July 11th, 2023
Philosophy is “the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence.” When that intellectual study is applied to religion, it’s called theology, which is technically defined as “the study of the nature of God and religious belief.” When I was in college, I took some philosophy classes, and I truly found it exhausting, as we read and discussed the ideas of long dead men (I realize that’s an unpopular opinion in some circles). People have talked about many of their philosophical ideas for centuries and much of our culture and education is actually modeled after Greek philosophy. In class, we would debate the merits of one idea verses another, but I realized that it didn’t matter how intelligent or educated they were if they never arrived at a knowledge of the Truth.
One of the only sessions I remember well from a philosophy class was a day spent talking about Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas (a saint in the Catholic church) is considered in religious circles to be one of the most influential theologians there has ever been. He lived in the 13 th century and (probably) wrote more than any other theologian ever has. His work had a hand in shaping Western religion and civilization, and most notably shaped the doctrine of the Catholic church. Now, the reason I bring this up is because of what happened toward the end of Aquinas’ life and what we discussed that day in my philosophy class. Aquinas spent his entire life trying to understand and prove God. He believed in God and intellectually wrestled with how to explain Him, pouring decades into his writing. In 1273, while in the middle of a massive book, which what would have been considered his life’s work, that all changed. Aquinas had an encounter with God that changed his life. We have no recorded account of the incident, except that he described “a clear light” but from that day, he never wrote another word. When pressed by a friend to finish his life’s work, he said, “Everything that I have written seems like straw compared to those things that I have seen and have been revealed to me.”
Now, in my philosophy class, we spent a great deal of time talking about the things Aquinas wrote, which Thomas Aquinas himself said were like straw. I don’t know what Thomas Aquinas heard or saw in his encounter with God, but he must have met the One he’d spent his life writing about and suddenly his profound thoughts felt meaningless. When we read that story in my philosophy class, I felt the anointing of God come into that room for the first (and only) time. Aquinas had met the Truth and all the arguments could stop. Even though his work would later be used to shape religion, he himself laid it down after an encounter.
We must understand that our relationship with God isn’t based on our understanding of Christ, but in Christ Himself. All the words we could ever write are meaningless when He walks in the room. There is no argument that could win a heart to Him, without the conviction of His Holy Spirit. It is only in the embodied Truth that we know Truth. The Bible says that He chose what is foolish to “shame the wise” and He chose what is weak in the world to “shame the strong.” Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:17,
“For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”
Paul had an encounter with God, not unlike Thomas Aquinas, that made all of his religious work, all of his intellectual zeal, seem useless. He became an instrument of God’s grace, not by his work or merit, but by the power of God (See Acts 9). Ephesians 2:8 says,
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Our identity in God is never based on our ability or merit. Any good thing in us is there because He’s shaped us to be like Jesus and filled us with Himself. As believers, we are a demonstration of the power of God to the world, by His grace. When Jesus chose His disciples, He didn’t pick intelligent, rich, educated men. He chose common men that He filled with His wisdom, His riches, and His grace and it was they who turned the world upside down. On one occasion, Peter and John stood before a council, on trial, because the man at the Beautiful Gate had been healed. When given the opportunity to speak, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, declared:
“If we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12)
Peter had the words to say and the boldness to say them, because he was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit! The next verse is so powerful:
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.”
Arguments cease when God demonstrates His power. It wasn’t Peter and John’s intelligence that astonished them. They were astonished because they recognized they had been with Jesus, because they did what Jesus did. So often, we over-complicate the gospel, but it’s so simple, when we yield to the power of the Holy Spirit and accept it. 1 Corinthians 1:18-23 says,
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
The Gospel itself is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:7). We preach Christ crucified and He Himself is the power and wisdom of God. When we declare the truth of who Jesus is and what God has done through Him, His power will come and confirm it! He doesn’t need us to explain or defend Him. When we stand boldly and declare His truth, His word will defend us!
