Scope

One reason there is division and misunderstanding in the church is that some Bible readers do not understand scope. God calls Himself the Holy Spirit, and He spoke by His spirit that He gave to the prophets so they could write the scriptures (II Peter 1:20,21). This included the Apostle Paul (II Peter 3:15,16). If, over thousands of years, our Father gave His Word to people to make up the Bible, then it all must agree within itself. And it does.

The English word “scope” comes from the Greek work skopeō, meaning “to see” (as in periscope – to see around; telescope – to see across; microscope – to see little things; kaleidoscope – to see beautiful forms). “Scope” can refer to seeing the “big picture” of things. When it comes to the Bible, all of its parts add depth to every other part. Reading your Bible builds your scope.

“You can see around” by reading the context of a scripture; you can “see across” one time period to another; you can “see the little” details that God tells us about; and we can “see all the beautiful forms” regarding our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Apparent Contradictions: Burden-bearers

When reading different translations of the Bible, a person can be surprised at what appears to be glaring contradictions. This English word comes from the Latin contra, meaning “against, contrary to” and dictus, meaning “having spoken.” To contradict is to speak against something. Let’s look at a couple of simple examples of this.

Galatians 6:2,5:
Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
For every man shall bear his own burden.

In this letter written by Paul to the Christians in Galatia, he tells them to bear each other’s burdens, then immediately says the opposite. What is up with that? Understanding the original language helps. The words translated “burdens” (baros) and “burden” (phortion) are two different Greek words. The first means something we can help with, the second means a unique weight that only that person can bear.

Apparent Contradictions: Salvation

Philippians 2:12:
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Ephesians 2:8,9:
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Could anything be more important than salvation? Philippians says we can work it out ourselves, while Ephesians says it is not by our own works. Is Paul confused? Once again, understanding the original meaning of Greek words is helpful. The word translated “salvation” is sōtēria, and comes from the word sōzō—which means to make complete or whole, to have everything that is needed.

People are born with a physical body and are animated by their soul life. The soul allows them to breathe and think. One thing anyone can believe is about Jesus Christ.

Romans 10:9,10:
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

This is how to be born again. This salvation refers to a person being made complete and receiving God’s gift of holy spirit. This is eternal life, that Jesus bought for us. It is spoken of in Hebrews.

Hebrews 5:9:
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.

When Paul told the Philippians to “work out” their salvation (Philippians 2:12), he was talking about making whole those areas in their lives that needed to be brought into the obedience of Christ. They already had eternal salvation as Christians, but they needed to see God’s wholeness evidenced in their daily lives.

There is a third kind of “salvation” that is yet to come. The gift of holy spirit that we get with the new birth, is an “earnest” or token of the future redemption (salvation) we will see when Christ returns and we get new spiritual bodies. They will be “fashioned like unto his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21).

Ephesians 1:13,14:
In whom [Christ] ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation [eternal life]: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Part of that redemption is that we will receive eternal rewards for the good works we lovingly do in this life. Those are the “things that accompany salvation” that God will not forget (Hebrews 6:9,10). And each new day brings us closer to Christ’s return–and that eternal “salvation” we will enjoy with him. That’s why we should stay spiritually awake each moment that we have in this life.

Romans 13:11:
And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

We can “work out” our wholeness in this life, but eternal salvation only comes through Jesus Christ. And we look forward to the complete salvation we will have when he returns. Jesus’ first coming handled our sin problem. He will come a “second time” to bring us complete and eternal salvation.

Hebrews 9:28:
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

God’s Word fits together perfectly when we understand the scope of how words are used. That’s why Bible reading can be so helpful to get the “big picture” of what God is saying. So many Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah are fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ.

We can appreciate what God has done through His Son, when we read and see how many times God spoke about him. Let’s take the time to read the Bible and see how beautifully it fits together. After all, it has only one Author—who gave the truth to many writers.

For more details on how God gave us His Word, please see:

We Can Trust God’s Word, Part 1

We Can Trust God’s Word, Part 2

For more details on our salvation in Christ, please see:

God Saved Us through His Son Jesus, Christ