Sense Knowledge VS Revelation Knowledge

The day I first read this scripture, it gave me cause for pause, as I pondered its meaning and import. It, certainly, made no sense to me why especially King David (of all men) would pray this prayer: *”Open my eyes…?”*

Only a blind person or one with a vision defect or impairment would pray for his or her eyes to be open. King David, apparently, wasn’t blind; if he were, he wouldn’t have become a Peeping Tom, satiating his voyeuristic appetites by spying on Bathsheba’s naked body from his perch on the rooftop, as she took a shower below. Reckless eyeballing, it’s often called, the bane of many men. (Mercy, Lord!).

Suffice it to say, the scriptures are holy, but not every story on its pages is ‘holy’ or wholesome. Some are, indeed, gruesome and extremely depraved, capturing the entire gamut of human experience and foibles. The good, the bad and the ugly in the human experience are all recorded in the ‘Holy Writ’, the Bible, for our admonition *(1 Cor. 10:11).*

*QUESTION: WHAT KIND OF “EYES” THEN WAS DAVID PRAYING FOR GOD TO “OPEN?”*

I have learned that trying to KNOW or UNDERSTAND God (or His word) by employing one’s carnal faculties (or senses) is like trying to win the Kentucky Derby riding a donkey. Worse still, it’s like trying to make a trip to Mars on a bike or snorting cocaine expecting to pass a sobriety test. Hm! Got your attention yet?

Yes, my illustrations are as weird and ludicrous as they are unattainable, I know; but hopefully, they drive home the point, which for the sake of emphasis is this: any attempt to ‘know’ or ‘understand’ God or His word with our carnal faculties is simply an exercise or excursion in futility; it CANNOT AND WILL NOT WORK.

*BUT WHY, ONE MAY ASK?* The answer is quite simple. You and I are made in “the image” of God (Gen.1:26-28). God is a Spirit, so we are, essentially, spirit-beings also. You’re a spirit, wrapped up in an ‘earth-suit’ called your body or flesh. Your spirit thus, is the REAL YOU. Our flesh functions by Sense knowledge and our human spirits by Revelation knowledge.

a. *SENSE KNOWLEDGE* – Sense Knowledge is knowledge gained through our five (5) physical senses: Sight, Smell, Taste, Touch (Feeling) and Sound (Hearing). These five feed or supply information (i.e. knowledge) to our minds or intellect.

b. *REVELATION KNOWLEDGE* – Revelation Knowledge, on the other hand, is knowledge beyond our five (5) physical senses. We know, understand and relate to God, not through our five (5) senses, but through Revelation Knowledge.

*MY PERSONAL JOURNEY:* I had an encounter with God in my last year of high (secondary) school which, dramatically, altered the trajectory of my life. I, certainly, had no intention of becoming a Believer in Christ, much more, a Minister of the Gospel or Pastor. Are you kidding me?

Born in a ‘Christian’ home and raised a ‘Christian’, however, attempting to reconcile the tenets of the Christian faith with what its emissaries: missionaries, multinational companies etc. did in my motherland, Africa, nurtured within me a seething rage that few knew existed. My inner turmoil, ultimately, cascaded into a rebellious lifestyle in my youth, resulting in nihilistic and self-destructive tendencies. Academic rigor and intellectual pursuits gave way to a sense of anomie during my teenage years.

*RELIGION – A TOOL OF WESTERN IMPERIALISM AND EXPLOITATION.*

Religion, in general, but Christianity, in particular, were not just the ‘White Man’s’ religion, to me, but also exactly as Karl Marx described them, the “opium (or opiate) of the people”, a powerful tool employed by the ‘oppressor’ to sedate the sensibilities of the oppressed (Black) masses for the purpose of exploitation. The wholesale demonization of African cultural expressions, again, by missionaries from the West, and the subsequent imposition of European culture on the African in the name of religion made perfect sense to me, when seen, interpreted and understood through the prism of Imperialism, Oppresion and Exploitation. That was really what it was all about; was is not?

Upon some introspection and enquiry, I came to the realization that my so-called ‘Christian Name’, “Richard”, was not really ‘Christian’, at all, but a White, European, Anglo-Saxon name. Why then was it referred to as my ‘Christian name’ instead of simply a first name? What in the name ‘Richard’ made it Christian or Christ-like? The fact was it had no intrinsic Christian merit or value, whatsoever.

