How careful is your reading of Scripture?
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable…
– 2 Timothy 3.16
Here we must note that the significance that he gives to the utterance “was” is not temporal but substantial. For the verb “to be,” whence we derive by irregular conjugation the imperfect “was” contains a double meaning. Sometimes it means the subsistence of whatever is predicated without temporal movement, in which case it is called the “substantial verb.” At other times, however, like other verbs, it indicates a temporal movement.
– Eriugena, Homily on John 1.1-14, Irish, 9th century
In the quote above, Eriugena is writing about the verb, “was” in the phrase, “In the beginning was the Word” (Jn. 1.1). He’s explaining that “was” in this case, in the Greek imperfect tense, indicates a continuous, uninterrupted, ongoing existence in the past, as opposed to something that “was” because it came into being at some point.
Why does this matter? Because the Christian Church, from its earliest days and for many years, was tempted to fall through the trap door of Arianism into full-blown heresy, and the well-known catch-phrase of the Arians regarding Christ went, “there was when He was not.” Christ, in other words, was not always God; rather, He became God through His holy life and, by implication, so can we.
Eriugena is careful to show that John’s meaning was not that Christ came into being at some point; rather, his use of the irregular imperfect verb was “substantial,” that is, indicating continuous existence in the past, without beginning in time.
Eriugena, like all the great Celtic Christian leaders, took Paul very seriously: “All” Scripture is inspired and profitable. Thus every word of Scripture deserves careful consideration, contemplation, and reflection as to its meaning in context and how we must apply it to our faith.
What passes for preaching these days is often sloppy, merely anecdotal, and designed to dazzle rather than edify. The ranks of those are growing whose approach to Scripture is less and less careful about words and their meaning, and more and more interested in the human purposes to which we might apply Scripture, depending on how creative – and often, funny – we manage to be.
Such preaching does not honor Scripture and every word in it as the inspired Word of the living God. Instead, it prostitutes Scripture for human ends, and in the name of Christ and Christian faith – just like the Arians did.
All Scripture – every word of it – is profitable. But to gain the profit God has invested in His Word, we need to read it closely, repeatedly, contemplatively, and obediently.
Does your own reading and meditation on God's Word reflect that you truly believe that?
Psalm 19.7, 8 (St. Christopher: “Beneath the Cross of Jesus”)
The Law of God is perfect, His testimony sure.
The simple man God’s wisdom learns, the soul receives its cure.
God’s Word is right, and His command is pure, and truth imparts;
He makes our eyes to understand; with joy He fills our hearts.
Help me, Lord, to love Your Word and to treat each word of it carefully.
Reading Wrong, Reading Right
Every word of Scripture matters, and any word of Scripture, wrongly understood, can lead you into trouble. How confident are you that your reading of Scripture is as careful and accurate as it should be? We’ve prepared a brief guide to reading Scripture entitled, Reading Wrong, Reading Right, and I’ll be happy to send it to you in PDF for the asking. Just send me an email at tmmoore@ailbe.org. This guide will allow you to evaluate your approach to the Word of God in order to discover any areas where improvement is needed.
Two books can also help you to get and stay on track with the Word of God. Kingdom Documents provides an overview of the narrative of Scripture, and shows how the early Church was careful to preserve “right reading” of God’s Word against the distortions of Arianism and other heresies. You can order it by clicking here. The Gospel of the Kingdom focuses on the central theme of Scripture and shows us how to avoid falling into a kind of “near Christianity” rather than the full-fledged, real-deal Gospel that Jesus and the Apostles proclaimed. You can order The Gospel of the Kingdom by clicking here.
Nothing is more important in your day than the time you spend with God at the beginning. Make sure your reading of God’s Word is what it ought to be, and you’ll know more of His presence and blessing throughout the rest of your day as well.
Psalms to Pray for Today and Thursday
Today
Morning: Psalm 119.41-48; Psalm 19
Evening: Psalm 94
Thursday
Morning: Psalm 119.49-56; Psalm 20
Evening: Psalm 95
T. M. Moore, Principal
tmmoore@ailbe.org
All Psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
