A practical analogy teaching how to study the Bible and walk in the Spirit

A practical analogy teaching how to study the Bible and walk in the Spirit

A famous chef had passed away, yet everyone was still trying to master his recipes. No matter what anyone did, from the Executive Chefs to the kitchen moms, their dishes just never had that sought after perfection that this chef produced in his day. He had authored a few books concerning his life and recipes, and one could follow his published recipes to the tee, but it never produced the same standards of taste and quality that he was renowned for. 

Then, one day, in a humble soup kitchen, in a backwater town, a social worker prepared a meal that ignited a frenzy. It was discovered that the simple meal he dished out to the homeless and destitute had the exact signature markers of that famous master chef. The aroma, the flavours, the textures, the quality and appearance. How did he do it? How did he crack the code? Reporters hounded him for answers.

This is what they learned:

The answer was not in the recipes! Anyone could follow the recipes that the chef had published. An ounce of this, a pinch of that. They’re just a bunch of rules which produce the same results, no matter what the conditions or commitments. The answer was in studying what the chef published about his life. The social worker continued, reciting endless facts and subtle details about the childhood experiences, the country lifestyle, grandmas cooking techniques, food preparation, and the love and care the chef had for his patrons. The social worker literally bored the reporters to sleep, but they learned one thing from this interview that no one else before had done, the one thing that cracked the code. It was gaining intimate knowledge and understanding of the life and influences of this chef. Applying this knowledge to those openly published recipes was the key to unlock the spiritual essence of his dishes, his brand, and his passion. The recipes only worked if one knew the secrets and soul of the chef who published them.

This analogy should speak for itself, but in the event that you need more clarity, consider the characters and plot as follows:

• The master chef is God our Father (through the inspired life of Jesus Christ),
  
  
• The executive chefs and kitchen moms are the nominal Christians caught up in the recipe copying doctrine and static traditions of the modern denominational churches,
  
  
• Our social worker is the believer who has taken Paul’s advice in 2Tim.2:15 and studied the word of God, rightly dividing the life and spirit of Christ from the rule-based recipes,
  
  
• The homeless and destitute are the recipients of the gospel of grace and Paul’s mystery doctrine,
  
  
• The reporters are those who choose to hear the word of truth and who finally learn and become advocates of the dispensational truth as presented in the whole of God’s word,
  
  
• The recipes is the doctrine in the written word of God that defines and expresses functional grace living according to the work of faith, the labour of love, and the patience of hope,
  
  
• The book publications of the life and influences of the chef is the whole written word of God, studied line upon line, precept upon precept, building knowledge and understanding, a little from here and a little from there, to form a sound and stablished doctrine and inform within you the spirit, wisdom, will, and desires of God for you, to grow you up in ‘the faith’, to transform your life, to conform you to the image of His Son, and to prepare you for your purpose and the measure of his glory in the inheritance of Jesus Christ, the Head of the Body and the possessor of heaven and earth.
  
  
• There is labour involved if you want to attain to the standard that God desires of you. God’s work in us is a hard thing. It involves labour. Sometimes it’s not pleasant. You lose connections, you become unpopular, you must sacrifice time and things you love, but there is GREAT reward in spending time in the written Word. To have the word living within us, to study it and learn from it, to apply its inspiring instruction in your life. It's a life journey, but God works within you, God walks alongside you, and the life of His Son inspires you.
  
  
• It is not enough to simply have the intimate knowledge of God and His will and desires. This knowledge is the FIRST step in the process. The SECOND step is to allow it to work itself out of you through obedience. Gaining the knowledge is the work of faith, but letting that knowledge work itself out of you in application is the labour of love. Our social worker could have simply read of the life and recipes of the master Chef, but he went further and actually put that knowledge to action in the soup kitchen, blessing people with his dishes. This is how God works in you to will AND DO according to His good pleasure, Php 2:13.

Let me end with a reiteration of the key point of our analogy which will educate you on how to study the Bible and walk in the Spirit:

The social worker literally bored the reporters to sleep, but they learned one thing from this interview that no one else before had done, the one thing that cracked the code. It was gaining intimate knowledge and understanding of the life and influences of this chef. Applying this knowledge to those openly published recipes was the key to unlock the spiritual essence of his dishes, his brand, and his passion. The recipes only worked if one knew the secrets and soul of the chef who published them.

I don’t often say this, but this is worth sharing with everyone! We all need to learn the lesson of that social worker and find the Spirit of the 'Chef'.

God bless.