Romans 1:19
For what can be known about God is plain.
Hashem has divided all things into two categories: the hidden, and the revealed. The hidden He says belongs to Him, while the revealed belongs to us that we may observe all the words of His Torah (Deuteronomy 29:29). While many try to define the work of Messiah, Paul seems to categorize it in the hidden, as a mystery.
The revealed on the other hand can also be divided into two categories. Even though it is faced with linguistic issues, we have what is revealed to us through a literal surface reading of the text of Torah, and then, we have what is revealed to us through logical deduction, midrash, historical, and cultural knowledge.
The strangest thing though, is that the things that divide us the most are not the revealed but the things which are hidden which by definition, being hidden, we do not know about. Questions about the nature of God, the nature of Messiah, understanding the awesome Day of the Lord and the properties of the World to Come define theological boundaries and divide believers into denominational pigeon-holes each seeing the other as an heretic. Of all the hidden things the Torah also tells us about, it mentions God's deeds, His Greatness, His wisdom, His knowledge, and judgment. Wise King Solomon also tells us about the heart of kings, which would include the riches of the Messiah King (Job 5:9; Psalms 154:3; Proverbs 25:3; Romans 11:33; Ephesians 3:8).
Paul who spent his life as a Torah student and teacher gave us a little clue as to those undefined things of God. He says, For what can be known about God is plain … For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made., they are to be understood by the means of the understanding (Romans 1:18-20). Early narrations of creation agree to that in the idea that God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:27). That's all we're told about Him, so that must be all we need to know, and I don't think that we have yet exhausted what we can discover of God in 'the things which have been made'.
Of all the things that would help us in our research of the things of God, the most important ones may not be so high, so deep, or so far. We are made in His image and as such the sages teach that each person represents a whole universe. By learning therefore to understand each other and work together, we may inadvertently discover the heart of God. Before we fly so high, swim so deep, or travel so far to discover the mysteries of our Maker, may we learn to walk the distance necessary to meet a man half-way, or even to walk in his shoes. We may then understand the hidden things of God in Messiah.
For what can be known about God is plain.
Hashem has divided all things into two categories: the hidden, and the revealed. The hidden He says belongs to Him, while the revealed belongs to us that we may observe all the words of His Torah (Deuteronomy 29:29). While many try to define the work of Messiah, Paul seems to categorize it in the hidden, as a mystery.
The revealed on the other hand can also be divided into two categories. Even though it is faced with linguistic issues, we have what is revealed to us through a literal surface reading of the text of Torah, and then, we have what is revealed to us through logical deduction, midrash, historical, and cultural knowledge.
The strangest thing though, is that the things that divide us the most are not the revealed but the things which are hidden which by definition, being hidden, we do not know about. Questions about the nature of God, the nature of Messiah, understanding the awesome Day of the Lord and the properties of the World to Come define theological boundaries and divide believers into denominational pigeon-holes each seeing the other as an heretic. Of all the hidden things the Torah also tells us about, it mentions God's deeds, His Greatness, His wisdom, His knowledge, and judgment. Wise King Solomon also tells us about the heart of kings, which would include the riches of the Messiah King (Job 5:9; Psalms 154:3; Proverbs 25:3; Romans 11:33; Ephesians 3:8).
Paul who spent his life as a Torah student and teacher gave us a little clue as to those undefined things of God. He says, For what can be known about God is plain … For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made., they are to be understood by the means of the understanding (Romans 1:18-20). Early narrations of creation agree to that in the idea that God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:27). That's all we're told about Him, so that must be all we need to know, and I don't think that we have yet exhausted what we can discover of God in 'the things which have been made'.
Of all the things that would help us in our research of the things of God, the most important ones may not be so high, so deep, or so far. We are made in His image and as such the sages teach that each person represents a whole universe. By learning therefore to understand each other and work together, we may inadvertently discover the heart of God. Before we fly so high, swim so deep, or travel so far to discover the mysteries of our Maker, may we learn to walk the distance necessary to meet a man half-way, or even to walk in his shoes. We may then understand the hidden things of God in Messiah.
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