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Satan Has Blinded The
Minds Of The Unbelievers
In what way has Satan
blinded the minds of the unbelievers?
(2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
It is not that an unbeliever cannot understand what
the Bible means - rather, he does not have the spiritual awareness to see the
significance of studying Scripture - without having any spiritual awareness
about themselves, they would not see the significance of applying it in their
lives
Christian Publishing House
Before
we begin unraveling the topic at hand, it might be best if we borrow the story
from Dr. Robert Stein’s book, A Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible (pp.
11-13):
Tuesday
night arrived. Dan and Charlene had invited several of their neighbors to a Bible
study, and now they were wondering if anyone would come.
Several
people had agreed to come, but others had not committed themselves. At 8:00
P.M., beyond all their wildest hopes, everyone who had been invited arrived.
After
some introductions and neighborhood chit-chat, they all sat down in the living
room.
Dan
explained that he and his wife would like to read through a book of the Bible
and discuss the material with the group. He suggested that the book be a
Gospel, and, since Mark was the shortest, he recommended it.
Everyone
agreed, although several said a bit nervously that they really did not know
much about the Bible.
Dan
reassured them that this was all right, for no one present was a “theologian,”
and they would work together in trying to understand the Bible.
They
then went around the room reading Mark 1:1–15 verse by verse.
Because
of some of the different translations used (the New International Version, the
Revised Standard Version, the King James Version, and the Living Bible), Dan
sought to reassure all present that although the wording of the various
translations might be different, they all meant the same thing.
After
they finished reading the passage, each person was to think of a brief summary
to describe what the passage meant. After thinking for a few minutes, they
began to share their thoughts.
Sally was the first to speak. “What this passage
means to me is that everyone needs to be baptized, and I believe that it should
be by immersion.”
John responded, “That’s not what I think it means.
I think it means that everyone needs to be baptized by the Holy Spirit.”
Ralph said somewhat timidly, “I am not exactly sure
what I should be doing. Should I try to understand what Jesus and John the
Baptist meant, or what the passage means to me?”
Dan
told him that what was important was what the passage meant to him.
Encouraged by this, Ralph replied, “Well, what it
means to me is that when you really want to meet God you need to go out in the
wilderness just as John the Baptist and Jesus did. Life is too busy and hectic.
You have to get away and commune with nature. I have a friend who says that to
experience God you have to go out in the woods and get in tune with the rocks.”
It was Cory who brought the discussion to an abrupt
halt.
“The Holy Spirit has shown me,” he said, “that this passage means that when a
person is baptized in the name of Jesus the Holy Spirit will descend upon him
like a dove. This is what is called the baptism of the Spirit.”
Jan replied meekly, “I don’t think that’s what the
meaning is.”
Cory,
however, reassured her that since the Holy Spirit had given him that meaning it
must be correct.
Jan
did not respond to Cory, but it was obvious she did not agree with what he had
said.
Dan was uncomfortable about the way things were going
and sought to resolve the situation. So, he said, “Maybe what we are
experiencing is an indication of the richness of the Bible. It can mean so many
things!”
But
does a text of the Bible mean many things? Can a text mean different, even
contradictory things?
Is
there any control over the meaning of biblical texts? Is interpretation
controlled by means of individual revelation given by the Holy Spirit?
Do
the words and grammar control the meaning of the text? If so, what text are we
talking about?
Is
it a particular English translation such as the King James Version or the New
International Version?
Why
not the New Revised Standard Version or the Living Bible? Or why not a German
translation such as the Luther Bible?
Or
should it be the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts that best reflect what the
original authors, such as Isaiah, Paul, and Luke, wrote?
And
what about the original authors? How are they related to the meaning of the
text?
It
is obvious that we cannot read the Bible for long before the question arises as
to what the Bible “means” and who or what determines that meaning.
Neither
can we read the Bible without possessing some purpose in reading.
In
other words, using more technical terminology, everyone who reads the Bible
does so with a “hermeneutical” theory in mind.
The
issue is not whether one has such a theory but whether one’s “hermeneutics” is
clear or unclear, adequate or inadequate, correct or incorrect.
2
Corinthians 4:3-4 Updated American
Standard Version (UASV)
“3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are
perishing. 4 In their
case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep
them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the
image of God.”
