The Bible has been written so that we can understand it. Paul told the brethren in Ephesus, “By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ” (Ephesians 3:4). He expected them to be able to take the letter he wrote them and come away with the same understanding that he had of the things that God revealed to him. As these inspired writings have been preserved for us, we can do the same today.
However, the fact that the Bible is understandable does not mean everything in it is easy to understand. Referring to Paul’s writings, Peter said, “As also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16). Peter did not say Paul’s writings were impossible to understand. But some passages are more difficult than others. Despite the difficulty, we still have Paul’s assurance that we “can understand” what we find in the inspired word of God. We just might need to put some additional effort into studying certain topics or passages.Continue Reading
