Moments with my First Love [UNDER REVISION]

Moment 62: Understanding God's revelation through Scriptures

The Bible requires divine wisdom to rightly understand God's message for us. That's why it is necessarily to pray in the Holy Spirit to guide us through the passage before reading and studying it.

The Scriptures is NOT like a storybook that needs a shallow and literal interpretation. It is breathed by the Breath of God. The Word is God Himself that why is it important to be careful in studying it, and of course, we cannot do it on our own knowledge. As Proverbs 3:5 says, Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

Let's take a look at this scenario in Luke, where the people in the time of Jesus had a wrong understanding of His Words. What could happened when we don't rightly understand what He says?

So they all said, "Are you the Son of God, then?" And he said to them, "You say that I am." Then they said, "What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips."
Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, "We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king." -Luke 22:70-71;Luke 23:1-2

Jesus is fond of using metaphor or parables which He explained the reason to His disciples in Mark 4:10-12. Jesus uses parables is for us to seek Him deeper and more intimately because if we can understand His Words that easily and on our own, how could we ever depend on Him? How can we desire for more of Him?

There are two kinds of understanding whenever we study the Scripture:

1. Understanding with the Holy Spirit.
This should be the thing we have whenever we read and study the Bible. Until you understand that human understanding is too shallow and unreliable, you will not ask for God to guide you for His revelation.

1 Corinthians 2:10-11 God's Spirit has shown you everything. His Spirit finds out everything, even what is deep in the mind of God. You are the only one who knows what is in your own mind, and God's Spirit is the only one who knows what is in God's mind.

The Bible clearly said that only the Spirit of God knows what is in God's mind. It means, the Spirit understands what God means in His Words because the Word is God Himself (John 1:1) So if we are guided by the Spirit, we can rightly understand God's revelation.

Another tip: Whenever you are to read the Scripture, it's fine to search for meanings but be careful to have a discerning Spirit. You must know what meanings are true and false. For the Bible said "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1).

Know for yourself that you cannot interpret and understand it in your own, but of course, you must be dependent FIRST to the Holy Spirit. Researches are second option.

2. Understanding without the Holy Spirit.
This understanding is merely human understanding, a mere interpretation that leads to wrong revelation and wrong application.

1 Corinthians 2:13-14 Every word we speak was taught to us by God's Spirit, not by human wisdom. And this same Spirit helps us teach spiritual things to spiritual people. This is why only someone who has God's Spirit can understand spiritual blessings. Anyone who doesn't have God's Spirit thinks these blessings are foolish.

The Scriptures were written with the guidance and revelation of the Spirit, so we must not interpret it with our own wisdom. Because human understanding is unreliable, it is a mere human interpretation. The Lord is Divine being, we need His Spirit to guide us through the Scripture. Remember: If we wrongly interpret the Scripture, we will be ended up to misapplication as well.

Let's go back to the main verse (Luke 22:70-71;Like 23:1-2)
People understand Jesus in a WRONG WAY that they taught He is lying.

Consequences of WRONG UNDERSTANDING OF THE SCRIPTURES:

1. You will badly hurt God.
Luke 22:63-71; Luke 23:1-25

Jesus was nailed to the cross. Actually, what Jesus had experience is more than being nailed to the cross. He was being mocked, He was being spit on His face, and all the unimaginable things that people did unto Him. The fact that He is sinless, and He is God, I can't imagine how badly hurt He was.

What do you feel when someone you love misunderstood you? It hurts right? You feel like they don't even understand or trying to understand what you meant. How much more will the Lord?

2. You will sin.
Luke 23:47

They have realized that Jesus said the TRUTH, that He is the Son of Man, the Messiah, but they didn't believed Him and killed Him. When they saw how the Father worked, tore the curtain into two from heaven to earth, that's only the time they realized what Jesus had been trying to say to them when He was still with them.

Warning for us:

I, John, solemnly warn everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: if any add anything to them, God will add to their punishment the plagues described in this book. And if any take anything away from the prophetic words of this book, God will take away from them their share of the fruit of the tree of life and of the Holy City, which are described in this book. -Revelation 22:18-19

What's written is written!
God is unchangeable, He is just so as what He has written in the Scripture.

The reason why I am no longer actively publishing chapters of my Moments with my First Love, Jesus Christ, through my daily devotion is because lately, He is teaching me how to be careful to share revelations to others especially in this platform. We don't need to be a Bible scholar or a Theology graduate in order to interpret and share Gospel, but as a stewards of God, we have to be very careful and seriously study and interpret it with the help of the Spirit. If we are doing our best to understand our reports in our academic subject just to deliver it rightly, we must also do more for the Lord!

The Scripture is not a "mere written work" that we could interpret the way we want. God is divine, His Words are Divine, we need Divine wisdom and guidance coming from Him alone.

As we seek deeper into His Presence and Words, I pray that we desire to understand the secrets of His mind and heart. You see, we cannot truly, fully, know the Lord yet, but the things we already knew about Him makes us love Him. How much more when we know Him more and more? We must not cease to seek Him, through prayer and especially through His Words.

Let's take a moment of drowning ourselves in His Words! Enjoy your moment with Him!

Shalom!
Glory be all to God! :)