My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

HE WHO SEARCHES HEARTS

Romans 8:27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

To search implies there is an examination, an effort to find something, to investigate, even to hunt. To search is that something is being sought, that in the search there is a hunter and the hunted.

We see this image in the the Old Testament when Jeremiah reminds the saints in his 17th chapter

Vs 10 -“I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

The Lord is looking, searching the heart of man. Pursuing after the motives, hidden though they may be from the man himself, exposing the intents of our hearts, if we are honest with Him.

But note the difference in the two passages. In the Old Testament, there was a sense of exposure and justice, that with the exposure of the heart, equal and appropriate rewards would be granted out.

Now it depends on your stance regarding the heart of man in how you see the “rewards” being granted out by the Lord in this searching, but I would suggest the context is definitely of sin, death and judgement being meted out, for the very previous verse speaks of the deceitfulness of our hearts, and of the utter frustration of the man in understanding his own heart.

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

So with Jeremiah, the context speaks of God searching out the heart of man, primarily for the exposure of this deceit, and the just recompence of his deeds, which is sourced out of his heart!

This teaching is not of the Old Testament only, for we find this very thought coming from the lips of Jesus in Revelation 2:23

Revelation 2:23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

The churches will know that the Lord, in striking Jezebel’s children dead, is He who searches the heart. In this verse, the Lord is revealing the at the death of the (spiritual) children of Jezebel, and the tribulation/sickbed that Jezebel in thrown into, will provide ample evidence of Jesus searching hearts and rewarding according to each ones works.

Now that we have established the searching of hearts resulting in just rewards, lets come back to our beginning verse in Romans 8.

Romans 8:27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit…

No recompense is mentioned in this verse. Notice that we have the heart and mind mentioned in this verse, much like the previous verses, but it is the saints heart and the Spirit’s mind that is discussed. No just recompence due to evil hearts, and wicked minds, but as the remainder of the verse indicates,

…the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Intercession occurs by the Spirit. Prayer and pleading for the saint.

Paul knew his Old Testament, and how the heart and mind were revealed by God in His searches, and the resultant “rewards” provided. Even in the church age, when those who rebel as Jezebel, this truth remains.

But Paul is speaking of life in the Spirit, of the grace filled, sacrificial love of God ruling in the saint’s life. Consider the difference, for the gospel of the Messiah provides His people the Spirit, and in the giving, provides support and encouragement we do not deserve.

There is a very real cause and effect in our practical lives, and bad decisions cause bad consequences. Yet for the Spirit led believer, there is a very real truth that God does not “give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

We are a most blessed people, having been offered “the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us.

Yes, we are a most blessed people!

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I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

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