From intellectual, to spiritual understanding (Proverbs 2:1–9)

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Yomelijah

4 min readNov 30, 2022

The understanding in Proverbs 2:1–9 is not connected with the simple innate faculty of comprehension of knowledge. In the Bible there are examples of characters who had a great knowledge of the Bible, nevertheless, who missed the essential or had no understanding of the meaning of the message. Let us take the example of the apostle Paul, before he became a Christian: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Ci·liʹcia, but educated in this city at the feet of Ga·maʹli·el, instructed according to the strictness of the ancestral Law, and zealous for God just as all of you are this day. I persecuted this Way to the point of death, binding and handing over to prisons both men and women, as the high priest and all the assembly of elders can bear witness. From them I also obtained letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way to bring those who were there in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished” (Acts 22: 3–5 compare with Matthew 23).
We can not deny that Saul of Tarsus, who would later become the Apostle Paul, knew the Bible and probably better than most Christians he persecuted. Nevertheless, he lacked the essential, the understanding that comes from God and that consisted of to accept in his heart that Jesus was (and is) the Christ. The narrative of Acts shows us how God gave him understanding through Jesus Christ, by literally making the scales of his eyes fall: “But Saul, still breathing threat and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that he might bring bound to Jerusalem any whom he found who belonged to The Way, both men and women. Now as he was traveling and getting near Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him, and he fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” He asked: “Who are you, Lord?” He said: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Now the men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing, indeed, the sound of a voice but seeing no one. Saul then got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he did not see anything, and he neither ate nor drank. There was a disciple named An·a·niʹas in Damascus, and the Lord said to him in a vision: “An·a·niʹas!” He said: “Here I am, Lord.” The Lord said to him: “Get up, go to the street called Straight, and look for a man named Saul, from Tarsus, at the house of Judas. For look! he is praying, and in a vision he has seen a man named An·a·niʹas come in and lay his hands on him so that he may recover sight.” But An·a·niʹas answered: “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, about all the harm he did to your holy ones in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to arrest all those calling on your name.” But the Lord said to him: “Go! because this man is a chosen vessel to me to bear my name to the nations as well as to kings and the sons of Israel. For I will show him plainly how many things he must suffer for my name” (Acts 9:1–19).
There is therefore a difference between the knowledge available in the Bible and the intelligence or the ability to understand it, which is given by God through Christ: “For “who has come to know the mind of Jehovah, so that he may instruct him?” But we do have the mind of Chris” (1 Corinthians 2:16). When a person understands by the acceptance in his heart of the biblical knowledge, it can be said that he manifests a faith in accordance with the will of God: “Faith is the assured expectation of what is hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities that are not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). The word “demonstration” regarding the faith presupposes “logical” knowledge, even if it is connected with unseen realities.

The teaching of Jesus Christ that leads to spiritual maturity
The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 to 7)
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The prophecy of Daniel:
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Zechariah’s prophecy:
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To read the whole article “Good things to come”:

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To read the whole article of “Why did God allow suffering and wickedness?”, please choose your preferred language, below:

English: http://www.yomelyah.com/435935499

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