This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you're familiar with the part I was given in God's plan for including everybody. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just wrote you in brief. As you read over what I have written to you, you'll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God's Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I've been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board. (Ephesians 3:1-6 MSG)

==================================&&&&&&&=========================================

In part 1(click here to read part 1), we looked at a condition of spiritual learning difficulty, where the sufferer is unable to understand spiritual truth that is clearly presented in the revealed word of God. Here we look at the consequences of this condition.

[I]. So we see then that it is easy to miss what is obvious to one person is not so obvious to the other. What then are the consequences of this condition?

1. "The seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message about the kingdom, but don't understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the message from their hearts." (Matthew 13:19 CEV)

2. "why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother's milk! There's nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another--showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us." (2 Timothy 3:15-17 MSG)

3. "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32 CEV)

4. "desire the sincere milk of the Word, as newborn babes, so that you may grow by it;" (1 Peter 2:2 MKJV)

[II]. We can therefore infer that this condition of not understanding the scripture is detrimental to our spiritual development. It is therefore desirable that we find a solution. But before we can do that, there is some more information that we need to take into consideration.

1. "Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: "Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You've concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people." (Matthew 11:25 MSG)

2. "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank You, O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the sophisticated and cunning, and revealed them to babes." (Matthew 11:25 MKJV)

3. "The wisdom I proclaim is God's secret wisdom, which is hidden from human beings, but which he had already chosen for our glory even before the world was made." (1 Corinthians 2:7 GNB)

4. "At that moment Jesus said: My Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I am grateful that you hid all this from wise and educated people and showed it to ordinary people." (Matthew 11:25 CEV)

5. "The message about the cross doesn't make any sense to lost people. But for those of us who are being saved, it is God's power at work. As God says in the Scriptures, "I will destroy the wisdom of all who claim to be wise. I will confuse those who think they know so much." What happened to those wise people? What happened to those experts in the Scriptures? What happened to the ones who think they have all the answers? Didn't God show that the wisdom of this world is foolish? God was wise and decided not to let the people of this world use their wisdom to learn about him. Instead, God chose to save only those who believe the foolish message we preach." (1 Corinthians 1:18-21 CEV)

6. "All of you young people should obey your elders. In fact, everyone should be humble toward everyone else. The Scriptures say, "God opposes proud people, but he helps everyone who is humble." Be humble in the presence of God's mighty power, and he will honor you when the time comes. God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him." (1 Peter 5:5-7 CEV)

---

Pride, out of place

I can because of me

Don't get in my way

I know what to do

How else will they know?

How great I really am

Don't need help

Won't get help

Comes just before a fall

---

Pride, all about me

I can't even if He says I can

I'd rather stick with what I know

Even if He says different

How else will they know?

How unworthy I am

Don't want help

Won't get help

Won't get anywhere at all

---

Humility, in my place

I can't but He can

Got out of His way

Don't know what to do

But He does

He leads, I follow

How else will they know?

How great He is

A life of limitless possibilities

---

[III]. These scriptures reveal that God is responsible for hiding the deeper meaning of scriptures from certain category of people while revealing it to others. This sounds somewhat incredible considering the following text.

1. "The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised, as some think. Instead, he is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins." (2 Peter 3:9 GNB)

(To be continued..)

Every Blessing

Breadoflife

click here to read part 3

To view others instalments in the series, click here