Original Intent (by Pastor Bob Rester)
1 Co 1:10Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. NKJV
(The Apostle Paul is speaking plainly about divisions that are caused among a group or groups of professing believers by anyone who departed from his teaching)
2 Th 3:14 (And if any man obey not our word) by this epistle, note that man, and have no company him, that he may be ashamed. KJV
Why was the Apostle so hard in statements like this? Simply this; God had spoken to Paul. Paul had firsthand knowledge from the designer and maker of the redemption. The rest of theseteachers, preachers and philosophers were basing their arguments on what they had heard, maybe even on what they had heard Paul say and had misunderstood. However, Paul was educated by the One with the original intent. God was the originator of even the concept of a person who would enter this world, and would be capable of following spiritually written instructions on how to prosper and live happily.
The Word of God has to be an “absolute”! When put to the test, and researched back to its roots, any document, teaching, or doctrine, must absolute solid evidence of the “original intent” of unchangeable truth. Otherwise, one could begin to build on the principles as stated, and find that he invested his life, only to find that along the way of life someone changed the plan and he lost everything.
We’re living in a day that Paul described in; 1 Co 14:25-26“How is it then, brethren? When ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. KJV
The Athenians said of Paul in; Acts 17:20-21“ For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean." (Then Paul explains in vs 21) because all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. NKJV
People are the same everywhere and in all times, and I think it has gotten completely out of hand in the Church today. Don’t misunderstand, I don’t think I have the last word in anything, but this thing I know; The ‘writer’ of the Bible (The Holy Spirit) had an original unchangeable intent for every Word He inspired, and it was written to be comprehended by the reader. It is not written to be a mystery! It is a revelation of Gods original intent for His creation! So why is there so much ado about understanding it? So often, concerning the Bible, I hear it said; “This is the way I interpret this passage!” There is no need for further interpretation. It has already been interpreted. This is where most of the confusion comes in. It doesn’t say one thing to one person and another thing to someone else. It says what it says! TheEternal Word of God was not given to say what people want it to say. It is not a “test” copy to see if we agreed with it or not. It was given as an absolute an unchangeable document! When God refers to His Word as “Alive” He doesn’t mean “it changes to suit individual desires. He means rather that it is compatible with the hearts of living beings and when accepted as the original intent of Gods heart and believed, it will take up residence there and conform that person to the image of Christ.
Lk 21:33Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. KJV