By Clifford Denton, D. Phil., M.A.
At the root of our faith is the important principle of Halachah, our "walk" through life. Without the Holy Spirit, however, this can be no more than legalistic obedience to rules. The Holy Spirit was given to believers in Yeshua in a very special way at Shavuot (Pentecost) as recorded in Acts 2. Believers can now know the fullness of Halachah, walking according to the Word of God in the life of the Spirit of God. There is no escaping the fact that a true walk of faith is experiential as well as full of halachic principles. Paul's teaching (Romans I, for example) has this as a major emphasis, so much so that he can be (wrongly) accused of being antinomian!
The principle of Halacha with the Holy Spirit is a fundamental pillar of our faith. Understanding the principle gives us a right expectation for our growth to maturity and, as we will see later, we can also understand what was intended at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15). This, the most important council in church history, has been so neglected and misunderstood that we will need another such council in our own day, in my view. Surely we must look deeply into this important matter.
Our lifelong walk with the Holy Spirit should lead to fruitful lives (Galatians 5:22-26) and a freedom from any form of bondage (Romans 8), while living according to the Torah of God (Romans 6: I5-18). This interaction between law and grace, bondage and freedom, flesh and spirit is a major topic for us, yet I would suggest that the focus of our Halachah is something deeper still.
The answer is to be found in the great prayer of Yeshua recorded in John I7. In verse 3 we read, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." Yes, we are to be witnesses to our Lord and we are to show ourselves to be His disciples, but surely the highest purpose of it all is to know God for ourselves. What an incredible privilege; what a door has been opened up for us. Yet, I would ask for an honest answer to the question: how many believers truly know the Lord? Yes, we can know about Him (possibly resulting in a legalistic sort of Halachah). We can even know about knowing about Him (there are many theologians who can prove this), but how many truly know Him? Yet this is our inheritance, beginning on this earth and going on into eternity. We can make all sorts of claims to one another, but God knows the validity of these claims as He looks into every heart and mind. Indeed, as we shall see, there is a simple test to see if we truly know Him.
EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND FELLOWSHIP
Surely, from the roots of true Judaism to the fruits of the branches of the Olive Tree, here is the prime purpose of our salvation and the focus of it all: true reconciliation with God brings experiential knowledge and fellowship with Him. We can walk through our lives as strictly observant Messianic believers in many ways. We can even rise to the heights of passing significant ideas about God on to others, but if we fail to know Him, then we have missed the mark, and even our unity, which was another major focus of our Lord's prayer for us (John 17), will be artificial.
I John 2:3-11 puts an important perspective on this: "We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says `I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him."
If we put John 17 with I John 2, we will see that knowledge of God is our inheritance, and this will bring evidence of a we Halachah; one proceeds from the other. Knowledge of God is evidenced by the (true, heartfelt) obedience to the Torah of God, which is demonstrated through the highest form of fruitfulness, namely love. Thus a knowledge of God leads to a love of God and of our brethren, and this love (in the many manifestations of obedience to Torah) is the evidence of our knowledge of Him. It was intended to be like this from the start. If we are concerned with Halachah, then we must set out to know God. Unless we grow in our knowledge of God, then our Halachah is not valid.
INTIMACY IN KNOWING GOD
The invitation given by God to know Him is deeper than any mental principle. It is as deep as the abiding principle of John 15, an invitation to intimacy with God far more mature, even, than most people achieve within their own physical families. It is at least as intimate as the best of pictures in the Song of Songs: "Listen! My lover! Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills. My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice. My lover spoke and said to me, `Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me. See! the winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me."' (Chapter 2, verses 8-14.) How many of us realize that the Lord's love is sensitive and gentle? He is intention wooing us with His love, yet withdraws from sin, even as we might walk into sin and bring judgment on ourselves.
He desires our fellowship but is strong and uncompromising, too. His affections are shown in His ways with us, and when we discover an intimate relationship with Him, we discover a depth of consuming love in all its facets which is as strong as death itself.
