If you live in the USA, have become 'born-again', and go, or have 'gone, to church' for any length of time, the above verses should be somewhat recognizable to you. However, familiarity can be tricky in the sense that one may 'recognize' the content of a passage of Scripture, but not understand what the writer was actually trying to communicate, yet thinks he does. This can be attributed, at least in part, to the reader's mental preconditioning at the time. For example, how do you interpret the Matthew 16 verses above; was Jesus stating to Peter that He was going to build His church on the foundation of people who have come, and continue to come to a knowledge of Jesus Christ through the revelatory medium given by God, or was Jesus telling Peter He was going to build the church upon him as its foundation? The above represent two totally different interpretations of these verses, however both cannot be correct!
Interpretation of Scriptures has been the dividing point between Christians for as long as there has been 'Christians'. Who's to say which interpretation is an accurate representation of the writer's intent? When consensus, regarding an issue of this importance, can not be arrived at, the usual course of action is to divide and take sides resulting in faction. What is the solution when a scenario such as this develops between brethren? One thing most of us would agree upon is division, resulting from differing perspectives of Scriptural interpretation, does not achieve the 'oneness' Jesus spoke of in John, Chapter 17.
Ironically, the solution is contained within the context of the two texts sited above, namely -- revelation! . . . not the last book in the Bible, but an 'unveiling of' that which has been written in Holy Writ by or through the agency of the Holy Spirit. After all, He is the ultimate interpreter of the Word (Jn.16:13,14). In the third chapter of Philippians, verse 15, Paul succinctly puts the issue of Scriptural elucidation into the purview of the Godhead. Our problem, as Western Christians, is the preoccupation with our 'frontal lobes', or stated another way, the amount of trust we place in our ability to reason through a concept, believing that, through this process, we can come to accurate conclusions about spiritual truths. Yet, the Scriptures unequivocally state that "the natural man" (more accurately translated "the man governed by his soul - mind, will, emotion") [Gk. = psuchikos] cannot come to an accurate understanding of Scripture, since they are "spiritually discerned" (or accurately judged by him who is governed by the Spirit) [Gk. = pneumatikos] ICor.2:14. Paul, in the next chapter verse 1, corroborates this concept, but uses a different word with virtually the same meaning: "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people [pneumatikos], but as unto carnal, [sarkikos] . . ." [governed by human nature which indicates the use of one's mind, will, emotion].
Few Bible scholars would dispute that the apostle Paul's understanding of grace has set the standard for the doctrine of grace in Christendom. Interestingly, by Paul's own admission, he did not get this understanding through the mental gymnastics of his soul or anyone else's, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ (Gal.1:11,12). It's no wonder that one of his prayers for the Church was that she would be given a spirit of revelation (Eph.1:17), since every aspect of Paul's gospel was revealed to him by the Spirit of God.
When He came as the Lamb of God to the earth, Jesus never did one thing on His own initiative, but only that which He heard and saw His Father doing (Jn.5:19,30). Although most Bible believers would rarely put it into these terms, one could accurately say that, as a result, everything Jesus did, He did by the revelation of the Father! We conclude that Jesus always walked by faith during His first advent.
If the above thesis is accurate, one would, of necessity, have to come to the conclusion that without being in possession of revelation concerning spiritual truths found in any portion of Scripture, the most one could possibly have is an opinion . . . a conjecture. On the other hand, when the Holy Spirit imparts revelation, you now have the faith of God concerning that word (Rom10:17) - "And this proves that faith comes from a Message heard, and that Message comes through its having been spoken by Christ." [1912 Weymouth New Testament] The question that should occupy our attention, in light of this, is: ". . . But when the Son of Man comes, will He find on this earth anyone with faith?" Lk.18:8b [Contemporary English Version]
Next, we will consider the subject of how one can get himself into a place conducive for receiving revelation, thus becoming positioned for walking by Biblical faith.
