Human Reasoning vs Divine Revelation

How do we study the Bible to know God?

Much has been said about our own efforts in study by reasoning. Books, manuscripts and theses have been written and argued to promote and defend different theologies and propositions. Many of these are very learned and well-written, and should be encouraged to continue. We defiintely need more discipline in digging into the Word of God and to study it progressively at a higher level.

Another equally important dimension is that of Divine Revelation. Unless God chooses to reveal Himself to us, much of what we studied and thought true could be vain ignorance, for who are we to claim that we can study and know God?

In the Bible, God chooses to reveal Himself to us. We can see many verses supporting this, one of which is Isaiah 43:12 "I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God."

As He reveals Himself to us, through the Word we should draw near to Him and know Him firsthand. He is know-able, which is quite rare as compared to other gods, especially those in the Ancient Near East.

In a way, knowing God through Divine Revelation is more difficult than Human Reasoning as it require us to draw near to God in faith, humility and with a contrite heart. He will definitely reveal but are we willing to draw near? It is easier to choose the path of Human Reasoning as it can be done with our intellect without an encounter with God and a need to look at our own condition and change our ways.

At the end of the day, as we study His Word, both ways are important and we should not weigh too much on one at the exclusion of the other.

When was the last time we studied a passage in the Bible?

In this busy age, most of us hardly have time for ourselves, not to mention devotion times or prayer. Once a week, we may force ourselves to attend a small group (or CG) and we would have given ourselves a pat on the back and said, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"

Studying the Word is an important necessity in modern living. One of the reasons so many of us are weak and have little spiritual foundation is that our basics are weak. We have little spiritual depth in the Word. What better way to increase our spiritual depth than to study the Word directly for ourselves? Not just to read about someone else' study or thoughts, but to spend time and dig into the Word for ourselves and encounter God firsthand.

How do we study the Word?

There are many good tools in the market and in the Internet. This blog will attempt to surface out the good ones to share. Beyond the tools, what is needed is the heart. We must first desire to study the Word, the medium where God chose to reveal Himself to us. This desire will then inspire us to invest our limited time in His Word, rather than tv or Internet surfing.

May you start this year afresh studying His Word. Make a plan. Choose one simple book of the Bible to start with. Identify one Bible study format that can guide you and follow through it for this year.

God bless.