Though one may enjoy the prose of the King James, or, in a measure, understand the stories of the Old or New Testament, the message of the Bible is nonsense to a mind that refuses to bow to God. For this reason, it is vain to suppose that an unbeliever could ever accurately translate the Scriptures. In Daniel we read: “None of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand” (Dan. 12:10). One does not like to think that they are wicked, but that is what we are by nature — and it is something which God tells us in His Word. Paul, in writing to the intellectual Corinthians, goes further: “The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God ... The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him” (1 Cor. 2:11, 14). To unbelief the Bible is foolishness. We are told that we believe in fairy tales; Joseph’s brothers told him the same — “behold, this dreamer cometh” (Gen. 37:19). It is only when God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, opens the heart and mind does the light penetrate the understanding.
It is not, however, a secret, mystical knowledge that we seek. The Word of God is plain enough in that regard; we do not look for hidden meanings in its words. Rather, unbelief shuts out all that concerns God and all that God has said concerning us. “Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Eph. 4:18). Man occupies himself with that which is natural and which may be observed — either directly or indirectly. The things of God, on the other hand, can only be discerned by the Spirit of God.
Before talking a little on studying the Scriptures, and taking up some subjects that many have stumbled over, it is important that we first consider four principles to be remembered when we read the Word of God.
Reasoning out of the Scriptures
“Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ” (Acts 17:2-3). The great Apostle reasoned from the Scriptures. We should never take our thoughts and theories to the Scriptures. Contrariwise, we must allow our thoughts to be formed by the Word of God — this requires familiarity with the Word and the instruction of the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:27). Though I have called into question intellectualism, it is that intellectualism of the human mind which reasons from itself, groping after God. We are certainly expected to use our God-given faculties when we open the Word of God. Nevertheless, our reasoning must be from the Scriptures. Theologians, by applying a narrative of their own making to the Bible, have woven a tapestry of tangled threads that distorts the truth — it doesn’t present a clear picture. Scripture provides the narrative, we do not invent one. We typically fail in either one of two ways: we either draw back from the truth of God (Heb. 10:39), rejecting those things which don’t fit the way we see them; or, we go forward (2 John 9), adding to the Scriptures things that are not present, puffed up by the vanity of our own minds, intruding into things which we have not seen (Col. 2:18).
No Prophecy is of its own Interpretation
In the first chapter of Peter’s second epistle, the twentieth verse has been variously translated. The King James reads: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.” Darby gives: “Knowing this first, that the scope of no prophecy of Scripture is had from its own particular interpretation.” Finally, W. Kelly, providing the same sense as Darby, translates it: “Knowing this first that no prophecy of scripture is (or, becometh) of its own interpretation.” A verse or portion cannot be correctly interpreted when isolated from the rest of the Scriptures; it must be considered in its context. Pulling a verse out of context, and interpreting it in isolation, will lead us to our own private interpretation.
Many examples could be given of verses that have been interpreted with little regard to context. As an example, consider: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). The key to understanding such verses is nearly always found nearby. In the case just cited, things become clearer when we read the verse in context: “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13). We find the working out of their salvation connected with Paul’s absence. He was concerned for them, especially as an assembly. Earlier he had written, “Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind” (Phil. 2:2). The salvation spoken of in this verse is not the salvation of the soul at all — that is not the subject of this epistle. Rather, it speaks of their present salvation, through trials and difficulties (see also 1:19), to be had through obedience to the Apostle’s words. His instructions remind me of Joseph’s appeal to his brethren: “See that ye fall not out by the way” (Gen. 45:24). Should any doubts remain, the last sentence precludes all thought of connecting good works with salvation — it is God that works in us, “both the willing and the working according to His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13 JND).
Spiritual Things by Spiritual Means
In Second Peter, the verse following the one just considered reads: “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Pet. 1:21). The Word of God came through the power of the Holy Spirit. When we read God’s Word, we should not, therefore, expect to find the pinnacle of human eloquence, wisdom, and philosophy — whatever that may mean. Scripture is, without question, profound, but it does not appeal to the natural mind nor can it be understood by it. If holy men of old were powerless in themselves to speak it, so are we powerless in ourselves to hear it apart from the power of the Holy Spirit.
In speaking to the Corinthians, Paul presents the things freely given him of God, “not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, communicating spiritual things by spiritual means” (1 Cor. 2:13 JND). It is important when we read the Word of God to recognize that it cannot be understood by applying natural interpretations. If we wish, for example, to understand, redemption, salvation, propitiation, the church, pastor, elder, and so forth, a dictionary will not be the best place to start. In fact, it may be the very worst, as it could form an impression that is hard to dismiss. For the most part, these words do not mean something vastly different from their familiar senses; nevertheless, we want God’s application and His nuances, and not man’s. Scripture itself is the best interpreter of Scripture. This goes along with the last principle — understanding things in context. Words are defined by their use in Scripture. We must also recognize that the application of these words may change with context — the world and to be saved, among others, mean different things depending on their context.
Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth
The previous principle leads us into the next: “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15), or as Darby translates it literally, “cutting in a straight line the word of truth.” It is important that we accurately present the truth of God. Luke, in the preface to his Gospel, writes: “It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed” (Luke 1:3-4). We cannot give an orderly account of the truth unless we have the proper understanding of it.
The Apostle Paul prayed for the saints at Philippi making these requests: “I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God” (Phil. 1:9-11). The prayer is presented in its entirety for context but I wish to focus on the expression “approve things that are excellent.” An alternative translation may be given as: “That ye may discriminate things that differ.”52 Although this undoubtedly speaks of a godly discernment between good and evil, it is a general principle. When it comes to the Word of God, we need the spiritual discernment to make a distinction between those things that differ. In this application, it is not a question of approving things that are excellent, for all of Scripture is excellent, but rather, of recognizing things that differ. “Every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old” (Matt. 13:52). There are things that are new and there are things that are old — each have their correct application. New wine cannot be put into old bottles (Mark 2:22). We cannot mix the things of God which He has distinguished.
As an example, we cannot take what applies to the soul — the security of the believer — and apply it to Christendom. This is not rightly dividing the word of truth; it is not distinguishing things that differ. A believer cannot apostatize, but Christendom can and will. Israel’s restoration is denied, because, in part, Christendom refuses to accept her end and judgment. If Christendom goes on, it is impossible that this reinstatement of Israel can take place. Furthermore, if Christendom is earthly and her blessings are earthly, then likewise, there can be no restoration of Israel. Another related mistake of Christendom is to make the church the center of God’s thoughts. Christ is the center of God’s thoughts. Truly, “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10), and that testimony is not limited to Christianity and the church. Even after the church has been caught up at the rapture, new witnesses will be called upon to suffer martyrdom for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus.