How to Rightly Divide the Word of Truth
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My prayer is that this webpage be simple but profound. Because this exciting subject is vital to all Christians I avoid theological jargon. I confess an ulterior motive, however, in making one exception. I will introduce one word – hermeneutics – that will be new to many readers, though well known to pastors, theologians and seminary or Bible college students.
When seeking a webpage like this one, such people will most likely type “hermeneutics” into search engines. So mentioning it a few times here will help us find each other. The majority of us who use more down-to-earth language are equally important to me and, of course, to God. Hermeneutics focuses on rational helps to accurate Bible interpretation – considering the context, understanding the era in which it was written, and so on.
I’m a firm believer in good hermeneutics. I have even written a small book on the subject. As you drift through this webpage, however, you will become increasingly certain that as important as hermeneutics is, the Bible teaches that the key factors in correctly interpreting the Bible are spiritual, not intellectual.
One might argue that the hermeneutics commonly taught in theological institutions is mental hermeneutics – principles of Bible interpretation that both Christians and non-Christians can profitably use. This is of value. The focus of this page, however, is what might be called spiritual hermeneutics – discerning spiritual truth in the Bible by means that only Christians can access and/or understand. If that statement trips alarm bells within you, I’m not surprised. It sounds flaky and yet we’ll discover that this is repeatedly emphasized in Scripture – the book that claims supernatural origins. We’ll also discover that this is not a cue for flaky claims and unsubstantiated speculation. Instead, it is sobering call for God-fearing, yet joyous, dependence upon humanity’s Creator and Judge for revelation and understanding.
We all know that “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,” (2 Corinthians 4:4). It’s not that they lack intelligence, nor even that they lack knowledge. Unbelievers are subject to insidious spiritual interference that keeps them blinded to truth that would have set them free. But does becoming a believer mean the end of all such attacks? Do we instantly have 20/20 vision concerning every spiritual truth in the universe? No more than the first step takes an adventurer to the summit of Mount Everest. It was to Spirit-filled believers that Paul wrote:
Ephesians 1:17-18 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints . . .
These were the very people whom Paul said were already enthroned with Christ ( Ephesians 2:6) and blessed “in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” ( Ephesians 1:3). Yet despite their spiritual status and divine insight, Paul knew that as Christians they needed still more revelation. Moreover, – and this might astound some of us – he knew that neither his letters, nor rigorous study was enough to give them the revelation they needed. He knew that a critical factor in them receiving spiritual understanding was nothing less than repeated prayer for revelation.
While all the theologians were oblivious to their Messiah’s birth, sheep minders received a divine invitation to worship baby Jesus. Heaven’s databanks are crammed with such stories. Jesus rejoiced in the Almighty hiding his secrets from those who are wise [in their own eyes and/or in the eyes of the world]. Instead of revealing his spiritual truths to the theologically skilled, the Lord of lords chose the ultimate insult to those who pride themselves in their intellect by revealing these liberating spiritual secrets to the unschooled.
Like it not, God is God. He determines what he reveals and to whom. Matthew 11:25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. . . .”
The “wise and learned” that Jesus spoke of were not secular humanists but people whose whole lives revolved around God and the reverent and meticulous study of his Word. They were the Bible scholars, theologians and highly esteemed preachers of his day who had become so intoxicated by their own cleverness and devotion that God kept them blind, deliberately bypassing them and revealing his spiritual secrets to simple people. Here is a key Scripture:
John 9:39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. . . .”
The Pharisees’ significant Bible knowledge and theological skills – which should have been an immense help – proved counterproductive. It’s said a little knowledge is dangerous, but in reality, more knowledge is even more dangerous because it increases the likelihood of being blinded by pride and becoming unteachable. James hints at this:
James 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (Emphasis mine) Of course Bible study is of immense value, but the more emphasis one places on studying Scripture rather than living it, the more deceived one is likely to be.
There are those for whom the Bible is an instruction manual and there are those for whom it is fascinating literature. The Bible is a love letter that moves some to fall ever deeper in love with the author. Others just love the letter.
“Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach,” is a terrifying possibility. No wonder James wrote: James 3:1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
The Bible is a map used to great effect by spiritual adventurers and used to no effect by armchair “heroes” who never venture out of their door spiritually, yet pride themselves in their map reading.
