The Nature Of Spiritual Revelation, And Who Are Favored With It

Adapted From A Sermon By

John Newton

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;

(Matthew 11:25 ESV)

Our Lord thanks the Father that the great things of the Gospel, though hidden from the wise and prudent, are revealed to little children. They are not lost, as if sunk beyond recovery, but reserved for those who will receive them. This discovery, as John Newton observed, is a revelation, and those who obtain it are marked by the character of little children. We turn, then, to the nature of that revelation, and to the persons who are favored with it.

The great things of the gospel, though hidden, are not lost. They are not hidden like something sunk to the bottom of the sea. But he who hides them from the wise and prudent is ready and willing to make them known to every sincere person who seeks them. When someone comes to know these things, it is because the Lord himself reveals them. It is his work, not something a person works out on his own. The character of those who obtain this revelation is expressed by the words little children. Of the five points we set out to examine from the text, these two still remain to be spoken to.

IV. The saving knowledge of divine truth is a revelation, and

V. The characters of those persons who succeed in their inquiry.

IV. The saving knowledge of divine truth is a revelation. Our Lord uses a similar expression when he praises Peter's confession of his faith, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven," Matt. 16:17. Peter had Moses and the prophets, and so did the scribes and the Pharisees. In their own way they were careful to read and search them. But he could acknowledge Jesus to be the Messiah, when they rejected him, because the Father had revealed this truth to him and given him a clearer knowledge of it than he could have received from the written word alone. But it is right to ask what this word means. What are we here to understand by revelation?

Sometimes revelation is used in an extraordinary sense, as when in earlier times the Lord made known to his servants, the prophets, those doctrines and events which until then had not been heard of or thought of. This is not the kind of revelation here spoken of but of that which is common to all believers and necessary to salvation.

Now this revelation means that the things to be revealed were real and certain before, but unknown, and not to be found out in any other way.

Revelation is not the creation or invention of something new, but the making known of what was until then unknown. The great things of eternity, the glorious truths of the gospel, are real and certain in themselves already, and do not begin to exist when we begin to be acquainted with them. Yet until God is pleased to reveal them to the heart, we have no more spiritual and effective knowledge of them than if they did not exist. Ignorance of things very near to us, and in which we are nearly concerned, may be from two causes:

1. From a lack of light. Nothing can be seen in the dark. If you are in a dark room, though it is richly decorated and furnished, all of it is lost to you. If you stand on a dark night on top of a hill that looks out over a fine view, still you are able to see no more than if you were in a valley. Though you were in a dangerous place, with hidden traps, steep drops, and thieves and murderers all around you, still you might imagine yourself safe, if you had no light with you.

2. It may be from some barrier or obstruction between you and the object. Thus your dearest friend, or greatest enemy, might be within a few yards of you, and you know nothing of it, if there was a wall between you.

These comparisons may in some measure represent our case by nature. God is near; "in him we live, move, and have our being." Eternity is near; we stand on the edge of it. Death is near, and it is coming toward us quickly. The truths of God's word are most certain in themselves, and of the utmost importance to us. But we perceive none of these things. We are not moved by them, because our understandings are dark, and because thick walls of ignorance, prejudice, and unbelief stand before the eyes of the mind and keep them from our view. Even those ideas of truth which we sometimes pick up by hearing and reading are only like windows in a dark room. They are suited to let the light in when it comes, but they can give no light of themselves.

Therefore we may conclude that God's revealing these things to us only means that he works such a change in us by his Holy Spirit as prepares and enables us to see them. He sends a divine light into the soul, and things begin to appear so plain that we wonder at our former dullness, that we could not see them before.

By the power of his Spirit he breaks down the walls which blocked and limited our view, and a new perspective we had not thought of suddenly appears before us. Then the soul sees its danger: "I thought myself secure; but I find I am in the midst of enemies. Guilt pursues me behind; fear, and the snare, and the pit, are before me; which way shall I turn?" Then it sees its mistake: "While my views were limitied, I thought there was nothing but the cares of this life to take care of; but now I see a boundless eternity beyond it."

