The Spoken Word
By Larry White
September 15, 2021
I am one who loves the spoken word. Moving one's lips while reading is ridiculed in our society though reading aloud would be frowned upon even more. Even to this day, I yet whisper along as I read certain lines and passages that are important, in order to feel the full cadence, the dynamic inflections and the deep sighs of the author's meaning and heart. Or it could be because of the slight autism I have, making what I read to be very visual in my mind. Regardless, great works should be read aloud, as Shakespeare's plays must be and as the Bible should be, to fully engage the equipment of our language, which involves our whole being in our comprehension. Alas, many a strong prose, snide remark, grand and noble sentiment, or tender loving sigh is completely missed by a young modern student speed reading and skimming along. Jesus said,
“Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and more will be given to you who hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” (Mark 4:24-25)
He is referring to comprehension. Jesus said to his disciples,
"The Spirit is the [thing] making alive. The flesh does not profit anything. The sayings [`ρήματα] which I have spoken to you, spirit they are and life they are. But there are some of you who do not believe." (John 6:63-64) [Lit]
That is, they must be understood in the context of the spiritual realities from which the author is communicating and with a believing, intuitive mind, of that which is spirit. Paul labored to explain that to the carnal Corinthians in the first century who were still acting like mere men.
"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches; imparting spiritual things unto spiritual [men].
"But the natural [soulish, carnal] man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is discerned of no man. For, 'who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?'
"But we have the mind of Christ." (1Cor. 2:14-16) [brackets LW]The implication there is that the spiritual Christian has the mind of Christ and so can discern all things and with that discernment can "hear" what Jesus says, and that with a spiritual "measure" or the ability to weigh each thought from a spiritual perspective, more and more understanding will be measured out to him. But the carnal Christian who is reading and skimming over the sayings of Jesus and understanding with his human intellect and teaching it in that limited way, will be eventually reduced to understanding nothing.
The application there is primarily to the carnal mind of the Jewish nation, trying to understand the Old Testament. But the same especially holds true for anyone today trying to teach the New Testament scriptures. The man who walks in off the street, he will not understand most of the scriptures unless he is under the guidance of God and has been led there by faith, and believing what God has said. Most others will understand it with their own intellect and wisdom, which could be a problem given what character one may have, particularly if he is full of pride and self-esteem and not having a humble trusting faith. There is a strong bias against that idea in many churches of Christ still today, who say that any man off the street is able to comprehend the scriptures, and consequently that is the caliber of teaching that is presented. Therefore the understanding of the congregation, generally, will suffer and slowly be taken to the level of the lowest common denominator of the carnal men among them.
Any class going over a year in length to study a book like the Gospel according to John for instance, is murmured against as a boring verse by verse waste of time. Therefore the meat of God's word is not allowed to be taught and will not be tolerated by some congregations who want only brief overviews with inane questions to answer and that only takes a couple of months to get through. I have often asked brethren, "What's the hurry?" And the answers I got was that the members will not tolerate it. If they cannot grasp the spiritual things being taught, they become frustrated and discouraged. However these same brethren will not ask questions either to try to understand. This sometimes can be alleviated from the pulpit if the preacher will teach the deep things of God, little by little. But then, I've found that the preacher will be told to not teach things that are over the heads of the visitors on Sunday mornings otherwise they will not come back.
So when does the membership ever get exposed to the meat of the Gospel? Home bible studies? When will that ever happen? I can't be too critical. I was once a member of an assembly who had 50 home bible studies per week in different member's homes. I have not seen another one like it in the forty years since.
The carnal and natural man will get frustrated when confronted with the teachings of Jesus. Without the spiritual eye open, (Luke 11:34), which is our faculty of discerning and perception, the poor man is faced with confusing contradictions and conundrums. It is irritating to the flesh to be misunderstanding all the time and spiritual things become paradoxical and unsolvable and so the human mind just gives up and pronounces it all as malarkey. The Jews called Jesus mad, or a Samaritan who has a demon, why listen to him? And so many of the crowd of disciples (not the twelve) would throw up their hands and leave saying, "This is a hard saying, who can hear it." An example of that is in John chapter 6. The key there is that we eat what Jesus gives us when we believe it and internalize it in our hearts.
But a few did listen. The soldiers that the rulers of the Jews sent to arrest him and failed to do so made the excuse saying, "Never man spoke like this man." And the disciples, when Jesus asked if they would also leave him, said, "Where shall we go? You have the sayings of eternal life." Jesus then reminded his disciples that he had said, "No man can come to me except it were given to him from my father." (John 6:65)
Jesus had said that no person could come to him unless the Father drew him. He had to hear and learn from the Father in order to come to Jesus. (John 6:44-45)
So the person who gets what the Father gives is the person who is taught and learns from the Father and what the Father gives is faith.
Coming to Jesus is of course believing what he says and receiving him as a teacher, (not asking him to come into your heart, as the Baptist churches teach) but accepting him as what he says he is, and that is based upon the prior teaching of the Father to those who will sit at his feet and be a disciple of his word.
The Lord has dealt to each man the measure of faith; therefore each man can grow in faith and gain more, according to his "measure".
It is similar to growing in spiritual understanding. The Holy Spirit is given to each man who has come to Jesus, and by faith been immersed (baptized) for the remission of sins and is raised to a new spiritual life in Christ. Then with an increase in his faith by the study of God's word and prayer, God will give him the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus, and thus open the Christian's eyes to comprehend more and more of the extent of the spiritual realm; the breadth, length, depth and height - and to go past knowledge and become mature in the love of Christ. (Ephesians 1:16-19; 3:16-19) "To be filled with all the fullness of God." So, if this is the "measure" with which you understand God's word and discern his will, then God will use this measure to teach you more.
Faith is our eyes to see. Faith is the key to the realization of our identity in the plan of God - the continued revealing of the Sons of God.
LW