John 14:6-8 English Standard Version

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.^[a] From now on you do know him and have seen him.” ⁸ Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”

Footnotes ^[a] Or If you know me, you will know my Father also, or If you have known me, you will know my Father also

Yesterday the question was asked about how to apply the Word to our lives. Application has more than one meaning these days. The first was in the application of ointment which was called the anointing. Its purpose was to hide the human condition as it was defined as a sticky pitch like substance that was not easily removed.

The second application was a healing balm, applied to a wound which can be both physical and spiritual in form.

Jeremiah 8:22 English Standard Version (ESV) Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?

The third use of application is modern in context and is used in terms of easy access. We have bible apps that bring us a full range of scriptures, commentaries, definitions, usages, and connections to other passages that speak to a particular subject of interest.

At the center of this discussion we should look to how and why we apply the Word of God in our lives.

Jesus said it himself. To know Him is to know God the Father. His claim was that there is no other way to come to know the Father except through Jesus Himself.

That statement has caused many to turn a blind eye to the light.

Mark 8:23 English Standard Version (ESV) And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”

1 Corinthians 7:29-31 English Standard Version

²⁹ This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, ³⁰ and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, ³¹ and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.

Here Paul is speaking to a particular group of people, the unmarried and the widowed. Much of what we all feel is spoken about here. Mourning, rejoicing, buying and selling and dealing with life in a world that is ever changing are aspects we all encounter. It feels like this advice should fit everyone but it was only given to a specific group of people. We must be careful not to misapply God’s word because of the sound. Not every word is meant specifically for us.

What might be intriguing in these passages is the term “this world is passing away.” We must look at it from the standpoint of the people that Paul is addressing and not our own. What that means for them has nothing to do with us at this time in our lives. We can view history and see how the world has changed and the world passing away for them has already happened.

We need not heed the advice given to the unmarried and widowed here. We should seek what the Lord would have us do in our own present situation, at this time in history. Times have changed and taking advice meant for a people that lived nearly 2000 years ago, might not be the best advice.

How do we use God’s Word to direct our lives in the here and now since so much of the world has changed? How does His Word apply to us now?