The
Greek word (kaluptō) rendered veiled means that the gospel will
be kept secret, hidden, concealed “to those who are perishing.”
The
Greek word (apollumi) translated perishing means that these ones,
unbelievers in verse 4, are without a spiritual life and are facing the
condemnation of God, that is eternal destruction.
The
Greek word (tuphloō) that is rendered blinded is referring to
being unable or unwilling to perceive or understand, as they are rendered
unable to see the truth.
These
ones are made to not understand because their mind and heart are closed and are
unreceptive, so no light of truth can shine through.
By
unbelievers Paul has in view non-Christians (1
Corinthians 6:6; 7:12–15; 10:27; 14:22–24).
First,
the unbelievers of verse 4 are a subset of those who are perishing in verse 3.
In other words, the two are the same.
Second,
the unbelievers are not persons, who have never heard the truth. No, rather,
they are persons who have heard the truth and have rejected it as foolish
rubble.
This
is how this writer is using the term “unbeliever” as well. Technically,
how could one ever truly be an unbeliever if they had never heard and understood
the truth, to say they did not believe the truth?
Therefore,
to be an unbeliever, one needs to hear the truth, understand the truth, and
reject that truth (i.e., not believing the truth is just that, the truth).
Now,
this is not to say that a Christian cannot fall into this category because he
can.
UASV: “For if we go on sinning deliberately after
receiving the accurate knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a
sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire
that will consume the adversaries.”
Thus,
if a Christian doubts to the point of losing his faith and rejects Jesus
Christ, he can go from life to death just as he went from death to life.
If
his heart is hardened until he is beyond repentance, he too can become blinded
by Satan.
See
also Hebrews 6:4-6, where it is shown that even a person anointed with the Holy
Spirit can abandon and reject Christ.
The
Path That Leads to Life
Proverbs
12:26 Updated American Standard
Version (UASV)
“26 A righteous man will seek out his neighbor, but the way of the wicked
leads them astray.”
“A
righteous man will seek out his neighbor”: The righteous, upright or just man (Hebrew tsedeq)
refers to one who is in a righteous standing before God, who is characterized
by righteous actions and morals in accordance to God’s moral standards. (Proverbs 3:33)
“Will
Seek” (tur) has the
sense of diligently acquiring information, investigating, searching out, trying
to acquire an understanding, greatly desiring information.
“Neighbor” (Hebrew rea) does not necessarily refer
to someone who lives next door or near to another.
The
Hebrew noun generally refers to any countryman with a focus on local
companions, friends, acquaintances, colleagues.
It
can be one who is of the same race, or social/geographical or someone who lives
within your community. The context here, though, is one who is a close friend.
“but
the way of the wicked leads them astray”: The way of the wicked is referring to one who is in mental darkness in
that they cannot see any light whatsoever.
Mental
darkness is a sort of mental blindness where one sees what others see and even
understands the meaning, but their mind is beyond repentance, unreceptive,
closed, so they see it as foolish. They are in darkness mentally.
Thus,
to follow the wicked who is incapable of guiding anyone is to be led astray (taah),
be it a belief or a course of action.
In
friendship, the righteous will always be misled into a wrong view or belief of
something or wrong behaviors by the wicked. The righteous one will figuratively
wander off the path of righteousness.
King
Solomon is contrasting the way of the righteous man with that of the wicked
man.
The
righteous man is cautious about choosing his friends whom he knows can impact
his way of thinking, feeling, and believing.
He
chooses them wisely, endeavoring to avoid the danger of being led off the path
that leads to eternal life. Not so with the wicked, who refuse counsel and
demand to have their own way.
Misled,
the wicked one wanders about. Thus, if you choose to associate with a wicked
friend, you too will be led astray.
Remember,
when a dirty glove shakes the hand of a clean white glove, it is the dirty
glove that rubs off on the clean glove.
Mental
Blindness and Minds that Are Hardened
2
Corinthians 3:12-18 Updated American
Standard Version (UASV)
“12 Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, 13
and are not like Moses, who used to
put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at
the end of what was fading away.
14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very
day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because
it is taken away only by means of Christ.
