The Bible is very hard for me to understand; what can I do to understand it better?

Answers to Bible Questions

Scriptures are from the KJV of the Bible

(Q)  The Bible is very hard for me to understand; what can I do to understand it better?

( A ) One of the most important things you need to know about the Bible is that it cannot be understood, unless you are a true sincere believer in Christ Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. It takes the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to guide you to all understanding of the Bible. You will not ever grasp what you are reading as an unbeliever. The Scriptures confirm this in 1 Corinthians 2: 6-16. Let’s read what it says:

6: Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:

7: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

8: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

9: But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

10: But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

11: For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

12: Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

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.

14: But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

15: But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

16: For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Also you need to read 2 Timothy 2: 15 which tells us we need to Study the Bible and not just read it:

15: Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

This rightly dividing the word of truth as it says in the last part of the verse is a subject all by itself, but it is talking about what the Bible calls Dispensations. This means that you need to know God had different ways of dealing with man down through the history of man starting with the book of Genesis, and up to our time today and into the future. If you do not know the Bible Dispensationally you will never understand it properly. This will be the subject of another Question.

There is a Scripture in the book of Acts that tells us we also need the help of someone who already understands the Scriptures and can explain them to us, see Acts 8:26-31:

26: And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.

27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,

28: Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.

29: Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

30: And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

31: And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

Sometimes we need to hear the truth explained to us by a teacher, or minister who knows the Bible from a Dispensational point of view.

John