“So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:19-21)
I am certain that when you read the title of this blog you probably had to sit back a second to think on what you read. Put God Back in the Box? Can you be serious? What in the world do you mean by such a statement?
In our day I have heard the phrase quoted over and over and over. “Let God out of the box”. It certainly coincides with our present society which also desires to “think outside the box”. The insinuation is that in our nice and neat little religion all we have done is limited God by forcing Him to play according to our rules. But if we were ever willing to let God out of the box we might find that there is much more to Him than we ever realized.
And on the surface it sounds great. Those who promote the concept paint themselves as the extremely open who are not wishing to impose their narrow-mindedness on anyone else or even on God. But instead they are those who are willing to let God be whoever or whatever He desires. They would not desire to be dogmatic or to boast any convictions, but would rather be seen as the “deep thinkers” of our time, and as those who are truly in search of who God is.
Today I would suggest to you that such a mindset is foolish, ignorant, and filled with false humility.
You and I must realize something about God before we go on an all out crusade to let Him out of the box. And that is that in many cases it is not we who put God in the box, but God who put Himself in one. The box God put Himself in could easily be called “Revelation” or “Scripture” or “The Word” or even “Jesus”. And therefore the aim of our lives is not to search outside of the box to try and fine who God really is. The aim of our lives is to explore who God has revealed Himself to be. He placed Himself in a box so that we could know Him and furthermore so that we would know what is not Him. “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”
Let me give you some examples.
Today, the Holy Spirit is given credit for all kinds of activity and wild behavior. Something supernatural occurs and instantly people credit the author as the Holy Spirit. The activity endorsed is never seen in Scripture and is not advocated as Christian practice, but because it felt good and seemed right, it must have been the Holy Spirit. And those of us who question such behavior are told to stop keeping God in a box. But that is precisely why God placed Himself in a box. That particular box is found in John 16:7-15 in which Jesus revealed the 3-fold work of the Holy Spirit. He will convict of sin, He will guide into the truth, and He will glorify Jesus. That is the box the Holy Spirit resides in. If something supernatural occurs that does not fit that criteria, then we can confidently understand that it was not the Holy Spirit. And we know that because of the box Jesus placed the Holy Spirit in.
Another box is found regarding the way of salvation. In our day of tolerance people are eagerly seeking to endorse any and every religion as a viable way to obtain eternal life. And for those of us who conclude that there is only one way of salvation, we are told to quit being so narrow minded and to let God out of the box. I have heard the question posed: “Don’t you think God is powerful enough to save people apart from faith in Jesus?” They are pushing us to let God out. But that is precisely why God placed Himself in a box. That box is found in John 14:6 where we learn that there is no way to the Father except through Jesus. We didn’t place God in that box, He placed Himself there.
And we could probably go on and on with illustrations of how God has revealed Himself in order to clarify to us who He is. This does not make us narrow minded, on the contrary it allows us to know when and where God is really at work. We need God in the box so that we can be certain about who He is; not a box of our making, but the box He revealed to us.
There is obviously much more that could be said about trying to be a theological “open” thinker, but let me just close by admonishing to you to seek out God as He has revealed Himself in His word. Find God in the box that He created for Himself. He will still blow your mind!
“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29)
Grace to You,
Bro. Rory
