SEVEN
Practicing the God-Mind
If the practice of knowledge brings us to understanding, where is the place of understanding?
The question is asked in Job 28:12, “But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place
of understanding?”
It should be obvious that if understanding is practiced knowledge, understanding may be found at the end of knowledge: in the ‘result’ slot. That is the place of understanding. Is it any stretch, then, for us to know the answer to ‘whence cometh wisdom’?
See also Job 28:20, “Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?”
We learn in steps. What is your level? Public education levels up by grade. But, in scripture, there is a sort of ‘trailing’ logic. I have learned that it is sometimes quite useful to think in reverse. Of the two verses noted in the previous paragraph, the greater issue is mentioned first, and the issues that lead up to it follow. In other words, the natural steps from lesser to greater are often overlooked in scripture. That represents a difference in thinking as fundamental as that between one language and another. In English, the noun is dominant and the verb is supportive: “The dog bit me,”is an example. For that reason, the sentence structures of other languages seem backward to English speaking people. One, then, would do well to approach scripture with this in mind.
Try reading things from back to front. Try it on Job 28:28, “And unto man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.”
Let us view the verse as a kind of algebra, an equation that puts forth such a formula as if A=C then B=C. In this way, we see that A and B are equal. The verse gives us B; we simply need to discover A. The verse tells us that understanding is found in the result slot of ‘departing from evil’. We practice what we are taught. The exercise of knowledge, therefore, is A. We are taught to depart from evil: that is, not to steal; not to murder; not to lie, etc.
Through the regular practice of this knowledge, we develop an overall understanding. That understanding is like a warrior with an immense arsenal at his disposal and so seasoned as to know when to use what. When that warrior is employed full time, one develops an army of warriors that is called wisdom. If the exercise of understanding is wisdom, and both A and B are equal to C, the regular practice of understanding is equal to ‘the fear of the Lord’. You might think that, with a little discipline, man can rise to miraculous heights - but recall, man was elevated by the impartation of the mind of God. This ‘son of man’ was able to know the thoughts of God, but only by that quality that had been implanted.
See Job 38:36, “Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to
the heart (mind)?”
Now, let us take one step forward. I have said that if God gave you a hammer, it would be a safe bet He wanted you to strike the nail. God implants a hammer in the minds of men. We are now elevated; we are the sons of mankind. We practice with our hammers. We become attuned to nails; we know that without the hammer there would be no nail. (I say that because the nail exists for the hammer; its purpose is to be struck by the hammer, and without the hammer, the nail does not have the purpose of a nail.) Over time, we become quite adept at what we do; we love our shiny new tools - but now, we have come to a special place: we are able to see past our tools to the house that is being built, and it is at that exact point that we utter the motto of the universal union of seekers - “Cool!”
Now groove on Psalms 14:2, “The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.”
Now that we understand the exercise of understanding, let’s do some reps. We look at the many verses whose explanations of truth are no longer hidden from us. They do much more than simply teach, they lift up the voice and proclaim. These voices, at first a trickle here and there, run together and form a mighty torrent. That torrent, while but a still small voice, nevertheless, sweeps us along.
There is the trickle of Psalms 111:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do His commandments.”
We are told that not just an understanding, but, a ‘good’ understanding is constituted from the practice of a certain level of knowledge. An earlier scripture said that the fear of the Lord is wisdom (being the exercise of a certain level of knowledge), but here, we find the addendum that it is only the ‘beginning’ of wisdom. Yes, we have rounded that distant stand of palms; before our eye is a vista of virgin sand.
Then there is the trickle of Psalms 119:104, “Through Thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.”
This tells us that the practice of understanding leads to taking a stand; in choosing, with extreme prejudice, against what is wrong and for what is right.
There is the trickle of Psalms 119:130, “The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”
This informs us of the real source of the commandments and precepts that some say are only the writings of men.
There is the trickle of Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart (mind); and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
This speaks of a road apart; not the commonly trodden path but a highway.
There is the trickling of a stream in Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”
This rates the knowledge we practice and tells of the mind employed in that practice. Lo, do we hear
the babbling of a brook? Do we understand where the stronger current leads?
There is the susurrus of a river, powerful with the weight of its burden; there is Proverbs 28:5, “They that seek the Lord understand all things.”
And so, God’s mind is in our heads; it is there for a purpose. We seem to think, in this day and age, that the scientists are the peak of human mentality and many set the scientific mind in opposition to the mind of the faithful. After all, the scientific mind seems so rigorously ‘practiced’.
Science has filled in the gaps of history, trounced upon myth and superstition, named the unknown, and given us the comfortable underpinnings of technology. They took the facts at hand, exercised them to produce understanding, and now, they seem wiser than a white mustache. Are these superintelligent people merely hammering away at the nails? Have they seen, yet, the house they are helping to build? You know, the faithful that we have read about in the Bible fully utilized that same imparted mind; they just didn’t limit themselves to the empirical.
See Daniel 1:4, “Skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science.”
