Deciphering God's Spiritual Language

The following article is believed to be a great spiritual revelation. The man responsible for its preparation does not reveal himself, lest the reader’s attention be diverted from the Word. This is, therefore, not intended to promote any religious sect. The objective is simply to enliven ardent and serious Bible study, as our Lord said:

"Search the scriptures ..." (John 5:39) " And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)

"Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (2 Corinthians 3:17)

Liberty could not have referred to socio-political, but to spiritual freedom from human precepts and doctrines, and religious traditions.

BIBLE SEARCHERS

"Searchers" of the Scriptures are typified by the Scribes and the Apostles during the time of Christ. The Scribes, with due diligence and human effort, tried to gain mastery of the word of God. That is why they were called Doctors of the Law. The Apostles, on the other hand, like "little children," knew nothing and could do nothing.

The Scribes were "searchers" of the Sacred Scriptures in the eyes of men. To God, however, no longer were they for they took upon themselves the authority that belonged to Him. The true searchers were the Apostles who fully and truly depended on God, and not on fellowmen:

James 1:5-8 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."

And it was the Apostles who were anointed by the Holy Spirit!

1 John 2:27 "But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him."

GOD IS A SPIRIT

God Is a Spirit (John 4:24 ). What relationship can we have with a Spirit? God made a plan that He can relate to His chosen people. This is through His spoken words. Can the spoken words be separated from the Speaker? "Are" the Speaker and the Word counted two? Or, one and the same? This is the essence of John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ."

The spoken words were relayed to His prophets and apostles.

2 Peter 1:21 "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

From another angle, we see the Word as referring to Jesus Christ.

John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us..."

Revelation 19:13 "And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God."

Just as God relates to His chosen through His words; so is the Word in the flesh:

1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"

Since the creation of man, God had been relating to the people through His spoken words. In the beginning the spoken word was conveyed from mouth to mouth from generation to generation.

Moses began putting these words in writing in the book of Genesis, the first book. The last person was John the apostle, who wrote the book of Revelation as he was exiled in the island of Patmos . The prophets and apostles, therefore, were the WRITERS while God is the AUTHOR. The writers might have different styles in writing, but the message cannot be altered.

In the beginning, the words were written on bark of trees and skin of animals. Later, these were transferred to the crude form of paper called papyrus, and compiled into rolls. It was only after the invention of the printing press in the mid 20th century, that we have the words of God printed in books, which we now call the Holy Bible. This is the proof that, indeed, God is represented by His words:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

SOME FACTS ABOUT THE BIBLE

God commissioned about forty men, called prophets and apostles, to write His spoken words. It took them about 1,600 years from 1500 B.C. to 97 A.D. to do it. They were simply the writers:

2 Peter 1:21 "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

The Holy Bible was written, not in words of human wisdom, but in words inspired by the Holy Spirit:

1 Corinthians 2:13 "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual."

In the beginning, the Holy Bible was written without division into chapters and verses. It was only in the mid 20th century that this was done. Stephen Langton divided the Bible into chapters in about 1228 A.D. R. Nathan divided the Old Testament into verses in 1448 A.D. Rob ert Stephanus divided the New Testament into verses in 1551. The entire Bible, divided into chapters and verses, first appeared in the Geneva Bible in 1560 A.D. The Holy Bible, or part of it, was translated into more than 1,600 different languages and dialects in the early 1960’s. Man’s role, therefore, in the WORD OF GOD is limited to the writing, printing the book, and dividing it into chapters and verses. As to its interpretation, this is the subject of this short article.

God is a Spirit. His words are also in "spirit."

Romans 7:14 "For we know that the law is spiritual..."

John 6:63 "(Jesus Christ speaking) It is the spirit that quickeneth... the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."

It should be noted that God is the AUTHOR, while the prophets and apostles were only the WRITERS. God is the SPEAKER, while the writers are only the SPEAKER SYSTEM. The speaker system cannot produce sound of its own. If ever, it is purely hiss and hum, a cacophony and noise. Who can, therefore, decipher or interpret the word of God in the Holy Bible?

