Understanding God’s Word
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
…… but people are perishing not only because they lack knowledge, but because they reject knowledge.
Job 36:12 “But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword and die without knowledge.”
Proverbs 5:23 “He dies for lack of discipline and because of his great folly he is led astray.”
Proverbs 10:21 “The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.”
Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge. I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”
In His Word, God has committed to men the knowledge necessary for salvation.
There is no sanctification aside from the truth—the Word. Then how essential that it should be understood by everyone!
I must understand:
• that the Holy Scriptures, i.e. Old and New Testaments, are the written Word of God, given by divine inspiration (Ps. 119:105; Prov. 30:5, 6; Isa. 8:20; John 17:17; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17; Heb. 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20, 21), that there is one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a unity of three coeternal Persons (Gen. 1:26; Deut. 6:4; Isa. 6:8; Matt. 28:19; John 3:16 2; Cor. 1:21, 22; 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6; 1 Peter 1:2) and that God is the Creator, Source, Sustainer and Sovereign Lord of all creation. (Gen. 1:1; Deut. 4:35; Ps. 110:1, 4; John 3:16; 14:9; 1 Cor. 15:28; 1 Tim. 1:17; 1 John 4:8; Rev. 4:11)
I must understand:
• that Jesus Christ is truly God, but also became truly man in order to reveal the character of the Father and save humanity from their sins. He will come again in glory for the final deliverance of His people and the restoration of all things. (Isa. 53:4-6; Dan. 9:25-27; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-3, 14; 5:22; 10:30; 14:1-3, 9, 13; Rom. 6:23; 1 Cor. 15:3, 4; 2 Cor. 3:18; 5:17-19; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-19; Heb. 2:9-18; 8:1, 2)
• that the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of Scripture and is as much a person as are the Father and the Son. Through the Holy Spirit we sense our need, acknowledge our sinfulness, repent of our transgressions, and exercise faith in Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, Substitute and Example. (Gen. 1:1, 2; 2 Sam. 23:2; Isa. 61:1; Luke 1:35; 4:18; John 14:16-18, 26; 15:26; 16:7-13; Acts 1:8; 5:3; 10:38; Rom. 5:5; 1 Cor. 12:7-11; 2 Cor. 3:18; 2 Peter 1:21; Hab. 2:4; Mark 9:23, 24; John 3:3-8, 16; 16:8)
• that God created the universe in six days, approximately 6000 years ago and established the Sabbath (Saturday) as a perpetual memorial of the work He performed (Gen. 1-2; 5; 11; Exod. 20:8-11; Ps. 19:1-6; 33:6, 9; 104; Isa. 45:12, 18; Acts 17:24; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2; 11:3; Rev. 10:6; 14:7.) and that man and woman were created in the image of God for His glory and made with individuality and the power and freedom to think and to do. (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:7, 15; 3; Ps. 8:4-8; 51:5, 10; 58:3; Jer. 17:9; Acts 17:24-28; Rom. 5:12-17; 2 Cor. 5:19, 20; Eph. 2:3; 1 Thess. 5:23; 1 John 3:4; 4:7, 8, 11, 20)
I must understand:
• that in Christ’s life of perfect obedience to God’s will, through His suffering, death, and resurrection, God provided the only means of atonement for human sin, so that those who by faith accept this atonement may have eternal life (Gen. 3:15; Ps. 22:1; Isa. 53; John 3:16; 14:30; Rom. 1:4; 3:25; 4:25; 8:3, 4; 1 Cor. 15:3, 4, 20-22; 2 Cor. 5:14, 15, 19-21; Phil. 2:6-11; Col. 2:15; 1 Peter 2:21, 22; 1 John 2:2; 4:10). I must understand that all humanity is now involved in a great controversy between Christ and Satan regarding the character of God, His law, and His sovereignty over the universe (Gen. 3; 6-8; Job 1:6-12; Isa. 14:12-14; Ezek. 28:12-18; Rom. 1:19-32; 3:4; 5:12- 21; 8:19-22; 1 Cor. 4:9; Heb. 1:14; 1 Peter 5:8; 2 Peter 3:6; Rev. 12:4-9)
• that the church is the body of Christ, a community who truly believes and confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and that we are called out from the world to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus (Gen. 12:1-3; Exod. 19:3-7; Matt. 16:13-20; 18:18; 28:19, 20; Acts 2:38-42;7:38; 1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 1:22, 23; 2:19-22; 3:8-11; 5:23-27; Col. 1:17, 18; 1 Peter 2:9 Dan. 7:9-14; Isa. 1:9; 11:11; Jer. 23:3; Mic. 2:12; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Peter 1:16-19;4:17; 2 Peter 3:10-14; Jude 3, 14; Rev. 12:17; 14:6-12; 18:1-4)
• that I am God’s steward, entrusted by Him with time and opportunities, abilities and possessions and the blessings of the earth and its resources. I am responsible to Him for their proper use. I acknowledge God’s ownership by faithful service to Him and our fellow human beings, and by returning tithe and giving offerings for the proclamation of His gospel and the support and growth of His church. (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15; 1 Chron. 29:14; Haggai 1:3-11; Mal. 3:8-12; Matt. 23:23; Rom. 15:26, 27; 1 Cor. 9:9-14; 2 Cor. 8:1-15; 9:7)
I must understand:
