CHAPTER SIXTEEN

LEARNING TO BE SIMPLE TO PICK UP 
THE TRUE MEANING OF THE BIBLE

In this chapter we will consider the way to enjoy God through reading the Word. There are many ways to read the Bible. One can find hundreds of ways to study the Bible in Christianity, but I would like us to consider the best and most profitable way. We may call this the life-study way to read the Bible. This is the simplest and the most beneficial way to read the Bible.

READING THE BIBLE BEING SIMPLE

Our concept concerning reading the Bible needs to be simplified. We should not consider that it is difficult to read the Bible. Many people think that the Bible is a difficult book. They think that since the Bible is the canon of the Christian religion, they can never understand the Bible. This concept frustrates our ability to understand the Bible. However, we must consider that reading the Bible is as simple as eating. We all admit that eating is a simple matter. It is not easy to cook a meal, but it is very easy to eat the meal. This also applies to reading the Bible. God does not want us to write the Bible; He wants us to read the Bible. We do not need to invent anything or to investigate. Strictly speaking, when we come to the Bible, we come to the presence of God to be fed by God. Hence, we must first consider that reading the Bible is a simple matter.

This consideration, however, does not mean that we do not need to read the Bible. No one can say that because eating is easy, he does not need to eat. Instead, this consideration should encourage everyone to eat.

Saying that it is simple to read the Bible does not mean that it is easy to understand it. Even if I read the Bible for another six thousand years, I will not fully understand it. No one can fully comprehend the Bible. The more one reads it, the more he feels he does not understand it. Thirty years ago I thought that I understood one book of the Bible, but today I can say that I do not truly understand any book of the Bible. The Bible is very rich, and no one can fully understand it. Although it is simple to read the Bible, it is difficult to fully understand the Bible; nevertheless, it is very easy to receive food from the Bible. No matter which chapter and which verse we read, we can find rich food and be filled because the Bible is full of nutrition.

My burden is first to help us accept that reading the Bible is a simple matter. We thank God that the Bible has been written and is in our hands. It is very easy for us to obtain food from the Bible. We do not even need much education to be fed with the Bible. We can be fed even if we do not recognize one hundred percent of the words in the Bible. Reading the Bible is a simple matter.

NOT SETTING THE MIND ON STUDYING THE TRUTH

When we come to the Bible in a simple way, we should never set our mind on finding doctrines in the Bible. We should not focus on studying the Bible. When we eat, we do not set our mind to study our food. When we come to eat, it is best not to know anything. If we come with a heart to study, we will get ourselves into trouble. If we set our mind to study how the various dishes on a table were prepared and how they should taste, the food will be cold before we have finished. Others at the table will be satisfied, but our stomach will be empty. Our studying the food frustrates our eating. In the same way, when we come to the Bible, we should not come with a heart to study doctrine or to investigate some truth. If we have such a mind, we will be unable to enjoy God; we will not find food in His Word.

DROPPING OUR CONCEPTS

When we come to the Bible, we also need to drop our concepts. We must never wear glasses that are colored by our concepts. We all have a pair of colored glasses within us that prevents us from knowing the true color and meaning of the Bible. If we wear green glasses and look at a white book, the book will appear to be green, and we will not see the true color of the book. It is difficult to find a person who does not come to the Bible with colored glasses. Those from Zheqiang wear Zheqiang glasses. Those from Shantung wear Shantung glasses. Those from England wear British glasses, and those from America wear American glasses. The type of person we are determines the kind of Bible we have, because the type of person we are determines the type of glasses we wear, and the color of our glasses determines the color of our Bible. A student of science comes to the Bible with a pair of “scientific” glasses and has a Bible of science. A student of Confucius wears “Confucian” glasses and has a Bible of Confucian teachings. A literature student wears “literary” glasses and has a Bible of literature. The type of person we are determines the type of glasses we have, and our glasses determine the type of Bible we read. Therefore, in coming to the Bible, we need to remove the glasses of our concepts before we can see the true color and meaning of the Scriptures.