PEOPLE’S PERCEPTION OF THE HOLY BIBLE

Some people say the Bible is a work like any book written by men. To these people, therefore, the Bible does not have much use as any other book.
Other people say the Bible is not within the "province" of man. You will just go crazy understanding it. To these people, reading the Bible is a waste of their "precious" time.
To the religious people, the Bible is written by men and authored by God. It is the words of God that instruct the people about His ways and plan. To these people, therefore, the Bible can be easily understood if only one would "search the scriptures." God gave us the intellect to understand His great message, they say. Is not God love? He, therefore, gave His words that many people would be saved. The Bible is a source of strength in character leading to righteousness.
To a very few people, the Bible is written by men but authored by God. It contains the words of God that represent Him. Since the spiritual words stand for God, who can decipher the "language" but God Himself. These people, therefore, never attempt to interpret the great message of the word, although they understand the literal meaning.

People in the four categories during the time of Jesus Christ may be the following:

To the first , belong the Romans who, at that time, ruled Israel . Included also were other nationalities who had other concepts of God and supernatural things.

To the second , were the Jews who had their interest other than the Laws handed to Moses.

To the third , were the Teachers of the Law and their followers. Generally, they may be called the religious people. The Teachers of the Law took upon themselves the authority to interpret and to preach the Laws handed down to Moses. When they met our Lord, however, in His tender age of twelve years, they found themselves as ignorant as anyone else.

Luke 2:42-47 "And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast... the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it... And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers."

To the fourth , were the fishermen, tax collectors, prostitute, and sinners in general. They were Peter, Andrew, John, James, Magdalene, Matthew, Levi, Zacchaeus and others. Did these people ever took upon themselves the intelligence and capability to comprehend the word of God? When our Lord spoke, "Destroy this temple and in three days, I will raise it up again," did they understand what He was saying? They were as ignorant as the rest! They only came to know the meaning when our Lord explained it to them by a "demonstration." That is, at His resurrection after 3 days that the temple refers to the body of our Lord.

One thing that separated these "simple people" from the rest: They were "little children" who knew nothing and could do nothing in eyes of our Lord. They were unworthy sinners, destitute and ignorant. Unknown to them, however, they had the key to the kingdom of heaven:

Matthew 18:3 "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children , ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."

Jesus Christ confirmed their "possession of the key" when He addressed them:

John 13:33 "Little children , yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you."

It is a fact, aside from the truth, that these "unworthy simple people" where the ones endowed with wisdom from on high:

Matthew 11:25 "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes."

If we are to see the four kinds of people in our time, can we possibly identify ourselves?

To the first are the people who do not believe in the Holy Bible as the word of God. These are the different religions of the world who have their own "inspired writings."
To the second group belong the people who, although they know that the Holy Bible is the word of God, do not put much thought about it. They are preoccupied with some "important matters" in life.
To the third are the religious people in our time. Trusting in man’s intelligence and capability, they spend many years in Bible schools "burning the midnight oil," so to speak. With the diploma/s in hand, they profess authorityfrom God as prophets, apostles, evangelists, pastors, teachers. Just like their counterparts during the time of Christ, they draw many people with their eloquent preaching of the Law of God. Everything is seen in them as Christ saw in His time: the title and honor (Matthew 23:8-10), authority and heavy burden imposed on the people (Matthew 23:4), distinction in attire (Matthew 23:5-7), peculiarity in speech, manner and conduct (Luke 20:47 ), beautiful prayers (Matthew 6:7), and "cleanliness" as our Lord saw "cleanliness" in them (Matthew 23:25 -26).

Today, with great wisdom men debate on the "truth." There is an unending argument on the basic truth as to the right way of salvation. Reminiscence of the struggle between the sect of the Pharisees and the sect of the Sadducees. All profess to love and worship God, but just as what our saw in His time.

John 8:54-55 "Jesus answered... it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him..."

Great men today are still at a loss as to Who Jesus Christ, the Father, and the Holy Spirit is/are. Coming from their very lips, "God is a mystery, incapable of clear recognition." God never missed in His words:

1 Corinthians 1:19-21 "... I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world... the world by wisdom knew not God..."

Today, where can we find the fourth category of people? Where did we find the disciples of Christ? In high society? In politics? They are obscure as the Disciples of Christ. They are, however, as knowledgeable and assertive of the great message of the Word of God as their counterpart almost 2000 years ago!

Just as God had "not hidden" Himself from the Disciples, God is equally conspicuous to them. They banner their clear recognition of God - the "One Lord and one God!" And since, "In the beginning was the Word...and the Word was God,"to them the great message of the Holy Bible is as bright as the sun, so to speak.

What a great contradiction to many people! These people profess intellectual destitution, yet they know many things about God and His words. The reason is that truth is seen in them:

Isaiah 28:9 "Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts." (KJV only)

2 Timothy 3:15 "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation..."

With their true spiritual humility, they recognize the AUTHORITY of God!

Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

How easy for many people to quote that verse. Test for real trust in God: How many people accept the following truth?

James 1:5-8 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."

DECIPHERING GOD’S WORDS

God is the SPEAKER. His true Disciples are the SPEAKER SYSTEM. No words will come out the speaker system without the speaker talking over the microphone. Any sound coming from the speaker system, without the speaker, is cacophony or noise. That is how the true followers of Christ, the real Christians, see God and themselves.

They are "little children" who know nothing and can do nothing. They therefore fully and truly depend on God alone -- not to anyone else or to themselves. They realize that the God-given intelligence and physical strength is not for their SPIRITUAL LIFE, but are intended for their PHYSICAL LIFE.

For their PHYSICAL LIFE, therefore, they use the intellect, feeling, and physical strength to the fullest extent. That is what they see in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ as model. He worked as a carpenter, and never did we see or hear Him asked the Father for His physical and material needs. Paul followed the path shown by the model. So he wrote:

1 Corinthians 11:1 "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ."

For their SPIRITUAL LIFE, real Christians see themselves as "nothing" in the eyes of the Lord. What can they do? They therefore fully and truly depend on God on matters pertaining to Him and His words. This is what "little children" mean to them. Perhaps, this is what our Lord meant in:

Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

The first thing that they ask God is KNOWLEDGE and WISDOM. God must be very happy for this is what He likes. With God’s plan, therefore, there is no need for His Chosen to depend on other people. They look at the servants (Apostles, Evangelists, Prophets, Pastors, and Teachers) of God as simple SOUND SYSTEM who simply emit what the SPEAKER is saying over the microphone:

1 John 2:27 "But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him."

What do real Christians do regarding matters pertaining to the Word of God? They simply ask God, and they expect Him to answer them very clearly through His words. After all, is not God represented by His words? John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

GREAT LESSON

Real Christians want to share this one thing with people who have not yet found the Way. For being "little children" and realizing their "nothingness" in the eyes of God, they cannot do anything but depend on Him. God, therefore, is given a "free hand" to work in their spiritual life.

Their PHYSICAL LIFE is their own responsibility as Jesus Christ and Paul demonstrated. They never asked the Father for their physical-material necessities. This jibes perfectly with what our Lord told His disciples:

Matthew 6:8 "...your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him."

God gave us the intellect and physical strength, and we did not ask for them. The fowls of the air do not have these "tools" for their physical survival, yet they live.

Matthew 6:25-26 "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?"

This PHYSICAL LIFE, however, has to walk hand-in-hand with the SPIRITUAL LIFE. By virtue of being a "little child," God now guides the real believer’s SPIRITUAL LIFE to His path. Our Lord epitomized this when He told His disciples: "Ye are the salt of the earth," pertaining to their PHYSICAL LIFE. "Ye are the light of the world," pertaining to their SPIRITUAL LIFE. Real Christians realize the true meaning of:

Amos 3:3 "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?"

WHAT IS THE TRUTH?

The fact that Christianity Today is divided is the proof that no one, but God alone can reveal the truth. Many people think otherwise by saying: "How can God do it when He is invisible. We will go crazy trying to understand the Bible. We will just rely on ‘Bible authorities.’ After all, it is their role to explain and exhort as God’s representatives."

God exposed that man is incapable of unraveling the great mysteries of His words. Many people are deceived into believing that just because a doctrine is supported by Bible verses it already constitutes the truth. This is what is being preached by the 1001 Christian denominations today. Each of them claims the "truth" on the basis of this misconception of truth.

God’s chosen few see otherwise. They ask the SPEAKER on the microphone and not the SPEAKER SYSTEM . They ask God and not the "servants" on their own personal authority. The know the "voice" of God. They can distinguish whether the sound came from the SPEAKER or from the SPEAKER SYSTEM only. If it is a clear crispy sound, it came from the SPEAKER. If it is not clear and contradictory to what is written, it is simply a noise coming from the SPEAKER SYSTEM.

John 10:4-5 "...he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice . And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers."

The "voice" of GOD is clear, authoritative, and powerful. It never finds contradiction with what "is written," for God will never contradict Himself. The "voice of the servants" is not clear as it is full of contradictions with what "is written." Questions and doubts are "hanging" for they are not authoritative. People, however, are taken by the emotional refreshment from the mellifluous speech and eloquence of the "speakers." This is what is learned from the efforts of men, THEOLOGY and its ramifications: Apologetics, Dogmatic theology, Moral theology, Pastoral theology, Homiletics, Cannon Law, Biblical exegesis, textual, linguistic, literary, historical disciplines, liturgical, ethical, philosophical theologies, etc.

"SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES"

God has been telling His people both in the Old and New Testament to "search the Scriptures:"

Isaiah 34:16 "Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them."

John 5:39 "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life..."

There are two views on the "search."

One is for people to "burn the midnight oil," so to speak, spending time, effort, and everything trying to understand the Scriptures.
The other is to be "converted into a "little child" reading the Holy Bible, and waiting for God to give the great revelation of His words.

See for yourself which classification you belong. The distinction may be illustrated in the following. Example in the Old Testament:

God speaking of the deliverance from slavery of His chosen people:

Exodus 3:8 "And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites."

How do the great men and known authority of the Holy Bible explain the foregoing? We heard them say, "The Israelites, the chosen people of God, were in Egypt as slaves. God wanted them to go to Canaan , the Promised Land, that they would be free. There they would have their own king. It was a fertile land that God called it "flowing with milk and honey." Perhaps that is all that we heard from our preachers.

"As little children," the real Christians recognize their "nothingness." They, therefore, depend on God alone and nothing more. They ask God like "little children." First, they ask God on how to read the Holy Bible. God answers them in:

Isaiah 28:10 "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:"

They would ask, "Is it not book by book? Or, chapter by chapter? Or, verse by verse? And, take the context of the story?" As if God is answering: "You yourself know that in the beginning the Holy Bible was not divided into books, chapters, or verses. It was only in 1228 A.D. that the Bible was divided into chapters by Stephen Langton. The Old Testament was divided into verses by R. Nathan in 1448 A.D., and the New Testament by Rob ert Stephanus in 1551 A.D. How could you now say you depend on Me when you are following the ways of men?"

SAMPLE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT -- SPIRITUAL SLAVERY

The real Christians now ask God, "Lord, following your way, how do you explain deliverance from slavery in Egypt , and bringing your people to the land flowing with milk and honey?"

As if God is saying, "To you slavery is political bondage. You must remember that I am speaking ‘spiritual things.’Do you still remember when I talked about freedom? Did I refer to political freedom?"

John 8:32 "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

It is very clear that God, indeed, is speaking spiritual things. Man is limited only to literal-physical things. God is after the "spirit in the word." Man is limited only to the "letter in the word."

2 Corinthians 3:6 "Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."

To simply take the "letter of the word," the incident happened in the past - no more. But to take the "spirit in the word," the word of God is "still alive" in our time. The Israelites were the chosen people of God. Who were the equivalent during the time of our Lord? Were they not the Disciples? How did Christ deliver the Disciples from "spiritual slavery?" According to Him, "By teaching them the truth." Who was the equivalent of Pharaoh and his sidekicks? Who were taking the Jews away from the truth? Were they not the Scribes and the religious leaders? Today, it is very easy to identity the different characters!

"THE PROMISED LAND"

Man’s understanding of land is the soil or ground from where plants and trees are growing. God however is speaking of spiritual land in the following:

Genesis 3:19 "... till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

Genesis 18:27 "And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:"

"Land" therefore symbolizes man! Who, now, is that "good land" that is "flowing with milk and honey?" If land symbolizes man, there is actually no good land for there is not any good man:

Romans 3:10-12 "...There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."

However, there is a "portion of the land" that is holy.

Ezekiel 45:1 "Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the LORD, an holy portion of the land..."

There is only one "good man" though who knows no sin. This is Jesus Christ, the man:

1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"

When God delivered His people from slavery in Egypt and brought them to Canaan , the Promised Land, that is all that many people see in the word of God. However, God is speaking "spiritual things."

1 Corinthians 2:13 "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual."

As God explained through His words, the Promised Land is Jesus Christ. Truly so, the deserving to the Promised Land are only the following:

Galatians 3:29 "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

The Jews while they occupied the physical Canaan , for being the physical descendants of Abraham, they did not, however "occupy the spiritual Promised Land." They rejected JESUS CHRIST because they did not recognize Him (John 8:19 , 54-55)!

Romans 9:6 "Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel , which are of Israel :"

"LAND FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY"

The Promised Land was flowing with milk and honey. To take the word of God literally, He would have lied for no such things had the Israelites found on the land.

