Eyes of the Spirit
By Kyle Blackwell
Early in my walk with Christ, I started reading the Bible like I had never [read anything] before. I hated reading, but now it is enjoyable. I had a desire to know more about my God. I was going through a whirlwind of emotions between Jesus transforming me and the life I was leaving. I had what I called an anthem verse which helped me through the hard times.
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5
I was going through a horrible time in my life and I wanted what I thought was best for my kids. I was suffering, I had persevered, my character had started to change with the transforming of my heart through God’s will, I had hope in God for the sake of my kids, and I just knew that my hope would not be put to shame. Why? Because that is what the verse exclaims! However, it’s not. I was reading this verse through the eyes of the flesh, and not the lense of Holy Spirit.
The true meaning of Romans 5:3-5 is this:
While we may go through challenging, difficult times, we are able to rejoice in Him who has been through everything and anything imaginable, because Holy Spirit brings comfort and peace that cannot be explained. Through it all, God draws near to us. And we’re able grow in our reliance, and trust, in God. There is a lot more to go along with this passage, but it is for another day.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. -Proverbs 3:5
Instead of praying, and waiting, for Holy Spirit to reveal the true meaning of His Word, I relied on my own interpretation of the Bible. However, there was another time when God revealed the truth to me in His own timing.
So when he had dipped the morsel, He gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly. -John 13:26-27
Why did satan enter into Judas only when he partook of the bread? This troubled me for a very long time and I sought the Lord in prayer for 2 years. It was not until I wrote Seriousness At The Table when God revealed to me the reasoning behind these verses. If we would actually understand the events that transpired when Judas took the Lord’s Supper in an unrepentant manner, we would take the Table much more serious these days.
Back to the task at hand. In my own fleshly state, I cannot understand anything in the Bible. The Word is almost like a code that can only be deciphered through the eyes of Holy Spirit. This is why we must pray for understanding each time we read the Bible.
Back to when my relationship with Jesus began. After purchasing a study Bible, I would read that book until I fell asleep. This is not even an exaggeration. I actually named the book “Queso Bible”. Funny story, I was eating chips and queso while reading on the couch. After falling asleep, I woke up to find queso all over the Bible, my hair and everywhere. After letting the queso dry, I was finally able to get all the pages unstuck. The Queso Bible was the first book I ever really enjoyed reading. And when I failed to understand what a particular verse meant, there were study notes readily available for help.
As I started getting closer to Jesus, there was something missing in my walk through the Word. After about a year I started relying more on God for understanding instead of watching YouTube videos and reading commentators and Bible footnotes. There are a lot of great commentators on the internet these days, but it is always important to test their spirit by the Spirit, Holy Spirit. And this should be used with your pastors as well. Do not just blindly believe someone just because they have a title in front of their name, or because you respect them and think they’re Godly. We’re all humans and we all get it wrong from time to time.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. -1 John 4:1
God wants us to have a reliance in Him, and this even includes a reliance in understanding. When we open our hearts to Him before opening the Word, He opens the code through Holy Spirit. Many preachers are idolized because of their understanding of the Bible, but if the truth be told, they understand because of their commitment to God, and the crying out for understanding.
Look at Paul, he was one of the most well taught Pharisees of his time when it came to the Tanakh. He studied under the great Gamaliel, who is the same man the Sanhedrin sought in the book of Acts when the Apostles were on trial. Gamaliel would be the equivalent to Stephen Hawking, or Albert Einstein when it comes to Physics. My point is that Paul knew it all. Or, did he?
Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel preached by me is not based on human thought. For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation from Jesus Christ. -Galatians 1:11-12
Even though Paul knew the Old Testament from cover to cover, he did not completely understand the underlying meaning.
And this is where I get very controversial, and I may even upset many people. I believe many churches are kicking Holy Spirit out of their congregation by requiring a pastor to attend a Bible school. Now, their explanation of the requirement may make all the human sense in the world, but is it Biblical? Listen to Jesus:
I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit — the Father will send Him in My name — will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you. -John 14:25-26 HCSB
Is Jesus saying we need to go to school to understand His teachings? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure Jesus is stating that Holy Spirit will teach us all things. I have read 1 Timothy and Titus, and they explain the qualifications of a pastor, and neither those books state anything about going to an institution as being a qualification for a pastor, yet so many churches, while going against the Bible’s teaching, list seminary school as a requirement.
We have this made up train of thought that believes anyone who attends Bible school is called to be a preacher. Many Bible schools throughout America have atheist professors. And no, not everyone who thinks they are supposed to be a pastor is actually called by God.
[I feel as though I need to add a quick footnote. I’m not knocking on a man who is called by God who chooses to attend seminary school; I’m only saying it’s not a requirement.]
Now, one may say that schooling just shows one’s commitment to the Lord. I can see that, but it’s not biblical. And you need to tread very carefully when you start adding and subtracting to and from the Bible. This is why many churches in America are dying, or are now following false doctrine, because we’re diverting from biblical theology, and resorting to worldly ideologies. If churches have a desire for biblical pastors, they need to rid themselves of non biblical requirements.
This goes right back to Holy Spirit intervention. I’m not a smart man. While I’ve always been able to write, and conjure up a group of words so they make sense, I’ve never been one who could read a book and understand what the author is conveying. However, I am able to understand the Bible, but only after I truly put my faith in Jesus Christ and trust in Holy Spirit to reveal all truth. Reading the Bible is paramount to having a relationship with Jesus, but so is praying, and praying for understanding. Without revelation from Holy Spirit, we will only have an idea of what is happening, but not the underlying truth. So, I urge you, brothers and sisters, next time you open the Word, don’t go to the footnotes for understanding, go to God and ask Him for revelation through Holy Spirit.
-My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge - Hosea 4:6
