Knowing the word of God should be the target of every Christian because it is through it that we will be able to llive a life that pleases God.
Yes, the word of God contains what God requires us humans to do, and now being able to know it will rob us of the ability to put ourselves right with Him.
As a matter of fact, it is worth noting that you cannot know the word of God by merely studying it because its understanding is shrouded in myysteries.
So in this sermon, I will try to show you how to know the word of God as the Holy Spirit is going to direct me. So without waste of time let’s get into it.
What is the word of God according to the Bible?
According to the Bible in Isaiah 55:11, the word of God is simply the words that proceeds from the mouth of God which will never return to him void until it has accomplished what pleases Him.
Also in Revelation 19:13, the scripture talks about a man who was clothed with a robe dipped in blood and called the word of God. And reading that Bible passage in its whole context reveals Jesus Christ as the man who is called the word of God.
In fact, John 1:14 states clearly that the word of God became flesh and dwelt with human beings in the person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
How to know the word of God.
To know the word of God, you must turn at His reproof so He can pour out His spirit on you and make His words known to you as He clearly states in Proverbs 1:23: If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.
Some people think that they can know the word of God by simply studying and understanding the Holy Bible which contains it. (The Holy Bible is the compilation of the Jewish and Christian scriptures, and even though it was written by human beings the scripture reveals in 2 Peter 2:20-21 that they were being inspired by God.)
However, it is worth noting that merely studying the Bible as an ordinary book will not help you to understand it because there are hidden meanings to every word of God contained in it.
In 2 Corinthians 3:13-15, the scripture likens the Bible to the veil that was put over Moses face because of its brightness after the encounter with God, and it reveals that this veil was the reason the children of Israel were unable to understand the Old Testament.
It goes on to reveal again that the same veil is still covering the modern day Christians whenever they are reading the Bible, and it says in verses 16-17 that the only way to uncover the veil is for one to turn to Christ who is the Spirit that brings liberty from Biblical misunderstanding.
Now this revelation takes our mind back to John 14:26 where Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit as a new teacher who will teach His followers everything they need to know as well as remind them of all the things He also said to them while He was alive on earth.
This therefore means that anyone who wants to know the word of God must seek for the help of the Holy Spirit who will make him understand whatever he is studying or seeking to know in the Bible.
With that being said, let us move on to see why it is so hard to understand God’s word.
Why is it so hard to understand God’s Word?
The reason why it is so hard to understand God’s word are:
- It was God who inspired the Biblical authors.
- When you are living in sin.
- The word of God contains parables.
- False teachers who misinterpret the scriptures.
1. It was God who inspired the Biblical authors.
The scripture helps us to understand in 2 Timothy 3:16 that it was God Who inspired the several authors of the Biblical books, and as such the Bible cannot be understood if one is looking at it from a human perspective.
In fact, the scripture maintains in 2 Peter 1:20-21 that the Bible cannot be interpreted privately because men of God whop wrote it did so by the power of the Holy Spirit and this means that it is the same Holy Spirit that will help a human being to interpret the Bible.
The Lord Jesus even made it known in John 14:26 that he will send the Holy Spirit as an helper to teach His followers the Bible as well as remind them of everything He said while He was on earth.
And John is more specific in 1 John 2:26-27 that because of the false teachers who are out to deceive the believers, they do not require people to teach them the Bible again, rather it is the Holy Spirit they received that will teach them the Bible and he assures us that what the Holy Spirit teaches is true and we should hold on to it.
And when we talk about the Holy Spirit, we must understand that it is God Himself Who is manifested through the power of the Holy Spirit.
2. When you are living in sin.
In Proverbs 1:23 the scripture says: “If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you”.
This means that if anyone is living in sin, he will not be able to know the word of God.
In our last sub-heading we discovered that it is the Holy Spirit that teaches human beings the word of God, and the inciting passage of this particular sub-heading shows us that God must pour out His spirit on a human being before they can know His words.
So if you want to know the word of God, ensure you give up your sinful lifestyle today and follow God to receive His spirit.
3. The word of God contains parables.
A parable is defined as the means of using stories to illustrate a moral or religious lesson. And in the Bible Jesus used parables a lot in His teachings and this makes it so hard for one to understand the Bible just like that.
And when asked by His disciples why He used parables a lot in Mathew 13:10-17, Jesus replied that He did so to ensure those who are not willing to become His followers might not understand His teachings when they listen to them.
4. False teachers who misinterpret the scriptures.
There are lots of Bible verses that warns us against false teachers who will rise and twist the scriptures just so they can deceive human beings.
In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, the Bible specifically alerts us about a time when people will not be able to hold on to the true doctrine of the Christian faith because they will gather around them false teachers who will be telling them what they are itching to hear.
And it wraps up that these people will turn away from the truth and incline their ears to myths.
