January 31: “Understanding” by Eric Reynolds
Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
It is a good starting place to understand that the Bible we hold in our hands (or on our phones) today is the compilation of ancient, inspired text, written across 1500 years on three continents by dozens of authors in multiple languages. But what is the Bible, actually?
(1) The Bible is our source of information about God—who He is and what He has done for us. (2) The Bible is a revelation of man—his character, history, and spiritual needs. (3) The Bible also tells us about God’s plan of salvation, which provides forgiveness and renewal for man in his sinful situation. (4) The Bible reveals what God’s standards of right and wrong are and what His will is for His creatures. (5) Christian faith is one of hope for the future, and the Bible alone can chart the course of our future into eternity. It would be difficult to overemphasize the importance of the Bible and what it reveals. https:// bible.org/seriespage/2-how-bible-was-written
Understanding that the Bible is a supernatural book written by men guided by the Holy Spirit is key.
It has been said that men held the pen, but the Holy Spirit provided the words. The Bible contains the story of God’s chosen people in the Old Testament and about God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and the early church in the New Testament concluding with a prophetic vision of the world to come. In its content are included moral and political law, history, poetry, prophecy, and letters.
In Christian faith the unity of the Bible, in spite of its diversity of subject matter and authorship, is traced to the work of the Holy Spirit rather than to a human penman. The difficulty of producing a book like the Bible can be seen in the fact that if one could choose from all the literature in the world and could select from forty different authors ranging in time for 1,500 years, it would be impossible
to create a second Bible equal to what the Bible is itself. Though some have attempted to explain the Bible on naturalistic grounds as simply revision of other current books on religion, the Bible stands as a supernatural production, uniquely different, self-consistent, and presenting a united picture of God and the world. (Resource: https://bible.org/seriespage/2-how-bible-was-written)
A quick note about understanding: Understanding is the place to start, but understanding without ap- plication will not produce much. If you understand how to plant a garden, but never get dirt under your fingernails, of what value is the understanding? What is your current understanding of how God led men to reveal himself to us?
God in Heaven, help me understand and live out the words of Scripture. Guide me in accepting instruc- tion and faithfully living out Your desires for my life. Amen.
