The More I Read the Bible, the More I Understand That I Don’t Know Everything!
Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. (1 Corinthians 7.6-7)
In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul deals with the topic of marriage, with a focus on serving God in a time of uncertainty. At various points throughout the chapter Paul clarifies what are his opinions:
I say this… (v. 6)
I wish that… (v. 7)
I say that… (v. 8)
I, not the Lord… (v. 12)
This is my rule in all the churches… (v. 17)
I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment… (v. 25)
I think that in view of… (v. 26)
Yet in my judgment… (v. 40)
Contrast these statements with what he wrote in verse 10:
Not I, but the Lord…
I find it quite interesting that Paul, an Apostle – one who had seen and been instructed directly by the Lord, one who would write a major portion of the New Testament – was very careful to differentiate between his own opinion and what he knew to be from the Lord. Are we as careful to differentiate our opinions versus what the Bible has to say?
The lesson from this is twofold: 1) Know the Bible so that you can differentiate between someone’s opinion and what God himself says, and 2) Know the Bible so that you are able to clearly understand your own opinions and cultural biases.
Lord, the more I read the Bible, the more I understand that I don’t know everything! Help me to be a student of your Word, so that I may know the truth that sets free. Amen.