by Jason Moore
The Bible is like no other book. It reveals the mind of God to man so that when we have the Bible, we can say with Paul, “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16). God’s mind, unlike man’s, is “made up.” There is no new information that awaits discovery which will change God’s mind or alter His decisions. If God failed to think through His will for man or made some accidental oversight, He would not be God. His plan is perfect, complete. It requires no alterations. Who would propose a better organization, or worship, or program of work for the Lord’s people than that which the Lord Himself designed? For, “who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him?” (1 Cor. 2:16). God’s program needs no upgrading. It is sufficient.
God has not only perfectly planned, but perfectly revealed His will to man through the Holy Spirit. The things spoken and written by the apostles and prophets were not said “in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit” (1 Cor. 2:13). That means that, not just the thoughts, but the very words spoken by inspired men are “spiritual” (1 Cor. 2:13). In other words, their source is the Holy Spirit. The mind of God has been articulated by the Spirit so that the written word perfectly expresses what was perfectly planned in the mind of God. Who would propose to add methods or missions or ministries to the Lord’s church which the Lord Himself did not assign? For, “who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him?” (1 Cor. 2:16). God’s word needs no revision. It is sufficient.
God’s will has been perfectly planned and perfectly revealed by the Spirit that man might be perfectly informed, “thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17). Man permits himself to be informed and persuaded by God’s speech with the same interpretive skills he uses in understanding his teachers, his parents, or his neighbor. We raised three hogs in back of the Moore household and it was my job of a morning to slop them. Dad told me that it was my job. You could say that he commanded me. “Son, you’re to feed the hogs before you go to school.” That was as plain to me as “Thou shalt feed the hogs.” Dad showed me with a Mason jar how much feed to put in the bucket and how to reckon that measurement in accord with the growth of our pigs. He gave me an example to follow as a standard for every future feeding of our pigs. Dad didn’t have to tell me every day, “Feed the hogs before you go to school.” He told me once. But I understood that, when he said “before you go to school”, he meant “every morning.” That was a logical conclusion. He implied “every morning” and I inferred that by his speech.
A ten year-old intuitively understands the commands, the examples, the implications of his parent. That’s simply the way men communicate with men. It’s also the way God communicates with men. God in perfectly expressing His perfect will to man: commands or issues clear statements of approved behavior (Mark 16:16), supplies approved examples that serve as a standard (Acts 20:7), makes necessary implications by which men infer logical conclusions (Heb. 7:12). Who then would propose for the Lord’s people to act or to organize in ways or by means which the Lord Himself did not specify with command, approved example, or necessary inference? For, “who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him?” (1 Cor. 2:16). God’s speech needs no supplement. It is sufficient.