It also obtains a glimpse of the glories of the better world, of the beauty of holiness, and of the excellency of Jesus. This light is at first faint and imperfect, but it grows stronger by the use of the appointed means; and as it increases, everything appears with stronger evidence.

We may more particularly show this work of the Holy Spirit as it influences those leading faculties of the soul, the understanding, the affections, and the will.

By nature, the will is perverse and rebellious, and the affections are turned away from God. The first cause of these disorders lies in the darkness of the understanding. Here, then, the change begins. The Spirit of God enlightens the understanding, by which the sinner sees things to be as they are represented in the word of God.

He sees that he is a transgressor against the divine law, and on this account exposed to wrath. He sees that he is not only guilty, but corrupt and unclean, and utterly unable either to repair past evil or to change his own heart and life. He sees that the great God might justly refuse him mercy, and that he has no plea to offer to stop judgment.

This discovery would sink him into despair if it went no farther. But by the same light which shows him to himself, he begins to see a fitness, wisdom, and glory in the method of salvation revealed in the gospel. He reads and hears concerning the person, sufferings, and offices of Christ in a very different manner from what he did before. And as, by attending to the word and ministry, his grasp of Jesus and his understanding become more clear and distinct, a spiritual hope takes place and increases in his soul.

The sure effect of this is that he feels his love drawn out to him who so loved him as to die for his sins. Looking, by faith, at the Lord Jesus Christ as bleeding and dying upon the cross, and knowing for whom and on what account he suffered, he learns to hate, with a bitter hatred, those sins which nailed him there. The amazing love of Christ constrains him to count all things which he formerly valued as worthless, compared with the excellency of the knowledge of his Savior.

Nor does his faith stop here. He sees him who once suffered and died rising triumphant from the tomb, and ascending into heaven as the representative, friend, and forerunner of his people. Having such a High-Priest, he is encouraged to draw near to God, and to claim a share in the promises that concern the life that now is and the life that is to come.

And so, possessing in the beginnings of grace a pledge of the glory that will be revealed, a real, universal, lasting change necessarily takes place in the affections. Now old things are passed away, and all things become new. The soul no longer willingly clings to the dust, or can be satisfied with earthly things, but thirsts for communion with God and an increase of holiness. Sin is no longer agreed to or delighted in, but is opposed and watched against. And every departure from the will of God stirs the sincerest grief and humiliation, and leads to a fresh appeal to the blood and grace of Jesus for pardon and strength.

In this way the will likewise is brought into a full submission and surrender to the power of Christ, and it acts as freely in his service as it once did against him. Some people say a man is free only if he stands in a blank middle, with no pull toward good and no pull toward evil, and then picks one or the other from that empty balance. That idea sounds clever to many, but it is not true. It does not match clear reasoning, and it does not match how people actually live.

No one chooses from a blank middle. In every person, and in every case, the will follows two things already at work in him. It follows what his mind judges to be best at the time, and it follows the way his heart is already leaning. He chooses what he sees as good, or at least as better for him then, and what he wants. He is not waiting in a state of pure indifference before the choice is made.

This is why the change must begin in the understanding and the affections. By nature his mind is dark and his heart is turned away from God, so he freely chooses against God. He is not forced. He wants what he chooses. When the Spirit opens his mind and turns his heart, the same will freely chooses for Christ, because that is now what he sees as best and what he loves. The freedom is real in both cases. What changes is not a neutral power to go either way. What changes is the sight and the love that the will follows. Good and evil do not shift with his desire. They are already fixed. He is the one who is changed, and then he chooses freely in the direction his renewed mind and heart now lean.

