There Are Many Things in the Bible We Cannot Understand

Narrator: Chris Genthree
Duration: 2min
 •  2 min. read  •  grade level: 5
This is as we should expect. If man could fully under-stand the Bible that would prove it to be written by men. If man could fully understand the Bible, then man must be God, or God must be man. Scripture tells us, " What man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God " (1 Cor. 2:1111For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2:11)).
I remember looking at a busy ant colony on a broiling summer day in Australia. My thoughts ran as follows. The distance between a man and an ant is very great, but after all it is but a Unite distance. You can weigh the substance of a man and that of an ant, and you can find out how much heavier a man is than an ant. But can an ant understand what is passing through a man's mind? Can an ant understand the achievements of men? We know it cannot. But the distance between God and man is infinitely greater than that between man and ant. God is the Creator. Man is the creature. The distance between them is infinite. No arithmetic is of any use here. Is it possible that the mind of man can understand and comprehend God? He is "the only Potentate, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen" (1 Tim. 6: ΐξ, 16). We may well re-echo the words of Zophar, " Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea " (Job 11:7-97Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? 8It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? 9The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. (Job 11:7‑9)).
If I could understand the Bible through and through, I should not and could not believe it to be a revelation from God. That there are mysteries insoluble is what my faith feeds upon. As the Christian poet expressed it:
" They are darkness to my intellect,
But sunshine to my heart.”