Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John1v2 KJV
Yesterday we looked at the poetic imagery used in the Psalms, and how we need to be very careful that we are not interpreting every passage of Scripture as a promise from God to every individual believer.
Today, I want to look at some prose writing and how we need to be careful when reading it too, so that we don’t make the same mistake and assume that everything written in prose can be interpreted as one of God’s promises to us.
Letter writing is a form of communication that is not widely used in today’s fast paced society. People don’t have time to read or write letters. We send texts and short emails! Even these blog posts are too long for some people! But in by gone days, letter writing was the only way to communicate with people that were not living near enough to speak with face to face. Letter writing skills were taught and developed. There was a set pattern to follow; a greeting, the body of the letter which contained the details of what you wanted to communicate and a salutation at the end.
In this particular letter, John was writing to a very close friend whom he loved dearly. He began his letter with the warmest of greetings for his friend’s good health. This was not the proclamation of a promise from God being bestowed upon Gaius (or any other believer) for good health and a life of prosperity that is linked to spirituality. It was simply the warmest of greetings that one Christian friend would give to another. A greeting is a greeting, not a promise!
There are many Christian people that we all know who are in the best of health and in a very financially secure situation whose souls are not prospering, and many, many others whom we either know or have read about who are in poor health and dire circumstances, yet their souls are prospering and they are full of joy and delight in God. Good health and financial prosperity are no indication of the favour of God, and lack of them are no indication of the dis-favour of God.
When John greeted Gaius in this way, he was expressing his love and best wishes for his friend, not proclaiming a promise of health and wealth to anyone who learns how to make a positive confession.
Does this mean that we can’t take the Word of God literally?
Is this an indication that the Word of God is unclear and doubtful of meaning?
Do we need to be highly educated and blessed with outstanding ability of interpretation to really know what God is saying and meaning?
Definitely not! The Scriptures were written for the common man to understand at the time they were written, and in many cases have been translated into modern language usage so that the common man can still read and understand it. The problem with a lot of our Bible reading is that we leave our common sense behind us!
If an employer says to you that you need to knuckle down and pull your socks up or else you will be out of a job, the common man knows exactly what he means! He is not telling him to literally roam around like a gorilla using his knuckles for balance while keeping his socks pulled up to his knees. He knows his boss is telling him to change his sloppy attitude and work a bit harder.
God exhaled His Word on certain men who were able to write down all that He wanted us to know about living a life of godliness and fellowship with Himself. These men were enabled by the Holy Spirit to write in their own style, using their own words and in the common way of communication used at that time, yet not miss out a single detail of what God wants us to know.
When God inspired the psalmists to compose their poetic songs, He expects us to read them as poetic songs and glean the deep and powerful purposes behind the imagery. When he gives direct commands to us, He expects us to follow them whole heartedly, not try to worm our way out of doing them by spiritualising them to mean something else. When we read the Epistles, He expects us to understand the composition of a letter and what the main message is and not get waylaid by the personal greetings that the writers used.
There are times when the Holy Spirit will deeply impress a certain passage of scripture on our hearts when we know for sure He is speaking directly to us, even if it is a promise being made to a certain person in Biblical history. These are very special and very personal times with God that need to be treasured and remembered. But these are exceptions, not the general rule of thumb and cannot be used as a general interpretation for everyone.
Tomorrow, I want to look at the Promises of God that we can be absolutely certain are for every believer in every age. Promises that we can stand upon and build our faith and our lives on.