Believe, Even If It Is Hard To Understand

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Believe, Even If It Is Hard To Understand

6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; 7 but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden {wisdom} which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 8 {the wisdom} which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 9 but just as it is written, "THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND {which} HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM." 10 For to us God revealed {them} through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the {thoughts} of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the {thoughts} of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual {thoughts} with spiritual {words.} 14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.

Understanding the Scriptures comes through the help of the Holy Spirit. We are to prayerfully seek the wisdom through the Holy Spirit to help us understand the Scriptures. No one in their own power or understanding will accept and understand the things of God. The apostle Paul explains this wonderfully in the verses we just read.
There are some parts of Scripture that may be hard for anyone to understand. Even though we may not be able to understand every verse of Scripture, we are to believe it, in whole, the entire Bible. Whatever you do, if you are a professing Christian, do not be so bold as to say that you do not believe a particular verse or section of Scripture. The apostle John explains that it is absolutely necessary to believe all of Scripture, the entire Bible. He says in Revelation 22:18-19, “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophesy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.”
When you give Scripture a different meaning than God intended, you not only misunderstand the Scripture, but you misunderstand who God is. Matthew addresses this in his gospel in Matthew 22:29, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God.” It is not up to you to determine the meaning of a section of Scripture. It is up to you to find the meaning God has in the Scripture through Scripture. God gave each verse a meaning. He uses all of Scripture together to explain itself.
The best way to misunderstand any verse of Scripture is to take it out of the context it is in and give it a different meaning, make it mean what you want it to mean. In so doing you are grieving the Holy Spirit, being disobedient to Christ and sinning against God. Reread Revelation 22:18-19.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” The entire Bible is the Word of God; every book, every chapter, every verse, every word. We are to study the Bible, not merely read it, but to study it, meditate on it, apply it, share it. Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” Paul is telling Timothy to study the Bible so that he will understand the Scriptures and will be able to teach others correctly and to use it wisely.
We are to take from this lesson that the Word of God may be hard to understand, but we are to believe it none-the-less. We are to believe it in its entirety. We are to prayerfully seek the help of the Holy Spirit for the wisdom to understand the Scriptures and the things of God. We are not to mindlessly spat out statements that we don’t believe certain verses or sections of Scripture just because we don’t understand them. Humble yourself and seek the help of the Holy Spirit. If you cannot believe the Bible, then you cannot believe in God. The Bible, in its entirety, came from Him. You are called to believe, even if it is hard to understand.