• that the Scriptures testify that one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy and that this gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church, but that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested. (Num. 12:6; 2 Chron. 20:20; Amos 3:7; Joel 2:28, 29; Acts 2:14-21; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 12:17; 19:10; 22:8, 9)
• that we are called to be a godly people who think, feel and act in harmony with Biblical principles in all aspects of our personal and social life. This means that our amusement and entertainment should meet the highest standards of Christian taste and beauty. It also means that because our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, we are to care for them intelligently. (Gen. 7:2; Exod. 20:15; Lev. 11:1-47; Ps. 106:3; Rom. 12:1, 2; 1 Cor. 6:19, 20; 10:31; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1; 10:5; Eph. 5:1-21; Phil. 2:4; 4:8; 1 Tim. 2:9, 10; Titus 2:11, 12; 1 Peter 3:1-4; 1 John 2:6; 3 John 2)
• that in Baptism through immersion I confess my faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and testify of my death to sin (Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 2:38; 16:30-33; 22:16; Rom. 6:1-6; Gal. 3:27; Col. 2:12, 13) and that the Lord’s Supper is a participation in the emblems of the body and blood of Jesus as an expression of faith in Him, our Lord and Saviour. (Matt. 26:17-30; John 6:48-63; 13:1-17; 1 Cor. 10:16, 17; 11:23-30; Rev. 3:20)
I must understand:
• that the Ten Commandments is God’s eternal and unchangeable Law and a reflection of His character. Salvation is all of grace and not of works and its fruit is obedience to the Ten Commandments. I keep the Law of God because I love Him. (Exod. 20:1-17; Deut. 28:1-14; Ps. 19:7-14; 40:7, 8; Matt. 5:17-20; 22:36-40; John 14:15; 15:7-10; Rom. 8:3, 4; Eph. 2:8-10; Heb. 8:8-10; 1 John 2:3; 5:3; Rev. 12:17; 14:12)
• that the fourth commandment of God’s unchangeable law requires the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday) as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. It is a token of our allegiance and a foretaste of our eternal future in God’s kingdom. The Sabbath is God’s perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. The sign of His authority (Gen. 2:1-3; Exod. 20:8-11; 31:13-17; Lev. 23:32; Deut. 5:12-15; Isa. 56:5, 6; 58:13, 14; Ezek. 20:12, 20; Matt. 12:1-12; Mark 1:32; Luke 4:16; Heb. 4:1-11)
• that there is a sanctuary in heaven, the true tabernacle that the Lord set up and not humans. At His ascension, He was inaugurated as our great High Priest and began His intercessory ministry, which was typified by the work of the high priest in the holy place of the earthly sanctuary. The completion of this ministry of Christ will mark the close of human probation before the Second Advent. (Lev. 16; Num. 14:34; Ezek. 4:6; Dan. 7:9-27; 8:13, 14; 9:24-27; Heb. 1:3; 2:16, 17; 4:14-16; 8:1-5; 9:11-28; 10:19-22; Rev. 8:3-5; 11:19; 14:6, 7; 20:12; 14:12; 22:11, 12)
I must understand:
• that the near second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of the church, the grand climax of the gospel. The Saviour’s coming will be literal, personal, visible, and worldwide. When He returns, the righteous dead will be resurrected and together with the righteous living will be glorified and taken to heaven, but the unrighteous will die. (Matt. 24; Mark 13; Luke 21; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 5:1-6; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; 2:8; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; Titus 2:13; Heb. 9:28; Rev. 1:7; 14:14-20; 19:11-21)
• that the wages of sin is death, but God, who alone is immortal, will grant eternal life to His redeemed. Until that day death is an unconscious state for all people, those who have already fallen asleep. When Christ, who is our life, appears, the resurrected righteous and the living righteous will be glorified and caught up to meet their Lord in the air. The second resurrection, the resurrection of the unrighteous, will take place a thousand years later. (Job 19:25-27; Ps. 146:3, 4; Eccl. 9:5, 6, 10; Dan. 12:2, 13; Isa.25:8; John 5:28, 29; 11:11-14; Rom. 6:23; 16; 1 Cor. 15:51-54; Col. 3:4; 1 Thess. 4:13-17; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 20:1-10)
• that the millennium is the thousand-year reign of Christ with His saints in heaven between the first and second resurrections. During this time the wicked dead will be judged; the earth will be utterly desolate, without living human inhabitants, but occupied by Satan and his angels. At its close Christ, with His saints and the Holy City, will descend from heaven to earth. The unrighteous dead will then be resurrected and with Satan and his angels will surround the city; but fire from God will consume them and cleanse the earth. The universe will thus be freed of sin and sinners forever. (Jer. 4:23-26; Ezek. 28:18, 19; Mal. 4:1; 1 Cor. 6:2, 3; Rev. 20; 21:1-5)
I must understand:
• that God will provide an eternal home for the redeemed on the new earth, in which righteousness dwells – a perfect environment for everlasting life, love, joy, and learning in His presence. For here God Himself will dwell with His people and suffering and death will have passed away. The great controversy will be ended and sin will be no more. (Isa. 35; 65:17-25; Matt. 5:5; 2 Peter 3:13; Rev. 11:15; 21:1-7; 22:1-5)