Question after question jostled for attention and answers in my young but curious, keen and hyperactive mind.

*THE BIBLE (THE WORD OF GOD).*

The Bible, then, was also a symbol and tool of that selfsame oppression and exploitation. My primary issue was this: “How could I believe the Bible to be God’s Word when it had me, a Black kid, and all people of color (especially those of African descent), consigned to an inferior designation, as chattel or sub-human creatures, beholden ONLY to athletic, artistic and sexual impulses…’Mandingo warriors’, if you will? Endorsed from theology to biology by Western theologians and social scientists, these inferior designations, stereotypes, in fact, had been touted as the results of scientific enquiry.

*WONDERFUL “RELIGIOUS” STORIES:* Biblical stories about the Immaculate Conception or Virgin birth, Christ’s Resurrection, Moses & the Israelites crossing the Red Sea on dry land, with the ‘PEDF’ (Pharoah’s Elite Delta Forces…Lol) in hot pursuit, ultimately, drowning etc. were exactly that: STORIES. They were wonderful Sunday school stories but ridiculous fables at their core, nonetheless, meant for the naive, ignorant and feeble-minded, but nothing that educated, sensible or serious-minded persons should or could afford to take seriously or to heart.

I surmised and concluded that if the fundamental ‘benefits’ and rationales for this Christian religion were Western Imperialism, Black African slavery, Colonialism, Oppression and Exploitation, like Apartheid in South Africa, then, I wanted nothing to do with it. I considered Islam a few times, but found it too dogmatic and fanatical for a free-spirit like me. Rastafarianism seemed to me a more viable and appealing alternative, and why not? At least, that would bring the Most ‘HIGH’ God within reach and closer to home (pun intended).

*STRIPPING THE VENEER (The Christ in Christianity)*

A dramatic encounter with the Living Christ stripped Christianity of both its religious veneer and the Eurocentric garb it came dressed in, showing me THE CHRIST in CHRISTIANITY. Unlike Saul, I did not fall off a horse; neither were there any blinding lights. This encounter, however, so defined my life that (like Saul), I became a spokesman for the faith I once abhorred and repudiated.

*NO LONGER A HISTORICAL JESUS*

Almost immediately, there was a KNOWING, inexplicable nor intellectual, but very spiritual and real, a knowing anchored not in a historical or White, European Jesus, but in a very deep and personal way, in the reality of a living, present and tangible Christ. The serenity and sense of closeness to God was palpable and nothing like I had ever felt, prior.

*SENSE KNOWLEDGE VS. REVELATION KNOWLEDGE*

I had perceived Christianity ONLY through the atrocities and misdeeds of its purveyors, undoubtedly rather parochial on my part, in hindsight, and what I saw, heard and read, indeed,  I passionately hated. That was Saul’s story also until Christ purged him of his Jewish, holier than thou, purist, ethnocentricity through a BLINDING EXPERIENCE on the Damascus Road *(Acts 9:1-20).* When his vision was finally restored, after three agonizing days of total blindness, with no food or water, Saul was a BRAND NEW MAN, operating by a kind of knowledge beyond his NATURAL SIGHT, SENSES OR FACULTIES – in other words by REVELATION KNOWLEDGE.

*FOOD FOR THOUGHT:*

1. *SPIRITUAL MYOPIA:* All we know of GOD is what He has chosen to reveal of Himself to us. Our knowledge or understanding of His Divinity and Word is consequently limited and myopic. “We know (God) in part” and “even now we see through a glass darkly” Paul rightly says *(1Cor. 13:12).*

Earnestly seeking spiritual truth, illumination or clarity from God with AN OPEN HEART becomes absolutely necessary, therefore, against the limitation noted above. You will find Him and your questions will be answered if you diligently and earnestly seek Him. The key is to again, do this with an OPEN HEART and MIND.

The mind, in particular, is like an umbrella or parachute; it has to stay open to be useful. It does not help carrying a ‘closed’ umbrella during a rainstorm; does it? Be open-minded, therefore, as you seek Truth, especially spiritual truth.