15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies
over their hearts; 16
but whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of
the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a
mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from
glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
Let
us start by looking at an example of blind minds within Scripture. This was not
a case of physical blindness, but mental blindness.
There
was a Syrian military force coming after Elisha, and God blinded them mentally.
If it had been physical blindness, then each of them would have to have been
led by the hand. However, what does the account say?
2
Kings 6:18-20 American Standard
Version (ASV)
“18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to Jehovah, and said,
Please strike this people with blindness. And he struck them with blindness
according to the word of Elisha. 19 And Elisha said to them, This is not the way, neither
is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek. And
he led them to Samaria.
20 And it came to pass, when they were come into
Samaria, that Elisha said, Jehovah, open the eyes of these men, that they may
see. And Jehovah opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the
midst of Samaria.”
Are
we to believe that one man led the entire Syrian military force to Samaria? If
they were physically blind, they would have to have all held hands.
Were
the Syrian military forces not able physically to see the images that were
before them? No, rather, it was more of an inability to understand them.
This
must have been some form of mental blindness, where we see everything that
everyone else sees, but something just does not register.
Another
example can be found in the account about the men of Sodom. When they were
blinded, they did not become distressed, running into each other.
Definitely,
Paul is speaking of people, who are not receptive to truth, because their heart
is hardened to it, callused, unfeeling. They are not responding because their
figurative heart is opposed.
It
is as though, God handed them over to Satan, to be mentally blinded from the
truth, not because he disliked them per se, but because they had closed their
hearts and minds to the Gospel.
Thus,
no manner of argumentation is likely to bring them back to their senses.
However,
at one time Saul (Paul) was one of these. Until he met the risen Jesus on the road
to Damascus, he was mentally blind to the truth.
He
was well aware of what the coming Messiah was to do, but Jesus did none of
these things because it was not time.
Thus,
Paul was blinded by his love for the Law, Jewish tradition, and history. So
much so, he was unable to grasp the Gospel.
Not
to mention, he lived during the days of Jesus ministry, studied under Gamaliel,
who was likely there in the area.
He
could have even been there when Jesus was impressing the Jewish religious
leaders, at the age of twelve. Therefore, Saul (Paul) needed a real wake-up
call, to get through the veil that blinded him.
Hence,
a mentally blind person sees the same information as another, but the truth
cannot or will not get down into their heart.
I
have had the privilege of talking to dozens of small groups of unbelievers,
ranging from four people to ten people in my life.
I
saw this in action. As I spoke to these groups, inevitably, I would see the
light going off in the eyes of some (they would be shaking their heads in
agreement as I spoke).
However,
others having a cynical look, a doubting look (they would be shaking their
heads in disgust or disapproval), and they eventually walked away.
This
is not saying that the unbeliever cannot understand the Bible; it is simply that
they see no significance in it, as it is foolishness to them.
Ways
In Which Satan the Devil Wields Influence
Deception
Paul warns Christians to “Put on the full armor of
God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”
(Ephesians 6:11)
41,000
so-called Christian denominations today call themselves Christian. All claim to
be the truth and the way and most are false Christianity that Jesus warned us
about in the Gospel of Matthew.
Matthew
24:11 Updated American Standard
Version (UASV)
“11 And many false prophets will arise and will lead many astray.”
What
is a prophet? The primary meaning is one who proclaims the Word of God, a
spokesperson for God.
Therefore,
a false prophet would be a spokesperson giving the impression that he is a
spokesman for God, but really, he is far from it.
These
ones are very subtle and deceptive in their ability to present themselves as a
person representing God.
Other
false prophet religious leaders have tens of millions of followers as well.
Then, there are charismatic Christian denominations that number over 500
million followers.
These
ones claim gifts of God (faith healing, speaking in tongues, etc.), which
clearly are anything but.
The
true Christians are falling away in great numbers, being led astray by these
false prophets, and those who have not fallen away, truly need to remain awake!
The apostle Paul wrote,
2
Corinthians 11:13-15 Updated American
Standard Version (UASV)
“13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising
themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an
angel of light. 15
Therefore it is not a great thing if his servants also disguise themselves as
servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.”
On these verses, Richard L. Pratt Jr, writes, “11:13–14.
