“This was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in Heaven” Matthew 16:17

“This was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in Heaven” Matthew 16:17

So then how do we know what we claim to know? That is, how do we gain and accumulate knowledge about anything? There are two ways for man to possess knowledge. One is by ordinary natural observation, which includes experience.

The other is by extraordinary or supernatural revelation. By natural observation we know many true facts about our universe. By supernatural revelation we know the truth about the meaning of our existence, itself being one of those facts, in the universe.

By supernatural revelation we can know that Jesus the Christ was not simply a Jewish man who was a prophet and was put to death for his viewpoint about life. By supernatural revelation we can know that Jesus the Christ was

Himself divine. We only need the history of others natural observation to know he was a man of history. But we need supernatural revelation to know that Jesus is the Son of God and Son of Man just as the gospels present Him.

By supernatural revelation we understand the true message of the Bible, The Word of God, was written by the Holy Spirit, through men who were yielded to His spiritual unction. By supernatural revelation we know the difference

between self- righteous religion and true moral righteousness, which only comes from God. What was hidden to the natural mind has been made known by revelation. God the Spirit has come into the world and revealed the Father God, Jesus Christ, and Himself.

God knows we have difficulty with the Truth. God knows we will make up the- oretical and speculative explanations to answer the question of our existence. And God knows that the faith required to receive His revelation is not

naturally resident in man. When God reveals Himself He gives the accompanying grace, or gift of faith, that enables us to ‘catch’ the truth.

When we make our scientifically enhanced observations about the true facts of the universe, we find many more questions to be begged, for the things learned. So then no matter how sophisticated man becomes, he cannot discover

by natural means the answer to his ‘first’ questions [Who am I? From where do I get my existence? What is the meaning of my life? What is the value of my life? Where am I going after death? What is death? Why do I ask question without an answer?] We fail in this quest because we are one of the facts.

We cannot see outside in, rather with the rest of the created world we see inside out. We are a particular in the whole, which we cannot measure or comprehend. All attempts to explain the meaning of life and existence, apart

from divine revelation, are doomed to fail. They are but a ‘leap’ of faith against logic and reason.

True faith is not a leap out of reason. It is the proper response to spiritual revelation. When science believes what it speculates about meaning, as fact, it stops being science. That which cannot be scientifically proven

and explained today is no different than the limits of science two thousand years ago, where man seeks to understand the meaning of life and death!

Even the scientist is left to speculate where the brute facts of the universe remain silent on this point. For a scientist believe what he will without scientific proof is no less a logical leap of faith as what skeptics have

claimed about followers of Christ. What happens to the verification that is the cornerstone discipline of the scientific method? No, when science speculates we are left with philosophy and theology.

And according to the gospel of Jesus Christ we cannot know the Truth unless it is revealed to us. But the Truth is hard to take. To know that Jesus is the Christ is to turn all the human centered world systems on their ears.

To know that Jesus the Christ is God is to know that all human based knowledge and practice are subject to review by a higher authority.

To know that Jesus the Christ is God is to know that all of man’s glory is a perverse dance; a prelude to final death. But to know Jesus the Christ is God is to be spiritually raised from that death now and gain the gift of

eternal life. How do we know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God? God who is Spirit, and would be worshipped in Spirit and Truth, reveals Himself and the Son to us by His Spirit. If you know this you have already been raised from the dead!

From Any Questions by Don Forss D.Div.