He Wants You to Understand
There is a simple way we are to view scripture when we study it; we should recognize God’s desire to give us the desired information of what the text is trying to say. He has prioritized His words to help us, this is why Proverbs 1:22-23 states “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge. 23 Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.” We need to remember this when we are studying God’s word. There are many good intentioned people who make mistakes when preaching and/or teaching, it is up to the individual to study and recognize this error. I recently had this happen to me. I have been listening to three amazing pastors and ironically, all three had a specific passage in the Bible that they viewed in a way that did not make sense to the interpretation. I decided to take some time and review the scripture myself. Now this isn’t the first time this has happened in my life, in fact in my spiritual life I have had this happen a few times. Yet, God in His amazing character is there to help. I have learned three simple rules that I want to pass on to you.
The first is,
1) If the plain sense, makes sense, seek no other sense, less you find nonsense.
This means do not try to force the words into something that they are not. If the basic reading makes sense, leave it at that.
2) Scripture always answers scripture.
This isn’t circular logic, but rather the careful review of truthful facts that can only be measured by something of equal quality. This means if there is a question in the Bible, it will have an answer in the Bible. There is nothing more perfect and complete than God’s word. From Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, God is the master engineer and creator who has developed and orchestrated the greatest masterpiece: His Bible. Let us remember that before we assume something in error.
3) God’s word is designed to be understood.
This means that we need to recognize the God is careful to articulate His very words to formulate the message He wants us to know. Because of this, we are to always take God’s Word seriously and read it at its most basic level. If we are meant to use allegorical methods or spiritualize something, it will be made vitally clear. This also means we are to recognize that God can hurtle technological advancements in His prophetic picture. Too many times a Pastor or so-called Biblical scholar will say that God’s person or prophet couldn’t have understood what they saw, so they were using the terminology within their own “understanding.” What we fail to recognize is the Holy Spirit’s role in the Bible. In actuality, the Holy Spirit is the most quoted part of the Trinity with Him being the primary Godhead in charge of its creation. So, when someone like Ezekiel, Daniel, or John describe something that might seem to outside of their understanding, know that God is there to help make sure it is understood correctly.
Now why do I tell you all this? It is simply so that we can build a base line to understanding God’s word while we do our own individual studies. Because God wants us to be wise and understand the greater scheme of what is at play, it is why Proverbs 2:10-12 states, “10 For wisdom will enter your heart And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; 11 Discretion will guard you, Understanding will watch over you, 12 To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things.” So, remember that we as believers, need to take His scripture seriously and know that He wants us to understand that all we need is a willing heart, humility, and an eager mind.
Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,
JL