Why was he so determined? Paul explained that these so-called super-apostles
were actually false apostles. They were deceitful and only masquerading as
apostles of Christ. Of course, those who followed these false apostles would
have insisted that Paul was wrong. So he countered their anticipated objection
by noting that the false apostles’ deceit was no wonder. After all, even Satan
himself masquerades as an angel of light. 11:15. Paul accused the false
apostles of being servants of Satan and of imitating his tactics. They
masquerade[d] as servants of righteousness (cf. Rev. 2:9; 3:9). The work of
these false apostles led many into unrighteousness, as opposed to Paul’s
apostolic ministry of righteousness (see 2 Cor. 3:9). Paul asserted that these
false apostles would ultimately receive what their actions deserve[d]. Although
this statement carried serious overtones of final judgment, Paul also had in
mind that these opponents would be exposed before the church and removed from
their positions when he arrived. God would judge them.”
Spiritism
Deuteronomy
18:10-12 Updated American Standard
Version (UASV)
“10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his
daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices
witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a
spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12 For whoever does these things is detestable to
Jehovah; and because of these detestable things Jehovah your God will drive
them out before you.”
Satan
misleads people in the same way as in the days of Moses, but rather with a
modernist cool look.
If
we think Ouija boards games, where a board printed with letters, numbers, and
other signs, to which a planchette or movable indicator points, supposedly in
answer to questions from people at a séance, talk to a dead spirit, or spirit
forces of some sort.
We
still have supposed spirit mediums today that some Christians go to, where a
person uses his or her psychic or intuitive abilities to see the past, present
and future events of a person by tuning into the spiritual energy surrounding
that person.
However,
what about heavy metal Christian bands? Are they a form of evangelism to
Christian your or are they Satanic?
Discernment
is keenly selective judgment. In other words, we have the ability to judge
well, and our ability to determine is finely tuned and able to sense minor
differences, distinctions, or details, to obtain spiritual direction and
understanding.
A
Christian who has both knowledge and discernment is able to make decisions that
if Jesus were in our place, and in our imperfect human condition, he would have
made the exact same decision.
One
way that we can use discernment is in our sharing of the biblical truths with
others who possess different worldviews and backgrounds, so as to save some.
The apostle Paul said,
1
Corinthians 9:19-23 Updated American
Standard Version (UASV)
“19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all,
so that I may gain more. 20 And so to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to those
under the law I became as under the law, though I myself am not under the law,
that I might gain those under the law. 21 To those without law I became as without law,
although I am not without law toward God but under the law toward Christ, that
I might gain those without law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the
weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
23 But I do all things
for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it.”
Keep
in mind that, even though Paul said, “I became as,” so that he might
become all things to all men, so as to save them, he never became anything that
would be contrary to God’s will and purposes.
A
good/bad example of this would be the modern day Christian heavy metal bands,
who by all appearances, is just like the worldly ones. Such bands are nine
parts world to one part Christian.
Can
we imagine young Timothy, Paul’s student, and traveling companion, being a
member of Stryper, Vengeance Rising, Deliverance, Believer, Tourniquet and
P.O.D?
Much
of modern-day Christianity, has become like the world in their misguided
attempt to evangelize the world.
They
are nine parts world to one part Christian. This so-called evangelism is an
excuse for loose conduct, i.e., an excuse to be worldly under the guise of
‘saving some.’
While
we are using a hyperbolic extreme example here of being like the world, to save
some out of the world, which is complete foolishness, there are many other
minor to major examples within modern day Christianity.
Jesus
used hyperbole, which is to over exaggerate to emphasize a point, but sadly, in
our day, we do not need to over exaggerate because our example found in these
so-called Christian metal bands is a reality.
1
Corinthians 2:14 Updated American
Standard Version (UASV)
“14 But the natural man does not accept the things of the
Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to
understand them, because they are examined spiritually.”
“The Greek word ginosko (“to understand”) does
not mean comprehend intellectually; it means know by experience. The unsaved
obviously do not experience God’s Word because they do not welcome it. Only the
regenerate have the capacity to welcome and experience the Scriptures, by means
of the Holy Spirit.” ― (Zuck 1991, 23)
Hundreds
of millions of Christians use this verse as support that without the “Holy
Spirit,” we can fully understand God’s Word.
