The clarity, or pespecuity of Scripture is something that we either take for granted or we accept as something that cannot be achieved. The latter could be a product of what our society tells us, that language is a construct and meaning is what we want it to be. Either way, these are norms that most of us live with. We have come to a place in our world where we accept that maybe God spoke, and maybe it has a meaning for my parents or friends etc, but we may not know if it has relevance for me today.
Here at Fellowship, we labour every week to understand God’s Word because we believe that God has revealed Himself and He can be known. We believe that God has spoken, and He speaks in words that we can access when we read Scripture. God acts by speaking — this is distinctive of the God of the Bible. He chooses to speak in time and space, that the people might know Him. This is the self-revelation, and He has given us the means to know HIm.
In this series, we’ve been making our way through the doctrine of Scripture and the qualities of Scripture. God speaks, and His word is sufficient, clear, has authority and is necessary. In this study, we’ll take a look at what the clarity of Scripture means.
(A) Clear words to know and love God our Saviour
In Deut 6:1-3, we begin with Moses addressing the people. The book of Deuteronomy is marked by 5 sermons given to the people before they cross into the Promised Land. In these national addresses, they give us the character, vision, lifestyle, direction of what it means to belong to the God who speaks.
God spoke to His people directly through Moses (“commanded me to teach you”) (Deut 6:1). There seems to be a series of semantic loaded content that Moses was also suppose to take to teach to Israel (“commandment, statutes and the rules”, Deut 6:1). But what is the desired effect? What is the purpose of these commandments? In hearing and obeying, they will fear the LORD and there are some positive blessings. Moses’ role was to speak God’s command to the people so they would become a God-centred, God-worshipping people. They are commanded to keep His commands so they may live long and prosper in the land He will give them (Deut 6: 2-3). This is going to be their identity as they cross into a foreign land, and God was instructing Moses to shape the culture of His people.
This God has given a word-centred Word. God’s people, as they are word-centred, are to respond to the one who speaks to them with the highest respect, affection and favour. Through Moses, God also revealed what He is like. He tells them, “The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength” (Deut 6:4-5). This is not so foreign to us, because we know we can tell something about who someone is by how they speak. God was revealing who He was in His word. As a Word-centred people, the Israelites were to listen to the one who speaks and respond with the highest reverence, love, delight and favour. What we do with His words is what we do with Him! How do we respond to God’s word today?
(B) Clear for all God’s people, and the littlest ones (Deut 6:6-25)
What are the situations that God envisions for Israel in the future? He refers to when the Israelites cross into the Promised Land. On days when they might feel “too blessed” to know the Lord, they’re reminded to make the Lord their highest priority. He is warning them not to forget the Lord when they finally enter the Land and enjoy the blessings of the Land! There is a temptation to enjoy the good life and to forget the Lord. The warning is given in Debt 6:6 — they should keep this word in their heart! Thus, years later, they are to look back to this, and still be people of God’s Word. His word will remind them of who God is!
In Deut 6:16-19, God is also warning them of the danger of putting God to the test (like they did at Massah). Moses forewarns them and tells them not to commit the same sin of testing and proving God’s faithfulness and character based on their current circumstances.
In this sermon, Moses is laying out the character of God’s people who are shaped by the word. When the people find themselves in either abundance or struggle in the Promised Land in future, they were to do the same thing — remember the Word f the Lord and obey out of love. They are to therefore anchor themselves on what they know about God based on what He has revealed to them!
In plenty or in need, God’s people had the same command — be people of the Word! In the previous study, we read about the sufficiency of God’s Word. What He speaks will accomplish His purposes. This is the basic expectation of the Bible! Here too, God expects that His word is sufficient for their obedience. It is not a magic thing that forces them to obey. Rather, God’s word reveals His intention and it is enough for them to respond. The underlying assumption is that God’s word can be received and understood. God does not speak so that He can deceive us with what He has said. He does not say one thing and mean another thing. Many of us wrestle with this today. We take the nature of communication for granted. From young, we learn the meaning and experience of word and know a basic, practical clarity. If our parents do that, why not God? We cannot be people of the Word if God’s word cannot be understood.
