Affirmation

Sometimes along our journey we (or at least I) seem to find ourselves walking a road less or not previously traveled. In reality, walking a life road not previously traveled is probably not possible considering how many have walked before us. But at times it seems like we are in uncharted territory because we know of no one who has expressed the same thoughts.

In reading Ronald J. Gordon's article on scripture purity I discovered a paragraph that very closely parallels what I had come to believe about the printed Bible. I have been unable to ascertain Mr. Gordon's credentials, but I did find that he is a part of the Church of the Brethren. If you know your denominational structure you will know that the Church of the Brethren is very close in doctrine to the Anderson Church of God and to the Church of the Nazarene.

Here are the three paragraphs that brought me a lot of comfort:

It is posited that the general transmission of God's revelations appear in every translation, but regrettably no single translation seems to exclusively or exhaustively contain all of the original Divine revelation beyond criticism. This writer believes that God always supersedes the faithfulness or frailty of the translator because the work of the Kingdom is too important to be halted for the whimsical propensity of one or several individuals. King Saul could have been the most glowing monarch of Israel, but due to his unapologetic dismissal of God's promptings, a new king was divinely prescribed (1 Samuel 16:1). In the field of biblical translation, this writer suggests that if one individual or a group of translators decides to apologetically slant their work for undisclosed reasons, God will then encourage others to produce more faithful works. Therefore, accurate biblical translation depends on a simple two-fold process whereby God sovereignty preserves Divine revelations through devout men and women who are spiritually guided by their own pliability to Divine promptings.

Additionally, proper understanding of these Divine revelations necessitates spiritual pliability on the part of the reader. Scripture will be studied by non-spiritual individuals in vain because it is the Holy Spirit who grants illumination and interpretation to God breathed words. Scholars may treat biblical manuscripts with commonness and mechanically examine them as ancient classic texts, but as Christ stated, it is only the childlike who may understand the will of God. “Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein” Mark 10:15.

In other words, spiritually yielded individuals are supernaturally guided to understand biblical revelation in spite of how their own translation may read. Apostle Paul explains this in 1 Corinthians 2:10: “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” Contrary to the natural dependency on intellect, whim, colleagues, and experience to understand non-biblical literature, comprehension of the Bible is dependent on the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit in measure to the yieldedness of the reader. This is a continuous process of Spirit led comparisons. “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual” 1 Corinthians 2:13.

So the interpretation of the scriptures rest not in the hands of the translators, but in the minds of the reader. The reader must be in perfect tune with the Holy Spirit in order to "rightly divide" the "Word of God." And therein lies the difficulty. Being in perfect harmony with the Holy Spirit is not something we can do in a haphazard way. Going to church on Sundays, any church, is not nearly enough. Depending on a minister or teacher to impart the word is ludicrous. Finding a oneness with the Holy Spirit is key to understanding scripture.

Until next time, blessings.