Do you understand what you are reading?

Acts 8:30 So Phillip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, " Do you understand what you are reading?"

Phillip encounters a powerful Ethiopian eunuch on a desert road near Gaza and finds him reading Isaiah's prophecy that would have been about 750 years old at the time. The spirit has led him to intersect this particular man and this particular place, so a divine appointment occurs. As Phillip approaches, he asks a great question that needs to be asked to anyone who engages the scriptures: "Do you understand what you are reading?" Why is it important to understand? If the scriptures are God's word that reveal Himself, His plans, and His purpose then a correct understanding is critical. I believe that indeed the scripture is the breath of God on the page (2 Timothy 3:16) and is our primary guide to proper enlightenment and in turn worship of the triune God.

"So what is the big deal?" you might ask. Most of us have heard the stories of Daniel, Noah and Father Abraham since we could walk and talk and can even sings songs about these biblical stories. The big deal is this: Everything in the bible points to an exaltation of Christ. The old testament points towards and longs for Christ as we see pictures of Him in festivals, sacrifices and in the offices of prophet , Priest and King. The Gospels reveal Him as the fulfillment of all of these. Our Lord says in Luke 24:44," these are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and of the Prophets and of the Psalms must be fulfilled". Short version: everything that God had revealed to humans pointed towards the need for Christ and I've fulfilled my ministry.

This "Christocentric" view of scripture is essential if we are going to be trained appropriately by the scriptures. There is a tendency to simply approach scripture in an effort to learn precepts and to try to apply them to our lives. When we do this, we are simply trying to train our flesh to be spiritual. It is frustrating and hopeless. We might do some things better for a while, but our flesh needs to be crucified, not trained. This is exactly what Jesus shocks Nicodemus with in John 3:3 ,"truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God". Nicodemus who is a mega trained pharisee who knows all of the delineated principles and precepts, and the best man made methods to apply them, is shocked and phased. He is trying to retrain his flesh to please God, and Jesus says that can't work.Jesus continues the dialogue (paraphrased) You must be reborn in the Spirit. The scriptures aren't there to help you try harder and smarter to please God, they are there to reveal your need for me to be your suffering servant for salvation and your conquering king as you bow to me."

If we look to any scripture without an eye on Christ, we are doing something distinctly non-christian. A practical example would be David and Goliath. I have heard that story many times taught where the only precept to be learned was to "train yourself to have a faith like David". While that is certainly a apart of the picture, David is not the hero gunning for more glory. David is the servant of Christ who is confident that His God will glorify himself through his faithful actions. Goliath is taunting Israel, God's chosen people. David's faith is not in Himself, even though he has been trained and prepared for what He is about to do. His faith is firmly planted in God's desire for God's Glory to be known, and his kingdom enlarged, so he trots out there and allows God to win and be celebrated. We see a picture of Christ in David as a warrior king for God's glory that hates sin and attacks the evil that tries to silence the witness of the triune God. We have to see the victory in David's faith that he kept his eyes on the right "Giant", that being the triune God, not Goliath. If we simply delineate a precept of work hard and go and face your giants because David did, we miss the work of Christ building David's faith as David enjoyed exalting God. We will also miss the Glory of God being the central part of the account and the picture of Christ in David Himself. The point of the story is that Christ initiates everything, including the faith that David had and he does it for His Glory and our Good simultaneously. Reducing it to a simple have more faith without the right cause, purpose, mode, ability can be down right dangerous.

Indeed, until we see that our flesh must be crucified by the cross we carry, not retrained, we are misunderstanding scripture. It is when we die to the flesh, and through God's grace become alive and grow in the Spirit, that he works in an through us, and the spirit shapes and trains us to do battle for his glory.

So, do you understand what you are reading when you read the bible? Is it distinctly Christ exalting? Run from the tendency to simply apply a learning devoid of empowerment by the spirit and causality other than an exaltation of Christ.