Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life
Bible Reading Plans
- Plan One: New Testament Only
- Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
- Plan Three: New Testament + History
- Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3
Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.
Extras
Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute
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Christ Is God
Chapter 14 – Revelation Requires Waiting
The 66 texts that comprise the Bible were written by almost three dozen authors over a 1,600 year period – roughly 1500 BC to 100 AD.
Trying to understand God by reading this collection as if it were written by one person at one point in time is going to lead to misunderstanding.
God revealed truth gradually over time. Not all at once!
Because God reveals hidden things to us in stages, we have work with the understanding we have until it’s time for God to reveal more. Like any wise parent, God dispenses sensitive information on a need-to-know basis.
The Old Testament laid a foundation for the New Testament, just as the five books of Moses laid a foundation for the Old Testament.
Foundations are important. For example, we have to have a good understanding of arithmetic before we can grasp algebra. Jesus Himself said,
Matthew 13:12 “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”
Similarly, we can say: “For whoever has a good understanding of arithmetic can tackle algebra, and he’ll be a better mathematician for it; but whoever does not practice good arithmetic, even what arithmetic skills he has will get rusty.”
As I’ve been saying, God delivered biblical truth not all at one time, but in chunks – according to His timetable.
Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.”
Therefore, we don’t speculate about the secret things. Rather, we work with the things revealed to us while we patiently await the rest.
Each new revelation in the Bible brought answers…but also new questions. And the wait between one revelation and the next could be long. The most notable example of waiting is that roughly 4,000 years elapsed between the revelation that God created the world in six days and the revelation that He did it through the Messiah.
This is why Jesus could say to those around Him:
Matthew 13:16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.
Matthew 13:17 “For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
The prophets and righteous men of the Bible had to learn how to wait on the Lord. And thus they were exhorted:
Psalm 27:14 Wait for the LORD;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the LORD.
This is not a waiting that does nothing. It’s a waiting that works with what it’s got…while it knows there is more to come in due time.
In the 21st century, we need this same patience. That is, we need to be content with the understanding we have, until the day comes when we have more. The more faithful we are to read and practice the Bible daily, the sooner than day will come.
Old Testament believers had to wait on the New Testament. New Testament believers had to wait on the Second Coming. What waiting we have to do is nothing compared to theirs.
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