We can and will spend eternity getting to know the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and I don't think we will ever exhaust what can be learned. For all of the increase of knowledge that we have experienced on earth in the last century, one doctor told me that the most we know about the human body is maybe as much as 30 percent. When I asked him how much he thought psychiatrists knew about the mind, he estimated 5 percent. I think we know even less about the spirit of man. Yet, we are told in I Corinthians 2:10, "For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God."
 
Vance Havner once stated that just as you do not need to know everything there is to know about electricity to turn the light switch on, we don't have to know everything there is about God to be led by Him, used by Him, and even filled with Him. Even so, if we have His Spirit, there will be a desire to know the depths of God. This is actually what God made man for—to be able to comprehend Him so that He could have a special communion with man. God enjoys our companionship so much that He even intends to make His eternal dwelling with man. It would have been a thrill to know Einstein, but how much more of a thrill is it to know God, the Creator Himself?

We can know the most that anyone on earth ever knew about God and still not know very much about Him compared to all there is to know. As a result, there is a certain humility we should perpetually have about our knowledge of God. This should make us ever teachable and open to fresh insight. That is why one of the most important things that we can do is take our questions to God. He is our Teacher, and He will answer them in the special way that only He can. It may come through a sermon, book, or through any number of means--we will not just be hearing His words, but hearing the Word, Himself. It gets personal.

Because there is so much to know about the Lord, that does not mean we cannot know the basic doctrines of the faith with confidence, and we do need to contend for keeping these with integrity. However, we do serve an awesome God, who is much bigger than theologians tend to see Him. John was so close to the Lord that he could lean his head on His breast; yet even after many decades of walking with Him and serving Him in the Spirit, when John had the Revelation and saw Him, he fell down like a dead man!

When John finished his Gospel, he remarked that if everything Jesus had done were written, he didn't think the world could contain the books (see John 21:25). Obviously, Jesus did much more than was recorded in the Gospels. He still does some things that are unique to us, though He may have in fact done the same thing when He walked the earth or many times since. God is doing so many things that what is new to us may in fact be old to many others. Even so, it is infinitely interesting.
Have you ever wondered how, as the Scriptures say, He never changes, yet He is new every morning? (see Lamentations 3:23) His basic nature will never change. For example, He will always be love, and He has a clear definition of righteousness, which He will always love. He also has a clear definition of sin, which He will always hate. He has ways that are principles, and He has ways that are laws. The laws are never violated, and the principles have but few exceptions, but they do have them. His laws, principles, and the spontaneous ways in which He sometimes moves, are so wonderfully balanced that we can have great confidence and stability, yet a freshness each day with our faith. We can have great faith and confidence in our knowledge of Him, but it must always be tempered with humility.

As we discussed before with the Phase I, II, and III aspects of work, these are presently often in conflict with each other, though they desperately need each other to bear fruit that remains. What was Phase I at one point quickly becomes ancient history as the church moves on. For example, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Azusa Street was once a radical Phase I operation, but now the advancing church has moved far beyond what is considered classical Pentecost. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is still important, but it is one of the initial things a new believer seeks, receives, and keeps going past.

When the Healing Revival broke out in the late 1940s, it was Phase I, and was by far where most of the excitement was found in the church—even though, like classical Pentecost, it was heavily persecuted by those who did not like change. Now the healing and miracle ministries are just a part of the fabric of the advancing church and are rather common. This does not mean they are no longer important, which can be discovered quickly when you or a loved one need one, but they are no longer the marvel that they once were—they are becoming common. Once something becomes common, the struggle is to still value it, which we must learn to do for anything that the Lord does.

However, it is always right to honor those who took or retook this ground for the church, usually with a great deal of persecution. It is also important to keep marching on, following the cloud of His glory where He now is, which at times means to park at a certain truth or gift for awhile. We do not live by what proceeded from the mouth of God, but by what proceeds, present tense. What is He saying today? What is He doing today? What is Phase I today? How can we help to further establish it into the fabric of church life with Phases II and III?   

The way He manifests Himself can be diverse, and is in a way that is perpetually exciting and compelling so that our relationship to Him will never get boring. There is a place for excitement, and there is a place for the hard work of establishing and building. These are all needed, and the division of labor that is required for each is one of the most important matters that we learn for what will be coming down fast and hard in the future. 

Earlier, when we addressed some of the characteristics of Phase I ministry, we discussed how it tends to be the most exciting phase because it is a bit chaotic, and the Spirit is moving to bring both order and life. The kind of people who tend to thrive in Phase I ministry or operations are the free-wheeling types who cannot wait to see what the Lord will do today. They love following the spontaneous leading of the Lord, and tend to see the most miracles. However, that does not mean the other phases of ministry need to be boring or be less led by the Holy Spirit. In fact, even the most mature stage of a work can be fulfilling, just as exciting in its own way, and just as much led by the Spirit. We never mature enough to not need the Holy Spirit.

Considering the three stages again, John addresses them in his first Epistle (I John 2:12-15):
 

John is addressing children, young men, and fathers. Here you can see the stages of development or maturity. It's interesting that it is the children who are getting to know the Father. The young men are overcoming the evil one, and the fathers are seeking to know the One who was from the beginning. What can we do to help new believers come to know the Father better? What can we do to help those who are of military age in the church learn how to fight spiritually and use the divinely powerful weapons we have been given? How do we make a place for the elders to get to know the ways of the Creator? How do we fit all of these together in the church? Can they all find a place in each congregation?

For the church to be what she is called to be, these must all fit and be found together as much as possible in every congregation. This is basically the Outer Court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies all fitting together—the "cord of three strands" that when bound together will be much stronger. The key here is synthesis. Some of the most important apostles, prophets, and teachers for the next period will be those who have been especially anointed to help join the body together.

There was a time when, for example, the Phase I operation of the Healing Revival produced miracles of a nature and on a scale that have rarely been seen since, but greater miracles will come and be much more consistent throughout the church when the church is in unity. The time is coming when we will see whole hospitals emptied of incurables, seas parted, storms calmed, food multiplied, and the greatest of all, the glory of the Lord being manifested in His people as normal Christianity.

As one of the ancients said of Christians, "We are not called to be human beings who have occasional supernatural experiences—we are called to be supernatural beings who have occasional human experiences." That is the new creation, which is normal Christianity.