UNDERSTANDING SCRIPTURE
PART ONE
~The Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection
Mark 12:18 Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:
19 "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.
20 "Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.
21 "And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring. And the third likewise.
22 "So the seven had her and left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also.
23 "Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife."
24 Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?
25 "For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
- NOTE: They do not become angels but are like angels in that they neither marry nor are given in marriage in heaven.
In the forgoing passage of Scripture some Sadducees came to Jesus with what they hoped would confirm their unbelief in the resection. In verse 24 Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? It is not unusual for people who do not know the Scripture to experience difficulty understanding the message God has presented to them. If we are to understand the Scripture we must first understand God. The only reliable source of information regarding this subject is the Scriptures themselves.
- Understanding comes with:
~The Beginning of Knowledge~
Proverbs 1:1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding,
3 to receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity;
4 to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion --
5 A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
6 to understand a proverb and an enigma, the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Steps to understanding:
- GOD is Eternal and Creator (Gen 1:1)
The first verse of the Bible simply presents us with God. The rest of the Bible is an expansion on the theme of who God is, what He is like, and what He is doing. God has no beginning--He is eternal; He is without beginning and without ending. He brings about the beginning of all else through His power as Creator. The eternity of God is difficult for the human mind to understand since we are so rooted in time and are accustomed to measuring life by the passage of time. Eternity is not simply unlimited time, forever extending backwards and forwards. Eternity is another dimension of existence and belongs solely to God. Time itself is a creation of God. Time is the experience of a succession of events and experiences for a created being. God existed in the dimension of eternity when He had not created time. As eternal, God stands above time just as He stands above matter and persons whom He also has created. But He may also choose to interact with persons or things within time. In this passage, we see the beginning of all things, but not the beginning of God, for He was already living when time came into being. If God had a beginning, He too would be a creature, and we would want to worship the one who brought Him into existence. We human creatures cannot explain the existence of God. His existence will always be a mystery to the human mind.
- God is the author of Scripture:
2nd Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
- God cannot lie:
Titus1:1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which is according to godliness,
2 in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,
Hebrews 6:17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath,
18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
2nd Timothy 2:11 This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him.
12 If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.
13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.
- No Scripture is given or interpreted by man:
2nd Peter 1:20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,
21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
- NOTE: Scripture is its own best interpreter. If we are to understand Gods message we must compare Scripture with Scripture.
- HOLY SPIRIT, (Who is also God; Acts 5:4) in Creation (Gen 1:1-2)
The Spirit of God participated in the creation of the world. The Hebrew word "ruach" may refer to God's Spirit, the spirit of a person, breath, or wind. Scholars are divided about whether the reference here is to the Spirit of God creating or to God's breath blowing across the waters. The eternal Spirit of God was certainly present at the creation. The Spirit is everywhere associated with power and life, both of which are important in creation. This reference to the Spirit should not conceal the metaphor used here. God's breath-like Spirit moved or hovered over the waters which covered the earth. God's Spirit thus kept the chaotic forces in check. Only a few verses associate the Spirit with creation. He is more often associated with individual persons. Other references to the Spirit creating include:
Job 33:4; 34:14-15; Psalm 33:6; 104:30.
Job 33:4 The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Job 34:14 If He should set His heart on it, if He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath,
15 All flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.
Psalms 33:6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
Psalms 104:30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth.
- It should be noted here that Jesus was also very much a part of creation. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[The Rider on a White Horse; Revelation 19:11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.
13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.]
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
- Personal creator (Gen 1:10)
The world came into being through the perfect will of a free, personal, self-existing Spirit (John 4:24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."). Creation included the entire material world we experience--the earth on which we live and all the space of the heavens with the heavenly bodies. God's creative acts are introduced by a special verb (Hebrew "bara') of which God is always the subject. The verb separates God's way of creating from all human experiences and comparisons. Creation is a uniquely divine act which humans cannot perfectly imitate. The verb never has an object naming material out of which God creates. He creates from nothing. Other verbs are used to describe God's shaping preexistent materials into new forms. Creation is God's sovereign act motivated only by His will and done without hindrance from any other power or being.