Every sport has its champions and it has its fans who pride themselves in their amazing knowledge of the game. Which do you want to be in the game of life?
Consider someone whose Bible knowledge is appalling and yet with the little he knows he achieves far more in God than a seminary professor. Which of them does God regard as ignorant?
The key, of course, is not to study the Bible less, but to live it more.
Psalm 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart . . .
Why? To gain knowledge? No. The psalmist continues:
. . . that I might not sin against you.
His goal was not to win a game of Bible Trivia. His Bible study goal was to learn how to avoid displeasing God. “. . . do not let me stray from your commands,” he prayed ( Psalm 119:10)
Again we read:
Joshua 1:8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night
Why?
. . . so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (Emphasis mine)
Joshua was divinely commanded to pour over the Scriptures not so that he would fill with knowledge but in order to live Scripture.
Yet again we read:
Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever . . .
Why?
. . . that we may follow all the words of this law.
In Jesus’ parable of the man who built his life on the sand and the one who built on the rock, both men knew Jesus’ teaching (Matthew 7:24-27). They differed not in spiritual knowledge. It was what they did with that knowledge that gave them such different destinies.
It is a spiritual principle that the person who is faithful in little will be given much (compare Matthew 24:46-47; 25:21). Those who have not got around to putting into practice the biblical truths they already know and unlikely to inspire God to reveal still more truth to them. Further revelation would only make them even more accountable; exposing them to still more judgement.
We quoted Jesus telling the Pharisees, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. . . .” There would have been great hope for them if only they had had the humility to recognize how little their understanding was.
Every Christian knows that although God longs to forgive all sin, for our Saviour to do so, we must first admit our sin. Likewise, God longs to open our eyes to spiritual truth but we must first admit our blindness. A kindly optician might be eager to correct our eyesight for free, but his hands are tied if we refuse to admit that we need his help or are too proud to wear glasses.
Admitting one’s spiritual blindness is rare and difficult for someone with great Bible skills. The Bible isn’t the problem, of course. It’s one’s attitude. It is so hard for a person rich in spiritual knowledge to advance further in the kingdom of God because it is so hard for such a person to recognize how little he really knows and how desperate his need for divine intervention in his understanding of the Bible.
1 Corinthians 8:2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. The same is true of having lofty moral standards and great devotion. It was to highly moral people that Jesus said, “The tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you” (Matthew 21:31).
We dare not slacken in our devotion to God and the study of his Word. If, however, we begin to think the key to spiritual insight is our efforts rather than God’s grace, we are in grave danger of spiritual blindness. It then becomes the equivalent of the hare and the tortoise, with those of little Bible knowledge spiritually overtaking their theological betters.
We must model ourselves on the writer of Psalm 119. His knowledge of the Word of God and devotion to it was immense and yet he maintained the humility to keep praying for still greater understanding and pleading with God not to hide from him the true meaning of the Scriptures that everyone thought this man knew inside out. Here is a man after God’s heart; a man who didn’t let his vast store of spiritual knowledge sabotage his spiritual progress. Though so in tune with God that he was in the very act of writing Scripture, the psalmist prayed, “Do not hide your commands from me” (Psalm 119:19).
When the Almighty chooses to keep a truth hidden from someone, the greatest intellect or best hermeneutics in the world won’t help. And anyone who thinks he or she is beyond falling into deception is already deceived. As critical as one’s mental approach is, it fades in significance relative to the multitude of spiritual factors influencing Bible interpretation.
To distill a profound truth into a few words:
When seeking spiritual truth, the Bible is God’s lens.
We can’t see clearly without it.
But God is the light.
Without him we can see nothing.
I am not quite deluded enough (but I’m sure the devil is working on it) to consider myself less prone to error than other devoted Christians. My prayer is simply that, together, we discover all the reasons why we Christians come to contradictory conclusions (thus proving that at least some of us are wrong) when we sincerely seek truth from the same Bible. Obviously, the goal of this webpage is to learn how to lower our susceptibility to spiritual error. Nothing could be more important, and yet it seems a neglected subject.
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