Comments on the necessity of Studying the Scriptures and knowing the Historical/Grammatical background in order to make a proper context to preach and apply the Word to our modern day world
vs
Walking in the Spirit, hearing God's voice, etc
Would like to hear thoughts on this topic from u all...
Who says it has to be one or the other? ;-)
I'm agreed with Robert. It's not an either-or situation, it's a both-and. Balance is needed. You have some people who are so bogged down in the historical-grammatical method and approaching the Scriptures as a "scholar" that they end up missing it. And likewise, there are so many people who miss it that boast of all the "revelations" they have.
Basically God has shown me something of the following in my Christian walk: Why should you expect to hear from God when you neglect to meditate upon and study the Scriptures? After all, the Scriptures are the word of God, and they were written and spoken in real life contexts by real life people.
It is important to understand those situations so as to truly understand what God was saying to those people. And in doing such, when one runs across situations in present life that greatly parallel a specific word spoken in a specific context in history, one will come to understand that God is also saying the same thing to you presently as He was then. And such will truly take the leading of the Holy Spirit to make such application.
To ignore the historical-grammatical context of the Scriptures is to do violence to God's word. It is an arrogant declaration that states what God has said is of no real importance, and that the people He said it to were of no real importance either.
May I also add that Jesus submitted to His Father's will.
By that I mean the following.
Luke 4v16...and as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
His example was that He was in the place of worship and would obviously have heard and read the scriptures just like everyone else.
Matt 4 when Jesus is tempted He said 'It is written' hence also our need to study God's word.
And remember, Jesus is the Word.
In Matt 4 again we are told in verse 1 that Jesus was led of the Spirit.
Here again we see Jesus obeying the Spirit of God, and we should do the same.
Ezra 7v10, 'For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statues and ordinances in Israel.
Once again, adherence and obedience to the word of God.
Hope it doesn't seem too off topic.
God bless.
Mattie:
One of my favorite illustrations of the difference is in John 2 where Jesus turned the water into wine. We can collect water (our study, Greek & Hebrew, commentaries, etc.) but we need Jesus Christ to transform it into life (the new wine). Knowledge all by itself puffs up. Real life has to come from the One who is Life--the Lord Jesus. Jesus encourages us to come to Him in our study of the Bible for life (John 5:39-40).
The flower belongs to the artist not the botanist. Sometimes I have been a "botanist" in trying to dissect everything in the Word that what I end up with is a destroyed flower. I must come back as an artist to a childlike trust in the Holy Spirit to show me the beauty of Christ in the Word. One has well stated: Don't unstring the harp in search of music.
On a final note, good exegesis (drawing out of the Scriptures) helps us not to be good "eisogetes" (those who put into the Scriptures what is not there). We become like the God we see (2 Cor. 3:18).
In Him,
Ken
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