When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” And they said, “Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.” He saith unto them, “But whom say ye that I am?” And Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered and said unto him, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”
"Thou art a happy man, that thou art not ignorant of this, that I am Christ, the Son of the Living God. Thou art distinguishingly happy. Others are blinded, and have dark and deluded apprehensions, as you have now given an account, some thinking that I am Elias, and some that I am Jeremais, and some one thing, and some another; but none of them thinking right, all of them misled. Happy art thou, that art so distinguished as to know the truth in this matter." -- Jonathan Edwards, Divine and Supernatural Light, Immediately Imparted to the Soul by the Spirit of God, Shown to be both a Scriptural and Rational Doctrine from Selected Sermons of Jonathan Edwards edited by H. Norman Gardiner
There is knowledge that can only be given by God. There are things that cannot be known in any other way than if God should instruct. God has given man much to know and much that can be communicated from one to the next; but knowledge of this sort, that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the Living God, can only be revealed to a soul below by God above. Flesh and blood cannot decipher this. True happiness is in knowing what only God can teach and believing in what only God could reveal and receiving what only God could give, Jesus Christ.
"There is a difference between having an opinion that God is holy and gracious, and having a sense of the loveliness and beauty of that holiness and grace. There is a difference between having a rational judgment that honey is sweet, and having a sense of its sweetness. A man may have the former, that knows not how honey tastes; but a man can't have the latter unless he has an idea of the taste of honey in his mind." -- Jonathan Edwards, Divine and Supernatural Light, Immediately Imparted to the Soul by the Spirit of God, Shown to be both a Scriptural and Rational Doctrine from Selected Sermons of Jonathan Edwards edited by H. Norman Gardiner
"There is a difference between having an opinion that God is holy and gracious, and having a sense of the loveliness and beauty of that holiness and grace. There is a difference between having a rational judgment that honey is sweet, and having a sense of its sweetness. A man may have the former, that knows not how honey tastes; but a man can't have the latter unless he has an idea of the taste of honey in his mind." -- Jonathan Edwards, Divine and Supernatural Light, Immediately Imparted to the Soul by the Spirit of God, Shown to be both a Scriptural and Rational Doctrine from Selected Sermons of Jonathan Edwards edited by H. Norman Gardiner
No comments:
Post a Comment