2.  *”The NATURAL MAN,”* scripture tells us, *”receives not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are FOOLISHNESS to him” (1 Cor. 2:14).* The scriptures also say, *”The CARNAL MIND is enmity against God…it is not subject to the Law (Word) of God; neither indeed can it be” (Romans 8:7).* Perhaps, these explain why some fuss about, debate or argue over God’s word, chastising and ridiculing those who, in simple, child-like faith and humility, choose to believe and embrace its life-giving and transforming precepts, just like I used to do).

How easy it is to discount or denigrate things we either do not see or fully understand. This is the crux of the problem: you, like many, are trying to watch CNN or UFC on your antiquated TV set, without the requisite cable box or service that connects you to the satellite station. Hence, there is no connection. You need the cable box or satellite dish to make the connection. Get it?

Don’t get frustrated with Christians. Sorry, your spiritual antennae may be out of whack…Lol. There is a missing ingredient. Without it, you will continue to remain intellectually ‘smart’ but spiritually blind and ignorant. I subscribe to both spiritual and intellectual enlightenment.

3. Jesus said, “…the Words I speak to you are spirit and life” *(John 6:63)* Expressed another way, “the Word of God is CODED LANGUAGE.” Within the black and white mixture of paper and printer’s ink on the pages of the bible, lies the ENCRYPTION, the true meaning and import of God’s Word. This can only be DECODED by the Holy Spirit.

It was through the agency and inspiration of the Holy Spirit that the Word of God, the Bible, was written. It is by His agency and inspiration that scripture can be understood. The knowledge that accrues to a believer or seeker from this ‘decoding’ process is called REVELATION KNOWLEDGE. This is information or knowledge beyond the human intellect or the five senses.

4. Until our spiritual faculties (spiritual eyes, in David’s case) come alive and become enlightened and sensitized to God’s Spirit, an individual will continue to live, walk and wallow in spiritual darkness, able to see only naturally, but sadly, SPIRITUALLY BLINDED; blinded by his or her own pride, doubt, ignorance and arrogance. Jesus alluded to the MANY WITH EYES, WHO STILL CANNOT SEE *(Mark 8:18, Jer. 5:21)*. In fact, without the Holy Spirit’s illumination, the Word of God and most spiritual phenomena, do not and will not make any sense.

5. With all that said, there are still things about God and His Word that I still do not understand, after 36yrs. of ministry *(Deut. 29:29).* My limited knowledge, understanding or misunderstanding do not change who God is, however. Questions in my HEAD do not debunk the faith in my HEART. For example, I still do not fully understand why bad things happen to very good and ‘neat’ people. I do not understand, besides, why God does not immediately strike all these pedophiles among Catholic priests who have violated the public trust and destroyed the lives of many vulnerable little boys dead. That irks me like crazy. If I were Him, that is what I would probably do. Furthermore, I don’t quite understand, on a human and intellectual level, why He doesn’t do what I think is mainstream common sense, like stopping these destructive hurricanes by a simple wave of His mighty right hand. I dont quite get it; I yet believe (Deut. 29:29).

*CONCLUSION:*

My faith in Christ, the fruit of revelation knowledge, is and has been, a great anchor that keeps my soul steadfast and sure, while the billows roll. It has sustained my life, my marriage and family, both extended and nuclear, through the various vicissitudes and crises of life. Where I should have caved in or buckled under life and ministry’s innumerable afflictions, pressures and setbacks, my faith in God has, instead, served as a shield and a buffer. This is what faith is about; it is “the evidence of things not seen” *(Heb. 11:1).* It is the fruit of a divine encounter with Yeshua and the result of Revelation Knowledge that derives from that. It is a faith grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s blood. Halleluyah!!!!

*”OPEN THOU MY EYES THAT I MAY SEE WONDERFUL THINGS OUT OF YOUR LAW (WORD)”* (Ps. 119:18).

King David recognizes that understanding God and His Word is a (spiritual) quest and exercise, requiring keen spiritual sensibilities and insight. Consequently, he prays for God to illuminate or sensitize (open) his spiritual eyes.

*MAY HIS PRAYER BE YOURS AND MINE, AS WELL.*

Shalom, in Christ.

With much love.

Rick Donkor (Rev).