There are certain words in every language that hold more than one meaning, and one must be fairly proficient in that language to understand the meaning of these words, without proper conversation, the truth of the matter can be lost on the hearer, and the topic and point of the dialog will be to no avail.
When we first come to Christ for the salvation of our souls, we are not imparted with all the truths of the Scriptures, in fact for most, they are just as unclear to us as when we were lost, time is necessary for the words to sink into our hearts, and a submissive desire to allow the Holy Spirit within us to guide us on the path that the Lord has chosen for us. We need the milk of the word, (1 Cor. 3:2) we need to be fed slowly, to digest properly, to understand what is being spoken to us. Herein lies the issue for many who know Christ as Lord, they read the Scriptures instead of listening and hearing them, they seek by their own resolve to understand the words of God, and in this they come to no true understanding, for they do not know the language, the vocabulary of the spiritual.
Many stop studying the Scriptures for various reasons, lack of desire, fear of being convicted, feelings of unworthiness, but for some it is simply a matter of being unable to comprehend what the word is saying to us, they are incapable of grasping the truths, and so they falter in their attempts to continue to do so. “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.” (Prov. 8:17) This verse is not just for the lost soul, but it is also for the believer, for seeking the face of the Lord is a lifelong endeavor, to know the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16) is not imparted upon us at the cross, attempts, failures, and perseverance is required, a desire on our part to be Christ-like, to emulate the most Holy One, we must understand the language of the Spirit of God.
There are promises in the Scriptures, and many of these contain within the context the words “if” and “ask,” they are a guarantee from Almighty God Himself, but they require something from us, and that is the desire to serve and serve well, to be pleasing in His sight, and the first signs of this attempt is in prayer to understand the Scriptures. In them we have life, (John 14:6) the words are truth, (John 8:32) and they are our only true comfort upon this planet. To spiritually discern them is to have the knowledge of God, (Prov. 18:15) to apply them is pleasing to Him, to trust them as the inerrant word of God is to lift up His name above all other names, and sets us apart from the world. It takes wisdom to understand the Scriptures as we should, a wisdom that we do not possess, and so we must ask for it, we must search out the verses that teach us how to rightly divide the word of truth. (2 Tim 2:15)
You cannot expound properly on a subject that you do not understand, and the word of God is no exception, to just sit down and read it, whether it be for five minutes or five hours, is not going to make you a student that can discern it spiritually. There are many astute theologians that know the Scriptures inside and out, but they are not children of God, Satan knows the word of God better than any man could hope to, but we know his end. We lack the spiritual wisdom to understand the truths of the word of God, and for many even the Holy Spirit is unable to assist them in this pursuit, not because of His inabilities, that would be a foolish thought, for with God all things are possible, (Matt. 19:26) but because they have not asked, have not sought the promise of James 1:5 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
The “ifs,” the “and thens,” the “asks,” place the burden squarely upon our shoulders, we must want to understand the word, we must have a desire to know the mind of Christ, we must stand in the gate with wisdom (Prov. 8:34) and hear every word, then we will begin to know the wisdom of God. Can you imagine the elation on the face of any in the Old Testament that served our Lord faithfully the moment they were handed the complete and inerrant word of God for the first time, Old and New Testaments combined into one glorious revelation. On this earth we should know no greater gift besides Christ, the Most High has deemed us worthy to hold within our hands every word that He has spoken to us, the complete history of the spiritual, the way to God, the means of salvation, the instructional manual for praise, prayer, love, every attribute that is necessary for the men and women of God to live a life pleasing to Him.
Look upon it with joy, reverence it for what it is, Holy, these words will never pass away, (Luke 21:33) for all eternity they will stand as the one truth. The Scriptures will guide your every thought, every aspect of your life is found within them, they are a treasure beyond comparison to those who diligently sought for guidance on how to understand them. “Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.” (Prov. 1:23) Stare at that promise, I will make My words known to you, you will begin to understand the language of God.
Every time you pick-up the word of God, do so in reverence, do so with prayer for guidance, for ears to hear, for a willing heart to serve, do so with wonder and awe that He has seen fit to bless you with spiritual discernment and understanding. Seek the face of God, seek to know the mind of Christ, humble yourself in His presence, and He will lift you up. “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.” Psalm 9:10
