Reading the Bible at the Tree of Life

I know I said a few potentially eyebrow-raising things at our November 5 gathering in which I brought Part 2 of a teaching about living at the Tree of Life as opposed to living at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. (You can listen to it here.) Maybe the most startling thing I said might have been the part about the Bible . . . the Scriptures . . . and the common euphemism “the Word of God.”

Given the potential for misunderstanding or confusion, I though it might be good to expand and expound a bit.

I spent quite a bit of my life as a believer searching the Bible not just for sound doctrine but also for wisdom for making sound decisions. As a result I spent a lot of time in Proverbs over the years. For a couple of decades I read one chapter of Proverbs every day of the month, month after month. (Given that Proverbs has 31 chapters that was a pretty tidy schedule.) I memorized big chunks of it. And I’m glad I did. 

I recognized that things went better in my life if I did things “the wisdom way.” And I got much worse results when I did them the opposite way. But I also noticed that was pretty much true for unbelievers, too. A guy could be lost as a goose and headed for hell, but if he followed the basic principles of Proverbs (hard work, diligence, honesty, etc.) he could experience good outcomes. 

Whenever presented with a key decision in my life, my immediate instinct was to ask, “What’s the relevant biblical principle here.” I looked to the Scriptures for a ruling on my question. This produced really good results a lot of the time. The problem came when one or more verses of the Bible seemed to point “left” and  one or more other verses seemed to point “right.” And the more of the Bible I read and committed to memory, the more often that happened. 

Then, once the lights about grace started coming on, I began to realize that it was way too easy to have going to the Bible for a “ruling” slide into going to the Bible for a “rule.” I recognized that that’s precisely how the Pharisees read the Scriptures.  

Eventually, I discovered that this “new and better” covenant also ushered in a new and better way to make good decisions. I read 1 Cor. 1:30 which reveals that Jesus has become “wisdom from God to us.” In other words, Jesus, present in me in the form of His Spirit, was living wisdom inside of me. I also knew that that living wisdom would never contradict a true and accurate reading of the Scriptures. Although there are countless flawed interpretations of the Scriptures.

This is something no lost person can replicate.

So eventually, after a lot of wrestling and praying and seeking . . .I’ve come to the place I ended up Saturday night when I talked about reading the Bible at the Tree of Life. It’s still vital to read it. It’s “profitable” in countless ways. 

This involves letting the Spirit of Jesus (living Wisdom) point me to the right passages and scriptures. And letting Him illuminate them to me so I can understand them accurately. When the Spirit speaks through a verse or passage, it is, literally, “the Word of God” to me in that moment.  

All of this also relates to my comments about the emphasis on “obeying” at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, as opposed to being “responsive” at the Tree of Life. Obedience is good as long as you’re obeying a “Who” not a “what.” The Who is the Spirit. The what is a rule or law.

If I’m obeying a what rather than a Who, I’m at the wrong tree.