Let us take baptism as an example. This truth is quite obviously and accurately revealed to us in the Bible. Many Christians disobey the teaching of the Bible, while creating many distinctions not because the head has trouble, but because the heart has trouble. Suppose a believer hears that baptism is according to the Bible and is something that God has clearly commanded. If he hears about baptism and looks in the Bible, he will find God's will and obey, saying, "God, this is from You; I am willing to obey." But if another believer, after hearing about baptism, refuses to obey and dismisses it as being meaningless, he will not understand even if he reads the Bible later. When he subsequently hears others speaking about this truth, he will be motivated like a lawyer in court. He will not care whether the other side is reasonable; he will only care for his own reason. The first motive of a lawyer is to defeat the other side in the debate. Therefore, when problems arise, the question is not the condition of the head, but whether or not the motive is proper.
The same is true in regards to listening to a message. When someone preaches something that is different from our belief and practice, we should ask God if his speaking is really improper. If his speaking is not improper, then are we improper somewhere? If we can learn humbly before God, our hearts will be proper. Consequently, even though our thoughts may be improper at times, our minds will not be improper all the time. However, if our motives are not proper and we only want to argue, we will always be able to find a couple of verses to oppose the truth taught by others. Many Christians study the Bible like a lawyer studying a law book; their purpose is only to defend their own case. Therefore, it is their motive that is corrupted first, not their mind. They first have a tendency to covet in their heart; then their mind and whole being are dragged into the peril of covetousness.
Among our brothers and sisters, is there anyone whose mind cannot understand the Bible? I would say the reason we do not understand the Bible is that our heart is improper. The Spirit will guide us into all truth. I often wonder why some people understand the Bible so poorly. The reason is that they are improper in the inclinations of their heart. Perhaps they are too subjective. As a result, their nous cannot receive the light of God's Word. The heart becomes corrupted, and the nous follows. If the heart is not calm and balanced, the mind will become corrupted. Someone said that Eve did not fall because she ate the forbidden fruit, but because her motive was not proper in the beginning. When she spoke with Satan, her heart was dissatisfied with God and already corrupted. Soon after, Genesis 6 says that every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually. The nous becomes corrupted after the heart has been corrupted.
One brother in the West said that before Eve ate the forbidden fruit, she had fallen already. When she added the words "neither shall ye touch it" in her conversation with Satan, her heart was not proper. By Genesis 6, God pronounced every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart to be only evil continually. First, the heart is improper; second, man is alienated from the life of God; and last, man's imagination and thoughts become totally evil. Any Christian who has a proper heart can read the Bible; he can receive God's light from the Bible, he can know God's will easily, and he can receive full grace from God.