The previous message was concerned with the essence of God’s Word. If we want to understand something, we must know its essence. God’s Word is God’s breathing out. It is also the spiritual milk and the food of life. It is spirit and life. Ultimately, the Word is Christ, and it is also God Himself. God’s Word is not the sacred writing of a religion; it is not philosophy, ethics, or theory. It is God’s breathing out of Himself; it is the spiritual milk and food; it is spirit and life. It is just Christ-God Himself.
Now we shall see the way to understand God’s Word. How can we understand God’s Word? This is an important question. The Bible is too mysterious. You may say that it is simple. Indeed, it is quite simple. For this reason, some say that the Bible cannot be regarded as the sacred writing of a religion. They say that it only talks about common things. They do not know how mysterious and profound the Bible is. Hu Shih, the modern Chinese philosopher who during the May Fourth Movement strongly promoted the change of Chinese classical literature into the spoken style of writing, once said that the Chinese Bible is a great reformation in Chinese writing. This proves that he studied the Chinese Bible. However, he did not know anything concerning the truth and the gospel in the Bible, because he did not believe in the Lord. This proves that high education and knowledge cannot help a person to understand the Bible.
For example, a chicken is covered with feathers. Under the feathers is the chicken skin, and under the skin are the meat and bones. Furthermore, there may still be dung in the intestines of the chicken. However, when we eat the chicken, we eat only the chicken meat. According to my study of the Bible, I can say that there are “feathers,” “skin,” “bones,” and “dung” in the Bible. Do not think that I am wrong. In the first chapter of Romans there are over twenty kinds of sins. In addition, the second chapter of Ephesians mentions not only the fallen sinners on earth, but also the ruler of the authority of the air, that is, the operating evil spirit, which is the power of darkness. Do you not think that these are “chicken dung?” Furthermore, the Bible not only has God’s word but also the word of the old serpent, Satan. In chapter three of Genesis the serpent spoke to the woman.
The Bible is too mysterious. It is not like the books written by ordinary men. In it there are good things, bad things, heavenly things, earthly things, and even things under the earth. God is there, and the Devil is also there. Holy men are there, and so are sinners. The Bible includes everything. When we read it, it seems very simple. For example, in John 8:12 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world,” and in John 6:35 He said, “I am the bread of life...and he who believes in Me shall by no means ever thirst.” These are simple words, but within them are depths that men cannot comprehend. Therefore, it is not easy to study the Bible. For this reason, I would like to spend two messages on how to know the truths in the Bible. These messages are based not only on my studies but also on my personal experiences.
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