So, nothing like a discussion on how the Holy Spirit works in our lives to remind you how big God is and how finite our knowledge of Him is. Last night at our home Bible study we were talking about the morning’s sermon on Ephesians 1:13-14 . . . about the implications of being sealed with the Holy Spirit and how to know more of His presence and power in our lives. We were kind of all over the map . . . some things “we got” . . . other things, not so much . . . all a reminder that we have been brought into a relationship with a God who has declared, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa 55:9). This morning, a verse I read in Deuteronomy puts last nights conversation into some context.

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” — Deuteronomy 29:29

The mysteries of God abound . . . there is no end to those “secret things” that belong to God . . . and they run the gamut from the loftiest to the most personal. Secret things in the dynamics of creation . . . secret things in the workings of nations . . . secret things in the purpose of suffering . . . secret things in the apparent silent response to prayer. They are those things which make us feel like little children in our understanding . . . or lack thereof. They are the things that truly are beyond our comprehension. And Moses tells the people who are about to enter the promised land, “The secret things belong to Jehovah, Elohim.” They are His to know . . . they are His to reveal or not to reveal as He determines.. And they are the things that remind us that we walk by faith and not by sight (2Cor. 5:7) . . . they are the things where we are left to “Trust in the Lord with our hearts and lean not to our own understanding” (Prov 3:5) . . . they are the things the remind us that God is God, and nothing less. The secret things belong to God . . . they are His to own.

But some things have been revealed to us . . . some things we do know . . . some things we do understand . . . some things we have grasped . . . and those things belong to us . . . they are ours to own. As yesterday morning’s sermon reminded us, we do understand the problem of sin and the separation it results in from a Holy, Holy, Holy God. We understand our powerlessness to work our way out of the debt owed because of sin . . . our inability to pay the price of redemption. We understand that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. We understand that it’s by grace, through faith, that we have been saved . . . and that having been saved we’ve been brought into a relationship with God Himself and made alive to the things of the heavenly realms . . . having been sealed by the Holy Spirit who is a deposit guaranteeing the inheritance that will be us when our redemption is fulfilled. We own these things . . . and they cause us to thank and praise the God of grace who saved us.

And that’s just the beginning . . . as we read His word, through the Holy Spirit inside us, He reveals His nature and the implications of our calling. He reveals that we are to be holy for He is holy and then paints a multi-faceted portrait of how we can work in concert with the Holy Spirit to obey His command. Some parts of this picture we get right off the bat . . . other parts come later. But as they are revealed . . . as His will is understood . . . they are ours to own.

It’s good from time to time to explore such “heady things” as how the Holy Spirit works in our lives, but at some point we realize that, just as the Spirit operates like the wind, blowing where it wishes . . . we can hear the sound but can’t pin down where it comes from or where its going (John 3:8) . . . that these high things are reminders of the awesome nature and workings of our God . . . and that exactly what they mean and how they work belong to Him. But it’s also good to recognize what has been revealed to us and to respond to it . . . with praise, with thanksgiving, with obedience. That which we do know, we’re accountable for . . . if we are faithful to the little we understand today, then He will give us more insight and more understanding tomorrow. We just need to own it . . . for His glory . . . amen.