Manslick Road church of Christ

Can We Understand the Bible Alike?

The purpose of the Bible says yes. God inspired the Bible writers so that we might know His will. “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God” (1 Cor. 2:12 ). Why would God direct writers to use language we cannot understand?

The Bible itself says yes. It claims it can be understood: “For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand…” (2 Cor. 1:13 ). “That by revelation was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read, you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ” (Eph. 3:3-4 ). If the Bible can be understood at all, it must be understood alike. If two differ over what it means, at least one of them is bound to be wrong!

The command to be united says yes. We are to “speak the same thing” and “be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10 ). We are to “preserve the unity of the Spirit” (Eph. 4:3 ), the unity the Spirit made possible by revealing the mind of God to us. If we cannot understand the Spirit’s instruction, this command is impossible.

Common sense says yes. Three men building houses according to the same set of plans would not build three different types of houses unless some of them misunderstood, altered, or ignored the plans. Likewise, religious differences come about through misunderstanding, changing, or simply ignoring what the Bible teaches. Those who insist on a “thus says the Lord” and who “rightly divide the word” will be united in faith and practice.