Know The Bible Teaching Article
Understanding Scripture:
How God Opens Understanding Throughout the Bible
The Bible presents understanding as a gift God gives through His Word, by His Spirit, and often through faithful teachers, so that His people may see, believe, obey, and behold Christ.
A Pattern You May Have Noticed
Throughout Scripture, a recurring pattern emerges.
God speaks through His Word. People hear or read what has been written. Yet understanding is often incomplete. Then, through the work of God, understanding is opened. What was once hidden becomes clear, and the hearer begins to see Christ, Truth, or God's purpose more fully.
This pattern appears repeatedly throughout both the Old and New Testaments. It is seen in the lives of Ezra, Daniel, Philip, Paul, Priscilla and Aquila, and many others. Most importantly, it is demonstrated by Jesus Himself.
Scripture is sufficiently clear that anyone can encounter the message of salvation through its pages. Yet throughout the Bible we also see God continually leading His people into deeper understanding through His Spirit, faithful teachers, and the illuminating work of Christ Himself.
Know The Bible does not seek to replace Scripture, add to Scripture, or stand above Scripture. Rather, it exists to help readers discover the connections, context, and Christ-centered meaning that are already present within the text but are often overlooked until understanding is opened.
For through Scripture, it is possible to know more perfectly the Author of Scripture.
Jesus Opened the Scriptures
Perhaps the clearest picture of this principle is found on the road to Emmaus.
In Luke 24:13-35, two followers of Jesus were traveling from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus on the very day of Christ's resurrection. Though they had witnessed many of the events surrounding Jesus' ministry and death, they struggled to understand what had happened.
As they walked, Jesus Himself joined them, though they did not recognize Him.
The remarkable thing about this encounter is that Jesus did not begin by giving them new Scripture. He did not reveal a new prophecy. He did not add new revelation to the written Word.
Instead, Scripture tells us:
"And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." Luke 24:27
The Scriptures already contained the testimony. The disciples had heard those Scriptures before. Yet they had not seen what was there.
Jesus opened the meaning.
Afterward they said to one another:
"Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?" Luke 24:32
Later that same day, Jesus appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem and again demonstrated the same principle:
"Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures." Luke 24:45
Notice the pattern:
- The Scriptures already existed.
- The disciples had already read them.
- Jesus did not add to them.
- Jesus opened their understanding.
- They saw Christ in the Scriptures more clearly.
The goal is not to create new truth, but to illuminate the Truth already present within God's Word.
The Same Pattern Throughout Scripture
The road to Emmaus is not an isolated event. The same pattern appears throughout Scripture.
Philip and the Ethiopian
In Acts 8:30-35, Philip encountered an Ethiopian official who was reading from the prophet Isaiah.
Philip asked him, "Understandest thou what thou readest?"
The Ethiopian's response reveals the challenge many believers have experienced throughout history:
"How can I, except some man should guide me?" Acts 8:31
Beginning from that very passage of Isaiah, Philip explained how the prophecy pointed to Jesus Christ.
The Scripture had already been written. The Ethiopian already possessed the text. What he lacked was understanding.
Once the meaning was opened, he responded with faith and continued on his journey rejoicing.
Priscilla and Aquila
Acts 18 introduces Apollos, a man described as eloquent and mighty in the Scriptures.
Yet despite his knowledge, his understanding was incomplete.
Scripture tells us that Priscilla and Aquila "took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly." Acts 18:26
Even a gifted teacher needed deeper understanding.
Knowledge of Scripture alone was not the end of the journey.
Paul Opening the Meaning of Scripture
Paul repeatedly demonstrated this same pattern.
In Acts 17:2-3, we are told that Paul reasoned from the Scriptures, "opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead."
Paul's ministry was not merely quoting Scripture.
It was opening the meaning of Scripture and showing how it pointed to Christ.
Likewise, when writing to the Ephesians, Paul prayed not simply for more information but for spiritual understanding:
"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened..." Ephesians 1:17-18
Paul understood that true understanding comes through God's illumination.
Understanding in the Old Testament
The same principle appears throughout the Old Testament.
Ezra Giving the Sense
After the return from exile, Ezra gathered the people and read the Law publicly.
Nehemiah records that the Levites "caused the people to understand the law" and "gave the sense" so the reading could be understood. Nehemiah 8:7-8
Notice that Ezra did not change the text.
He gave the sense.
He helped people understand what had already been written.
The result was joy, celebration, and renewed devotion because the people finally understood the Word that had been read to them.