They
would argue that without the “Spirit” the Bible is nothing more than foolish
nonsense to the reader.
What
we need to do before, arriving at the correct meaning of what Paul meant, is
grasp what he meant by his use of the word “understand,” as to what is
‘foolish.’
In
short, “the things of the Spirit of God” are the “Spirit” inspired Word
of God. The natural man sees the inspired Word of God as foolish, and “he is
not able to understand them.”
Paul wrote, “But the natural man does not accept
the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him.”
What
did Paul mean by this statement? Did he mean that if the Bible reader did not
have the “Spirit” helping him, he would not be able to grasp the correct
meaning of the text?
Are
we to understand Paul as saying that without the “Spirit,” the Bible and its
teachings are beyond our understanding?
We
can gain a measure of understanding as to what Paul meant, by observing how he
uses the term “foolishness” elsewhere in the very same letter.
At 1 Corinthians 3:19, it is used in the following
way, “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.”
This
verse helps us to arrive at the use in two stages:
(1) the verse states that human wisdom is foolishness
with God,
(2) and we know that the use of foolishness here does
not mean that God cannot understand (or grasp) human wisdom. The use is that He
sees human wisdom as ‘foolish’ and rejects it as such.
Therefore,
the term “foolishness” of 1 Corinthians 3:19 is not in reference to not “understanding,”
but as to one’s view of the text, its significance, or better yet, lack of
significance, or lack of value.
We
certainly know that God can understand the wisdom of the world, but condemns it
as being ‘foolish.’
The same holds true of 1 Corinthians 1:20, where the
verbal form of foolishness is used, “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of
the world?”
Thus,
we have the term “foolishness” being used before and after 1 Corinthians
2:14, (1:20; 3:19).
In
all three cases, we are dealing with the significance, the value being
attributed to something.
Thus,
it seems obvious that we should attribute the same meaning to our text in
question, 1 Corinthians 2:14.
In
other words, the Apostle Paul, by his use of the term “foolishness,” is
not saying that the unbeliever is unable to understand, to grasp the Word of
God.
If
this were the case, why would we ever share the Word of God, the gospel message
with an unbeliever?
Unbelievers
can understand the Word of God; however, unbelievers see it as foolish, having
no value or significance.
The
resultant meaning of chapters 1-3 of 1 Corinthians is that the unbelieving
world of mankind can understand the Word of God.
However,
they view it as foolish (missing value or significance). God, on the other
hand, understands the wisdom of the world of mankind but views it foolish
(missing value or significance).
Therefore,
in both cases, the information is understood or grasped; however, it is
rejected because of the party considering it, they believe it lacks value or
significance.
We
pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and our spirit, or mental
disposition, needs to be attuned to God and His Spirit through study and
application.
Now,
if our mental disposition is not in tune with the Spirit, we will not come away
with the right answer. As Ephesians shows, we can grieve the Spirit.
Ephesians
4:30 Updated American Standard
Version (UASV)
“30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for
the day of redemption.”
How
do we grieve the Holy Spirit? We do that by acting contrary to its leading
through deception, human weaknesses, imperfections, setting our figurative
heart on something other than the leading.
Ephesians
1:18 Updated American Standard
Version (UASV)
“18 having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that you
may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of
the glory of his inheritance in the holy ones,”
“Eyes
of your heart” is a Hebrew Scripture
expression, meaning spiritual insight, to grasp the truth of God’s Word.
So,
we could pray for the guidance of God’s Spirit, and at the same time, we can
explain why there are so many different understandings (many wrong answers),
some of which contradict each other.
This
is because of human imperfection that is diluting some of those interpreters,
causing them to lose the Spirit’s guidance.
A
person sits down to study and prays earnestly for the guidance of Holy Spirit,
that his mental disposition be in harmony with God’s Word [or simply that his
heart be in harmony with . . .], and sets out to study a chapter, an article,
something biblical.
In
the process of that study, he allows himself to be moved, not by a mental
disposition in harmony with the Spirit, but by human imperfection, by way of
his wrong worldview, his biases, his preunderstanding.
(Preunderstanding
is all of the knowledge and understanding that we possess before we begin the
study of the text.)
