The Signs of the Times
April 25, 1906
Our Great Treasure-House
The Mysteries of the Bible—Part 6
The mysteries of the Bible, so far from being an argument against it, are amongst the strongest evidences of its divine inspiration. If it contained no account of God but that which we could comprehend; if His greatness and majesty could be grasped by human minds, then the Bible would not, as now, bear the unmistakable evidences of divinity. The greatness of its themes should inspire faith in it as the Word of God. ST April 25, 1906, par. 1
The Bible unfolds truth with a simplicity and an adaptation to the needs and longings of the human heart, that has astonished and charmed the most highly cultivated minds, while to the humble and uncultured, it also makes plain the way of life. “The wayfaring men, tho fools, shall not err therein.” No child need mistake the path. Not one trembling seeker need fail of walking in pure and holy light. Yet the most simply-stated truths lay hold upon themes elevated, far-reaching, infinitely beyond the power of human comprehension,—mysteries that are the hiding of His glory,—mysteries that overpower the mind in its research, while they inspire the sincere seeker for truth with reverence and faith. The more we search the Bible, the deeper is our conviction that it is the Word of the living God, and human reason bows before the majesty of divine wisdom. ST April 25, 1906, par. 2
Ever Unfolding
God intends that to the earnest seeker the truths of His Word shall be ever unfolding. While “the secret things belong unto the Lord our God,” “those things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children.” The idea that certain portions of the Bible can not be understood has led to neglect of some of its most important truths. The fact needs to be emphasized, and often repeated, that the mysteries of the Bible are not such because God has sought to conceal truth, but because our own weakness or ignorance makes us incapable of comprehending or appropriating truth. The limitation is not in its purpose, but in our capacity. Of those very portions of Scripture so often passed by as impossible to be understood, God desires us to understand as much as our minds are capable of receiving. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” that we may be “thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” ST April 25, 1906, par. 3
It is impossible for any human mind to exhaust one truth or promise of the Bible. One catches the glory from one point of view, another from another point; yet we can discern only gleamings. The full radiance is beyond our vision. As we contemplate the great things of God's Word, we look into a fountain that broadens and deepens beneath our gaze. Its breadth and depth pass our knowledge. As we gaze, the vision widens; stretched out before us, we behold a boundless, shoreless sea. Such study has vivifying power. The mind and heart acquire new strength, new life. ST April 25, 1906, par. 4
Food for the Soul
This experience is the highest evidence of the divine authorship of the Bible. We receive God's Word as food for the soul, through the same evidence by which we receive bread as food for the body. Bread supplies the need of our nature; we know by experience that it produces blood, bone, and brain. Apply the same test to the Bible; when its principles have actually become the elements of character, what has been the result? what changes have been made in the life?—“Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” In its power, men and women have broken the chains of sinful habit. They have renounced selfishness. The profane have become reverent, the drunken sober, the profligate pure. Souls that have borne the likeness of Satan, have been transformed into the image of God. The change is itself the miracle of miracles. A change wrought by the Word, it is one of the deepest mysteries of the Word. We can not understand it; we can only believe, that, as declared by the Scriptures, it is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” ST April 25, 1906, par. 5
A knowledge of this mystery furnishes a key to every other. It opens to the soul the treasures of the universe, the possibilities of infinite development. ST April 25, 1906, par. 6
And this development is gained through the constant unfolding to us of the character of God—the glory and mystery of the written Word. If it were possible for us to attain to a full understanding of God and His truth, there would be for us no further discovery of truth, no greater knowledge, no further development. God would cease to be supreme, and man would cease to advance. Thank God, it is not so. Since God is infinite, and in Him are all the treasures of wisdom, we may to all eternity be ever searching, ever learning, yet never exhaust the riches of His wisdom, His goodness, or His power. ST April 25, 1906, par. 7