Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures. Luke 24:45
There was an old saying when I was a boy that the bigger your feet are, the better your understanding is. That is nonsense, of course, because there is no relationship between foot size and understanding. But the Bible does make it plain that there is a clear link between our humanity and our lack of understanding. Consider the words of Romans 3:1: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. To this verse agree the words of Psalm 53:2: God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Despite all of the so-called wisdom of this world, all of humanity must bow to the judgment of the Scriptures that would declare that as far as God is concerned, we have no understanding. That is very apparent if we ask someone who is known to be very intelligent but who is not saved to explain anything from the Bible. The lack of understanding becomes glaringly obvious. In our text, it took a direct action of the Lord Jesus to open the understanding of the disciples. And today, it must take the direct action of the Holy Spirit to open our understanding.
If we sit in an Assembly Bible reading, and listen to the various contributions from brothers who have taken the effort to prepare, we are amazed at what the Word of God has to tell us. As we sit in a conference meeting and listen to a preacher open up a portion of the Scriptures, we are delighted to uncover precious thoughts that had not occurred to us before. As we sit in our own closet meditating on a few verses to feed our souls, we are encouraged to find comfort and strength from the familiar words of the Book. Our understanding has been opened. Our ability to perceive the precious truths of the Word of God is very apparent, especially when compared to those who are not saved. The Holy Spirit grants to us a grasp of eternal things because, like the disciples, we need to know what the Scriptures have to say to us.
Firstly, we needed to have our understanding opened concerning our lost condition before God, and to have our understanding opened concerning the Saviour as the Door to God’s salvation. We also need to understand the meaning of bowing to the lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives. The truths of baptism, being gathered to the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and many others, are important to our growth and development as Christians. Only the Holy Spirit can truly instruct us in these. He also instructs us in rightly dividing the Word of truth, in matters concerning prophecy, and so forth. All of these are mysteries to the unregenerate souls about us. But remember, they will be mysteries to us as well, if we do not allow the Holy Spirit to open our understanding.
If we understand the Scriptures today, it is only because He opened them to us. -Jim MacIntosh