But giving so much place to the Spirit of God, is not meant to set aside his holy word or the preached gospel. All these truths and prospects are already contained in the word of God, but without the light of the Spirit they are not seen. They are set before you in the public ministry but you will hear, in vain, unless the Lord is pleased to open your hearts. But consider,

The Spirit of God teaches and enlightens by his word as the instrument. There is no revelation from him, but what is, as to our perception of it, drawn from the scriptures. There may be supposed lights and strong impressions upon the mind in which the word of God has no place or part. But this alone is enough to set them aside and to prove that they are not from the Holy Spirit. For,

The scriptures are the appointed rule and test by which all our searches and discoveries, and all that we gain in religious knowledge, must be tested. If they are indeed from God, they will stand this trial and match the word as one face matches another in a mirror, but not otherwise.

From this we learn,

i) first, to set a high value upon the word of God. All that is necessary to make you wise to salvation is there, and there only. In this precious book you may find a direction for every doubt, an answer to every difficulty, and a promise suited to every circumstance you can be in. There you may be shown your disease by sin, and the remedy provided by grace. You may be taught to know yourselves, to know God and Jesus Christ, in the knowledge of whom stands eternal life. The wonders of redeeming love, the glories of the Redeemer's person, the happiness of the redeemed people, the power of faith, and the beauty of holiness, are here set out clearly.

Nothing is missing that can make life useful and comfortable, death safe and desirable, and bring down something of heaven upon earth. But this true wisdom can be found nowhere else. If you wander from the scriptures in search of either present peace or future hope, your search will end in disappointment. This is the fountain of living water. If you leave it, and choose instead broken cisterns of your own making, they will fail you when you most need them. Rejoice, therefore, that such a treasure is put into your hand, but rejoice with trembling. Remember this is not all you need. Unless God likewise gives you a heart to use it rightly, your privilege will only increase your guilt and misery. Therefore remember,

ii) second, the necessity of prayer. For though the things of greatest importance to you are in the Bible, and you should read it over and over until you commit the whole book to your memory, yet you will not understand or see the truth as it is in Jesus, unless the Lord the Spirit shows it to you. The giving of the truth is in his hand, and without him all the supposed advantages of greater ability, learning, criticism, and books will prove as useless as glasses to the blind. The great encouragement is that this unfailing Spirit, so necessary to guide us into the way of peace, is promised to all who sincerely ask for it. This Spirit Jesus is exalted to give, and he has said, "Whoever comes to me I will never cast out." Therefore join your reading with frequent prayer. We move on to,

V. The characters of those persons who succeed in their inquiries, and have the things of God savingly revealed to them. They are called little children.

1. They are for the most part little children in the world's esteem. They are despised by the wise and prudent for their weak abilities, small attainments, and their seeming un-importance in common life. But the Lord does not overlook any on these accounts. He does not favor one person over another because of rank or standing. In the blessings of his common providence, those which come more directly from his own hand, such as air and light, health and strength, the faculties of sight and hearing, and so on, he gives as freely, and in as great perfection, to the poor as to the rich, and to the ignorant as to the learned. And so it is with respect to his grace.

Our inability is founded in our nature, and is common to all, and not in any particular circumstances. He is as ready to save the lowly as the noble. Many of the great and wise are offended at this. As they take the earth for themselves, they would willingly take heaven for themselves also. But the Lord has appointed otherwise, and it has been one reproach constantly attending the gospel, that few but the common people (Mark 12:37, John 7:48, 49) have thought it worth their notice.

2. They are little children in their own esteem. Not that some are more humble than others by nature, and therefore the Lord gives them a preference on that account, for by nature we are all alike, equally without the smallest good. But the expression teaches us that those to whom the Lord is pleased to reveal these things, he first empties and humbles, strips them of all ground for boasting, and brings them to a dependence on himself. The true believer is frequently compared to a little child, and it is easy to trace a useful likeness.

i) First, a little child has little knowledge, and its capacity and powers are as yet very weak. All whose understandings have been spiritually enlightened will acknowledge themselves children in this respect. The little they know convinces them of their ignorance. They are convinced that their views of things are faint, partial, and confused, that their judgments are weak, and that if the Lord does not prevent it, they are very liable to be deceived by the subtlety of Satan and the treachery of their own hearts. They feel that they have not in themselves the ability to think a good thought.

