by Dave Brown
Ye often hear it said ...
The bible is too complicated to understand ...
but Eph. 3:3-4 states:
"... by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)."
Could we ask for more understanding that the Apostle Paul had? On the other hand, the bible is not trivial. The Apostle Peter referring to the writings of Paul stated "in which are some things hard to be understood" (2 Pet. 3:16).
It is not difficult to reconcile these two views. Peter did not say that all things were hard to be understood. We can be safe in concluding that parts of God's word are quite simple (2 Cor. 11:3), while others are much more challenging. The Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 3:2) and the Hebrew writer (Heb. 5:12) both spoke of the milk of the word which was easily digested, as opposed to the meat, which required more maturity for its discernment.
God expects us to render obedience in all things which we understand to be His will (Heb. 5:9). However, even after a lifetime of study, we never "arrive." Indeed, it was those who had the most confidence in their knowledge of God's word who were the recipients of the harshest rebuke from our savior (Mt. 23).
Many misunderstand God's word; but the reason has nothing to do with intellectual ability (Mt. 11:25, 13:10-17).