CC Bible-Study

[GreenMunchkin]

Hiya! This is probably completely remedial, but this made my day. I've only been a Christian for a year and a half, and am still getting to know the Bible - if that makes any sense?

Have often heard people say, nothing in the Bible doesn't have a deeper meaning than it appears on the surface, but I've never quite understood how that worked.

But, have been pondering a lot of stuff recently, and one of them was this:

[bible]John 9:6[/bible]

And I've been wondering, why did Jesus spit on the ground? He obviously didn't need to do that. So, pondering pondering pondering, and I was thinking it was because His doing that made it, almost, official that He was defying the Pharisees by working on the Sabbath.

But that didn't seem to cut it. And I was reading, and it suddenly struck me!

[bible]Psalm 94:9[/bible]

[bible]Isaiah 45:9[/bible]

He was referring to, amongst others, those scriptures! He was saying, "It's Me that created the eye. I AM your Creator. I AM the potter, and you are My clay." He was saying that He is God!

See? I said it was remedial, but it was like a lightning-bolt of recognition and understanding and it made me really want to get deeper into this with you all. I thought it'd be a really nice thing to study and share together.

So do you all have other examples of "hidden meaning" in the Bible? I know that may not be the right phrase, but I don't know what else to call it. Have you also had "bolt" moments?

Sorry if I sound all excited, but it sort of made my day

 

[Lisa0315]

Never thought of it that way, but that is truly beautiful.

This is what atheists cannot understand when we say that we receive Supernatural understanding of Scripture from the Holy Spirit.

Lisa

 

[Gregged]

Sorry if I sound all excited, but it sort of made my day

It should make your day! It certainly is exciting when God reveals things to us.

Sometimes just reading one verse can bring a whole load of other Scriptures to mind, putting all the puzzle together - and it almost sends me into "overload" with all the revelation received from the Author! It's exciting!

 

[Lisa0315]

Here is one that I was given as an answer to an atheist question:

Atheists often have a problem with God commanding the Israelites wiping out men, women, and children. God gave me these two passages:


Revelations 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Deuteronomy20:10 When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. 11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee. 12 And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:


What do these two have in common? In Deuteronomy 20, we find the law of warfare. God commanded Israel to declare peace at the gates of the cities. If they were allowed in, then, they eventually became full members of Israel entitled to the same blessings and inheritances.

This is how God deals with His enemies. He stands before the door and declares peace. If we let him in, then, we become sons and daughters to Him and He will give us everything that He has.

If we keep the door closed, then, ultimately, we will be destroyed.

The OT God and the NT Christ are one and the same!!! He is a God of both love and justice!

Lisa

 

[GreenMunchkin]

Hiya, Greg Do you have examples, also?

It could be the start of a CC Bible Study! Which, actually, is something Jim suggested we have about a week ago

 

[ContentInHim]

PR 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;
to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

I believe that this verse confirms what you have discovered, GM. And it's what keeps me reading the scriptures over and over and over because no matter how often I read the same verses, something new pops out at me with each new reading. The Holy Spirit is a wonderful teacher!

 

[Kelly]

I believe that this verse confirms what you have discovered, GM. And it's what keeps me reading the scriptures over and over and over because no matter how often I read the same verses, something new pops out at me with each new reading. The Holy Spirit is a wonderful teacher!

I was just going to post that scripture. I love the depth of the word. Even in scriptures that seem blatantly for another group/time/place you can dual purpose for today.

Another thing to remember is how Jesus constantly spoke in parable. It was not to make things easier to understand, but provoke thought and a bit of research, I beleive.

 

[Bananna]

Very interesting thoughts:
Rules I follow in digging deeper:

The hidden meaning can never negate the plain meaning in the context of the passage.

Alegorical meaning will follow the accepted priciples of pictures previously defined.

the numbers must add up or they don't equate.

Individual application cannot negate the universal application.

whatever God does lasts forever nothing can be added to it and nothing can be taken from it. (Ecc 3:14)

If God says it more than once... "Listen Up and Pay attention"

Not a that its a rule of thumb, but I get something new out of it every time I read it...
bananna

 

[JoeWill]

Hiya! This is probably completely remedial, but this made my day. I've only been a Christian for a year and a half, and am still getting to know the Bible - if that makes any sense?

Have often heard people say, nothing in the Bible doesn't have a deeper meaning than it appears on the surface, but I've never quite understood how that worked.

