Ephesians 1:17
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.
Sex, abortion, and eating disorders… the list could go on forever. There are so many issues with so little help. How is a student who desires understanding and the correct response to such situations expected to find the answers? You are told, “Don’t do this,” and, “Don’t do that,” but no one gives you reasoning behind the command. In past generations, “Because God or the Bible said so” may have been a suitable answer. You, however, want to know why God said so.
In a world where reasoning is seldom found behind command, I encourage you to spend less time searching the Internet, bookshelves, and popular opinion for the answers to your questions. Your research will undoubtedly uncover many columns of advice, ten step programs, and guidelines to a healthy life, but there will be little wisdom concerning the ethical nature of your problems. Trust me when I say that the Ten Commandments give you enough “Thou shalt not’s” for a lifetime. Is it your desire to know why God gave you a certain commandment? The answer to your question is not found in the consequence of obeying or disobeying it, but in the source of the command itself. The reasoning is found within the very nature of God.
As one of His children, I ask you to not overlook the privilege of knowing Him. My mother is fluent in the Spanish language, but I am not. When I come across a word or a phrase that I need to understand, I don’t have to look any further than her. She has enough knowledge and understanding of the language to more than help me in my need. In much the same manner, you, as a child of God, have an inexhaustible resource of “wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.” James 1:5 reads, “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” This verse makes a very good case; your lack of understanding rules in tough situations is not due to the absence of answers, but because you do not search for them correctly.
Ephesians clearly states that, as a child of God, any wisdom or revelation you hope to obtain about a situation comes from the knowledge of Him. The phrase the knowledge of God means so much more than simply knowing your Lord. This phrase speaks of an intention to perceive, discern, and recognize the nature of God. You ask why is it wrong to have premarital sex and are told, “Because the Bible says it is wrong,” but you will never embrace this command until you seek to understand the source of it. You will never find comfort in this command until you have searched for wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. You have so much understanding, wisdom, and insight at the tips of your fingers. You have been given the mind of Christ (I Cor. 3:16), but seek answers from a dying world. It is no wonder that you can find no reasoning behind the commands; there is none, apart from the nature of God.