicates that there is obviously much more to God than we can ever hope to know, but it in no way indicates that we can’t know anything about him, or the rest of scripture. Deuteronomy already told us that the things revealed (those things in the bible) have been given to us. It is only the secret things, the things we are not told, that still belong only to the Lord, and we're supposed to just let those be. 

Do you see the danger we toy with when we claim that something in the bible is a mystery? It’s pretty silly at best, considering that God has already given us “the things revealed.” This is not to say that we automatically understand everything in scripture perfectly; on the contrary, there are many things that I don’t fully understand yet, and couldn’t even begin to explain well. But that’s not because the bible is somehow too mysterious or inadequate for me to grasp, and it certainly doesn't mean that it doesn't make perfect sense to a more mature believer; I just haven’t applied myself to enough study. The sanctification process is a lifelong one...as God grows me, he will continue to teach me. 

So the next time someone tells you we can never know or figure out something that’s in the bible, don’t believe them. I mean, it’s right there. It’s a thing revealed. 

Love,

Meredith