Many of us search the scriptures for truth. On our humble podcast, we've talked for years about these writings and how much they mean to us—we value and embrace them with what can be discovered as we grow in our understanding of the good news of Jesus. But ultimately, gaining more insight or expertise about the Bible will not allow for us to grow to the fullest in the knowledge of the truth. Truth is contained within a person (Jesus Christ), and all truth is ultimately revealed by the Spirit of God—the One sent to guide people into all truth as our comforter and teacher. The absolute true things of God cannot be received intellectually or by human wisdom.
With so many voices (and Bible teachers) out there who are saying so many different things ... our conversation this week is an exhortation not to jump to the wrong conclusion in assuming the Bible somehow replaced God's living Spirit who abides in us ... with an anointing that teaches us in a way that is only spiritually discerned.
We call it The Bible. A collection of writings that have resulted in millions of never-ending interpretations, opinions, doctrines and debates. There are thousands of Christian church denominations that have very, very different viewpoints on what should be considered foundational aspects of the faith. And yet, they all claim the Bible is their foundation for what they believe. Weird, right?
People begin to wonder what is true and what is not when it comes to understanding a Bible verse or passage ... or ideologies about the writings. They begin looking for someone or something to which they can subscribe and believe. Should the main focus be placed on proper interpretation of the Bible books ... or will this outcome just result in frustration and uncertainty?
The pages themselves tell us where to look and who we can trust. It doesn't come from an outside or external source that we can see, hear, and touch, but from within.
