Why Have Difficult Passages?

by Bryan Gibson

As the previous article indicated, while some passages in the Bible are easy to understand, some are much harder. Reference was made to 2 Peter 3:16, where the apostle Peter writes the following about the epistles of Paul: “…in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” Notice first, from this passage, that it does say hard to understand, not impossible. Secondly, there is no indication given that because these passages are hard to understand, we can each have “our own interpretation.” The passage condemns those who would “twist” (or distort) the true meaning of these passages. As we “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord” (2 Pet. 3:18), the hard passages become a little easier for us (see also Hebrews 5:11-14).

But why would God even want to make some passages hard to understand? Why not make it where all can understand, with the least amount of effort? Consider carefully the following points: The word of God, written the way it is, has a way of separating those who love the truth from those who don’t (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12); those with humble hearts from those with proud hearts (Matt. 11:25); those with honest intentions from those who would distort the Bible (2 Pet. 3:16). To understand some passages, we do have to do some very diligent study (2 Tim. 2:15). That’s why, according to Proverbs 2:1-5, proper understanding is reserved for those who want it very badly.

Let’s make one other point about difficult passages, and this one is a little surprising.  There are some things in the Bible we will never understand. In saying there are things we will never understand, we’re not referring to those things that reveal God’s will to us. We’re talking about those things that are incidental to the main message. For example, in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, we will never know for sure what Paul means by his “thorn in the flesh,” but we can know exactly what God’s will is for us in that passage. I don’t know the meaning of all the symbols in the Book of Revelation, but I don’t have any trouble understanding God’s will for me in that book. You see, there is a big difference between understanding the will of God (Eph. 5:17) and understanding every word in the Bible.