The Church That Helps
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Acts 8:30–31
The story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch is well worth a read. So I encourage you to go to Acts 8 and take in the whole story. But for the sake of short Blogs, we will limit ourselves to these two verses and to one big principle.
We have a man who is probably feeling pretty low. He’s most likely just been turned away from the temple in Jerusalem because he is a Eunuch. He feels far from God and is looking for hope.
So he turns to the Scriptures. Great. But if you’ve ever read the Old Testament, particularly Isaiah, it’s not the easiest to understand. Left to our own, particularly for those new to the Bible, a rich source of hope remains hidden in the ground of ignorance.
Now, you can ask, why doesn’t God make the Bible easier to understand. Or, why doesn’t his Spirit just give us immediate understanding. And the answer is obvious. Because he wanted us to work together.
This is the purpose of the Church. God is glorified when his people work together to understand and find hope in the good news. And I think it's actually God’s grace. Because when things just appear magically, you don’t value them. When things are easy, you don’t value the result.
But when you do something hard, and when you get to truly participate. Not just being a bystander. But a participant. Then you really feel like you were a part of things. That’s God’s grace to his Church. That we get the joy of participation.
Today:
Pray:
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Acts 8:30–31
The story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch is well worth a read. So I encourage you to go to Acts 8 and take in the whole story. But for the sake of short Blogs, we will limit ourselves to these two verses and to one big principle.
We have a man who is probably feeling pretty low. He’s most likely just been turned away from the temple in Jerusalem because he is a Eunuch. He feels far from God and is looking for hope.
So he turns to the Scriptures. Great. But if you’ve ever read the Old Testament, particularly Isaiah, it’s not the easiest to understand. Left to our own, particularly for those new to the Bible, a rich source of hope remains hidden in the ground of ignorance.
Now, you can ask, why doesn’t God make the Bible easier to understand. Or, why doesn’t his Spirit just give us immediate understanding. And the answer is obvious. Because he wanted us to work together.
This is the purpose of the Church. God is glorified when his people work together to understand and find hope in the good news. And I think it's actually God’s grace. Because when things just appear magically, you don’t value them. When things are easy, you don’t value the result.
But when you do something hard, and when you get to truly participate. Not just being a bystander. But a participant. Then you really feel like you were a part of things. That’s God’s grace to his Church. That we get the joy of participation.
Today:
- What part of the Bible are you reading at the moment? Are you finding it hard to understand?
- Have you ever had the joy of helping someone else understand the Bible?
- Is there a less-mature Christian you could read the Bible with if you don’t already?
Pray:
- Praise God for his wisdom in the Church
- Give thanks for Jesus who is our teacher.
- Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others understand and help others understand the Scriptures.
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