Day 13 of Illumination: Without the Spirit to translate, the things of God are unknowable.

“When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2:13-14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

During World War II the United States military ran into a problem. At that time communications concerning battle plans were sent and received using the radio or telephone. Because of the potential for interception of the messages, the military used coded language. The problem was that the Japanese were breaking all of the codes. The surprising solution came when a Navajo man suggested that they use the Navajo language, a language basically limited to the Navajo people and (at that time) had no standardized written form.

In 1942 the Marines recruited 29 Navajo men and gave them the task of creating and memorizing a code system based on the Navajo language. Eventually, 400 men were taught to send and receive messages using the Navajo language. These specially trained men known as “code talkers,” had the ability to give and receive messages without being intercepted by the enemy. Indeed, the code talkers probably made the difference in the outcome of the war.

Now, I have an Armenian daughter-in-law whose family still lives in Armenia. Sadly, although my father was born to Armenian immigrant parents and spoke fluent Armenian, the language was not spoken in our home. So, my knowledge of the language is limited to a few phrases and a couple of songs.

There are times when I would love to be able to directly communicate with my daughter-in-law‘s mother, as she has become a sister in the spirit. Yet, she speaks no English, and I don’t speak Armenian. So, if there’s something I want to say to her, it has to go through my son or daughter-in-law. Otherwise, although we have much love for one another, our communication would be very limited.

Now, what ties the two stories I have just presented together? Both stories illustrate that some things cannot be understood unless there is a translator. Thankfully, a translator can take a message in a language we don’t understand, and interpret it into a language we do understand.

““Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.”

‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭6:16-17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In the above story we have the servant of Elisha being overcome with fear when he sees that they are surrounded by the Syrian army.

You see, Elisha had been thwarting all of the Syrian Army’s efforts by telling the King of Israel about the plans of the enemy. Elisha received this information by way of the Spirit of God. Here we see that Elisha asked the Lord to open the servants eyes so that he could see that they were actually not outnumbered at all. When the Lord opens the servant’s eyes, he sees the horsemen and the chariots of fire. What the servant could not see or know before, he could see when it was revealed—or translated—by the Spirit of God.

Jesus made clear that He would send His Holy Spirit to interpret—or translate—everything He wanted us to know.

““There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.”

‭‭John‬ ‭16:12-14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In our opening scripture we see Paul explaining to the church at Corinth the nature of his communication with them. He was speaking to them by the Spirit concerning the things of the Spirit and the only reason that they could understand them was because they were spiritual (because of their union with Jesus Christ, they could now hear the Spirit speaking in the inner person).

“Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16:15-17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was, Peter proclaimed that He is the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus then acknowledges to them that this information would have been unknowable to Peter unless the Spirit had revealed it to him.

As we continue to pursue enlightenment and the deep things of God, let us remember that the only way we can receive the things of God, is by the Spirit. There is no other translator or decoder for what the Lord wants us to know.

We light a thirteenth candle of illumination today by knowing this:

Without the Spirit to translate, the things of God are unknowable.

#25daysofillumination