It's been awhile but I never gave up on the Oneness blog and the Lord has been showing me things. In recent days I've been commenting on other blogs and one of the things I noticed was that there were a lot of disputes about words.
Let me take you back to the time before I became a Christian. I had read the Bible twice and was working on my third time through. Each time I read it I analyzed it looking for some special meaning that would feed my desire for knowledge or maybe even use it to feed some fleshly desire. Let's just say I didn't get either; the fact of the matter is that each read through was boring and in some places confusing. On the third read through I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior and there was an explosion! The Bible came alive, and every word now seemed to jump off the page!
So what happened? A relationship happened. Now when I read the verses, the Holy Spirit is there to teach me what every book, every chapter, every verse and every word means. I don't need a dictionary to tell me what a word means -- He is there sharing with me the truth of His Word; I am not alone! If some verses I read give me great joy, He is there to share that joy with me. If the verses made me sad He is there to lift me up. If I am guilty, He is there to set me free and if I am wounded He heals me.
The Bible is not just about the words within it; it is about the revelation and the relationship created between God and His creation. God is speaking to us through His word, the Bible, but we still need to listen and ask Him questions using His Word to know Him and what is on His heart. If we fight over the words and their meanings we lose out on the relationship with God and others. It truly does become what Paul said to Timothy in 1 Tim. 6:3-5.
This is also true for all of our relationships, especially the relationship between a husband and wife. When we talk, we also need to listen and ask questions, get to know each other and learn what is on each others heart. How many arguments have started or marriages ended because of words being misunderstood?
If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. (1 Timothy 6:3-5)Usually when people get down to the point of disputes about words, the above verses probably apply to the situation to some extent. Don't get me wrong, words are important but I would say that there is something much more important than words.
Let me take you back to the time before I became a Christian. I had read the Bible twice and was working on my third time through. Each time I read it I analyzed it looking for some special meaning that would feed my desire for knowledge or maybe even use it to feed some fleshly desire. Let's just say I didn't get either; the fact of the matter is that each read through was boring and in some places confusing. On the third read through I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior and there was an explosion! The Bible came alive, and every word now seemed to jump off the page!
So what happened? A relationship happened. Now when I read the verses, the Holy Spirit is there to teach me what every book, every chapter, every verse and every word means. I don't need a dictionary to tell me what a word means -- He is there sharing with me the truth of His Word; I am not alone! If some verses I read give me great joy, He is there to share that joy with me. If the verses made me sad He is there to lift me up. If I am guilty, He is there to set me free and if I am wounded He heals me.
The Bible is not just about the words within it; it is about the revelation and the relationship created between God and His creation. God is speaking to us through His word, the Bible, but we still need to listen and ask Him questions using His Word to know Him and what is on His heart. If we fight over the words and their meanings we lose out on the relationship with God and others. It truly does become what Paul said to Timothy in 1 Tim. 6:3-5.
This is also true for all of our relationships, especially the relationship between a husband and wife. When we talk, we also need to listen and ask questions, get to know each other and learn what is on each others heart. How many arguments have started or marriages ended because of words being misunderstood?
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