The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life (Jn 6:63)
Open my heart, O Lord, to your Word, and open your Word to my heart.
Understanding the Bible is different from understanding other books. In the kingdom of God, great learning cannot substitute for spiritual readiness. You cannot study your way to God. The heart and spirit of a man most dictate his ability to understand Scripture. You must read the Bible with the same heart with which it was written. Otherwise, you miss it.
People read the Bible for different reasons. Some read to gain knowledge. Some read to argue. Some read to fulfill a requirement. Some read simply to say that they have read. None of these readers ever understands the book. They read for the wrong reasons and with the wrong spirit. They do not have God’s Spirit, for if they did, they would have a real hunger for God, and that hunger would drive their reading.
Those who decide what the Bible says before they read it never get far with it. They lack humility. And humility is a requirement for understanding the Bible. Humility opens the mind. “Open my heart to your Word, O Lord, and teach me more of You.” Thus is the humble prayer of an open heart before God, and that heart will learn the Bible.
The Bible is a simple book that a child can grasp. Yet it is a profound book full of mystery and complexity. The childlike heart best understands the Bible’s simple message. But the childlike heart also best grasps the mysteries and complexities. This is because the childlike heart is pure. Personal agendas do not cloud its vision. It longs to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen. Consequently, it sees much more clearly.
The words of the Bible are life. This means that the people who best understand the words are the people who obey them. The words must change your life. Until they do, you do not understand them. Obedience is the purpose of knowledge. If you write eloquently about Jesus, but your heart is full of pride, what good is that? If you know doctrine but constantly fight with your spouse, I wonder if you really understand what you say you know. “If you can fathom all mysteries and have all knowledge … but have not love,” you have missed the point (I Cor 13:2). You will never understand the Bible until you apply it. It must get inside you and change you. If it never does this, you do not understand what it says.
People who follow Jesus love the Bible. They want to read it and know it. They approach it with an open heart to hear what it has to say. They want to know it so they can know God. They want to apply it so they can live better. In light of this, my desire is to drive you to Scripture. Just read it. Read it simply. Read it humbly. Read it to know God. Read it to live right. Read it to get the plain sense of what it says. Don’t be fancy. You don’t need a Phd in Biblical studies to understand it. In fact, if you’ll just read it plainly, you’ll likely know it better than most Bible scholars. Many of them are so busy inventing new insights that they often miss the obvious facts smacking them in the face.
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