A
fundamental of grammatical-historical interpretation is that that we are to look
for the simple meaning, the essential meaning, the obvious meaning.
However,
when this one comes to a text that does not say what he wants it to say, he
rationalizes until he has the text in harmony with his preunderstanding.
In
other words, he reads his presuppositions into the text (Presupposition is to
believe that a particular thing is so before there is any proof of it), as
opposed to discovering the meaning that was in the text.
Even
though his Christian conscience was tweaked at the correct meaning, he ignored
it, as well as his mental disposition that could have been in harmony with the
Spirit, to get the outcome he wanted.
In
another example, it may be that the text does mean what he wants, but this is
only because the translation he is using is full of theological bias, which is
violating grammar and syntax, or maybe textual criticism rules and principles
that arrive at the correct reading.
Therefore,
when this student takes a deeper look, he discovers that it could very well
read another way, and likely should because of the context.
He
buries that evidence beneath his conscience, and never mentions it when this
text comes up in a Bible discussion. In other words, he is grieving the Holy
Spirit and loses it on this particular occasion.
Human
imperfection, human weakness, theological bias, preunderstanding, and many
other things could dilute the Spirit, or even grieve the Spirit.
So
that while one may be praying for assistance, he is not getting it or has lost
it, because one, some, or all of these things he is doing has grieved the
Spirit.
Again,
it is not that an unbeliever cannot understand what the Bible means; otherwise,
there would be no need to witness to him.
Rather,
he does not have the spiritual awareness to see the significance of studying
Scripture.
An unbeliever can look at “the setting in which the
Bible books were written and the circumstances involved in the writing,” as
well as “studying the words and sentences of Scripture in their normal,
plain sense,” to arrive the meaning of a text.
However,
without having any spiritual awareness about themselves, they would not see the
significance of applying it in their lives.
1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “The natural person does
not accept [Gr., dechomai] the things of the Spirit of God.”
Dechomai means, “to welcome, accept or receive.”
Thus,
the unbeliever may very well understand the meaning of a text, but just does
not accept, receive or welcome it as truth.
Acts
17:10-11 Updated American Standard
Version (UASV)
“10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea,
and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in
Thessalonica, who received the word with all readiness of mind, examining the
Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
“with
all eager readiness of mind.” The
Greek word prothumias means that one is eager, ready, mentally
prepared to engage in some activity.
Unlike
the natural person, the Bereans accepted, received, or welcomed the Word of God
eagerly.
Paul said the Thessalonians “received [dechomai]
the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 1:6)
At
the beginning of a person’s introduction to the good news, he will take in the
knowledge of the Scriptures (1 Timothy
2:3-4), which if his heart is receptive,
he will begin to apply them in his life, taking off the old person and putting
on the new person. (Ephesians 4:22-24)
Seeing
how the Scriptures have begun to alter his life, he will start to have a
genuine faith in the things he has learned (Hebrews
11:6), repenting of his sins. (Acts 17:30-31)
He
will turn around his life, and his sins will be blotted out. (Acts 3:19)
At
some point, he will go to God in prayer, telling the Father that he is
dedicating his life to him, to carry out his will and purposes. (Matthew 16:24; 22:37)
This
regeneration is the Holy Spirit working in his life, giving him a new nature,
placing him on the path to salvation. ― 2
Corinthians 5:17.
A new believer will become “acquainted with the
sacred writings, which are able to make [him] wise for salvation through faith
in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:15)
As
the Bible informs us, the Scriptures are holy and are to be viewed as such.
If
we are to acquire accurate or full knowledge, to have the correct mental grasp
of the things that we carried out an exegetical analysis on, it must be done
with a prayerful and humble heart.
It is as Dr. Norman L. Geisler said, “the role of
the Holy Spirit, at least in His special work on believers related to
Scripture, is in illuminating our understanding of the significance (not the
meaning) of the text. The meaning is clear apart from any special work of the
Holy Spirit.”
What
level of understanding that we are able to acquire is based on the degree to
which we are not grieving the Holy Spirit with our worldview, our
preunderstanding, our presuppositions, our theological biases?
In
addition, anyone living in sin will struggle to grasp God’s Word as well.
