In one of Jesus many encounters with the Pharisees and lawyers He exclaims: ”Woe to you Lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.” (Luke 11:52) How had they taken away the key of knowledge? Jesus said about them: “For you load people with burdens hard to bear.” Outer laws become a veil that obstructs people from acquiring knowledge, according to Jesus.
What kind of knowledge is Jesus talking about? I believe Paul answers that question in 2 Cor 13:5; “Do you not realize this about yourself, that Christ lives in you?” The context is that also the Corinthians had had their share of false apostles visiting their church proclaiming a different Jesus. The result of this Paul says would be that their thoughts would be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
Outer laws impede the regenerated man from recognizing the mystery which makes the new life new through and through, namely that Christ lives in us. We have unlimited access to all His resources when it comes to living the abundant life. Living by outer laws leads to the misunderstanding that Jesus gives us power, love and everything else we think we lack in order to have a victorious life.
However, Jesus does not give us those things! Simply because He is everything we need, so that when we recognize His abiding we understand we are everything He is. That’s the liberating secret! That is knowledge. And the key that unlocks the mystery is grace; pure undefiled grace!
No comments:
Post a Comment