Grant Abbott Child of Father, Follower of Son, Student of Spirit

The best commentary is the bible itself. The bible was written to reveal spiritual truth. The truth about God, the truth about us and the revelation of God's kingdom and his will for our lives.

The bible illustrates and illuminates these truths in many different ways. Through physical events in the lives of people and through theological teachings. The bible was written by the Holy Spirit (he inspired individuals to write down what he wanted to say in their own words). Every word in the bible is exactly what the Holy Spirit wanted in there, including the confusing and difficult to understand passages.

The amazing thing is that the Holy Spirit, who Authored the book, is also our RESIDENT TEACHER. In John 14:26 Jesus said the Holy Spirit would teach us all things. Every time we open the bible he is providing a running commentary in my mind. Our problem is that we are not listening to his voice. We read out of duty or obligation. We read when our minds are filled with concerns and distractions from life in the world. Yet we expect to understand. When we don't understand we chase after other people's opinions instead of the Author of Life.

Let's try opening the bible with the Anticipation and Expectation that we will discover truth that will transform our lives and provide the solid food We need to grow up in our faith so we become mature and complete - not lacking any good thing.

When we encounter passages we don't understand let's simply ASK our resident teacher, the Holy Spirit. James 1:5 says if we lack wisdom (don't understand) we should simply ask God who gives generously to all without reproach. But we must believe what He tells us and not doubt. And pursue Him in prayer until we get the answers we are looking for.

Years ago I was doing some leadership training and one module of the course studied the Sermon on the Mount. The course used a commentary as the primary resource. Right from the start I was dissatisfied with the commentators views. I didn't think he was getting to the heart of Jesus teaching. I prayed intensely for 2 weeks for a full revelation from the Holy Spirit. No answer. Another week went by. Then the Holy Spirit began asking me questions that had me chasing around the bible to find the answers. It took a year before the answer to my prayer was complete. The result took my breathe away and increased my faith exponentially.

Today I rarely look at commentaries when I have unanswered questions. I am a committed "Student of the Spirit". I read through the entire bible every year and it takes less than 30 minutes a day. I choose to put my trust in God's promises that he will give me everything I need, for an abundantly fulfilling and deeply satisfying life, through His Word, the bread and water of spiritual life.

I will close with this word and promise from God:
Mark 4:13
Jesus said, Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
Mark 4:22-25
For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come into the light. If anyone had ears to hear, let him hear. Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who had not, even what he has will be taken away.
Then Luke 6: 38 adds "give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

Let's "Give" ourselves wholeheartedly to searching for spiritual truth from the Word of God in the bible. I am convinced we will never be disappointed. God bless your seeking.

March 29 2017 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Pearce Elliott

I can't say which is the most "absolute and accurate" bible commentary - I haven't read all of them. I can say I have found two commentary sets very useful. One is J. Vernon McGee's Through the Bible the complete 5 year series (I can't say I agree with everything said, but the few areas I disagree I think are due to the time at which the Dr. McGee was going through seminary - things like the age of the earth).
The second I have found useful is the New Testament commentary by John McArthur (33 volume set). I don' t have (and haven't read) the entire set, but the ones I have read are well researched and are written as an exposition of the scriptures (taken from John McArthur's preaching), so are good for getting an understanding of scripture.

March 29 2017 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report