03/06/2023
Today let's contemplate one of the longer sentences in the Bible. It gives us instruction on how to conduct ourselves as Christians and ministers of the gospel, and if we ever have a question regarding good spiritual behavior then we can probably find it listed in this sentence. But, what would it take to live out these attributes to the pleasure of God, and Jesus Christ? How much guidance and understanding from every source available to us, and especially from the Holy Spirit, will be required before we can achieve this level of sanctity?
“Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.”
2 Corinthians 6:3-10 KJV
Every day we struggle to live good Christian lives, and too often this means that we have questions regarding what is truly expected of us. We read commandments telling us to keep the Sabbath holy...
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
Exodus 20:8-11 KJV
And then we become conflicted when reading other scriptures such as this one in which Jesus says...
“And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.”
Mark 2:27-28 KJV
What do we do when we are confounded and don't know how to interpret what God means in His Word?
There have been many scholarly papers and books written on this subject, and they tell us to do things like: understand the context in which it is delivered, ask yourself what the author meant, determine the literary type the author is employing, think about the history and culture of biblical times, consider the grammar, compare it to other similar scripture, and ask yourself how it fits within the Bible as a whole.
These are all good ways to interpret scripture, but what happens when we reach the end of our logical approach and the question lingers? How do we understand when we don't seem able to put all the pieces together?
It is then that we do with scripture what we do each day within our lives... we employ prayer, and discernment. We take our question to the Lord and ask His help. God sent us a teacher for times such as these; He sent us the Holy Spirit to give us understanding.
“These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
John 14:25-26 KJV
So we pray, but aside from making a simple request for help, what else should we pray for? We should pray for more love of knowledge, and judgement; simply put we should pray for discernment.
“And this 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;”
Philippians 1:9-10 KJV
When all else fails we look inward to how we feel... if I look at scripture in a certain way, is my heart conflicted; am I uneasy? What is my heart telling me about this?
“But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7 KJV
The heart... it is beyond being quantified and makes scientists uneasy, but it is a gauge of spirit and feeling that is unsurpassed. It tells us when we are doing good or evil, it reveals to us the spirit of those around us, it is the source of love, and it is the place from which intuition and discernment emanate.
So what do we do when we are confounded and our own understanding and intellect fails to give us an answer? When all else fails we should employ prayer, and discernment, and we should do so with determination until the Holy Spirit speaks to us, and our heart is put at ease.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your Word, and the gospel of Jesus Christ, I pray Lord that you give me wisdom and knowledge as I seek to understand your scripture, but I also ask that you instill within my heart the ability to discern the spiritual things that words fail to define. Show me those truths about you that are not of this world through the use of my heart and its ability to know the movings of the Spirit which my physical self is unable. Open to me, through your Holy Spirit, and in your due time, all the wisdom which is in your Word and beyond. Lord in this way I will praise you more, because in my heart I will understand your greatness and glory well beyond my ability today. My love will swell with an understanding that is made possible by my heart's feeling and rumination. Father I thank you for the provision of your Word and the understanding of it that you lead me to. Praised be your name now and forevermore for your mercy, grace, goodness, and your Son Jesus Christ who commands and has redeemed me. But thank you further Abba for Your Holy Spirit who resolves the conflicts that exist between me as a man, and my spiritual self that completes me.
Rich Forbes