2 Corinthians
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- Опубликовано: 13 июн 2018
- Why is the Bible so confusing? Why is it so hard to understand the Old Testament? Why does it often feel harder to engage the Bible as opposed to any other book? Why can't we often find what we are looking for in the pages of the Bible?
In this series of teaching videos, David will work through 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:6 and explain how there is a veil over our Bibles and how Jesus removes it.
Check out our YouVersion Bible Reading Plan based on this video: www.bible.com/reading-plans/1...
To learn more about Spoken Gospel visit: www.spokengospel.com
To support our Gospel mission visit: www.joinspokengospel.com 
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Our YouVersion Bible Reading Plan for this video is now live!! Please join us in this study here: www.bible.com/reading-plans/12504/
Powerful love this can't wait to keep going.
Wow Amen, Praise be to God. Thank you for this video.
•Good Word
What do you think the main cause of lack of desire to engage and read the Bible? And what have you found to help you the most in overcoming it?
I have two answers to your "main cause" question. One of the primary causes for a lack of desire to engage with the Bible is stated in 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:6. Sin and Satan have put spiritual blinders on our eyes. This veil keeps us from being able to behold the glory of God in the Bible. This leads to the second main cause for lack of desire. This second cause, I believe, is a lack of awareness at what is actually in our Bibles. We can actually experience, behold, savor, enjoy, and rest in a powerful and unique presence of God in the Bible. If we only could realize what we are holding when we hold a Bible, I think we would be all the more excited to open it up.
This leads to your second question about overcoming this lack of desire. I want to say first that you have absolutely nailed the underlying reason why we don't engage our Bibles: we don't want to. It is exactly because we lack the desire to read our Bibles that we don't read it. Our hearts need to be changed to long for the glory of God revealed in Scriptures. So the question is, how are our hearts changed? The answer is the Gospel. Again, 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:6 explain to us that the veil is taken off of our Bibles by Jesus through the Spirit. When we put our faith in Jesus and the Holy Spirit dwells within us, the first step toward enjoying our Bibles has been taken - the veil has been removed. The next thing we must do is see Jesus in all of Scripture.
Jesus, his Gospel and glory, are the chief and central figure of every part of the Bible. That means that anywhere you turn in the Bible you can find the glory of Jesus. Your heart has been touched by the Gospel and you have tasted that the Lord is good. Therefore, once you learn that there is more of Jesus to discover and enjoy in the Bible you will find more and more desire springing up in your heart to seek him out in it. You can nurture your desire for the Bible by nurturing your desire to see, behold, enjoy, and dwell with Jesus.
This is what we are trying to help people do with Spoken Gospel. I would especially point you to our Spoken Gospel Podcast (www.spokengospelpodcast.com).
Finally, a lesser note. One way to enjoy your Bible more is to understand it better. Get some good resources to help you understand what you are reading. Once you can follow the story better, you will be able to see Christ better. I would recommend starting with "Jesus on Every Page" by David Murray.
Thanks for your question.
I don’t know why I can’t seem to find the Bible engaging. I truly want to, I try to read, however it’s so hard for me to truly read and not just skim through it. My husband loves the word and enjoys reading every day, I want to be able to do so myself. How can I get there?
Thank you so much for your honest post and question. Can I just say that "wanting to want" to read the Bible is an amazing first step. Often times we can't create the desires in our hearts that we want, but we can long for them to be there. So I just want to tell you that God is clearly working in you. You want to want his Word. This is a great thing.
On to your question. I'll try not to repeat what I have said in the comment above. But if you haven't read that, I'd encourage you to start there and finish the reading plan associated with this video.
There are several reasons, other than the ones listed above, that may be contributing to your lack of finding the Bible engaging. You can sum it up by saying, we need to read our Bibles Spiritually, informatively, submissively, christo-centrically, and joyfully.
Read your Bible Spiritually:
A prayer in Psalm 119:18 says, "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your Word." There are wondrous things in the Word of God, but our eyes must be open to see them. For many people find the Bible engaging as a story, piece of art, or important relic of history. But if you truly want to see the wondrous things in God's word, your eyes must be opened. This is the work of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:13-14). I would tell you, if you really want to want to read the Bible, begin with prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to the wondrous things in Scripture. And pray as you read. Make it a conversation. Ask God what he would have you see in this or that text. We need to Spirit to understand the spiritual things in the Bible.
Read your Bible Informatively:
It's really hard to enjoy reading something you don't understand. Imagine picking up even a really easy to read book like Harry Potter, but jumping in halfway through the 4th book with no knowledge of the characters or plot. Would you find yourself engrossed in the story, invested in the characters, and enjoying the book? No. We need to know the story of the Bible. We need to understand the world in which it was written. We need to be informed. I would recommend reading "Christ From Beginning to End" by Hunter and Wellum (a.co/d/0aSA3z6). This will help you understand the story of the Bible and how to enjoy it for all it's worth.
Read your Bible Submissively:
This is extremely important and extremely overlooked. One of the reasons we don't like to read our Bibles is because it accuses us. The Word of God often stands against us, showing us our faults, revealing in us our lack of concern for the things of God, and expressing to us how much we need to rely on Jesus instead of ourselves. The Bible also stands against our laziness. It must be engaged with. So I would recommend submitting yourself to the Bible. Read through it from cover to cover and take it as it is. Let it confuse you and correct you. And when something comes up that you don't understand, look it up!
Read your Bible Christo-centrically:
What I mean is read your Bible with Christ at the center. Jesus is the key figure in every text. The reason why we often don't want to read our Bibles is that we don't understand the true glory that is inside (I know I've said this in the other post, but it must be repeated). The book by Wellum and Hunter that I suggested above, along with "Jesus on Every Page" by David Murray will help you see how to read your Bible in order to see Jesus everywhere. This will, more than anything, change your desire for the Bible. For once you realize Christ is in it, you will run to it with joy.
Read your Bible Joyfully:
Here is one of the common misconceptions when it comes to reading our Bibles. We do not need to read our Bibles somberly and quietly. We need to read them joyfully. These are God’s words to us. This is the message of our salvation. These are the carriers of the glory of God. There is great joy to be experienced as we read our Bibles. We need to shift our approach to Bible engagement. There is joy to be had. Once you agree with this, reading your Bible will more from doing a chore to becoming an obsession.
David Bowden You are so wise and your words make so much sense. I remember watching your videos years ago when I believe in scripture and no excuse came out, I would watch them over and over again. You are so inspiring. I truly want to be that immersed in Jesus for him to use me the way he is using you. Thank you for your advice and your insight.
Have you ever tried to have the Word read to you while you read along? If you use the app YouVersion, there are several different versions of the Word with different personalities reading it to you (and you can obviously read along with it). I would suggest either ESV or MSG (more of an everyday version) to at least get you started. They also have a ton of devotionals (like this awesome one that David posted) available that can make it more 'applicable' feeling as you choose a topic or particular book.
Paul said: And not as moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of isreal could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished ( 3 Corinthians 3:13) ....so jesus is not same moses...same moses is muhammad saw. 😌
Which translation of the Bible are you using
ESV