Depth Of Understanding

by Pastor Mark
October 05, 2017

Going deeper in our understanding

As we face the challenges and difficulties of life, what kind of understanding we have matters. If our understanding is shallow, we may not be able to have the necessary wisdom and perspective to face these challenges. It is absolutely crucial that we develop a greater depth of understanding to cope with life. The Lord Jesus revealed to His disciples that there are different levels of depth that we want to appreciate and work towards. What are these levels of depth?

Levels of depth

“But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?” (Mark 8:17,18)

The Lord had to address the lack of depth in the disciples. Their lack of depth was reflected in their reasoning. When Jesus spoke about the leaven of the Pharisees…something that was spiritual, they used their own logic and reasoned that Jesus was speaking about physical bread…a reference to the feeding of the four thousand. In reply, the Lord raised questions to rebuke the disciples which revealed different levels of depth about the Word of God.

  1. Perceive… The word “perceive” in Greek is “noieo” which means “to think, to exercise the mind”. What is our thinking like? Let us be challenged to use our mind to think over the Word of God.
  2. Understand… The word “understand” in Greek is “suniemi” which means “to be able to put together, to connect things.” As we think about the Word of God, we want to be able to connect different passages of the Word of God. It is being able to connect one truth to another. It is to connect the Word to our faith and to our life and ministry. As we think about the Word of God, let us go deeper in our understanding of the Scriptures.
  3. Remember…It is crucial that we take time to remember what we have learnt. If we have forgotten the Word, then we would not be able to connect things as we should. Let us be challenged to take time to remember and review what we have learnt so that we can connect the Word of God and deepen our understanding of things.
  4. Hear… Part of growing deeper is the hearing of the Word of God. How we hear matters also! We want to hear the Word of God in such a way that we would be able to connect the things that we are able to remember. Let us hear with greater depth in mind.
  5. Eyes… How we see things is most crucial. We want to have spiritual eyes that are able to see the Lord Jesus through His Word. Our eyes should be enlightened by the Word of God. (Eph 1:19) Let us be challenged to go deeper in our understanding through having spiritual eyes.
  6. Hardening…The word “hardening” in Greek means “dull, insensitive, stubborn”. When we have depth of understanding, there will be less dullness and stubbornness of heart. The heart is able to receive the Word of God better and to be able to bear more fruit. Let us be challenged to deepen our understanding of the Word of God. Let us be challenged to go deeper in understanding that we may be able to be wiser and to better cope with the challenges of life and ministry.

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