Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
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As I recall, "Brother Frank" was born in 1894. His memory for Scriptures was prodigious, even though his formal education ended after the third grade. Often in his sermons, he would quote a multitude of Scriptures from memory, including with each one the specific book, chapter, and verse from whence it came. My mother said that, as a child, she tried but could not keep up with the number of verses he would quote in one sermon. In his old age, he still quoted many Scriptures from memory, but since he did not preach hour-long sermons anymore, the number of verses he quoted was fewer than in the days of his manly vigor.
One scene that vividly remains with me is one in which Brother Frank was preaching in Grandma's house one Sunday afternoon. In his sermon, he told a few stories of speaking with angels, adding in his southern drawl, that "People say angels got whings, but it ain't so. Angels ain't got no whings! I seen 'em. Well, some people say, how can angels fly if'n they ain't got no whings? I'll tell ya. They fly by the power of God! They don't need no whings. When God wants 'em to go off somewhere, they just take off flyin' though the air. The great power of God takes 'em wherever they need to go."
At this, I glanced at a brother there in the meeting and discreetly shook my head with a little smile. Later, discussing that part of the old man's sermon, we agreed that Brother Frank must have forgotten about the seraphim and cherubim in heaven, about whom we are told much, including the fact that they have wings. In time, however, I was to learn that old Brother Frank was right. I learned that seraphim and cherubim are not angels; they are a different species of heavenly beings. And with God's help I learned through Bible study what Brother Frank knew by experience: seraphim and cherubim have wings, but angels do not.
More importantly, I was reminded again by this that the knowledge of God comes by experience, not formal education. Experience with God trumps book learning every time. One wise man in the Bible asked, "Canst thou by searching [study] find out God?" And another added, "Touching the Almighty, we cannot find Him out." Many times in the Bible we read that God hides Himself so that man cannot find him, and I have learned that is true. Unless God reveals Himself to a man, that man must remain ignorant of God, regardless of how much education he has received.
Jesus rejoiced in spirit once and praised God for hiding spiritual things from men considered on earth to be wise men and for revealing those same things to "babes". He joyfully exclaimed, "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou has hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." Stay humble, dear friend, if you want to learn of God. God doesn't talk to proud people. He humbles Himself to listen to us, and He demands that we humble ourselves if we would hear from Him.
As a young man in that home prayer meeting from long ago, I thought I had caught Brother Frank in an error, but I was the one who was wrong. Brother Frank had seen and spoken with angels; he sometimes described their clothing to us in the meeting, down to the color and size of little buttons on their robes. He knew they had no "whings". All I knew was what I had always heard from other people, as ignorant as I was about angels, and from images of angels in children's books and in Christian artists' paintings that hang on silent museum walls. Fortunately for me, God was merciful and allowed me to discover that Brother Frank, with his third-grade education, knew what he was talking about, and I sincerely thank the Lord for that mercy. I know now that Brother Frank was right, "Angels ain't got no whings!"
Angels, in their physical shape, resembled humans. That is why they can be "entertained unawares" by men (Heb. 13:2). Unless God allows you to discern it, you do not know when you are speaking with an angel. We all have encountered angels on numerous occasions, but almost every time we are ignorant of it because we assume that the angels are one of us. If angels had wings, as cherubim and seraphim do, we would not think that they are one of us when we meet them.
I don't think I have ever belittled anyone's testimony because he didn't know proper English or because he could not pronounce words as they should have been pronounced. Having the confidence that I came to have in such uneducated, godly people as Brother Frank helped me know that I should never equate the possession of a formal education with the possession of the knowledge of God. Be careful not to make that mistake. You are not better equipped to know God just because you know to pronounce "advertisement" with the accent on the second syllable. Don't ever discount a man's testimony for lack of eloquence, for "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise." And if God has chosen to hide His wisdom from those whom the world considers to be wise and erudite, then it may be best for us to look for the knowledge of God among those whom the world considers to be foolish and ignorant.