God progressively revealed His character over a history that is recorded in the Scriptures. In a sense, He was making Himself known to all of fallen mankind; but mainly through Israel's walk with Him. He is the Creator of the whole physical universe, and we should know Him as such. (In fact, this is a major foundation of our faith-Hebrews 11:3). He demonstrated the principle of an acceptable sacrifice, beginning with the sacrifice of Abel. He showed Himself as the Provider (and Seer) in a magnificent way at Mount Moriah with Abraham and Isaac. He showed Himself as a Shepherd to David, indicating, too, how a man can get to know God through the experience of His walk with Him (see Psalm 23). These and many more examples show us how God can be known more and more as we experience a walk with Him as well as reading about the experiences of others.
VALUE OF A CLOSE WALK
Surely then, here is the invitation to the true Halachah, one in which we, personally and corporately, walk with Him and come to know Him, with experiences parallel to the Biblical( revelation. The richness of our potential walk is astounding, so astounding that it seems strange to suggest that we can fail. Remember, however, our fallen sinful nature (Paul warns of this in Romans 8). A close walk with God is surely one in which we will be perfected, but against which our flesh recoils, with every excuse for itself. Our walk is with the most Holy God, and we must be prepared to be changed, made holy, as we come closer to Him. We should, perhaps, value those growth points more than we do, when He reveals a little more of His character personally to us, perhaps by particular intervention or provision, perhaps by a requirement of us through highlighting a new aspect of His Torah, as we are ready. This will all be testable against His revealed character and requirements in Scripture, but it will be our own personal experience. Perhaps we should be more careful to note the special interventions in our lives as we build up a profile of Him and a relationship with Him. On one occasion He provides for us in a special way, and we then know Him as He has seen into the hidden things of ourselves as He reveals this truth in a specific way. On another occasion a special word to us will reveal the depth of His love. Constantly our fellowship in prayer should deepen, so that we will know how to abide in His presence. For each of us a personal record of revelation and intimate communion can be recorded, just as it is outworked day by day from the special plans kept in the heart of God for us.
ACTS 15-THE HALACHAH OF FREEDOM
Here then is our supreme challenge and opportunity. Let us finish by putting it in the context of Acts 15, the starting point for Halachah for the Gentiles. Apparently four requirements for Gentiles issued to believers from Council of Jerusalem are the same as the requirements God-fearing Gentiles converting to Judaism, as recorded in the Talmud. It seems that there were questions among a number of members of Jewish sects during the first century as to the requirements for Gentile converts to Judaism. Part of the masterpiece which the Holy Spirit inspired at the Council of Jerusalem made the requirements the same for Gentile believers in Yeshua as for other Jewish sects, simply telling them to begin with the Noahide commands. Was it to stop there? Surely not, for this was intended to be the beginning of a walk in freedom, a walk of learning to know God more and more closely. According to the expectations John 2 and the prayer of Yeshua (John 17), believers should expect to mature in obedience to the Torah of God through their knowledge of Him from that point on. Surely this opens out the whole of God's Torah to Gentile believers in a non-legalistic way. Surely, along this walk we will cover for ourselves personal revelations of God's character: His provision, His love, His pleasure, His privileges in service, spiritual gifts and fruits, His personal communication with us. His invitation is that we truly know Him through His ways in our lives and as we are ready to be made holy in our walk with Him. If, when we are asked if we know the Lord, we answer only from Halachic principles or ideas based Torah alone, passed on second hand, or quote the lessons (even of the patriarchs) with no personal testimony, then we are not truly entering into Halachah or knowledge of God. Conversely, we should all have a rich and develop testimony of our communion with Him, and this will also be evident in the fruits of our lives.
What then will the answer be to the question, "How well do you know the Lord?" An encouraging answer might both through word and deed, "I am getting to know Him better day by day."
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