No
interpreter is infallible. The only infallibility or inerrancy belonged to the
original manuscripts.
Each
Christian has the right to interpret God’s Word, to discover what it means, but
this does not guarantee that they will come away with the correct meaning.
The
Holy Spirit will guide us into and through the truth, by way of our working on
behalf of our prayers to have the correct understanding.
Our
working in harmony with the Holy Spirit means that we buy out the time for a
personal study program, not to mention the time to prepare properly and
carefully for our Christian meetings.
In
these studies, do not expect that the Holy Spirit is going to miraculously give
us some flash of understanding, but rather understanding will come to us as we
set aside our personal biases, worldviews, human imperfections,
presuppositions, preunderstanding, opening our mental disposition to the
Spirit’s leading as we study.
The
Work of the Holy Spirit
The
following is adopted and adapted from Douglas A. Foster of Abilene Christian
University.
Christian
Publishing House’s understanding of the Holy Spirit is not that of the
Charismatic groups (the ecstatic and irrational), but rather the calm and
rational.
The
work of the Holy Spirit is inseparably and uniquely linked to the words and
ideas of God’s inspired and inerrant Word.
We
see the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as Christians taking the words and ideas
of Scripture into our mind and drawing spiritual strength from them.
The
Spirit moves persons toward salvation, but the Spirit does that, in the same
way, any person moves another — by persuasion with words and ideas:
Now we cannot separate the Spirit and the Word of God,
and ascribe so much power to the one and so much to the other; for so did not
the Apostles. Whatever the word does, the Spirit does, and whatever the Spirit
does in the work of converting, the word does. We neither believe nor teach
abstract Spirit nor abstract word, but word and Spirit, Spirit and word. But
the Spirit is not promised to any persons outside of Christ. It is promised
only to them who believe and obey him.
– Alexander Campbell, The Christian System
(6th ed.; Cincinnati: Standard, 1850), 64.
The
Holy Spirit works only through the Word in the conversion of sinners. In other
words, the Spirit acting through the Word of God can accomplish everything
claimed to be affected by a personal indwelling of the Spirit.
Longtime
preacher Z. T. (Zachary Taylor) Sweeney, in His book The Spirit and the Word: A
Treatise on the Holy Spirit in the Light of a Rational Interpretation of the
Word of God, writes after examining every Scripture that might be used by
advocates of a literal personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit,
In the above cases, we have covered all the
conceivable things a direct indwelling Spirit could do for one and have also
shown that all these things the Spirit does through the word of God. It is not
claimed that a direct indwelling of the Spirit makes any new revelations, adds
any new reasons or offers any new motives than are found in the word of God. Of
what use, then, would a direct indwelling Spirit be? God makes nothing in vain.
We are necessarily, therefore, led to the conclusion that, in dealing with his
children today, God deals with them in the same psychological way that he deals
with men in inducing them to become children. This conclusion is strengthened
by the utter absence of any test by which we could know the Spirit dwells in
us, if such were the case. – Z. T. Sweeney, The Spirit and the Word (Nashville:
Gospel Advocate, n.d.), 121–26.
This
author and Christian Publishing House are defined by our rejection of Holiness
and Pentecostal understandings of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit transforms a person, empowering him
through the Word of God, to put on the “new person” required of true
Christians, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put
on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” – Colossians 3:12.
Ephesians
4:20-24 Updated American Standard
Version (UASV)
“20 But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you have heard him and have been taught in
him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that you take off, according to your former way of
life, the old man, who is being destroyed according to deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and put on the new man, the one created according to
the likeness of God in righteousness and loyalty of the truth.”
Colossians
3:9-10 Updated American Standard
Version (UASV)
“9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man
with its practices 10
and have put on the new man who is being renewed through accurate knowledge
according to the image of the one who created him,”
Epignosis is a strengthened or intensified form of gnosis (epi,
meaning “additional”), meaning, “true,” “real,” “full,” “complete” or
“accurate,” depending upon the context. Paul and Peter alone use epignosis.
AUTHOR: CHRISTIAN
PUBLISHING HOUSE
EDWARD D. ANDREWS (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in
Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is CEO and President of Christian
Publishing House. He has authored ninety-five books. Andrews is the Chief
Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV).
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