It's interesting that when Jesus
walked the earth it was the children, the poor, the uneducated and the
illiterate that understood Jesus the most - in contrast, it was the Scripture
scholars, the experts of the Bible, with their explanations of Scripture and
long drawn-out interpretations of what the written word meant who didn't
understand him at all.
In this day and age, while it is
possible to cram all the Bible reading we can fit into a day, the reality is it
will profit us nothing if we value it over the voice of the Holy Spirit within
us. More than that, it can actually be the very thing that pulls away from
understanding the heart and ways of God.
We are not People of the Written Code
The Pharisees spent so much time
in the Scriptures they failed to actually realize the point of the Scriptures
all together, making the Scriptures of zero help to them in their spiritual
walk. If anything, their devotion to Scripture and their interpretations of it
only pushed them to rage against the truth all the more.
You study
the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life.
These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to
me to have life. John 5:39-40
In reality, we don't need more
Bible in our life, for we are not people of the written code, but rather people
of the Spirit; and as such we need more trust in the Spirit dwelling within us.
For if we can first rest in this inner reality and be led by the Spirit, then
when we do read Scripture, the Spirit will be able to lead us through it and
show us things none of us could see by reading the Bible just as a written
code.
But now, by
dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we
serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. Romans 7:6
For the Bible to be of help to
us, we need to see between the lines, behind the words, within the message; we
need to let the Spirit show us things invisible to those who only want to read
the Bible as a plain and simple written code.
The Teacher Inside
Most importantly, we need to
realize the Bible can become a stumbling stone to us if we allow it to be used
by others to enforce their beliefs upon us. It was those who were the disciples
of the Pharisees who also missed the truth of Jesus, for their 'teachers' had
all the answers from Scripture as to why Jesus was nothing more than a
blasphemer.
This is, I believe, why the
Apostle John wrote to the church with this encouragement:
"As
for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not
need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and
as that anointing is real, not counterfeit -just as it has taught you, remain
in him." 1 John 2:27
It is interesting because John
himself was writing to the church and teaching them things, yet he tells them
plainly they don't actually need any teachers, not even himself, what they need
is the confidence to trust The Teacher in them, the indwelling Spirit of God.
In John's day, there were many teachers who were enforcing their doctrines and
opinions on the church, most likely using Scripture as their tool to force
submission to their way of thinking.
John, then, writes to remind the
church that although there are God-given teachers in the body of Christ, the
ones who are worth listening to are the ones who are always directing you to
trust more in the indwelling Spirit within you.
We could say that the role of a
teacher in the body of Christ is not to give answers, but to encourage the body
of Christ to ask questions, to seek the truth for themselves, and to trust that
the Spirit of Christ within to be their Teacher who will lead them, enlighten
them, and draw them closer to the divine reality of God's nature as they
continue in their faith walk.
For those
who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. Romans
8:14
Remember, while the Bible can help
us in our journey of faith, it is not what leads us. That role belongs to the
Spirit of God within you. Take confidence as the Apostle John wrote, and trust
that the anointing in you is real, not counterfeit ... and follow the voice of
your Good Shepherd, the guiding Spirit within you, as you venture with your
indwelling Savior into all truth.
Mick Mooney
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