(The following is the May 17 devotional from my Next Step Devotions book. Before reading it, I suggest you read Acts 8 and pay close attention to verses 26-40.)
Reading Scripture is vital for Christians. We should long for its truth, study it alone daily and regularly with others, and sit under its authority as people teach us. However, doing that only guarantees exposure to the Bible, not understanding.
Instructed by an angel where to go, Philip encountered an Ethiopian man reading from Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” (v. 30). “‘How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone guides me?’” (v. 31). Philip then explained about Jesus, beginning with the passage the man read. The Holy Spirit worked through that reading and conversation, resulting in the man’s belief and baptism.
Paul told the Corinthians: “Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God. We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people. But the person without the Spirit does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him: he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually” (1 Cor. 2:12-14).
Only through the Holy Spirit’s work can we understand the Bible. The Spirit indwells Christians and guides us into all truth (John 16:13). We also benefit from the Spirit’s work through other people who help us understand and apply Scripture, just as Philip helped the Ethiopian. Our understanding of God’s Word is never due to our intelligence or maturity. If we correctly grasp its meaning, it is purely by God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s teaching.
Next Step:
Read the following passages about how the Holy Spirit teaches: Luke 12:11-12; John 14:26, 16:13; Eph. 1:17-19. Develop the habit of praying whenever you open the Bible that God will grant you wisdom and guide you through his Spirit.
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