The Second Category—Building Up Morality
A second category of things in the Bible is related to morality. When God enters into man to be His life, He cannot allow man to remain an evil person. As a vessel, man must be upright and proper in order to match God so that God can become his life. For this reason the Bible speaks much concerning morality. If I want to drink from a cup, I must first clean it thoroughly and properly. Although my ultimate goal is to have a liquid inside the cup, I must first clean the cup. In the same way, when God wants to make us His vessel, to enter into us as life, He must first cleanse our vessel from sin and evil. However, this is only a peripheral preparation work.
Man is also full of concepts about morality. Hence, when he reads the Bible and finds something on morality, he heartily responds to what he reads, and he echoes it. Most people mark only the passages in their Bibles on love for one another, meekness, humility, righteousness, and justice. Everybody who comes across these passages feels that these words are great and encouraging.
This does not mean that these teachings in the Bible are bad. These teachings are good. However, we must realize that these are peripheral matters. They are not the central matters in God’s will. If we can find only these matters in the Bible, then the Bible is no different from the writings of other religions or the teachings of sages. These things are absolutely not the center of the Bible
The Third Category—Guidance for Human Living
A third category of peripheral matters in the Bible is secrets on human living. How should we live as human beings on earth? How should we handle human relationships? How should we behave as parents and as children? How should we relate to our spouse? How do we make friends? What attitude should we have toward money? How should the rich live? How should the poor live? Things like these can be found in many places in the Bible. The book of Proverbs is full of such advice. These are the things that many people consider to be precious when they come to the Bible. However, these are peripheral matters, like skin and feathers.
The Fourth Category—Religious Zeal
The fourth category of peripheral matters in the Bible is related to zeal for religion. Every Christian has a zeal to serve God, to be dedicated to Him, to love Him, and to be faithful to Him. These are not bad things. They are all good, but they are religious concepts. They are peripheral matters that have nothing to do with the central point of the Bible.
Although the Bible contains these four peripheral categories of things, the central matter of the Bible concerns God becoming our life. The peripheral matters of the Bible deal with solutions to sufferings, exhortations for moral conduct, guidance for human living, and zeal for religion. When man comes to the Bible, he may be filled with concepts and needs related to these four areas, but he may also have no consciousness of God becoming our life. Therefore, he receives only peripheral things. He misses the central matter, the trunk and the root. This is a great lack in our reading of the Bible.
EXAMPLES OF READING THE BIBLE
Suppose a brother loses his job and worries continually about his employment. When he reads Philippians 4, he may not understand verses 1 through 3 but may touch something in verse 4, which says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” This verse is in contrast to his situation since he is not rejoicing and is unhappy about losing his job. Consequently, his attention is drawn to the word rejoice, but he misses the words in the Lord. It is as if the verse reads “Rejoice always; again I will say, rejoice.” As he continues reading, he is not touched by verse 5 but is touched by the words in verse 6, which say, “In nothing be anxious.” Since he has been very anxious about his job, this word is very precious to him. He feels as if the Lord has spoken to him and has touched his inner being with these words. Then he reads, “But in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” This word is even better, and he begins to pray, saying, “Lord, thank You and praise You that I can let my requests be made known to You by prayer and petition with thanksgiving. My request is to have a job. I need a job. You said that I should be anxious in nothing. I am not anxious anymore. I give my anxiety to You.” He ultimately feels cherished after reading verse 7: “And the peace of God, which surpasses every man’s understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.” Immediately, he thanks and praises God for giving him the peace that will guard his heart and thoughts. He seems to be reading the Bible in the way of life. He has exercised his spirit, not his mind, and has digested the word through prayer, eating God through the Word. He is fed and satisfied.
Although this is good, we may ask whether the brother has eaten the meat or the feathers. Has he touched the central matters of the Bible or peripheral matters? These few verses contain central matters and also peripheral matters. The peripheral matters are attached to the central matters. Regrettably, this brother found only the peripheral matters; he did not touch the central matters. Verse 4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” The words in the Lord mean that we have a life union with the Lord, that we allow the Lord to be our life. Based on our being in the Lord and on this life union with Him, we can and will spontaneously rejoice. Verse 7 says, “The peace of God, which surpasses every man’s understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.” The basic issue lies in the words in Christ Jesus. This is the central matter. Guarding is merely the result of being in Christ Jesus. But our brother only picks up the words peace and guard, not in Christ Jesus. He picks up only the things that are not of the Lord. He does not understand the central point. He sees only the peripheral matters. These peripheral matters belong to the first category, to consolation and deliverance from sufferings.
Then the brother reads verse 8, which says, “Finally, brothers, what things are true, what things are dignified, what things are righteous, what things are pure, what things are lovely, what things are well spoken of, if there is any virtue and if any praise, take account of these things.” He is touched again. This verse is related to the category of ethics and morality. God requires that man be proper. Man should not be evil. Hence, God says that we should take account of things that are true, dignified, righteous, pure, lovely, and well spoken of. We should think of good things, not evil things, pure things, not filthy things, and lovely things, not hateful things. However, these are peripheral matters; they are not central. Because our brother’s mind is full of ethical concepts, he responds immediately to these words on morality and ethics.
Our brother continues to read verse 12, which says, “I know also how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to hunger, both to abound and to lack.” This word appeals to him even more because it speaks of a secret to human living, a secret related to abounding and being in lack. Then he reads, “I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me” (v. 13), and he exclaims, “I have found the secret to human living! It is to trust in the Lord.” Many Christians utter these words without knowing what it means to trust in the Lord. The important words in this verse are in Him. We are able to do all things “in Him.” The One who empowers us dwells within us. If we learn to live in Him, we find the secret to human living. It is only when we are in Him that we are able to do all things.
On another day this brother may read Galatians 1. While he is not impressed by verses 1 through 9, he is touched by verse 10, which relates to the category of zeal for religion: “Am I now trying to win the assent of men or of God? Or am I seeking to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a slave of Christ.” He is touched again, and because he thinks that a Christian should be faithful to God, he turns this feeling into prayer, saying, “Lord, forgive me for being fearful of men and trying to please men. Strengthen me so that I will please You all the time and not care to please men. I want to live before You instead of before men.” The prayer enables him to touch his spirit, and the more he touches his spirit, the more he is filled and satisfied.
The next morning the brother reads, “It pleased God…to reveal His Son in me” (vv. 15-16). Even though these are central verses, his inward being is like oily paper that prevents the ink from penetrating into his heart. His inward being cannot absorb these words. This brother is receiving the skin of the chicken, not the meat. God is pleased to reveal His Son in us in order to be our life and to become the fullness of God in us. This is the most central matter. However, when he reads, there is no response in him; it is as if these words do not exist. The only words that touch him in Galatians 1 concern being a slave of Christ and not pleasing man. This is the skin. However, he does not realize that the meat in Galatians 1 is the phrase it pleased God to reveal His Son in me. Although this is God’s goal, he is fully occupied by religious zeal and concepts. He feels that he should be zealous for God and faithful to God, but he does not see God’s central goal.
On the third day the brother reads chapter 2 of Galatians and does not see anything significant in verses 1 through 10. In verse 11 he reads Paul’s rebuke of Peter, and there is an echo within him. He considers Paul to be a faithful man who did not compromise in order to preserve the purity of the gospel. He is “enlightened,” and prays, “Lord, in the past some brothers have spoken erroneously in public. Please forgive me for not correcting them immediately. I am not faithful. Please give me the strength to be faithful for the defense of Your gospel so that the truth can be preserved among us.” This is a religious concept. He is not touched, however, by verse 20 even though this is a precious central word, which says, “I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.”