All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV)
What a remarkable declaration of the authority of the scriptures, and the power they have to make us righteous, to make us complete, and to equip us to do God’s work. But it’s imperative that we approach the Bible with the right attitude if we are to fully benefit from all that God has to say to us.
All scripture – means all, any, every, the whole.
Breathed out by God – means the scriptures aren’t words about God, but they are words from God. As God’s own words, scripture has authority to declare truth that we are all accountable to.
So, scripture is the ultimate authority about who God is, how we are called to live before Him, and how we are to serve His purposes. Yet, the majority of scripture isn’t written as straightforward commandments. Typically, the scriptures are rather understated in how they communicate God’s truths, His instructions, and His desires. It’s very important to understand why God communicates in this manner, because if we don’t, we can underestimate the importance of a lot of the Bible, and miss much of what God is saying to us in His word.
Let’s start by asking, what is the purpose of God’s word? Is it to get us to keep rules, to comply with a list of dos and don’ts, or to compel us to act in a way that we don’t really want to act? While there are parts of the Bible that are very confrontational in nature, and passages that contain dire warnings for the wicked and rebellious, that’s not the prominent tone of the Bible. The purpose of God’s word is to bring people into a genuine, love relationship with Himself. To know Him in truth, so that we are one with Him in spirit 1. To experience the life that is in Him as we walk in His ways, bringing Him glory and serving His purposes.
Seeking God’s Ways
God wants to guide people who have a heart to do things His way. Not to coerce people who want to do things their own way. The following verse communicates this truth so well.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. (Psalms 32:8-9 ESV)
Rather than giving commandments that back us into a corner and leave us little choice, God wants to have us hanging on His every word, eager to discern His very heart. God is looking for people who desire to be near Him, and God’s word is an invitation to walk with Him in His ways.
Within the Bible there are straightforward rules and regulations, but when scripture talks about God’s ways, it is calling us to a unity with the Lord that is much more than merely conforming to dos and don’ts. The Bible places a strong emphasis on knowing God’s ways.
Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. (Psalms 25:4 ESV)
Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths. (Isaiah 2:3 ESV)
If we want to be effective in accomplishing God’s purposes, we need to be attentive to God’s ways. If we want to enjoy a personal connection with God, we must walk in God’s paths.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV)
God doesn’t say that His ways are merely different, He says His ways are higher. And He doesn’t say that His ways are a little higher, He says they are higher than the heavens are above the earth. God says emphatically that our ways are not His ways, and they’re not even close!
This is one of the most crucial foundational truths in the whole Bible. It’s one of those starting-point truths that should erase all confidence in our ways and our intellect and our logic. This truth should set us free to fully embrace God’s ways and walk in His paths. But if we don’t grasp this fundamental truth, we can spend our lives laboring to do things for God, but going about it in our way instead of His way.
[God] teaches the humble his way. (Psalms 25:9 ESV)
A sense of self-sufficiency is a tremendous hindrance to experiencing God’s ways. Trusting in our own creativity, our plans and strategies, and utilizing worldly wisdom and business tactics will keep us far from God’s paths. We may accomplish big things, but will they survive the test of fire on the Day of the Lord? Scripture says the fire will test what sort of work each has done, not the volume of work. 2
A Life Of Passionately Seeking Insight
Making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:2-5 ESV)
Notice the passion in this passage. This isn’t a casual approach to seeking insight. It’s seeking insight with a sense of urgency, calling out and raising your voice! This attitude isn’t intended just for new believers, this should be a life-long trait of every believer. But often it seems that older believers lack this kind of passion. It’s like they’ve settled for what’s comfortable and familiar. They have their circle of friends, they have their church and their sphere of influence in that church, and loyalty to the institution seems to take precedence over passionately seeking insight and understanding. They often show more loyalty to things that are grounded in tradition than to things that are grounded in scripture. This lack of seeking seems especially prevalent in many church leaders, who seem more passionate about defending how they do things rather than continuing to incline their hearts to understanding.
What Is God Saying?
As we read through the Bible, we should always keep in mind that whatever we’re reading, God chose to put this in the scriptures. And we should constantly be asking “What is God saying, and how should I respond to what He’s saying”?
Acts 6:1-7 is a great example of a passage that contains no direct commandments yet has amazing insight into God’s ways. The passage starts by revealing that certain widows were not receiving the daily distribution of food. This was a serious problem, both for the widows and for the unity among the believers. When the twelve apostles addressed the situation, they were adamant that it wasn’t right for them to take on the ministry of feeding the widows. Instead, they would devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. They gave brief instructions to the church and left it with them to take care of the needs of the widows.
As stated earlier, there’s no commandment in this passage, and I’ve heard church leaders label this passage as nothing more than a historic tidbit that has no bearing on how we do things. But I believe God chose this story to make a compelling statement about His ways, and how effective His ways are. This point is driven home as the story wraps up in verse 7. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
This is the payoff verse that reveals the point of the story. They refused to get caught up in a bunch of ministries, no matter how pressing they may have seemed. And the results that came from their unswerving devotion to prayer and the ministry of God’s word are amazing! If we aren’t inspired by this passage to embrace these priorities as God’s way, then I think we must qualify for being a mule.
Teach Us Your Ways, O Lord!
I pray that God will stir a spirit of hunger in his people, that all believers, no matter how young, how old, or how influential, will passionately call out for insight and understanding. That we will read God’s word with ears ready to hear and hearts ready to receive. That we will have a deep sense of accountability to all scripture, and as little children, we will be attentive to every word that our Father has breathed out.
Isaiah 66:2 ESV All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.
If this article spoke to you, you may want to read “God’s Ways Accomplish God’s Goals” https://testeverything.blog/2023/02/07/gods-ways-accomplish-gods-goals/
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Footnotes:
- 1 Corinthians 6:17 (ESV) But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.
- 1 Corinthians 3:12-14 (ESV) Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
Test Everything 