Topic: To Avoid Error – Have The Right Interpretation Of
The Scripture (9)
Continued from last episode-
Preamble: There is obvious gross interpretation of the
Scripture as a result of the way and manner the Scripture has been studied and
read. The inappropriate studying and reading of the Scripture has led to wrong
interpretation of the Scripture and that has resulted into wrong application of
what the Scripture says.
Anchor Text:
“And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the
prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?”
Acts 8:30
Text of Interest:
“But ye have not so learned Christ;”
Ephesians 4:20
As a matter of fact, while studying the bible, one should
understand that God in His very essence did not change though events and
civilizations vary. The factor of time, history and civilization created a
level of significant differences in the way and manner events took place as
recorded in the Scripture and this as a matter of fact depicts something
important and that is the bible is written in a progressive revelation. Understand that I said earlier that God in
His very essence does not change, so He is constant in His nature and nothing
can change Him but the understanding of who God is gains ascendency in man as
things continue to unfold in man’s relationship with Him.
Here, taking into account of the recordings of the things
and events that took place in the Old Testament for instance, and juxtaposing them
with certain events and things that took place in the New Testament; one can
rush into conclusion that the God in the Old Testament and the One in the New
Testament are two different personalities. Well, the truth is that it is not
so, what happened as attested by the recordings is that the revelation of the
knowledge of God in man as things continue to unfold got elevated to certain
levels. This continued till the full revelation of God took place in Christ. I
said all of that to say this, whichever way God is being portrayed in the events
and civilizations that took place in the Bible, since the full revelation of
God is found in Christ, one has no other option than to study those events in
the light of Christ.
Therefore, the comprehensive understanding of God’s
nature cannot be judged and subjected to events that took place within the
various civilizations the Scriptures were written but should be looked into
through the prism of Christ, who is the express image of God. The
misunderstanding of the subject of the nature of God has created huge erroneous
impart and as a result induced wrong doctrines in the Church.
One cannot but accept the fact that civilization counts
in the recording of the events in the Bible. The levels of civilization a
certain people attended at a given time affected the way and manner they lived
their life. This culminated into what is called culture. So in the Bible days
the people’s culture which is a product of the civilization of the people are
taken into account because it showcases the level of responds of the people to
the inducement of God’s knowledge or message in their lands. Therefore, so many
cultures in the bible days were regarded as vile, amorous and vulgar as the
case maybe. The tagging of the cultures is rooted in the appraisal such
cultures receive from those that know God. Therefore, the knowledge of God
becomes the yardstick to judge cultures. This judgment is subject to the level
of God’s revelation in man at a given time. However, no one can ascertain the
truth in error!
To be continued…..
Till I come your way again, keep on basking in the Arena
of Indubitable Truth!
Chukwuemeka
C. Asiegbu
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