…these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:11-14
Several years ago Magic Eye pictures became popular. Books and posters came out with these images that appear as nothing more than colorful “static” on the surface, but when you focus your eyes deeply into – and past – the picture, a 3D image emerges. Here is an example from a free gallery of Magic Eye pictures. If you spend a few moments trying to look past the 2D picture, the words “Happy New Year” will come into focus. (Sorry, this is not seasonally appropriate.) If you cannot figure out how to see it, the website link above has some detailed instructions. The first time I finally succeeded at seeing the 3D picture, it amazed me that something so vivid could be hidden in a picture of “nothing”. And the longer you look at it, the clearer it gets.
When reading through the Word, getting the big picture is of utmost importance. If you only took one tiny corner of the above picture, you would not ever see the 3D image it contains. The Word also needs to be seen as a whole. So many people struggle with understanding when they only have very small pieces of the picture.
If the Bible is too big and intimidating, I have found (through some wonderful friends) one great way that encourages many to succeed at reading it all the way through for the first time. Free PDF instructions are here: Divide and Conquer…The Bible – by Judy Reamer. She has instructional CDs and DVDs about actually cutting a Bible into four parts, and binding it as four smaller books. This has helped many people get through the entire book in a short amount of time. Judy also has an amazing testimony about how reading the WHOLE Word of God really changed her life (also available on CD). I can attest to this life-changing experience as well! The truth does set people free!
True reality is only seen with spiritual vision from God… HIS focus. When we become spiritually born from God, we receive this Spirit. I have heard many people say that after they came to believe and trust Christ, the Bible then became so much easier to understand, and desirable! But we still often rely on our own intellect in learning about God, rather than letting Him speak for Himself. Worse yet, we may trust someone else to just tell us what it all means. Do you really know someone if you only know about them, or what someone has told you? Or do you KNOW them if you communicate with them yourself? This is the fellowship the Word of God opens up for us, when the Holy Spirit is invited to participate.
I am currently reading the Word through again after several years of digging into different books. But I still get those “Ahaa!” moments of something popping out that I had never seen before. Things connect, points emerge, pictures painted – of our awesome Father and Creator God. Sometimes I feel prompted to read over a passage a few times because I hear the whisper of something there that wants my attention. I am rarely disappointed. I know some others who “read” (see & hear) this way and their insights amaze me. I recognize the same Voice of the Spirit coming through these people too – from many ages past to the present.
Sometimes I am in situations where people are teaching from an immense storehouse of scholarly knowledge about the original languages, the context, the history, etc… . These elements do add so much insight into the Word and I really love learning all I can from every angle. Yet this approach alone still falls short of what the Spirit wants to teach us. If we will listen and ask for HIS 3D vision into the spiritual truths of Jesus Christ, He is there. When we dissect something.. it dies, right? You cannot dissect a living thing while it is still alive, and the Living Word can also have the life extracted right out of it for the sake of theological science. Do we want Him, or do we just want to be right?
The Scripture was given for Life.. to point us to the Life. It is a connection point to the Life, but not the Life itself. If we miss the Life, then we miss the function of the Word, and if we come to think that the book IS that Life, then we have created an idol out of the means, missing the end. When John said Jesus was the Word he most certainly did not mean to say, “Jesus and the Book are equal.” The Book is only a limited reflection of the ultimate reality. Look through the pages of the Book, and see Him.
Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”
Jeremiah 9:23,24
Ideas for better spiritual eyesight
These are just suggestions… not a method! 🙂
- Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to teach when you go to the Word.
- Seek to know Him, not prove something.
- Pray for a child-like faith to believe all that He has said.
- DO take into account as much background information as possible. Ask Who, What, When, Where, and Why of each passage… but don’t get bogged down in the facts. Think of these facts as the props for the bigger story. If your props are wrong, the story can get misunderstood. If the props become the point, the story doesn’t get told.
- Find others who also have a deep love and longing for God and share with each other what He is teaching You about Himself.
What 3D images have you seen in the Word lately?
(For clarification: I am NOT in any way supporting the HRM idea of the mystical four levels of interpretation derived from the teachings of Kabballah. This has nothing to do with what Paul spoke of here in Corinthians, or a believer who is seeking Jesus as the truth through the written Word.)
8thDay4Life 