An Ear to Hear

There is no greater gift or capacity than to have what Jesus called “an ear to hear.” Often times after speaking absolute truth he would say, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Mat. 11:15; Mk. 4:9; Lk. 7:16). In giving the messages to John on the island of Patmos for the seven messengers of the congregations in Asia, he ended each message with, “He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the congregations” (Rev. 2:7; etc.). So what is “an ear to hear,” and why is it so important to have one? Jesus made a powerful statement in John 8:31,32 about the word of God that desperately needs to be understood: “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Now this statement was inseparably connected to his statements about having an ear to hear. What it takes to continue in the word of God is that capacity to ‘hear’ what the Spirit of God is saying, whether through someone else, or directly from the Spirit. And that ‘hearing’ is actually done with the heart, if the heart is honest and open before God (Lk. 8:15). The Bible is not the word of God. Anyone can and many in fact do continue reading the Bible, but not so many truly have an ear to hear the word of God. The word of God is whatever the Spirit of God is saying, and as the Bible states, that word is “alive and powerful" (Heb. 4:12). The Bible is a written record ABOUT the word of God coming to the writers thereof, but unless someone has "an unction to the holy one,” which is an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying; then the scripture is just a dead letter to those reading it (I Jn. 2:20). That unction is what the writers of the Bible had, and that is how they received the word of God, and gave a written record about receiving it.

Jesus spoke of that very condition of the scriptures becoming a dead letter to many who read them, saying, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life" (Jn. 5:39,40). And what was this 'life’ that he spoke of? "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of LIVING water [But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive.] (Jn. 7:37-39). The apostle Paul also spoke of this 'life,’ saying, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2). The Spirit of God is that "unction to the holy one,” and it is indeed “the same anointing [that] teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie" (I Jn.2:27). Jesus said, "when the Spirit of truth is come, [it] will guide you into all truth” (Jn. 16:13). This is what David referred to when he said, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psm. 119:105). In light of this spiritual reality, the apostle Paul stated, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14). Also the beloved John boldly stated, “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error” (I Jn. 4:6). It is absolutely a glorious privilege to be able to say that with divine authority, and it is a great burden as well. Because the sad truth is, there are not all that many people who truly have “an ear to hear what the Spirit saith.” But if you dare to be completely and deeply honest with yourself and humble with God, you can be one of those, my friend. The holy Ghost is the only guide that will take anyone to the glory world, and if you don’t have an ear that is conditioned to hearing the voice of the Spirit, you are going to be in trouble. Amen.