But, have been pondering a lot of stuff recently, and one of them was this:

[bible]John 9:6[/bible]

And I've been wondering, why did Jesus spit on the ground? He obviously didn't need to do that. So, pondering pondering pondering, and I was thinking it was because His doing that made it, almost, official that He was defying the Pharisees by working on the Sabbath.

But that didn't seem to cut it. And I was reading, and it suddenly struck me!

[bible]Psalm 94:9[/bible]

[bible]Isaiah 45:9[/bible]

He was referring to, amongst others, those scriptures! He was saying, "It's Me that created the eye. I AM your Creator. I AM the potter, and you are My clay." He was saying that He is God!

See? I said it was remedial, but it was like a lightning-bolt of recognition and understanding and it made me really want to get deeper into this with you all. I thought it'd be a really nice thing to study and share together.

So do you all have other examples of "hidden meaning" in the Bible? I know that may not be the right phrase, but I don't know what else to call it. Have you also had "bolt" moments?

Sorry if I sound all excited, but it sort of made my day

Good one Munchie.

In a similar vein of thought, Jesus was doing an act of creation in healing that person, similar to when God created Adam from the earth in the Book of Genesis.


In the Old Testament story of Joseph (of the coat of many colours), Joseph meets up with his brothers who had sold him as a slave.

But now he is an important figure - Pharoah's right-hand man. Joseph plays a trick on his brothers and hides his silver cup in the youngest brother Benjamin's sack of grain. When the cup is found, he pretends that his brothers have stolen from him and demands that Benjamin is punished by becoming his slave.

Then Judah steps in and offers to take the punishment upon himself, by becoming the slave in Benjamin's place. In this way, his actions predict that Jesus, who took the punishment that was ours upon himself, would be born of the tribe of Judah.

 

[GreenMunchkin]

Good one Munchie.

In a similar vein of thought, Jesus was doing an act of creation in healing that person, similar to when God created Adam from the earth in the Book of Genesis.


In the Old Testament story of Joseph (of the coat of many colours), Joseph meets up with his brothers who had sold him as a slave.

But now he is an important figure - Pharoah's right-hand man. Joseph plays a trick on his brothers and hides his silver cup in the youngest brother Benjamin's sack of grain. When the cup is found, he pretends that his brothers have stolen from him and demands that Benjamin is punished by becoming his slave.

Then Judah steps in and offers to take the punishment upon himself, by becoming the slave in Benjamin's place. In this way, his actions predict that Jesus, who took the punishment that was ours upon himself, would be born of the tribe of Judah.

Wow! Hadn't made that connection before! Dude, seriously, the Bible is just, like, this absolute treasure-trove of jewels and secrets and little passageways and links and clues. It's amazing!! Plus it's this extraordinary love letter from God to us all. Wow.

 

[£amb]

It makes my heart warm up when I read scriptures that have a deeper meaning such as the story of Abraham taking his son, Isaac, to be sacrificed. Non-believers have a hard time with this story that God would ask a father to kill his son. But for us believers, we can read with our spiritual eyes and heart to see the deeper meaning. That story points to Jesus' sacrifice (when God told Abraham to sacrifice the ram instead).

I thank God that he has opened our eyes to see that these aren't just stories, but they can apply to us and to know that God truly cares for us just as much.

 

[ContentInHim]

Very interesting thoughts:
Rules I follow in digging deeper:

The hidden meaning can never negate the plain meaning in the context of the passage.

Alegorical meaning will follow the accepted priciples of pictures previously defined.

the numbers must add up or they don't equate.

Individual application cannot negate the universal application.

whatever God does lasts forever nothing can be added to it and nothing can be taken from it. (Ecc 3:14)

If God says it more than once... "Listen Up and Pay attention"

Not a that its a rule of thumb, but I get something new out of it every time I read it...
bananna

Amen, Bananna!

I'm loving this thread!

 

[Lisa0315]

This is a great thread!!!

Lisa

 

[LivingLifeHisWay]

I just love dissecting God's word and getting something new and different each time I dive in.

For instance, my favorite book of the Bible is John and I have read it again & again. Each time I read it something different POPS off the page and I get a little treasure to hide within my heart.

God is just awesome like that. And I love Him so. ::

Green - I just love your love for the Lord. It's encouraging.

