George H. Warnock — Prolegomena
b4 — The Hyssop that Springeth Out of the Wall
Epistemological method: knowledge through the Way
The central epistemological thesis of this work is that knowledge of God is obtained not through study but through identification with the Way of God. Warnock grounds this in Jesus’ declaration “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”:
“Jesus is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE—not merely the way-shower, the truth-giver and the life-imparter. In other words, He doesn’t just tell us what to do, explain to us what He means, and give to us a portion of His own life. We must become ONE with Him in all three areas. We must be fully identified with Him. Then as we begin to identify with Him we discover areas of Truth and Life that we could never discover through much study and effort.” (hyssop1.html, section “The People of the Way”)
Interpretation: Warnock’s epistemology is identificatory: knowledge of God is not information transfer but an existential alignment with the living Christ. Study is structurally insufficient.
The central prayer-formula of the book, drawn from Ex. 33:13, expresses this principle:
“Moses prayed: ‘Show me now THY WAY, That I may KNOW THEE…‘” (Ex. 33:13) (hyssop2b.html, closing paragraph)
Interpretation: Warnock inseparably links knowing God with knowing His Way. The question is not informational but one of walking.
”They have not known My ways” — epistemological diagnosis
Warnock repeatedly returns to the diagnostic slogan from Ps. 95:10 (cf. Heb. 3:10), applied to the contemporary church:
“O how God Most High must lament over His people today as He did over that first generation of redeemed Israelites, ‘THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN MY WAYS!’ And how He longs for that people who will take everything that they have ever received from God, yes everything: their doctrines, their fellowships, their churches—large or small; their gifts and ministries; their plans and schemes for enlargement; their programs for world evangelism and world outreach; and lay them all like Isaac on the Altar of Burnt Offering, on one of the mountains that God would show them.” (hyssop1b.html, section “Give Attendance to Reading”)
Interpretation: For Warnock the diagnosis ‘they do not know God’s ways’ is not a historical accusation but a structural epistemological verdict on a church that practices theology without identification with God’s Way.
Truth grows through walking, not through study
Warnock formulates a hermeneutical principle: the Bible is not understood through study but through living:
“What we are saying is that Truth begins to take on form and harmony and true meaning within us as we begin to walk in His Way, and not merely as we study the Bible.” (hyssop1b.html, section “As the Rain and as the Snow”)
And:
“Now we know that one must walk in God’s Way if he is going to understand and know the Truth.” (hyssop1b.html)
Interpretation: Warnock distinguishes cognitive Bible understanding (study) from existential Bible comprehension (walking). Only the person who walks can receive the Truth in its full meaning.
Bible reading as preparation, not as a source of knowledge in itself
Warnock draws a clear distinction between Bible reading as an indispensable spiritual discipline and Bible study as a method of knowledge:
“Honor the Word, the written Word. Read it much. But know of a certainty that it is not really yours until it comes alive within you.” (hyssop1b.html, section “Give Attendance to Reading”)
“Paul said, ‘Give attendance to reading…’ But we would excuse ourselves on the basis that we do not understand it too well, or it becomes tiring and monotonous, and we do not get any particular blessing from it.” (hyssop1b.html)
“simply in reading the Word with an open heart one is exposing himself to the power and to the authority of that Word, unaware as you may be of this at the time.” (hyssop1b.html)
Interpretation: Warnock affirms reading Scripture as a spiritual discipline but decouples it from cognitive knowledge acquisition. Scripture works from within, beyond human comprehension.
Faith and reason: weakness as God’s revelatory method
Warnock articulates a theological-methodological principle: the greater the work God intends to perform, the greater the measure of weakness and foolishness He employs as instrument:
“it is consistent with God’s character and way, and with the Jealousy of His Glory, that the greater the work He will perform in the earth—the greater will be the measure of weakness and foolishness that He will cause an unbelieving world to behold.” (hyssop1.html, section “The Weakness and Foolishness of God”)
Warnock supports this with a series of biblical cases: Noah (ark of gopher wood), Moses (basket of reeds on the Nile), Gideon (three hundred men against 135,000), the incarnation (helpless infant):
“In the story of Christ we have the most beautiful example of all, as to the weakness and the foolishness of God. Incarnation in itself was an act whereby the Mighty God of Jacob became weak.” (hyssop1.html)
Interpretation: Warnock formulates an epistemological-methodological principle: God deliberately chooses the path of weakness as the medium of revelation. Knowledge of God can never be obtained through power, academic system, or social status.
Authority: the Holy Spirit as the sole hermeneutical instance
Warnock ties the speaking of Truth to strict obedience to the Holy Spirit and structurally excludes human authority:
“Would God that His ministers everywhere would quickly learn that they only have authority to minister what the Spirit is ministering… BECAUSE HE ONLY HAS AUTHORITY TO MINISTER WHAT HE HEARS FROM HEAVEN: ‘Whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak.‘” (John 16:13) (hyssop2b.html, section “Take the Little Book, and Eat It”)
On the continuing role of the Spirit after the closing of the biblical canon:
“The Holy Spirit did not return to the Throne after He had inspired the writing of the last book of the New Testament canon, but He continues to abide in His Temple… and continues to reveal the Father, to reveal Truth, to unfold ‘many things’ that people were not able to bear in times past.” (hyssop2b.html, section “Take the Little Book, and Eat It”)
Interpretation: Warnock repeats his basic thesis (cf. b1, b2): the Spirit is the sole legitimate hermeneutical authority — negatively (no human traditions or systems) and positively (the permanently indwelling Spirit as the living voice of the canon).