pronunciation from the Greek μυστικός, mystikos, meaning 'an initiate') is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, or levels of being, or aspects of reality, beyond normal human perception, including experience of and even communion with a supreme being. When I think of Mysticism and Mystics, I imagine someone reads ancient books that weigh a ton and lives in a cold dark stone castle. They gather with other mystics in a room with a pentagram painted on the floor and candles on top of skulls all around the room. They go into a trance, and a spirit starts to speak through one of them. “Sacrifice a virgin to me or I will destroy you.”
I am not like that at all. I like to think of myself as a grounded person who has nothing to do with mysticism and all the creepy and odd things associated with it. When I hear of someone who is a mystic I think of someone spooky and weird. This is my western way of thinking and not the Biblical way of thinking.
Read that definition of mysticism. A mystic perceives something beyond human perception (using the senses), including experiencing and even communicating with a supreme being. Isn’t that what we as Christians are to do everyday? Aren’t we suppose to be experiencing and communicating with God everyday?
Jesus said in John 5: 19-20:
19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
Jesus was a mystic. He saw God doing things and then Jesus would do the same. He had a life full of listening and seeing God work. He experienced God every moment of his life. Not only was Jesus a mystic, but he made provisions for us to be mystics like him. John 15: 5-15 basically says, “I am going back to God my father, but I will send you the Holy Spirit so you can be a mystic like me.”
Without the Holy Spirit, we would not have the power of God within us, but today anyone who is a believer in Christ as their Savior has the power of God within him. They have exactly the same power which was in Jesus as he walked the earth.
Your western Hellenistic thinking is telling you that is crazy. You can’t heal people by praying. You cannot raise the dead. When was the last time you fed 5000 with a few fish and loaves of bread? You cannot do the miracles of Christ.
John 14:12 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”
Do you believe on Jesus? If you do, this verse applies to you. Now the decision is yours to make. Are you going to believe your Hellenistic philosophy which you have based your life upon or are you going to believe your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?
Read Part 1 of this post here.
Read Part 3 of this post here.
Note: This post is based on my reading of the book” Viral Jesus by Ross Rohde
Photo Credit: Aristotle by Nick in exsilio
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