A Spiritual Worldview

A Spiritual Worldview

All worldviews are constructed on “unseen” things.

And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” Exodus 3:2, 3

In the incident of the burning bush, Moses glimpsed the Biblical worldview in a microcosm. Here was a familiar physical reality, a common bush, which had been invaded by a mystery and which, rather than be consumed by that mystery, seemed actually to live, in a new and wholly different way, because of it. The fire Moses observed was no ordinary fire, but the fire that goes before the living God, a spiritual fire that illuminates, attracts, and vivifies, without consuming or destroying that which it draws unto itself. The fire which illuminated that bush was the carriage of the Word of God, the “Messenger” (“angel”) from God to introduce Moses to a reality and calling greater than he had ever known.

The worldview of the Law of God is like the burning bush. It comes to us in a familiar physical form—words on the pages of a book. But these words derive from, are sustained by, and carry the fire of God, which is His Spirit (Ex. 31:18; cf. John 6:63; Luke 11:20/Matt. 12:28). And they convey the very Word and presence of God Himself, creating a space of holiness into which God invites all whom He is drawing unto Himself by grace through faith.

In order to gain the benefit of God’s Law we must approach it spiritually, in an attitude of fear and wonder and not simply as a written code to be memorized and dutifully obeyed. Apart from the presence of God’s Spirit in and with the Law of God, we can have no benefit of its promises and blessings. The Law of God reveals the heart and mind of God as it outlines His wisdom for how human beings may know full and abundant life.

The Law of God, like the fire in that bush, invades the hearts and lives of human flesh as the Spirit of God opens our souls to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, draws us to God through the sacrifice of His Son, and begins to burn with the light of truth, beginning with God’s Law, in and through the souls of all who believe (Gal. 4:4-7; Ezek. 36:26, 27; John 6:63).

If we would enter this worldview, therefore, we must learn to see within the written Law the heart and mind of God and the larger world of spiritual truth to which He has called us. The Law will only entangle and snare us, like the branches of a bush, unless we set our souls to discern the Spirit of God and His good and perfect will for us in what is written there. Like Moses, we must remove the sandals of our worldly walk and approach the Lord open and vulnerable, on bare feet, as it were, fearful of His presence, but confident, in His calling and grace, that we will not be consumed by what we encounter in God’s Law, but illuminated, vivified, and empowered.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T. M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.