So you are probably thinking, “Honestly Natalie, what is the big deal anyway. We all believe in Jesus, isn’t that enough?” I guess my question for you would be what is enough to you anyway? For me, I want my faith to make sense. I want to understand what I am hanging my eternity on. I want the Bible to make sense and I want the ability to be able to explain my faith with others in a way that makes sense to them. So, yes, believing in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is enough for your salvation, but just this knowledge is not enough for me.
I want to “walk in a manner worthy of my calling” (Ephesians 4). Look at Colossians 1:10, “so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God.”
So how do we do that? This is my definition of “enough.” It is not my goal to just capture the “Bible basics” and go no farther. It is not enough to put my faith on a shelf and dust it off on major holidays or when I am feeling like life has not dealt me a fair hand. My faith has to be logical, it has to be based on something concrete and if I don’t have that, I have nothing. I have told you before I have a background in science so when I approach my faith, I don’t check my brain at the door. I test what I hear, from every teacher and preacher against what I know to be true in the Bible.
Guess what, the Bible holds up. It is the most amazing collection of words that I have ever studied. The Bible from cover to cover does not disappoint and will not leave you wanting more. It works and is so cohesive I am amazed. If you don’t find the Bible to be that, then you haven’t studied it enough. At times I have to admit that I have been stumped, stumped for hours, stumped for days, weeks, years. God has always been faithful as I have searched He has revealed.
That is the key of course, are you searching, are you looking, do you have the faith to look for the answers and the patience to wait for them to come? This mystery stuff may seem like a lot to do about nothing, but I have experience that if you keep searching the Scriptures you will find it to be the most excellent message.
Look at some verses that God brought to my attention this week.
Philippians 1:9-10, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may distinguish between the things which differ that are of more value in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ.”
What are the things that differ? This is the message of the mystery that Paul was a minister (Colossians 1:23-27). You want to study something that is excellent, that has the most value in Scripture, study the mystery. This is a concept that goes over the heads of many Bible students, but I think it is the key to understanding Scripture. Keep going, keep putting the pieces together until you have had enough!
What Bible version did you quote for Phil. 1:9-10? I just checked 26 versions online and the only one that had "things that differ" was the Young's Literal Translation, and that did not read the same as your quote. All the others used words like "excellent," "best," "superior," "very best," "right," and "important" to describe the "things."
ReplyDeleteI love that you searched so hard, isn't the internet a great tool?! I must admit that I didn't pull this verse directly from any translation. I took the words "approve" and "excellent" and pulled their meaning from the original Greek text. Approve is dokimazo and excellent is diaphero which can be translated as I wrote the text. I wish there was a translation out that did have it that way, but that is why digging is worth it. I like Young's Literal Translation, thanks for finding it. I hope this answers your question...I will make a note if I do that again, so it doesn't cause confusion. I enjoyed studying with you.
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DeleteAfter looking closer, the New American Standard Bible has a footnote which could be inserted: "or distinguish between the things which differ."
DeleteThat would make it look very much like what you wrote.
Yes, I usually use the NASB and always default to the foot notes. However, the Greek is translated that way as well. Thank you for all your work on those verses. I believe this translation takes a well known verse and makes it all the more meaningful.
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