On election day, I had no idea on who to vote for concerning many of the people on the ballot. I went into the polling booth and after voting for the items that I knew what to vote on, I turned the page to a list of the Supreme Court Justices for the state of Ohio. I could've depended upon the Holy Spirit to guide me on which ones to vote for. I even contemplated that for a second. I had no idea, but I'm sure God did. Wouldn't he tell me? But God had given me every opportunity in the world to do research prior to the election and find out what the people up for election stood for. And he has given me his word to know what he stands for. I could've compared the two. But I didn't. I shouldn't expect God do to give me divine guidance, although he could, when he already gave me the opportunity and the knowledge to make a good decision on my own.
Oftentimes, we have the same encounter with the Scriptures. We could do a little research and properly understand things, but we refuse to. Sometimes, we even label the act of doing the research as an act of hatred towards being led by the Spirit and an unhealhty dependence upon our own knowledge. But it's not. God has given us the knowledge of the Scriptures. He has given us everything we need to properly understand what lays within. It is our responsibility to do the research and learn what the Scriptures are telling us. Learning how to study the Scriptures properly is one of the greatest feats of education any Christian will undertake. Unfortunately, I believe many churches have failed in educating the priesthood of believers in this regard and have left the Biblical interpretation to the professionals. Studying the Scriptures to acquire knowledge is not evil. It is what God gave them to us for. It is preparing ourselves for the decisions we have to make every day. This way we will have the knowledge to go along with the leadings of the Spirit.
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One of the biggest problems with our churches today is not the paid ministry but the priesthood of believers. The paid ministers believe strongly that the priesthood needs to be involved in ministry, but, oftentimes, the priesthood is too lazy to do anything about it.
One of the greatest tools of the priesthood is education. True, it isn't the most important. 1 Corinthians 13 says love is. But I don't think 1 Corinthians 13 is saying that the others aren't important, but that they aren't as important as love. Love is the foremost. All the others, including faith, fall below love. Today, I want to talk about one of the lessers, knowledge.
Knowledge is not evil. It is lesser to love, but it appears to be equal as a lesser to faith. Because if we do not have knowledge, what are we to have faith in?
Romans 15:14 - "I myself feel confident about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another."
Being filled with knowledge enables us to really be the priesthood of believers and instruct one another rather than having a guy who is in authority instructing us. Paul wrote the letter of Romans "to all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints." He was telling everyone there to instruct one another. Instruction is not just limited to the heirarchy of authority. It is something everyone in the church should be involved in, but it is combined with being "filled with all knowledge."
Paul gives thanks in 1 Corinthians 1:5 that the believers in Corinth had "been enriched in knowledge of every kind." Knowledge is something we need to continue to grow in. "Now as you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you - so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking."
The priesthood has to have knowledge if they are to teach one another as the New Testament describes it as being. But our knowledge is different than the knowledge of the world. It is a knowledge that comes from being filled with the Spirit. However, it isn't a knowledge contrary to the disciplines of learning. It is something we have to work for, just like we have to work for a heart of love, a life of faith, and a life led by the Spirit. But it is important if we are to be as dynamic of a church as that described throughout the New Testament.
John wrote in 1 John 2:27, "As for you, the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and so you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, abide in him."
We are taught by God and his Spirit. The Scriptures our hear to help guide us to the truth. It is never unhealthy to know as much about the Scriptures as possible. It is to keep us in check from going this way and that way because of the "promptings of the Spirit." It is our doorway to the teachings and the life of Christ and his followers. It is a glimpse of who God is. We should see him in our lives, but we should also see him in his word.
The true edification of the priesthood of believers will only come about when the priesthood is trained and disciplined in studying the Scriptures.
But as with everything, there seems to be an area that can lead itself to controversy. Paul wrote Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:20, "Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid the profane chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge; by professing it some have missed the mark as regards the faith." Defining what is profane chatter and contradictions versus defining what is knowledge is where we can probably disagree.
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If you're interested in learning about the Dead Sea Scrolls, here is a good website to visit. I was in a discussion with a teen at the store about Christianity and someone came up and started talking about how the Bible was fake and the Dead Sea Scrolls prove it. He then went on to explain how lack of access to the scrolls prevents people from knowing the truth. Those crazy gamers! I thought I would do a little research, so I can tell the teen the truth. This website is a good source for that discussion.
Watch out for the potholes.
