“Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.” (Psalms 119:12)
David wrote in Psalms 25:4-5, “Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.”
David realized:
1) The Source is God (God is the Teacher)
2) The Secret Must Be Taught
3) Only the Submitted are Taught
4) The Selected Must Come to the Teacher
5) The Showing of the Taught (he must count the cost of being taught; because when taught, comes obedience)
David said in Psalms 25:4-5: (a) “Shew me thy ways”; (b) “Teach me thy paths”; (c) “Lead me in thy truth”; (d) “On thee do I wait all the day.”
The Source is God
(God is the Teacher)
Jesus, God in the Flesh (John 1:14), said of Himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6); full of “grace and truth” (John 1:17). Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ; “thy word is truth” (John 17:17); “because the Spirit is truth” (1 John 5:6).
Jesus told Peter that truth is revealed, not gained by intellect (Matthew 16:16-17); “for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (verse 17).
The Apostle John calls the Holy Spirit, “Even the Spirit of truth” (John 14:17).
Therefore, God is Truth. Any truth known comes from God. He is the Source of all Truth; the Origin and Author of all Truth; He is the Fountain of Truth.
The Secret Must Be Taught
The Apostle John wrote that the Spirit of Truth is the Teacher, “he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance” (John 14:26).
“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God” (Deuteronomy 29:29). God is Truth and God is the Teacher of all Truth. He is Wisdom (Proverbs 8:12). He is the Origin, Source, and Author of all Truth, because He is Truth.
Truth must be taught by The Truth Himself, God – if any truth is to be learned. You are not born knowing truth. But before you can be taught, you must be teachable.
Only the Submitted are Taught
(John 3:27; 1 Corinthians 4:7)
The Psalmist said in Psalms 119:12b, “teach me thy statutes.” The student must desire to be taught. The student must be submitted to his Teacher, who is Christ.
“The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.” (Psalms 25:14)
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10)
To fear the Lord, you must know of His Judgment on sin and of His Love in His Atonement for sin. The fear of the Lord only comes in Regeneration, as the Love of God is shed abroad in your heart, and you are given the ability to hear and see Truth. (See John 3:3-8; Romans 8:1-16; Galatians 4:1-7; etc.)
Therefore, “The fear of the LORD (when you love Him and revere Him) is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7a).
To be taught, you must sit at the feet of the Teacher. You must desire to be there. And you must present yourself to the Teacher. Therefore, you must be given the fear of the Lord. If you have the fear of the Lord in you, then you have been brought to surrender and submit to God.
The Selected Must Come to the Teacher
The Apostle John reveals that God, in a Sovereign Act, must draw you to the Teacher:
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:44)
“It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” (John 6:45)
But all whom He draws, He teaches. “All” of them that are drawn shall be taught of God. (See Isaiah 54:13; Micah 4:2.) And all that hear and learn of the Father, come unto Him. So when the Psalmist said, “teach me thy statutes,” he confessed he had been drawn to the Teacher to be taught Truth from the Teacher.
The Showing of the Taught
When you are taught of God, there is a Cost and a Coming. John 6:45 says, “Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” (That is, comes unto Christ to be a Follower of Christ, to be His Disciple.) But those that come unto Christ find that there is a Cost in Coming:
“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26)
“And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:27)
“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” (Luke 14:28)
“Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,” (Luke 14:29)
“Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.” (Luke 14:30)
“Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?” (Luke 14:31)
“Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.” (Luke 14:32)
“So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:33)
There is to be a progressive daily sanctifying of the soul of every believer as they walk in His Love, Light, Holiness, and Peace.
As you, the believer, are taught of God:
1) There is a greater love to God being developed more and more. As you partake of the exceeding great and precious promises, you learn more of the Nature of God, who lives within you (2 Peter 1:1-4). As you learn more of God, who lives within you, the more you love Him; the more you praise and worship Him, the God of your Salvation (Preservation). You come to admire Him and adore Him more and more.
2) You are taught patience through trials, tests, valleys, etc. (See Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4.) Here you learn by experience who God is and who you are. This teaching brings about peace and rest in the Promises of God; and it causes praises to Him to issue from your spirit.
The Lord “waits” that He may be gracious to us (Isaiah 30:18). His waiting causes us to “wait” on Him; “for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day” (Psalms 25:5b). It is in our waiting that God teaches us patience; whereby we will be “perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:4).
3) You are taught you are to be holy and without blame.
“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;” (1 Peter 1:15)
“Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16)
(See Hebrews 12:14; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 9:24-25.)
You cannot view God and not be moved to confession of sin and purged and cleansed (Isaiah 6:1-6). As you become more intimate with Christ; the more you want to stay clean as His Holy Temple (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19-20). The more you learn of your Position in Him (1 Corinthians 1:30); the more you desire to be like Him. The more you learn of who you are in Christ (1 Peter 2:9-10); the more you will seek Heavenly things (Colossians 3:1-3).
4) You are taught to Behold the Glory of God (John 17:21-24). As you are taught the Doctrine of Unity in Christ; you learn of His Perfection, His Preeminence, His Perception, and His Power. You learn that you are in Him; you stand in a Position of Honor as His Bride, His Wife, His Body, The Church.
The following is the Result:
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
“For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:14)
First, you are to fear God (revere Him and love Him).
Second, you are to keep His Commandments. That is, to walk in His love and bear the fruit of the Spirit. (See Ephesians 5:1-2; John 13:34-35; Matthew 22:37-40; Galatians 5:22-23; 1 John 3:11-24; 4:7-21.)
When you do these two things, the result will be a Temporal Salvation (or a daily preserving of your soul, or your temporal life). See Psalms 19:7-11.
“Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.” (Psalms 19:11)
The “great reward” is a temporal salvation now. By living His Life in your life (Romans 5:10, 17; Galatians 2:20); you will be an overcomer as you walk in His Life and His Power and His Victory (1 John 5:4). Eternally, there is a crown of righteousness, a victor’s crown, for you as you spend eternity in His Presence; beholding His Glory; receiving “the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).
Therefore reader, despise not the Schools of God; for the rewards are multitudinous, too many to list in this single devotion.
Remember those who have heard and learned of the Father, “come unto me.”
Are you a Follower of Christ? Are you a Disciple of Christ?
If you are, you are being led in Truth, in His Ways, and in His Paths. If not, find out what school you have, or are, attending.
The results are as different as daylight and dark.
Leave a Reply