Daniel Receiving Understanding
Daniel possessed the writings and prophecies, yet repeatedly required divine help to understand them.
Gabriel told him, "I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding." Daniel 9:22
Again, Gabriel was commanded, "Make this man to understand the vision." Daniel 8:16
And later, the angel said, "Now I am come to make thee understand..." Daniel 10:14
The truth existed.
The understanding had to be revealed.
Joseph and Interpretation
Even outside of written Scripture, God demonstrated this principle through dreams and visions.
When asked to interpret dreams, Joseph declared, "Do not interpretations belong to God?" Genesis 40:8
Years later, standing before Pharaoh, Joseph again acknowledged, "It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace." Genesis 41:16
If understanding earthly matters requires divine illumination, how much more should we seek God's help in understanding His Word?
Ignorance of Scripture Is Ignorance of Christ
The early church father Jerome famously wrote:
Ignorantia Scripturarum est ignoratio Christi.
"To be ignorant of Scripture is to be ignorant of Christ."
This statement captures an important truth.
Scripture is not merely a collection of historical records, moral lessons, or theological concepts.
It is the testimony of God's redemptive work culminating in Jesus Christ.
The prophet Hosea warned, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Hosea 4:6
Jesus declared, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32
The psalmist wrote, "The entrance of Thy words giveth light." Psalm 119:130
To know Scripture rightly is to know more fully the God who breathed it.
Why Scripture Accessibility Matters
History demonstrates the importance of making Scripture accessible to ordinary people.
The famous opening of the Old Deluder Satan Act of 1647 declared:
"It being one chief project of that old deluder, Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures..."
The law encouraged literacy so that people could read Scripture for themselves and no longer remain vulnerable through ignorance.
The goal was not education merely for commerce or citizenship.
The goal was access to God's Word.
This conviction fueled translation efforts, widespread literacy, and the publication of Scripture in the common languages of the people.
Knowledge of God's Word has repeatedly been one of the greatest defenses against deception.
The Parable That Unlocks All Parables
Perhaps no teaching better illustrates the importance of understanding than the Parable of the Sower.
After telling the parable, Jesus asked His disciples:
"Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?" Mark 4:13
Jesus then explained the meaning.
The seed is the Word of God. Luke 8:11
The soils represent the condition of the human heart.
Satan seeks to steal the Word before it can take root. Mark 4:15
The cares of this world can choke spiritual growth.
Shallow reception produces temporary fruit.
Only receptive hearts produce lasting fruit.
The same seed is sown everywhere.
The difference lies not in the seed but in its reception.
Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Romans 10:17
Transformation comes through the renewing of the mind. Romans 12:2
Growth comes through receiving what God has spoken.
The ultimate question is not merely, "What does the Word mean?" The greater question is, "What are we doing with the Word we have already received?"
Ending with the Beginning
From Genesis to Revelation, one story is being told.
The Bible reveals a God who creates, redeems, restores, and ultimately reconciles all things through Jesus Christ.
Scripture was never intended to be collected as information alone. It was given so that through it we might know the God who breathed it.
Know The Bible exists to help illuminate the connections, context, patterns, and testimony already present within Scripture so that readers may more clearly see Christ from Genesis to Revelation.
The goal is not merely knowledge.
The goal is transformation.
The question is not simply whether we possess the Word, but whether we receive it.
As Jesus taught in the Parable of the Sower, growth is determined by reception. The same seed is scattered, yet the harvest differs according to the condition of the heart.
May we be found among those who receive the Word with understanding, bear fruit with patience, and come to know more deeply the Author revealed within its pages.
For at the end of all things, it will not merely be knowledge about God that matters most.
It will be knowing Him.
Why KTB Exists
Know The Bible exists because understanding matters.
Readers need access to Scripture. They also benefit from faithful context, careful comparison, cross-references, translation awareness, first references, biblical patterns, and study tools that help them slow down and see what is already present in the text.
KTB does not replace Scripture, the church, prayer, pastoral teaching, or the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit.
It is a Scripture-first study experience meant to preserve the text and enrich it with biblical context.
Its purpose is to help readers discover connections, patterns, first references, themes, and Christ-centered meaning already present within the Bible.
The goal is reverent usefulness.
If a reader can trace a word more carefully, compare a passage more honestly, notice a covenant theme more clearly, or see the Lord Jesus more fully, then the tool has served its purpose.
The treasure remains the Word of God.
The glory belongs to the God who speaks.