What About That “Hard-to-Understand” Scripture?

In this article, I’m going to address “hard-to-understand” verses in the Bible. Maybe you’re not aware of any, and you believe you have perfect clarity and understanding regarding every spiritual matter. If that’s you, you probably won’t benefit from this article. But for everyone else — those who sometimes scratch their heads because they don’t fully understand something they read in the Bible — I think this article will be beneficial.

Insight from the Holy Spirit

I have been studying the Bible intensively for forty-seven years, and I am so thankful for the things I dounderstand in Scripture. We should have light and insight from God’s word. We know this based on two things Jesus said and one statement from Paul:

• Jesus said that the Spirit “will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you”(John 14:26 NLT).
• “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13 NLT).
• Paul wrote that “we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us” (1 Corinthians 2:12 NLT).

Learning from Others

We see examples in Scripture when people did not understand something, and they were humble enough to receive instruction from others. For example, Philip spoke to the Ethiopian eunuch (who was reading the book of Isaiah) and asked him if he understood what he was reading. The eunuch replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” (Acts 8:31 NLT).

In another case, we see a brilliant man named Apollos, but his knowledge of Scripture was limited to what he had been exposed to (he had only heard about John the Baptist). He needed to have some blanks filled in — he needed to learn about Jesus, so Priscilla and Aquila “took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately” (Acts 18:26 NLT).

The great evangelist, D. L. Moody, only had a fifth-grade education, and he didn’t make any pretense of being a great scholar. In spite of his highly effective evangelistic ministry, he loved sitting down with those who were more intellectually oriented and quizzing them about various parts of the Bible where he needed additional understanding and insight. His humility and teachability is most commendable.

This approach of learning from others may lead us to deeper study of Scripture, taking classes, reading books or commentaries, or asking a pastor or friend who may have knowledge of that particular topic.

When You Still Don’t Understand

If I read something in the Bible that I don’t understand (or something that is challenging or uncomfortable), I can dismiss it outright, or I can prayerfully consider if there is something in it that I really need. Could it be that the problem is with me, not with the content in front of me? If I’m tempted to think there is a contradiction in the Bible, I should realize that there is just a contradiction in my understanding.

We should not allow something in the Bible we don’t understand to be a stumbling block or point of offense. It is perfectly alright to “put something on the shelf” and say, “Lord, I may not understand this right now, but I believe you are smarter than I am. Please reveal it to me when I’m ready to understand it.” Solomon wrote, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5 NLT). You don’t have to understand everything in order to still love and trust God.

Peter, who was personally mentored by Jesus, said that some of the things Paul wrote were hard to understand (2 Peter 3:16 NLT). He then spoke of how “those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.” I’m guessing that Peter took the position to trust in the simplicity of what he did understand, and not allow other complexities to throw him off.

A Case Study in Not Understanding

When Jesus spoke of people eating his flesh and drinking his blood (John 6:53-58), it didn’t go over well with a lot of people. We read that “Many of his disciples said, ‘This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?’” (John 6:60 NLT).

What happened next is remarkable.

John 6:66-67 (NLT)

66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”

Peter’s reply is noteworthy.

John 6:68-69 (NLT)

68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”

Peter didn’t necessarily understand exactly what Jesus meant about his flesh and blood either, but he didn’t allow what he didn’t understand to keep him from fully participating in and clinging to what he did understand. Peter would have come to understand that later. It was after the resurrection that Jesus “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45 NLT).

What a tragedy it would have been if Peter, or any of the others among the Twelve, would have said, “Jesus just said something we don’t understand. And if we don’t understand everything there is about some theological intricacy, we’re just going to turn our backs and walk away from him.”

If they had done that, they would have never come to the understanding of many of Jesus’ teachings. What about us? Are we OK if we don’t understand everything? After we have prayed, studied, and even asked others, what if we still don’t understand? Are we willing to wait until the Holy Spirit shows us? Are we even willing to wait until Heaven to understand some things that were mysteries to us while we were here on earth?

It takes honesty and humility to accept what we don’t know, and patience to wait until we do understand it. Paul wrote more of the New Testament than anyone else. Even though he was a great intellect and had more spiritual insight than others, he acknowledged his own limitations:

1 Corinthians 13:9, 12 (NLT)

9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!

12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

Concluding Thought

Thank God for what we know, but it’s OK that we don’t understand everything. Let’s walk in the light of all that we do know. God is omniscient — he knows everything. We are finite — we don’t know everything. Deuteronomy 29:29 is still true. “The LORD our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions” (NLT).