I wonder if we truly realize the power of reading the word of God. Information contained in the Scripture will not find its lodging in our hearts through osmosis or some other magical transformation. No, it is going to take the decided effort on man's part to take a copy of the Bible, sit down with calculated purpose, and try to understand exactly what is said, using the brains, intelligence, and abilities for rational thought God gave us.
Yet, we hear some people say, "I would really accept it if I could hear Jesus say it with His own mouth", or "I would really be convinced if I could hear the Lord's chosen apostles teach it personally." While I admit it would be time well spent to be in the audience of Jesus or one of His apostles, such is not necessary to know the thoughts God had at one time in His mind and later revealed them (1 Cor. 2:7-13). Notice what Christ and one of His apostles said about this:
Jesus
- When answering questions about divorce and remarriage, He said, "Have you not read,..." (Mt. 19:4). He cites what Moses wrote about God's original instructions.
- When silencing the Sadducees in their attempt to confuse Him over the resurrection, He said, "Have you not read that which was spoken to you by God,..." (Mt. 22:31).
The apostle Paul
- When explaining to the Ephesians the mystery of God's grace, he said, "When you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ" (Eph. 3:3-4). What they were to read was what he wrote.
- He commonly instructed first century Christians to read his epistles in the assembly, and to read letters to other churches (Col. 4:16; 1 Thess. 5:27).
Even though Jesus and Paul were physically on the earth, teaching what God wanted taught, they still made appeals to the written word. What if all saw the importance of God's word and stuck to it? (cp. Rom. 1:16; Jas. 1:21) Wouldn't all division, disputes, and disagreements in religion go away because of the universal acceptance of an objective standard, one that is understandable and revered?
"Have you not read?"