If Jesus is the spiritual Promised Land, "spiritual milk" is what Peter wrote about. Truly so, Jesus Christ is the Word of God (Revelation 19:13 ):

1 Peter 2:2 "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:"

"Spiritual milk" for the word of God refers to the literal word. The "letter of the word" is all that man understands with his intellect and feeling. This makes him MORALLY UPRIGHT and RELIGIOUS.

Much sweeter than milk is honey. Honey is the spiritual word.

Psalms 119:103 "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

This is what our Lord kept on pounding to His disciples -- His spiritual word. If following the "letter of the word" cleanses the OUTSIDE, the spiritual word cleanses the INSIDE as well.

From the foregoing explanation of God of His words, through His very words, the story of Moses, slavery in Egypt, deliverance from slavery, crossing the Red Sea, wandering in the wilderness with Manna as food and water sprouting from the Rock, crossing the Jordan River and, finally, the occupation of the Promised Land, now give a very deep dimension to the real Christians. Only God, not any man, can truly explain His words!

SAMPLE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT -- FAITH AS BIG AS MUSTARD SEED

How could the intellect of man explain the word of God in the following?

Matthew 17:20 "And Jesus said unto them... If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

Matthew 21:21 "Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not... say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done."

With man’s understanding of the "letter of the word," who has faith as big as the mustard seed? Should people attempt to explain the parable? It would be the same as attempting to explain the following parable:

John 2:19-20 "Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?"

Did the apostles understand what our Lord said? Literally, yes. But the great spiritual message, No! Only Jesus could explain His words. He elucidated it through a demonstration.

John 2:21-22 "But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said."

FAITH

Perhaps many people think that FAITH comes from man, because our Lord kept on saying, "Have faith...,if you have faith...,increase your faith." Faith actually is a gift of God:

Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:"

Faith is a fruit of the Holy Spirit:

Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,"

Since FAITH comes from God, how could a real believer have it? It was answered by our Lord in:

Matthew 18:3 "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."

Humility comes first before faith. In fact, this is the only role of the real Christian. Once our Lord see real spiritual humility in the chosen, He will give him the "gifts," and provide him with the "fruit(s)."

Since FAITH comes from God, this is hardly discernible by the unbelievers. Thus, its spiritual size of a "mustard seed." What people see is "faith" that comes from man’s capability. This is not true faith. Our Lord saw this kind of faith in the religious people during His time. He called them "hypocrites." (Read the whole of Matthew 23.)

MOUNTAIN

Look how far is man’s understanding from God’s explanation of His words. Mountain to God refers to people. God tells us to take only the "line" (Isaiah 28:10), and not "verse by verse." "Contextual" understanding and interpretation is man’s invention. Originally, the Bible was not divided into chapters and verses. These were the works of men only.

Judges 9:36 "And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men."

Mountain, therefore, refers to the real believer who has faith as big as a mustard seed. This spiritual mountain must "move to the sea."

"SEA" AND "MANY WATERS"

Look how far is God’s explanation of His words from man’s understanding. To God, this is the "sea" and "great waters" where the spiritual mountain would go:

Psalms 77:19 "Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known."

The Apostles of our Lord, except Judas Iscariot, had "faith as big as a mustard seed" as a "gift" from God and "fruit of the Spirit." This they got because of real humility as "little children." MOUNTAIN symbolizes themselves. True enough, they were "moved to the sea." That is, they were thrown into the "way of our Lord." They followed the path of our Lord Who showed the Way, as model. Their life, therefore, is depicted by a mountain that is thrown to the sea because they had faith as big as a mustard seed!

That is the "life" we see in the Word of God. Just as God is alive, so are His words! It appears that the word of God are like prophecies that will all come to pass. Perhaps, that is what our Lord meant when He said:

Matthew 5:17-18 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."

This was revealed to Peter when he wrote:

2 Peter 1:20 "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation."

Who can decipher the language of God? Who can explain the word of God that are like "prophecies" that will all come to pass? The aforementioned parables are only samples of how God deciphers His language. We have seen how the message of God in the Old Testament and New Testament do not differ after He has deciphered His language.

Truly so, since "In the beginning...the Word was with God and the Word was God (John 1:1)" and "God does not change(Malachi 3:6)," we do not expect that the spiritual message of the word of God also changes. It is only with man’s perception that THEOLOGY was invented and EXEGESIS was conceived to try to reconcile the word of God with present day circumstances. All of these are but human wisdom that God condemns.

1 Corinthians 1:19-21 "...I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe?... the world by wisdom knew not God..."

END