When read from back to front, this verse shows the steps from lesser to greater: science, knowledge, wisdom. To reach understanding one must practice what one knows; one must use it or lose it. There
are many students that wish they could obtain a skill in ‘learning’, and they will: the harder they try
to learn, the easier it becomes. Some people reach a point where learning is second nature, even
automatic. But, to reach understanding, one must be taught; one must receive, then one must use and
exercise and practice what has been imparted.
Daniel did dreams. He was not an autistic individual who could do one strange thing; he was not a child prodigy. Daniel, before the captivity, was a young man in training at the temple. He was a bright child culled from the masses and taught the disciplines known by others. We would not be wrong to call it a craft (dream craft), for it was a thing regularly practiced. One arrives at understanding by the practice of knowledge.
See Daniel 1:17, “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.”
Why did the scorner seek wisdom and find it not? I believe in ‘ask and you shall receive’, but if I knew a man wanted to stab me, you can bank on the fact that I would think long and hard about his request for a knife. (Then, I would say no).
Wisdom is wasted on a scorner; to give wisdom to a scorner is like casting pearls before swine: they will turn and rend you. Just as knowledge must be exercised, so, too, must the desire be exercised. How foolish is it for a runt to say: “Boy, I sure wish I had big muscles?” He likely only wants to kick sand in someone’s face and get the babe.
On the other hand, if his desire has developed any substance, he will exercise his muscles like he
exercised his desire; he will do the reps for himself; he will feel the burn. Jesus deliberately left
many in the dark. Could that be why?
See Matthew 13:15, “Lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart (mind).”
Take it from an old hitchhiker, to get a ride to where you want to go, you need to be faced in the right direction, you need to be not only on the right road but also, on the right side of the road.
Take it from 2 Timothy 2:7, “And (then), the Lord give thee understanding in all things.”
Heaven is an exclusive club: invitations only. There is also a dress code in effect. Going on that alone, you would expect the common man to get bounced, or to be turned away at the door with the shame of all others witnessing his failed bravado. But, there is another scenario. It goes like this: the bouncer owns the club; he has given you a free invitation, and he even has a tux in your size.
Remember, God has a purpose. Why would He want just any scorner or ne’er do well on the inside?
Recall that there is familiarity in close contact. To know good is to practice the knowledge of good;
to know evil is to exercise the knowledge of evil, and some of us are way too buff when it comes to
evil.
See Genesis 3:22, “The Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know (to practice the knowledge of) good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever . . .”
It may seem competitive on their part; it may seem like they are holding back on us, but, our getting in on our own terms is just not in the contract. There is a type that will make it in. Among all those who have received of the mind of God (the called), there will only be a small percentage who practice, who exercise, who seek God with full desire. God will make Himself known to those practiced seekers (the chosen).
This ‘known’, this new knowledge, is yet one more upgrade in the nature of man. It is a knowledge exceeding that which brought the individual to understanding; it is an understanding far greater than that which brought the individual to wisdom. It will be a true spiritual/corporeal intercourse.
Graduate to a higher grade in Numbers 12:6, “I the Lord will make Myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.”
That individual will be intimately familiar with the certainty of Deuteronomy 4:39, “Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart (mind), that the Lord He is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.”
That invitation had the owner’s name on it. That tux - it was the shirt off His own back. There is familiarity in close contact.
Deuteronomy 31:21, “I know their imagination which they go about.”
The practice of knowledge leads to understanding. There is familiarity in close contact.
Joshua 4:24, “That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever.”
The regular practice of understanding is equal to ‘the fear of the Lord’. Moving the hand is an action that we come by through the practice of knowledge: or what to do and when, and how it works. We come to a point where this practice becomes like second nature. We have an understanding; we no longer go over each individual point in an action, but before we move our hand, the mind decides, simply, on that course.
1 Samuel 2:3, “The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed.”
What could we possibly hope to hide from Him? To employ a thought is an action that comes by and
through Him who imparted to us our skills in knowledge. There is, after all, familiarity in close contact.
2 Samuel 7:20, “Thou, Lord God, knowest Thy servant.”
Yes, there is familiarity in close contact, and while there may not end up, so much, ‘cause’ and ‘effect’, there is interaction.
See it in 1 Kings 8:39, “Then hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart (mind) Thou knowest; (for Thou, even Thou only, knowest the hearts (minds) of all the children of men).”
Now, here’s an interesting question. If God is a ‘God of knowledge’, where is His dwelling place?
It is not hard for man to practice the God-mind; God has given us both the hammer and the nail. It is easy to practice the God-mind because God is there; if we are unsure about how to drive the nail home, or even if we are interested in the design of the house we are helping to build, we have only to ask, and our tutor will explain. The help is right there inside us. But, never let it be thought that we are locked into some mindless, will-less robotic loop. Free will is ever at hand. But, since we already have help in going the right way, it might be assumed that employing the free will is merely an act of willfulness.
See Job 24:13, “They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not (or forsake) the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths (or the practice) thereof.”
In other words, if you are already in a good place, where will moving bring you to? If you already stand
in the light, what is there left to choose by the employment of free will? Practicing the God-mind is never a mindless thing. It is an act of our own will, it is a practice that we choose freely. If you are in a bad place, where will moving bring you to? If you stand in the dark, what is there left to choose by the employment of free will?
