The first question is "For who hath known the mind of the Lord?" Beloved actually none of us truly understand the mind of God except that small amount the Holy Spirit has taught us. I know there are some that believe they totally understand God’s mind and knows all of His will but they are sadly mistaken. Let’s understand something about God; His mind is too broad and deep for us to understand except for a small very limited amount. For example He has every hair on your head numbered, He knows every sparrow that falls, He has every grain of sand in the sea numbered, He knows every angel in heaven although we count them as innumerable. God has one mind and one counsel of doing His will and we will never be able to understand nor could we ever comprehend His plan or why He does as He does except to trust Him and follow what we believe is His will. Let’s take God’s word (the bible), it is so deep that we need volumes of commentaries and dictionaries just to attempt to understand it and even with that we sometimes miss the true meaning. The bible is God’s word and by that I mean every word was inserted as His Holy Spirit directed the men to write it. We sometimes (and myself included) attribute too much to the writers instead of the author. Beloved when you open and read the bible you are actually reading the mind of God. It took over 1500 years and 40 plus writers to complete what we now call the bible, however since the sixty – sixth book was completed million upon millions of other books have been written attempting to describe to us all what is the mind of God. What so many have forgotten is this is not just another book among the other millions but rather this is God’s final word. No matter what the other million upon millions attempt to say only the word of God stands true. Man has searched for ways to totally understand God and His will but he will never be able to accomplish that task. What little we are blessed to understand is a glorious gift from on high. As Paul wrote one of these sixty – six books to the church at Colossae we find him to say "That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; (3.) In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:2-3 That is they are hid in God and cannot be figured out by man on his own no matter how smart he is. Beloved spiritual intelligence comes only from God. So understanding God’s will must be a revelation from God.

But if salvation implies a previous state from which it is a deliverance, then I Say that it is childish folly to talk of being saved if we know nothing experimentally of what we are saved from ... All doctrines, notions, forms, creeds, ordinances and ceremonies short of this manifested salvation are as the dust of the balance, and as the driven stubble before the wind. What, for instance, is election, except it be revealed to my soul that I was elected before the foundation of the world? What is redemption to me, except the atoning blood of the Lamb be sprinkled on my conscience? What is the everlasting love of a Triune Jehovah, unless that etersal love be shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Ghost? To see these things revealed in the Bible is nothing. To hear them preached by one of God's ministers is nothing. To receive the truth into our judgment and to yield to them an unwavering assent is nothing. Thousands have done this who are blaspheming God in hell …a man must have salvation as an internal reality, as a known, enjoyed, tasted, felt and handled possession, or he will never enter into the kingdom of heaven."