ii) Second, a child is teachable. Aware of their own ignorance, they listen to all about them, and think everyone is able to teach them something. Among men none are truly teachable, except those who know they need to be taught. The natural man, if he has any advantages, thinks everyone needs his help. The humble Christian gives this proof that the confession he is ready to make of his ignorance is genuine, and from his heart, that he is willing to learn from all. He is quick to hear, slow to speak, and open to conviction. Though he will not agree to everything he hears without proof or examination, yet he is ready to receive instruction, and thankful to those by whom he is helped. He is afraid of being mistaken and of giving way to prejudices, and therefore gladly uses every means of information.

iii) Third, a child is simple and dependent. He does not reason, but simply receives what he is told by his parents, or by those whom he thinks wiser than himself. The believer dares not hand over his understanding in this way to any men, however highly he may esteem them on the whole, for he has learned from the word of God not to put his trust in man.

But this is the desire of the renewed heart with respect to the teaching of God's word and Spirit. He allows no reasoning or questioning here, nor will he say with Nicodemus, "How can these things be?" It is enough for him that God has said it, and is able to make it good. This is a happy frame of mind. In this way countless difficulties that arise from appearances and clever arguments are avoided, and the mind, by faith, passes safely through the vast mass of guesses and opinions in which those who argue and reason, trying to cross it on their own, are sunk and overwhelmed.

It is true, there are various degrees of this simplicity, and in those who possess it in a larger measure, there is a remaining principle of pride and unbelief, which costs them much prayer and many conflicts to subdue. But this, in some degree, is essential to the character of those who are taught of God. They desire and endeavor to submit wholly to his guidance and will in all things.

Here, then, is a proper subject for self-examination. Let each one ask his heart, Have I this simple, child-like disposition?

If you have, if it is the desire of your soul to be taught of God, if his word is your rule, and you depend on his Spirit to teach you all things and to lead you by the hand, knowing that unless you are led and guided in this way you will certainly go astray, be thankful for this. Accept it as a sign for good. You were not always so. There was a time when you were wise in your own eyes and prudent in your own sight. You have good grounds to hope that the Lord, who has already taught you to depend on himself, will show you all that is necessary for you to know.

But if this is not the case, if you lean on your own understanding, is it surprising that you are still walking in darkness and uncertainty? Will you say, I have read the Bible carefully. I have taken no small pains to examine things, to see which of the many divisions that exist among Christians is faithful to the truth. But I am still at a loss. Surely, if the teachings some argue for had been in the scriptures, I should have found them there?

In answer, without taking away from your sharpness of mind or your sincerity, your case is easily accounted for from the verse which we are considering, if your inquiries are not carried out in a humble dependence upon the Spirit of God. Too many instances we could produce of men who, having labored for years in what seems one of the most praiseworthy tasks, the explaining of the scriptures for the use of others, have at last been terribly unsettled themselves. And the only visible fruits their reading and hard work have produced have been error, harsh attack, and dissatisfaction. So their labors have been a clear example of the former part of our text, a proof in point of how entirely the things of God are often hid from the wise and prudent.

Finally, you that are seeking the Lord, and are little in your own eyes, rejoice that the giving of grace is in his hands. If men had the control of it, you might perhaps have been overlooked. We should have been ready to accept the smooth-spoken young man who approached our Lord with so much outward respect, and had so much to say in his own behalf (Mark 10:20), and probably we should have left the thief upon the cross to perish like a wretch, as he deserved. "the LORD does not see as man does," 1 Sam. 16:7. 'His ways are higher than our ways, and his thoughts than our thoughts, Isa. 55:7, 9.

Therefore there is encouragement for the lowest and the worst. He has excluded none but those who exclude themselves. Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation! let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."