Any individual who, by the practice of knowledge, sees the good in higher levels of practice will fervently desire to obtain those higher levels.
See Job 34:4, “Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good.”
Maybe concepts would be clearer if we did not have to use so many words to present them. Maybe the day will come - until then, we must remind ourselves of covered ground. In practicing the God-mind, we are practicing the mind of God which God, Himself, has shared with us. The states we achieve, such as understanding and wisdom, are the culmination of practices. And of course, there is familiarity in close contact. A key is made to unlock a particular type of lock.
See the verse above as the key that perfectly fits Psalms 9:16, “The Lord is known by the judgment which He executeth.”
We may, therefore, choose to ourselves the practices of God; we may choose to ourselves the culminated nature of God and be seen to bear the personality traits of the Highest. We may think of it as ‘drawing to ourselves’, but, if we have used the loaned mind of God, then in truth it is we who are drawn. Our language and thinking may see the matter as actions on our part, but upon close inspection, one notes that the higher actions, the thoughts we now think, even the words we use are but reflections.
Muse on Psalms 19:1-3, “The heavens declare the glory of God (the culmination of); and the firmament sheweth His handywork (the practice of). Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.”
The key, and the reflected key. I have a mental image of God as a key, finding His way into the familiar lock of man’s mind – or man’s augmented mind. I see that augmented mind, in turn, as the reflection of a key entering the familiar heights of secrets formerly locked away from us. Man finds himself ever in the middle ground between what was and what will be: given a boost by his past, and a hand up from his future. The mind finds itself being given a boost by the desire to learn, and a hand up by the answer. Both yearning and goal are the mind of God.
See your God-mind in Psalms 44:21, “Shall not God search this out? for He knoweth the secrets of the heart (mind).”
See your yearning, and your achieved goal in Psalms 51:6, “Behold, Thou (thou) desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part Thou (thou) shalt make me to know wisdom.”
The agenda: Psalms 67:2, “That Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all
nations.”
Now, the sons of men have had glimpses past their hammers and nails to the house being built; they have understood that they were open to God and they knew this because they knew it with the God-mind.
See Psalms 69:5, “O God, Thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from Thee.”
And, they knew that the sons of men had been called apart from regular men by the same God-mind.
See Psalms 92:6, “A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.”
In saying this, we have acknowledged man’s transparency before God, and the rebellion all too easily seen in those who practice the ways that are not of God: an act of turning away from the implanted mind.
See Psalms 94:11, “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man.”
How? Because God is a God of knowledge.
See also Psalms 95:10, “It is a people that do err in their heart (mind), and they have not known (the familiar practices of) My ways.”
What does it convey: that the acquisition of knowledge brings us into closer contact with a God of knowledge? And His kingdom, His dwelling place (called Heaven): where is it? What is it?
It is, as Luke 17:21 says, inside of you.
What kind of ‘inside’ do the scriptures bring up time and time again?
See Psalms 119:66, “Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed Thy commandments.”
See Psalms 119:125, “Give me understanding, that I may know Thy testimonies.”
See Proverbs 2:6, “For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.”
Remember that internalized warrior named ‘understanding’? Under the right circumstances, he will draw ‘discretion’ from his arsenal, and guard you. Likewise, under the right circumstances, ‘the Lord giveth wisdom’. What are those circumstances?
See Proverbs 2:10-11, “When (the desire for) wisdom entereth into thine heart (mind), and (the
practice of) knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; ((something a scorner cannot achieve)) discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee.”
The mind is a spiritual quality that, while not set apart from the flesh, is wholly unaffected by the machinations of the flesh. When you are sad, no other person can truly share it or help you bear the load. When you are in the zone, the usual annoyances no longer aggravate you.
See Proverbs 14:10, “The heart (mind) knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.”
The mind, especially the mind of God, is a quality that cannot be denied or held back. Dissemination is the God-mind’s middle name. Sharing is a given: teaching, preaching, passing it on - the mind of God is meant to spill forth, ignore boundaries of stubborn willfulness, and overflow, and flood. The new spiritual mind of knowledge, of understanding and wisdom, is where God lives. It is His dwelling place and kingdom, and it is growing exponentially.
Proverbs 15:7, “The lips of the wise disperse knowledge.”
One man shares what he has learned; another preaches it from a soapbox; another records it in a book. Still not sure it’s not just man?
See Proverbs 20:11, “Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.”
Identification is a simple matter of common knowledge, and there is quite a lot of common knowledge. So, who is taking notes, and, can we trust those who receive, record, and pass on the knowledge? Well, it might be said that God left a little bit of Himself in us.
Proverbs 22:12, “The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge.”
It is like the mind of God teaching the mind of God to the mind of God. For our part, we simply have
to turn it on: then it runs on automatic. We know what it is; we know where it comes from, and we
know what to do with it - none of which is possible without the implanted God-mind.
Proverbs 22:21, “That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee.”
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