As Christians, we believe in a risen Jesus who is alive and lives in us by His Spirit. We are identified as believers in Christ. We should avoid identifying ourselves as “Bible believers” or as “people of the book,” as other lifeless religions may do. Your relationship is not with a written code. And yet, through the writings, we have a reliable source of information for obtaining truth as it relates to the fallen state of the human race and how a plan of redemption had been formulated by the Creator before time began.
This revelation of truth about Jesus as Lord doesn’t come by flesh and blood (human sources) nor does it come solely through words spoken or in letters on paper. If this were the case, every single Christian would believe the same things since we all have access to the same Scriptures (writings). Wrapping up our discussion over the past few weeks, we encourage people to pause and consider the significance of the role of God’s Spirit in their lives. He is in the business of renewing hearts and minds, and cultivating personal relationships with the living God.
It’s easy to take for granted the availability of the Bible in much of our world today, but it wasn’t always this way. For the majority of centuries since Jesus rose from the dead, most people had very little exposure to the writings. The majority couldn’t read, and there weren’t the mass production capabilities we have today. Also, it wasn’t available in most languages until recent centuries (including English). And yet people still came to faith in Jesus, just as in the days after His resurrection when His Spirit was sent.
Certainly there is so much to learn and gain from the Scripture and writings of those who were witnesses of the risen Christ. And although the Bible has gone through many transitions throughout the last 1,500 plus years, God doesn’t change. His Spirit continues with the same ministry of conviction to unbelievers and the reassurance of righteousness to believers. He shows people in their hearts the need for salvation through Jesus … and it’s often by word-of-mouth messengers that this occurs. The Spirit needs nothing to reveal truth—but can use anything and anybody.
Over the past 17 years on the Growing in Grace Podcast, we have embraced the writings of the Bible and various passages as it relates to the gospel of grace and the finished work of Jesus Christ. Part of our goal has been to talk through some things to help people escape a box of bondage containing traditional religious thinking that may have kept them from gaining a better understanding of the truth in regard to the fullness of what Jesus brought to the world … eternal life, eternal hope, securing eternal redemption, etc. We have attempted to provoke thought by encouraging others not to get trapped into spouting Bible verses by themselves without considering the context of the New Covenant and to avoid mixing it with the Old one. The writings which occurred after the resurrection by witnesses of the risen Jesus are filled with incredible testimonies and information to benefit us.
But there is something (Someone) far more superior to any writings—The Holy Spirit. Ultimately, it is He who reveals truth, while leading and guiding people from within. In the weeks ahead, our purpose will be to elevate Him and this all-important Person who abides with us at all times, as He bears witness of Jesus to the hearts of people everywhere. We will also be challenging many traditional assumptions about the Bible—a wonderful reference tool which is often elevated in the minds of well-meaning believers to a place that unfortunately surpasses the more glorious ministry of God’s life-giving Spirit.
Have you ever wondered how people have been spiritually nourished and sustained when they never had exposure to what we call The Holy Bible? It’s easy to forget in our modern-day western civilization, but Bibles haven’t been collecting dust on living room tables for most centuries since the time of the cross.
If you’ve been listening to the Growing in Grace podcast for any length of time, you know we cherish the information and revelation found within the pages of the Scriptures. But even as believers in Christ, our understanding of them is far from perfect, it can be easy for us to misinterpret various things or begin to filter our limited understanding through doctrines of men and denominational dogma. Unfortunately, at times, we may be doing the same thing some of the Jews did before the cross - elevating the written pages above the Person to whom the writings bear witness. Those Jews knew the Scriptures and thought they would find life within those writings… but they did not have His Word in them because they refused to come to Jesus - the only One who could give life.
Jesus put it this way when speaking to them: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40 ESV).
Jesus did not say, “I and the Bible are one.” He is supreme compared to scrolls and predominant over publishers. Jesus is the living Word that has been around before there was a beginning. Be thankful for the Scriptures, because they bear witness of the Son… but ultimately, life comes from one source - not the pages, but the Person - Jesus Christ. He stated that it would be the Spirit of truth who would abide in us and now be our guide. He is the one we should all agree to rally around and trust in together - not our flimsy theology.
Everything within God’s written Word is there for a reason. Sometimes this can cause Christians to assume that everything within each passage is somehow meant to be applied directly to our lives. God must have some sort of secret meaning or hidden message that we need to tap into in order for us to gain wisdom for our current situation or for the next step in our lives. Millions of sermons continue to be built upon this premise. Often, we’re trying to figure out how to make “verses” relevant for us today, but there are times when that isn’t why it was written. Our conversation this week revolves around the importance of context within the Scriptures. Not only the context of the passage, but the context of the two primary covenants upon which the entire Bible is based upon.
EXTRA: On this week's podcast Kap mentioned a public speaking appearance of his from last year. Here is his 40 minute message on YouTube.