 

[GreenMunchkin]

I just love dissecting God's word and getting something new and different each time I dive in.

For instance, my favorite book of the Bible is John and I have read it again & again. Each time I read it something different POPS off the page and I get a little treasure to hide within my heart.

God is just awesome like that. And I love Him so. ::

Green - I just love your love for the Lord. It's encouraging.

Likewise, sis

Wow, so people cite John as their favourite Gospel... why is that? I mean, they're all beautiful, but I get the most from Luke, for sure

Does it feed you the most spiritually?

 

[LivingLifeHisWay]

Likewise, sis

Wow, so people cite John as their favourite Gospel... why is that? I mean, they're all beautiful, but I get the most from Luke, for sure

Does it feed you the most spiritually?

Well, John is special to me b/c it was the Gospel I was studying when I became a Christian. Also, each Gospel stresses a different aspect of Jesus and John stresses His Diety. I love reading His own words declaring who He was.

 

[FallingWaters]

Hiya! This is probably completely remedial, but this made my day. I've only been a Christian for a year and a half, and am still getting to know the Bible - if that makes any sense?

Have often heard people say, nothing in the Bible doesn't have a deeper meaning than it appears on the surface, but I've never quite understood how that worked.

But, have been pondering a lot of stuff recently, and one of them was this:

[bible]John 9:6[/bible]

And I've been wondering, why did Jesus spit on the ground? He obviously didn't need to do that. So, pondering pondering pondering, and I was thinking it was because His doing that made it, almost, official that He was defying the Pharisees by working on the Sabbath.

But that didn't seem to cut it. And I was reading, and it suddenly struck me!

[bible]Psalm 94:9[/bible]

[bible]Isaiah 45:9[/bible]

He was referring to, amongst others, those scriptures! He was saying, "It's Me that created the eye. I AM your Creator. I AM the potter, and you are My clay." He was saying that He is God!

See? I said it was remedial, but it was like a lightning-bolt of recognition and understanding and it made me really want to get deeper into this with you all. I thought it'd be a really nice thing to study and share together.

So do you all have other examples of "hidden meaning" in the Bible? I know that may not be the right phrase, but I don't know what else to call it. Have you also had "bolt" moments?

Sorry if I sound all excited, but it sort of made my day

I agree with your assessment.
It's my own personal opinion that Jesus made him an eyeball to prove that He was the God who created Heaven and Earth-
much like when He turned water into wine.
Jesus could have chosen to just speak the eye into existence,
but for some reason, God the Father must have instructed Him to do it the way He did.

So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. (Joh 5:19 ESV)

 

[Simon_Templar]

I was just going to post that scripture. I love the depth of the word. Even in scriptures that seem blatantly for another group/time/place you can dual purpose for today.

Another thing to remember is how Jesus constantly spoke in parable. It was not to make things easier to understand, but provoke thought and a bit of research, I beleive.

Jesus spoke in parables to deliberately conceal his message. It is stated in the gospels that he spoke in parables so that 'hearing, they would not hear'. In other words, while the message was right before them, they would not be able to understand it.

God was proclaiming the message, while at the same time hiding it except from those he intended to understand it.

This is why Jesus would tell a parable, then later he would explain it privately to his disciples.

 

[GreenMunchkin]

Ok, so I've been pondering another passage, and I can't work it out, at all.

[BIBLE]Mark 8:22-26[/BIBLE]

Why did the man first see trees? Jesus could have healed him instantaneously, but he put His hands on the blind man's eyes twice before he saw clearly. Why is that? And, honestly, what's the significance of the trees?

 

[Lisa0315]

Ok, so I've been pondering another passage, and I can't work it out, at all.

[bible]Mark 8:22-26[/bible]

Why did the man first see trees? Jesus could have healed him instantaneously, but he put His hands on the blind man's eyes twice before he saw clearly. Why is that? And, honestly, what's the significance of the trees?

Here are some resources.

This is an online Strong's Concordance. You can look up the original word in the Greek or Hebrew here.

http://www.apostolic-churches.net/bible/strongs/john_14.shtml


This is good for looking up specific words. Like if you are looking for a certain verse but cannot remember where it is, but you remember that it contains the word "love". You can do a search here and it will show you every place that the search word is used.

http://www.crosswalk.com/

This one has some good commentaries and study tools as well.

www.blueletterbible.com