Core Christian Value
It is important to know that the Holy Spirit speaks to each one of us personally. No one can receive “your” message from the Holy Spirit but you. Listen to Jesus!
When it comes to understanding the Bible, how much room is there for honest disagreement? Is there only one answer to all questions? We may wish that there was only one answer to all questions but in fact the Bible places a great deal of emphasis on what the Holy Spirit wants to tell you, personally. Yes there are some black and white questions that always have the same answer for every believer (such as the 10 commandments), but there are times that God wants to have you listen to Him for direction that He may not be giving someone else. The Apostle Peter speaks to this issue very clearly. Listen:
And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. 2 PETER 1:19-21 NKJV
Prophecy means pointing to the future, describing what will happen as well as teaching. Peter says that no prophecy, no teaching, is of any private interpretation. The meaning of the Scriptures strikes each of us a little differently because we have different needs and different levels of experience.
The one thing that we who love Jesus have in common is the manifestation (the actual presence) of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Teaching from the Scriptures will never be contradictory. To the contrary, it all fits together perfectly but if you only have limited understanding, let’s say due to your youth, a particular teaching may seem clear enough to you now but over time, as you read the Bible, it will become even clearer. Listen to how Paul teaches Timothy the breadth of Scriptural truth:
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17 NKJV
As to who is teaching you the meaning of the truth, written on your heart, listen to Jesus: …for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. MATTHEW 10:20 NKJV
Discuss how complex the word “truth” is when you think about what God wants to teach each of us. Do the type of questions to which you need answers change with your level of maturity? Do you feel wisdom comes in one “big dose”? What does it mean when it says the word is a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts? Has the light fully illuminated the darkness in every heart regardless of levels of maturity?