When Philip evangelized the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-39, God revealed 7 Wonderful Truths.
Truth #3: We need God's Spirit to understand God's Word.
The Ethiopian eunuch was reading Isaiah when Philip approached his chariot. Philip asked if he understood what he was reading and the eunuch said, “How can I unless someone explains it to me?”
“The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 2:14
Philip climbed into the chariot and explained the passage which was a prophecy of Christ. The eunuch believed, was baptized, and went joyfully on his way.
Because he had received God's Spirit, the eunuch could now understand God's Word without Philip's help. And he had the power to live a righteous life in Christ Jesus even in his pagan homeland (John 14:26; John 14:15-21).
Jesus promised it: “When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” John 16:13
And Scripture confirms it: “'Who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?' But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:16
Christians are uniquely blessed because we have the Spirit of God to teach us and we can identify and reject the spirit of the world (1 Corinthians 2:12).
See also 2 Corinthians 3:7-18 and the drawing at the bottom.
💙 To read parts 1-7 and do a short Bible study explaining the "extra" verse in this passage, see Ethiopians Series.
Gay revisionists are claiming that the Ethiopian eunuch represents homosexuals, and they claim that this story affirms that homosexuality is not a sin. To come to this conclusion, you must completely deny the biblical and secular meaning of “eunuch” and disregard both Old and New Testament laws which condemn any sexual intimacy outside monogamous heterosexual marriage. In addition, you must believe that God is a poor communicator because every mention of homosexuality in Scripture is negative. For more on other errors like this, see Gay Revisionist Arguments.
The "creative journaling" drawing below is based on 2 Corinthians 3:7-18 which talks about unsaved people having a "veil" on their faces so they can't clearly understand things of God. See Creative Bible Journaling.
Bible Love Notes
These groups are growing strong. They are everywhere in governments industry fashion enterprises etc. Church must stand in what and who we believe and act accordingly. The Holy Spirit will guide us. We must march on
ReplyDeleteOne thing that always stands out to me in this story is that God told Philip to get near the chariot and *Philip ran* I love this. There's a stranger, obviously wealthy, obviously educated, obviously not a Jew-not Philip's people, (being carried by chariot/reading Isiah aloud) and most of us would hesitate, feel shy, or even scared to approach. Philip may have felt these things, too but he didn't hesitate: Philip *RAN* to obey the nudging of the Holy Spirit and do God's will. I think about this a lot.
ReplyDeleteGreat insights, Bobbie! Thanks for sharing.
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