One Example of Connecting the Dots
While in the
process of considering a theme for this post, the Holy Spirit led my spirit to
a recent interpretation of a passage of Scripture that I had not previously fully
understood. It was from a sermon from
one of my teachers (Ron Carpenter), and it was a reminder for me that as I
continue in Bible study, even having read something more than once, I can still
learn more. This is especially true when “connecting the dots” in a way that I
had not previously seen, and now had added meaning.
The
scripture in point is from the Apostle Paul’s first letter to his new converts
to Christianity in the city of Corinth:
“1 Corinthians 2:3-8
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much
trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words
of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but
in the power of God.
6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet
not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to
nought:
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the
hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had
they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
Note that in Verse Eight, the Apostle
wrote that the “princes of this world” were the ones who had “crucified the
Lord of glory”. In my haste I had not moved beyond my initial interpretation
that he was referring to the Caiaphas the Chief Priest of Israel’s Temple and
the other leaders of the Sanhedrin who had conspired to convince the Roman
rulers to crucify our Lord Jesus. (https://www.christianity.com/wiki/people/what-bible-tell-about-caiaphas.html ) Besides, that interpretation seemed consistent with the
interpretation of Psalm 2: 1-3, given by another one of my teachers many months
earlier:
“2 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel
together, against the Lord,
and against his anointed, saying,
3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from
us.”
In that passage, the “heathen” were the Romans, and
the “people” were the officials leading Israel’. In my new method of
“connecting the dots”, even that interpretation might be too simplistic.
The “Key Dot” in the sequence in my current thought
came from our Lord Himself near the end of His Earthly Ministry. He and His
Disciples had come to Jerusalem that last time to celebrate the Passover. See
John 12: 12-33. The most relevant verses
in that passage of Scripture are these:
“23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of
man should be glorified.
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall
into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth
much fruit.”
Here the Lord is comparing His coming death, burial and
Resurrection to the planting of a “seed”. The “death” of that seed would
ultimately result in a many-fold harvest of “fruit”, each of which would
contain many additional “seeds”. As “THE
Son of God”, through His death, burial and Resurrection would come untold
numbers of “sons of God” through their belief / faith in Him.
Regarding “connecting the dots”…
We believers today are
many of those “sons of God”.
(Romans 8: 11-14; Galatians 3: 24-25, 4: 1-5; Philippians 2: 5-15; 1 John 3:
1-2) What the Apostle Paul was telling
the Corinthians in the Scripture above is that it had been revealed to him by
the (Holy) Spirit that God knew before the world began that the Lord Jesus’
death would result in the creation of so many, many of us as “sons of God”.
Regarding “another dot”…
Also as noted by Paul in Verses Six and Eight of his
letter to the Corinthians above, the “princes of this world” who were the ultimate
forces behind the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus were neither the leaders of
Israel nor the Romans. They were merely the
human “tools” used (like Judas) to accomplish their objectives. The kings, princes
and rulers of this Earth are the spiritual forces led by God’s Enemy Satan,
“the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4: 3-4), also named “the prince of the
power of the air” (Ephesians 2: 1-2). It was these rulers who “would not
have crucified the Lord of glory” if they had known the tremendous impact
that event and those events that followed would have on expanding God’s
influence throughout mankind.
Even so, as you well know the war between good and
evil is not finished. As “sons of God” we have been warned (in Ephesians 6:
11-18):
“11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be
able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in
high places.”
As I continue to study our Bible, I plan to try harder
to “connect the dots”. This will be especially important in looking harder for
the “spiritual” significance that accompanies each “natural” event and related Scripture.
Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson
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