Have you encountered Him in a way that makes all your carnal endeavors feel like straw? That’s what you’re made for! His presence is the peace and truth we seek. There is no one like Him and it’s not enough to know about Him. Christianity isn’t religion contained in arguments or empty words; It’s the vibrant expression of God’s love poured out on mankind. It’s the reality that by the blood of Jesus, the Creator of the universe dwells in us. We carry the hope of Glory that can never be explained. In His presence, no words are necessary, and when He comes, we have all we need!
One of the only sessions I remember well from a philosophy class was a day spent talking about Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas (a saint in the Catholic church) is considered in religious circles to be one of the most influential theologians there has ever been. He lived in the 13 th century and (probably) wrote more than any other theologian ever has. His work had a hand in shaping Western religion and civilization, and most notably shaped the doctrine of the Catholic church. Now, the reason I bring this up is because of what happened toward the end of Aquinas’ life and what we discussed that day in my philosophy class. Aquinas spent his entire life trying to understand and prove God. He believed in God and intellectually wrestled with how to explain Him, pouring decades into his writing. In 1273, while in the middle of a massive book, which what would have been considered his life’s work, that all changed. Aquinas had an encounter with God that changed his life. We have no recorded account of the incident, except that he described “a clear light” but from that day, he never wrote another word. When pressed by a friend to finish his life’s work, he said, “Everything that I have written seems like straw compared to those things that I have seen and have been revealed to me.”
Now, in my philosophy class, we spent a great deal of time talking about the things Aquinas wrote, which Thomas Aquinas himself said were like straw. I don’t know what Thomas Aquinas heard or saw in his encounter with God, but he must have met the One he’d spent his life writing about and suddenly his profound thoughts felt meaningless. When we read that story in my philosophy class, I felt the anointing of God come into that room for the first (and only) time. Aquinas had met the Truth and all the arguments could stop. Even though his work would later be used to shape religion, he himself laid it down after an encounter.
We must understand that our relationship with God isn’t based on our understanding of Christ, but in Christ Himself. All the words we could ever write are meaningless when He walks in the room. There is no argument that could win a heart to Him, without the conviction of His Holy Spirit. It is only in the embodied Truth that we know Truth. The Bible says that He chose what is foolish to “shame the wise” and He chose what is weak in the world to “shame the strong.” Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:17,
“For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”
Paul had an encounter with God, not unlike Thomas Aquinas, that made all of his religious work, all of his intellectual zeal, seem useless. He became an instrument of God’s grace, not by his work or merit, but by the power of God (See Acts 9). Ephesians 2:8 says,
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Our identity in God is never based on our ability or merit. Any good thing in us is there because He’s shaped us to be like Jesus and filled us with Himself. As believers, we are a demonstration of the power of God to the world, by His grace. When Jesus chose His disciples, He didn’t pick intelligent, rich, educated men. He chose common men that He filled with His wisdom, His riches, and His grace and it was they who turned the world upside down. On one occasion, Peter and John stood before a council, on trial, because the man at the Beautiful Gate had been healed. When given the opportunity to speak, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, declared:
“If we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12)
Peter had the words to say and the boldness to say them, because he was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit! The next verse is so powerful:
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.”
Arguments cease when God demonstrates His power. It wasn’t Peter and John’s intelligence that astonished them. They were astonished because they recognized they had been with Jesus, because they did what Jesus did. So often, we over-complicate the gospel, but it’s so simple, when we yield to the power of the Holy Spirit and accept it. 1 Corinthians 1:18-23 says,
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
The Gospel itself is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:7). We preach Christ crucified and He Himself is the power and wisdom of God. When we declare the truth of who Jesus is and what God has done through Him, His power will come and confirm it! He doesn’t need us to explain or defend Him. When we stand boldly and declare His truth, His word will defend us!
Have you encountered Him in a way that makes all your carnal endeavors feel like straw? That’s what you’re made for! His presence is the peace and truth we seek. There is no one like Him and it’s not enough to know about Him. Christianity isn’t religion contained in arguments or empty words; It’s the vibrant expression of God’s love poured out on mankind. It’s the reality that by the blood of Jesus, the Creator of the universe dwells in us. We carry the hope of Glory that can never be explained. In His presence, no words are necessary, and when He comes, we have all we need!
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