After listening to the testimonies of some of the brothers concerning their reading of the Word, I realize that it is difficult to find one person who does not read the Bible with colored glasses. A person reading Matthew 11 might be touched only by the Lord’s word about being meek and lowly in heart. Please do not misunderstand me. This does not mean that being meek and lowly in heart is something bad. Being meek and lowly in heart is something very good; the Lord Himself spoke this word. But all men who have some idea of ethics and morality, both from the East and from the West, focus on the words meek and lowly when they come to Matthew 11. They may actually be wearing glasses of meekness and lowliness before they read Matthew 11. There is no need for them to read Matthew 11, since they already value the concept of meekness and lowliness. Brothers and sisters, we must drop our concepts when we come to the Bible. We must take off our inner glasses; we must break them before we can see the true color and meaning of the Bible. If we bring in our concept, we will lose sight of the true meaning of the Bible.

Here is another example. Ten years ago a young brother was offended by an elder. Daily he was bothered by the thought that an elder, who should be compassionate toward others, could offend a person in such a way. This thought took root in him so that when he came to the Bible, he subconsciously looked for passages that spoke of elders being compassionate to others and of older ones being sensitive to younger ones. Although he was not looking for such passages intentionally, this concept was hidden in him. For many days his reading of the Bible was influenced by this concept. He spent much time reading the Bible but did not receive anything. Then one day he read 1 Peter 5:3, which speaks of elders not lording it over the flock but being patterns. His eyes lit up, and he said, “This is so good! I have seen a great light! I did not realize that the Bible is so clear about elders not lording it over others.” Dear brothers and sisters, did he really see light? If that was light, then he did not receive it from the Bible; he had this “light” before he came to the Bible. This is what it means to read the Bible with the glasses of our concepts. The result of such reading is but a projection of one’s own concepts.

Here is another true story. Over ten years ago I stayed in the home of a Christian couple. One morning at breakfast we began to speak about our experience of reading the Word and praying. The husband said that he read Ephesians 5 that morning and found the good teaching of wives submitting to their husbands. The wife said that she too had read Ephesians 5 that morning and had found an even higher teaching than the one her husband had found. She found that husbands should love their wives just as Christ loves the church. The husband found that the wife should submit to the husband, and the wife found that the husband should love the wife. This shows that the way we read the Word is a reflection of our person. From our conversation it became clear that the husband felt that his wife was assuming too much headship, was not keeping her place, and needed to submit to him as her husband. At the same time, the wife felt that her husband was not sensitive enough to her and did not love her enough. If they had not both read Ephesians 5 that morning, I would not have known them that well. Outwardly speaking, the two seemed like a very good couple, but through that conversation I fully understood what was transpiring within them. Their reading of the Word fully exposed them.

The kind of Bible we have reflects the type of person we are. We cannot hide. If we do not want our reading to be a reflection of what we are, and if we want to have the original meaning of the Bible, we need to remove our glasses. A man from Zheqiang must remove his Zheqiang glasses, and a man from Shantung must remove his Shantung glasses. A slow person must set aside his slow concept, and a quick person must set aside his quick concept.

When I was young, I knew an old man who was a very slow person. He spoke about not being hasty in doing anything with God, because nothing hasty, quick, or hurried is from God. He said that the Bible does not give us one instance of God running, because He is a God who is never in haste, who is never quick. With God everything is slow. Since I thought this was very reasonable, I did everything slowly for a few days under the influence of this teaching. However, after a few years I heard another servant of God say that God ran at least once in the Bible. He said that in Luke 15 the father, who depicts God, ran to the prodigal son and kissed him. He showed everyone that God ran at least once. We may think that these are silly stories, but they show that the kind of person we are determines the kind of Bible we read. The Bible of a slow person confirms his slowness, and the Bible of a quick person confirms his quickness. The teachings obtained from the Bible are a reflection of the person who is reading it.

I knew a quick-tempered man whose voice was like thunder and whose face became red whenever he spoke. One day he said that in the Bible when God appears, smoke goes up from His nostrils, and His voice is like thunder (Psa. 18:8, 13). When I heard this, I knew that I was speaking to a quick-tempered man with a voice like thunder. We may think that this is funny. A mild person has a “mild” Bible, an angry person, an “angry” Bible, a rough person, a “rough” Bible, and a fine person, a “fine” Bible. There is no exception to this. Let me repeat, the kind of Bible we have reflects the kind of person we are. Consequently, it is difficult to find a person who knows the true meaning of the Bible. A person is a good reader of the Bible if he can read it according to its original taste and color.

We must consider reading the Bible to be a simple matter, and we must drop the thought of studying. Such a thought will only frustrate our reading of the Word. We also must not trust in our concepts; rather, we should drop them and throw away all our glasses.