Spiritual Discernment of the Scriptures
If the Scriptures are spiritually discerned, then one must have the guidance of the Holy Spirit to properly understand the scriptures concerning Israel.
What does the Bible say?
Notice in the following text the reason why it is essential for one to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit before studying the Bible.
1 Corinthians 2:
14 But the natural man receiveth the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Not only does God give us spiritual understanding but He also gives wisdom. With all the deceptions of Satan blowing in all directions, one must have wisdom from God to discern the spiritual truth.
Proverbs 2:
6 For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
Natural man has trouble understanding spiritual matters without the aid of the Spirit. Following are some examples of natural man misunderstanding spiritual truth.
John 2:
18 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
The Jews were thinking as natural people do and they missed the spiritual application. Jews were thinking literal but Christ was teaching a spiritual truth.
John 3:
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mothers womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Nicodemus was thinking as a natural person does, and he missed the spiritual application. Nicodemus was thinking literal but Christ was teaching a spiritual truth.
John 4:
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
The woman at the well was thinking as a natural person does and she missed the spiritual application. The woman at the well was thinking literal but Christ was teaching a spiritual truth.
John 6:
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
The Jews were thinking as natural people do and they missed the spiritual application. Jews were thinking literal but Christ was teaching a spiritual truth.
All the spiritual examples above were written by John. John also wrote the Book of Revelation with its prophecies about Israel, the temple, Babylon, and Armageddon. Could it be possible to miss a spiritual meaning because of taking Revelation literally?
Notice the following references to John being “in the Spirit.”
Revelation 1:
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
Revelation 4:
2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
Revelation 17:
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Revelation 21:
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
If John was in the Spirit when he was shown what to write in the book of Revelation, then doesn’t it make good sense that one will need the Spirit’s help to understand what he wrote? Notice what Peter wrote in the following texts:
2 Peter 1:
19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
How can one receive the Holy Spirit’s help?
Galatians 3:
14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Acts 2:
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 5:
31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
One receives the Spirit by faith, repenting, being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and obeying Him. If one is not willing to obey, following wherever God’s Spirit leads, then apparently he or she can not expect to be lead by the Spirit and therefore will not spiritually understand Bible truth. Does one apply a literal or a spiritual meaning to what he or she is reading in the Scriptures? The Spirit helps one to know which way he or she should go. If a person wants to understand Bible truth about Israel or any other Bible subject, then he or she will need the Spirit’s guidance.
What does the Bible say?
Notice in the following text the reason why it is essential for one to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit before studying the Bible.
1 Corinthians 2:
14 But the natural man receiveth the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Not only does God give us spiritual understanding but He also gives wisdom. With all the deceptions of Satan blowing in all directions, one must have wisdom from God to discern the spiritual truth.
Proverbs 2:
6 For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
Natural man has trouble understanding spiritual matters without the aid of the Spirit. Following are some examples of natural man misunderstanding spiritual truth.
John 2:
18 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
The Jews were thinking as natural people do and they missed the spiritual application. Jews were thinking literal but Christ was teaching a spiritual truth.
John 3:
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mothers womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Nicodemus was thinking as a natural person does, and he missed the spiritual application. Nicodemus was thinking literal but Christ was teaching a spiritual truth.
John 4:
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
The woman at the well was thinking as a natural person does and she missed the spiritual application. The woman at the well was thinking literal but Christ was teaching a spiritual truth.
John 6:
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
The Jews were thinking as natural people do and they missed the spiritual application. Jews were thinking literal but Christ was teaching a spiritual truth.
All the spiritual examples above were written by John. John also wrote the Book of Revelation with its prophecies about Israel, the temple, Babylon, and Armageddon. Could it be possible to miss a spiritual meaning because of taking Revelation literally?
Notice the following references to John being “in the Spirit.”
Revelation 1:
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
Revelation 4:
2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
Revelation 17:
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Revelation 21:
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
If John was in the Spirit when he was shown what to write in the book of Revelation, then doesn’t it make good sense that one will need the Spirit’s help to understand what he wrote? Notice what Peter wrote in the following texts:
2 Peter 1:
19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
How can one receive the Holy Spirit’s help?
Galatians 3:
14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Acts 2:
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 5:
31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
One receives the Spirit by faith, repenting, being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and obeying Him. If one is not willing to obey, following wherever God’s Spirit leads, then apparently he or she can not expect to be lead by the Spirit and therefore will not spiritually understand Bible truth. Does one apply a literal or a spiritual meaning to what he or she is reading in the Scriptures? The Spirit helps one to know which way he or she should go. If a person wants to understand Bible truth about Israel or any other Bible subject, then he or she will need the Spirit’s guidance.
posted by Michael A. Redwine at Tuesday, May 16, 2006
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