There are two ways to train our mind. First, we can separate the subject text from the explanatory words. It is not a bad idea to go through the New Testament and put parentheses around passages that the Spirit provides as words of explanation. The words inside the parentheses are the “branches,” while the words outside the parentheses are the “trunks.” If we skip the verses in the parentheses and read the rest, we will get an idea of the main subjects of the various portions.
Let us try this out with the book of Romans. Romans 1:1 says, “Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, a called apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.” This clearly is the introduction to the book of Romans. Verses 2-4 say, “Which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.” This is an explanation of the gospel. Therefore, these three verses are “branches” which can be put inside a parenthesis. Verse 5 says, “Through whom we have received grace and apostleship unto the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles on behalf of His name.” This again is the subject text. If we go on this way with the rest of the book of Romans, we can single out the verses which are subject text. We can underline the subject text with one color pen and the explanatory words with another color pen. In the first pass, we do not have to read the explanatory words. Read the subject text first, and then the explanatory words later. First, find the main thoughts of the Holy Spirit, and then insert the explanatory portions little by little. What is this gospel? It is something which was “promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures.” God first promised the gospel and then sent the Lord Jesus to accomplish this gospel. In His accomplishment, there are two parts. First, there is the part according to the flesh. Second, there is the part according to the Spirit. The first part deals with His life on earth as the son of Mary. The second part deals with His life in heaven as the Son of God. The four Gospels cover the part of Him according to the flesh, while the Epistles cover the part of Him according to the Spirit. In reading this portion, we can jump directly from verse 1 to verse 5 and leave verses 2 through 4 for later. Always take care of the subject text first, and then the explanatory words later. In this way we can get into the thought of the apostle at the time he wrote the book. We should read the whole Bible this way. In particular, we should read the Epistles this way. Every servant of God should know the text portions of a book as well as the explanatory portions. This is the first step.
What benefit do we derive from taking this first step? It enables us to know how much of the teaching in a portion relates to the subject and how much relates to explanations. In serving as a minister of the word, our speaking has to have main subjects and explanations. Although our functioning as ministers of the word is not as perfect and profound as that of the first apostles, it is the same in principle. Once we distinguish the subject text from the explanations, we will realize to our surprise that the Bible always provides sufficient explanations, both in quantity as well as in degree. We will worship the Lord for the absolute perfectness of the Word. We will also find that as soon as we are just slightly excessive in our use of explanations and illustrations, our whole message will become weak. We have to pay attention to the way the Bible explains things. We should never over-explain. We should only provide explanations for the parts that others do not understand. Explanation is for the purpose of helping others to understand, but we should not be excessive in our use of it. Some speakers are short in explanation, which loses the listeners. Others are too long in explanation, which drags down the message. We should observe the perfect balance in the Word. We should always learn to separate the subject text from its explanations. In order to do this, we have to be objective. Once we become subjective, we certainly will fail.
Second, we have to try to paraphrase the text portion with our own words. We have to rewrite the text portions of the Bible with words that we can understand. For example, Romans 1:1, 5, and 6 are text verses. The wording in these verses belongs to Paul. After we understand what Paul has said, we should try to express the same thing with our own words. At the beginning we should only work with the text portions; we should not work on the explanatory words within the parentheses. This kind of exercise is like our experience as students: The teachers told us a story, and we wrote it down in our own words. We must know what the story is about before we can write it down. This kind of paraphrasing requires that we be objective, that we understand the meaning of the Bible, and that we do not add our own thoughts to it. We have to train ourselves to be a follower of the thoughts of the Holy Spirit. We have to fashion our thoughts according to the thoughts of the Holy Spirit.
Of course, we can make mistakes in our paraphrasing. The only thing we can do when we make mistakes is to correct them the next time. If we still make mistakes, we should correct them again. The more we correct ourselves, the more accurate we will become. Once a person learns this lesson, it will be easy for him to understand God’s Word. The most important thing is to put ourselves aside. Once we become proud or subjective we are finished. We have to learn to be objective, meek, and humble. A meek and humble mind will find it easy to follow the mind of the Spirit. Every reader of the Bible has to learn this lesson.
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