Last night one of the topics we discussed was interpreting the Bible, and how to read it and understand it. One of the things that I believe, and that is demonstrated literally in scripture, is the progressive nature of the revelation about God found in scripture. In other words, if you don't fully understand who God is and what He is like, you may not be able to perfectly and accurately communicate His motivation for His actions. We know this is experience personally, as I know there are many times my perspective about a person's actions and motivation completely changes once I get to know them. This is clearly the case with our parents as we grow up and gain a more mature perspective of their actions and motivations, we come to understand why they did what they did, and often find ourselves doing the same or very similar things, things we might have detested as a child.
In the same way the authors of scripture, especially the old testament were growing in their understanding of God, and their language reflects that growing revelation. When I read my journals from years ago, I see many areas where I have grown in my understanding and knowledge of the ways of God. This doesn't negate my earlier views, or what I felt that God was saying to me at the time, for God knew my mind, knew how I thought about Him and related to me in ways that I could understand. As I have matured, I have adjusted my thoughts to more closely align to what He has revealed to me. He hasn't changed, it is my thinking that has changed. How He addresses me has changed, as well, as I have grown. Again, using the example of parents and children, I don't talk to my son, now that he is 23, like I did when he was three. Conversely, I didn't talk to him like a young-adult when he was three. My language and conversation with him has changed as he has grown and matured. One could argue that I have changed and that is why I talk differently to my son, and that is true of me, but that is not true of God. He is I Am. He is the same always. He is the one who was, who is and is to come. He is the same today as always and eternally He will be.
So as we read the scriptures, we must understand that our understanding over time can change. We also must understand that the revelation the authors had in the old testament was limited. As I wrote a couple of days ago, Jesus is the perfect representation of the Father and we must always interpret the Old Testament through the revelation of Jesus. Also, we must understand that we will never fully comprehend or understand God fully, for His ways are above our ways and His thoughts are above our thoughts (paraphrase of Isaiah 55). That being said, we also must understand that God knows our limitations and has mercy on us, and speaks to us within the limitations of our understanding.
Applying this to scripture interpretation, we can see the evidence of limited understanding in the response of both the disciples and the Pharisees to the revelation provided by Jesus. One of the reasons the Pharisees didn't accept Jesus is that He didn't fit their expectations of the messiah. They had studied scripture and knew the prophecies concerning the Messiah, yet totally misunderstood the real meaning of those prophecies. The disciples were constantly thinking that Jesus was going to overthrow the Romans and establish His kingdom here on earth. Again, these thoughts were based on the revelation or understanding they had at the time.
Another great example is the revelation of the throne of God, as described in scripture. The perspective changes from Isaiah to Ezekial to John in the Book of Revelations (Isaiah 6:1-13, Ezekial 1:1-28, Revelations 1:9-20) One thing that doesn't change is their inability to describe with words, what they experienced and saw. The best they can do is say it is like something else we can understand. One day we will see for ourselves and then our revelation of Heaven will be much better than it is now.
So how do we approach the reading of scripture? How do we work within the constraints of our own limited understanding? How do we deal with others who think differently or teach differently. First we must settle in our hearts that Scripture is part of God's revelation of who He is to us. What is written is the Word of God. This is not the complete revelation of who God is, for words cannot possibly, or adequately describe the eternal, infinite creator of all things. We must read the old Testament with an understanding of who God is, as revealed by Jesus. We must read, seek to understand, and prayerfully meditate on the Word of God, for this must become our frame of reference for our interactions with God, His conversations with us. We must give others the grace to be on the same journey of revelation that we are on, recognizing that there are those further along in their revelation of God, and those just starting out. We must learn to dive deeper into who God is, knowing how He thinks, how He acts and how He loves us and others. We must mediate on the life of Jesus, for He is the perfect revelation of the Father.
Arguing about certain words, certain ideas and facts contained in scripture, while sometimes helpful, really distracts us from the real purpose, that of revealing to us the nature and character of God. That doesn't mean we don't try to understand the correct interpretation of the words, don't endeavor to clearly understand the truth contained in Scripture, or don't believe and understand all that is written in Scripture. What is does mean is that our study must always lead us to Him, to understanding Him. If we are stumbling over something that we don't understand, move on and the Lord will bring you back to that point later, when you can understand it. It is impossible to intellectually know all about Scripture and settle everything in our mind, without knowing God, and that is the whole purpose of Scripture, to bring us to relationship with Him.
So let us pursue God together, encouraging each other, sharing with each other our revelations of God, and give each other grace t think differently and understand differently from each other. Let us dive into scripture with the purpose of coming into deeper relationship with God. Let us pursue God in relationship, knowing that He is pursuing us.
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