In this next part, a group of people is specifically highlighted. Moses speaks of the children, but not just the biological children! In telling the children, they were to educate the next generation too. They were to spread this word throughout Israel for time to come. There should never be a time in Israel when this culture is lost (Deut 6:20-25). Thus, they were to ensure that every generation knows the word of God.
What does this mean? Even children can understand God’s word! The Bible isn’t saying that there are things that children can magically understand. The children will understand because they will be taught as they observe and ask questions about their way of life (Deut 6: 20). The children will experience something that will provoke in them questions. In the church we shouldn’t shy away from difficult questions! It is our responsibility to believe that God’s word can be understood and because we understand, have a responsibility to pass it on!
In the OT, the story of salvation is simple enough for children to understand even as they interact with the culture of the Word! Ps 19:7 also teaches us that even the simple can become wise as they understand what the Bible is about! Jesus also does something similar in Matt 19:1-6. The phrase “have you not heard” shows us something of God’s expectations for His people! He expects them to be people of the Word and Jesus also echoes the same idea! Even Paul (and the apostles) don’t go beyond what is written (c.f. 1 Cor 4:6).
God therefore expects us to hear His word, understand, teach and explain to our children! We may neglect this in the church — the plain, practical implications of explaining. Perhaps we don’t believe that it can be explained? In our explanation to our children, we are not to tell them something we’ve made up or something we don’t understand. Just tell them what we know, and what we know is from what has been said, and what has been said is for us to embrace and believe and live out.
(C) Practical clarity: some stuff will be tough, but the plain thing is the main thing
What other instructions are given for how Scripture is to be handled and presented? The Israelites are told to “tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them to your foreheads” (Deut 6:8-9). They are told to put the Word in front of them and remind themselves of it everywhere. God’s word is clear and accessible but we still need to be constantly reminded and have it placed in front of us. We think that knowledge is abstraction and once we get it, it is a part of me. But, Deuteronomy shows us that we don’t know it unless we do it, and we need constant reminders.
Though Scripture is clear, there are degrees we need to grow in our understanding and learning! Perspecuity doesn’t mean that everyone will come to the same understanding on every topic under the sun. Rather, God’s word is clear on the issues it touches. We need explanations but different interpretations doesn’t undermine God’s intention to communicate. We have denominations because Christians can disagree on things that are non-essential or on the things that God didn’t intend to be clear on. God is clear on the things that He intended to be clear on. In fact, it is also an amazing thing that humans with their varied backgrounds, cultures and assumptions can come to the Bible and understand that God did not treat us as our sins deserved but sent our Son into the world—that they can come and see Christ.
Despite the 200 denominations, evangelicals have a surprising agreement on certain truths and issues of salvation. There is no question that Jesus is Lord of all. This message of the gospel is in no way unclear. In Scripture, the plain thing is the main thing. In the areas that God is less clear, it is His choice, but it doesn’t threaten what He says clearly.
There are a couple of practical implications. Scripture is clear, but this doesn’t mean that every part is easy to understand or that we will get it immediately. In Gal 2:11-14, we realise that even the apostles erred in their application and got some things wrong. In 2 Pet 3:15-16, Peter acknowledges that Paul’s writing can be hard and more difficult to get than other parts. He goes on to point out that there are also parts that the ignorant and unstable wilfully choose to twist. Peter’s words here doesn’t undermine the clarity of Scripture. It highlights how we are lacking in our understanding. We are not always neutral in our interpretation, and bring our own sinful habits and biases. We also bring our love for tradition and we carry all of it when we read the Bible. This is why Deut 6 calls us to keep the word so near and for us to keep going back to it!
Just because we are not able to know all things equally and exhaustively, doesn’t mean we cannot know some things truly. God is able to say what He wants to say, in a way that He intends to be clear. What does this mean practically? Don’t let hard parts of the Bible deter you from working through the Bible! Some parts will be tough, but it doesn’t threaten what God intends to say to us. Let us not think that just because we can’t understand everything, we can’t understand some things, and are to reject everything completely (c.f. 2 Pet 3:17) . Instead, let us press on and continue to seek growth (c.f. 2 Pet 3:18)! Knowing God and attaining knowledge of Him is an asymptotic process. We will never cross the intercept on this side of heaven, but we can move closer and closer to the axis. Let us press on in the confidence that tomorrow, we will know and love God more than we do today. Let us be confident that now we can know and love God more than we did yesterday!