We May Hold The Words And The Doctrines Of Scripture Most Intelligently And Earnestly, And Yet Know Little Of Their Life Or Power
SCRIPTURE: \’It is the Spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I
have spoken unto you are Spirit and are life. Lord, to whom shall we go? I Thou hast the
words of eternal life.\’–John 6: 63, 68.
\’The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.\’-2 Cor. 3: 6.
On the other side, we have the left-hand and more common error. We must not think for one
moment that the Word can unfold its Life in us, except as the Spirit within us accepts and
appropriates it in the inner life. How much of Scripture reading, and Scripture study, and
Scripture preaching is there in which the first and main object is to reach the meaning of the
Word? Men think that if they know correctly and exactly what it means, there will come as a
natural consequence the blessing the Word is meant to bring. This is by no means the case.
The Word is a seed. In every seed there is a fleshy part, in which the life is hidden. One may
have the most precious and perfect seed in its bodily substance, and yet unless it be exposed
in suitable soil to the influence of sun and moisture, the life may never grow up. And so we
may hold the words and the doctrines of Scripture most intelligently and earnestly, and yet
know little of their life or power. We need to remind ourselves and the Church unceasingly,
that the Scriptures which were spoken by holy men of old as they were moved by the Holy
Spirit, can only be understood by holy men as they are taught by the same Spirit. The words
I have spoken are Spirit and Life;\’ for the apprehending and partaking of them \’ the flesh
profiteth nothing : it is the Spirit that quickeneth,\’ the Spirit of Life within us.
PRAYER: Pray earnestly for the spirit to brood over the word for its hatching and
benefit