What is the difference between you and others who read the Bible but do not understand what it teaches? What do you have that they do not have? Paul tells us:

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard; neither have entered into the heart of man; the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us, by His Spirit:’ – 1 Corinthians 2:9, 10

It is the holy Spirit that you have and others do not. Without it the scriptures may indeed be valued as an ancient historical record; a compendium of laws and statutes, a collection of fascinating stories, teaching lofty moral precepts. But without the holy Spirit it contains no message from God, no revelation. The essence of the scriptures cannot be extracted and appreciated, cannot sanctify us, without the holy Spirit. Consider a phonograph record. Given to a savage, a phonograph record may be highly appreciated and greatly prized because it is a disc made of shiny, black, ebony-like substance. It is perfectly round, beautifully designed with a colorful seal in its center containing characters inscribed upon it. It has mysteriously engraved grooves on either side which give a peculiar sensation to the touch. It has a hole in its center by which it can be strung around one’s neck as a magical charm. This is the limit of a savage’s appreciation of a phonograph record.

Let us suppose he has possessed it for many years. Although it is valuable to him, he has no conception of its full potential. One day a missionary arrives with a phonograph machine. Seeing the record hanging from the neck of the savage, he asks: “Do you know what you have there?” With great pride the savage describes the various unique and ornamental features of the record. Then the missionary takes the record, places it upon the phonograph turntable, puts the needle in the groove and magnificent music fills the air! Beautiful voices, recorded years and years before, come alive and are heard in all their glory.

Do you see the application of this picture? When the phonograph record was made, a diamond stylus cut those grooves. Similarly the Bible was written long ago by holy men of God as they were moved by the holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21) All the glorious music of God was recorded by that Spirit. The Bible is the original high-fidelity recording of God’s supreme greatness, his mercies, his loving attributes, his magnificent divine plan of the ages. It also has his exceeding great and precious promises, his counsel with his encouragements, and expressions of his love and care. These are all recorded by the Spirit in the Bible. But as far as the world is concerned, like the savage with a record in his possession, the deep things hidden in the grooves of the record are inaudible. The world does not have “ears to hear.” But when one has the diamond needle of the holy Spirit, the very same holy Spirit that moved the writers to make the record, the scriptures come beautifully and magnificently alive. Then are made manifest the deep things of God which Paul describes:

“Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to the saints”. (Colossians 1:26)

– Robert Seklemian

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