Right now I am
praying through the verse, “Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you
think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.”[1]Of particular note to me is the connection between the “think this way” that is already revealed
in the Scripture, and the “God will
reveal that also to you,” that applies to anything in which we “think otherwise.”
Ever since my
Bible college days,[2]I
have been aware that there is a strong rift between those who live by the
extreme of basing everything in the Christian life on experience with little or
no connection to doctrine, and those who live by the equal-but-opposite extreme
of basing everything on doctrine, with little or no connection to experience.
Since life had
trained me to be a people-pleaser, this has been a difficult thing for me. On
one hand, I wondered why we need to keep picking sides over things that are
both wrong. On the other hand, I wondered how to have fellowship with fellow
believers who are stuck on their side of the extremes, quite ready to blacklist
anyone who doesn’t see things their way. I have lost friends who seemed to have
very helpful spiritual gifts to contribute to the church, but couldn’t
fellowship with me in my concerns about their unbiblical doctrines. I have also
lost friends who seemed to have a strong grasp on doctrine, but couldn’t allow
for the ways that these doctrines related to real-life experience (even though
there are doctrines that teach about experience!).
And then we
come to this amazing verse, yes, just one verse, in which God himself speaks of
both sides of the picture as belonging together in all the churches. Paul says,
as an apostle speaking the breathed out words of God,[3] that
the things he had written in Philippians 3 were the way that “those of us who are mature,” were to “think this way.” Everything to do with
God revealing himself through his apostles and prophets is involved in this.
This phrase, written down by Paul as a man who was carried along by the Holy Spirit,[4] is
God revealing himself and his truth to his people. We are all to live by the
doctrine Paul gives in that chapter.[5]
However, part
of this doctrine speaks of something that is beyond doctrine, beyond the direct
revelation of the breathed out Scriptures. There is one doctrine that speaks of
what Scripture says, and another that speaks of further revelation happening in
whatever distinctive and unique ways that people “think otherwise.” Each possible
“otherwise” is not stated here, but
the doctrine that God will reveal things to each “otherwise” is clearly stated.
This is such a
beautiful connection between our dependence on what is already revealed in
Scripture to know what we ought to think, and also our need for the
experiential interactions of God to continue revealing to us how to move from
our “otherwises” to full agreement with his word.
Lately there
have been two “otherwises” that stand out to me. One is when people fully agree
with a doctrine, but they know that something is broken inside them and it just
doesn’t get the reality of what is revealed. In this case, Paul’s words tell us
that we can take the revelation in God’s word of what we all should think, and
connect it to the things inside us about which we “think otherwise.” From there,
we can expect God to reveal to us how to get from where our inner thoughts
and feelings are stuck, until we are in the full experience of thinking the way
Scripture has revealed.
A second “otherwise” is when people have already
experienced an inner attachment to something that is contrary to what God has
revealed. It isn’t just that they can’t connect to what is revealed, but the
attachment to God they should have as those who are mature has never happened, and
so they have become attached to other things, like food, entertainment,
pornography, attention, excitement, and the like.
Now, when they
hear the pastor preach about what we should all think as those who are mature
in Christ, the mind gives full agreement with the wonderful calling of obedient
faith, but there is an inner battle with things that are “otherwise” from what is revealed.
There is hope
for such people, whether those who believe what God says but simply don’t feel
it in their inner being, or those who have become severely attached to
something that is holding them in bondage to inferior things. The hope is this:
“God will reveal that also to you.”
So continue seeking God about your otherwises until God brings you from
wherever you are starting from, to whatever he has already revealed.
Both sides of
the doctrine/experience extremes must come together in this. For the extreme
experientialists, there is a “let those
of us who are mature think this way.” If you think differently from what
the apostles teach, including what Paul has written in Philippians 3, it doesn’t
matter what else you experience, you are in the wrong. Get in God’s word and
make sure you know what to think.
On the other
hand, for the extreme doctrinalists, there is a “God will reveal that also to you,” that connects the clearly
revealed doctrines of Scripture with the personal and experiential problems of
people’s hearts and lives. Do not deny people the right of experiencing God
revealing things to them when it is God’s revelation that says he does this.
When we keep together what we expect God to reveal about our otherwises with
what he has already said in his word, all will be well. It is only when we deny
one or the other of these activities of God that we get into trouble.
In a world
where so many Christians are filled with otherwises that don’t line up with
what the mature should think, the personal relationship of God to continue
revealing these things to us is a huge and wonderful message of hope. I
encourage you to get to know God that way, both in person, and in fellowship
with an assembly of believers.
© 2015 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
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