Understanding the Bible's Figurative Language

When was the last time we walked through the figurative language of the Bible? What is it? How does it work? You're probably familiar with terms like metaphor, analogy, symbol. Do you know what they mean? And when you see them in your Bible, can you identify them? Do you know how to identify them? It's like, I think we could use a refresh on this. Well, it's been a long time for me going through that. So, it was a refresh for me for sure.

Some of you, this will be a refresh. Maybe some of you, this will be brand new, and you're like, "Yeah, I actually don't know some of these answers. Let's go through this." So, that's what I'm going to do. I'm I'm starting a series. I love series, you know. I do. Just it's not a cheat. I I know you speakers are out there thinking it's a cheat. You do these series that's a cheat. It's not a cheat. Okay.

There's just some subjects that require multiple messages to really get them done correctly. This is one of them. So this is called the seeing clearly series. Seeing clearly series. Okay. This is the introductory message of that. I'm going to give four in this one.

So this message will be is titled understanding the Bible's figurative language. So it's an overview. The next time I'm going to go in depth, we're going to deep dive on metaphors. Following that, we're going to deep dive on analogies. Following that, we're going to wrap up with a deep dive on symbols. All right? So that by the time we're done with that, you I hope that you'll feel strengthened when you read your Bible that you understand how things work there, why they're there, and what they mean. And so on your own when because I can't cover every metaphor, every analogy, and

every symbol in the Bible, I will cover the big rocks, right? You'll be studying later and you'll come across and when you see words that describe a metaphor, you'll recognize it. When you see words that describe an analogy, you'll recognize it. When you see words that describe symbols, you'll recognize that.

that will strengthen you to be able to do and have a more effective Bible study and a deeper understanding of what God is trying to reveal by using figurative language. That's my strategy. That's what we're going to do. And so, I hope this uh I hope this is beneficial and that you find use in it.

So, today we begin with just an overview of everything because the Bible in the Bible, God uses a variety of ways to communicate the truth. Sometimes he just plainly says something, right? You just read it and it's a flat, it's a statement. It's a fact. You take it on its face value. Sometimes there's a story. Christ talked a lot in parables.

Why? I'd like us to think about that today. I'm going to begin over in Proverbs chapter 4:7. Proverbs chapter 4 and verse 7 says, "Wisdom is the principle thing. Therefore, get wisdom." Straightforward statement, right? That's not confusing. It tells us what our ambition should be. We need to be getting wisdom.

All right? But he goes on and it says in all your getting get understanding. Well, why do you think that the psalmist or the excuse me that Solomon would have said that that way? In all you're get it makes reminds me of a rascal flat song by the way. In all you're getting get some understanding. It it has it it should evoke the imagery of a pursuit, right? You're in the process of getting as you pursue wisdom.

Well, along the way, let's have some understanding, too. And that's really what this is all about. This really to me sets the tone for the series. We're going to be trying to figure out how to get some more understanding. And of course, that involves discerning what God intends to convey in the scriptures.

All right. Now, this is especially important to me because Christ himself often taught in figurative language. Because what is if I if I name a few things, tell me that you don't recognize these doors, vines, shepherds, seeds, soil, weddings, lamps, lampstands, stars. Do you recognize these things? I mean, they're they're real to us, right? You recognize them because you have some experience with them.

Even somebody like me who as a I describe myself as having a black thumb because I don't have any skills with planting things that live very long. But even I know what soil is and I know what seeds are. And I know that if you plant seeds and you water seeds in the right soil, if you fertilize it, things grow. Some of you people have skills at that. Don't ask me for advice. All right. So, but you know what? These are not random or coincidential coincidental descriptions.

They are chosen carefully because they teach it and they're designed to reveal spiritual reality in a meaningful and accessible way. I want to turn next here to John. I want you to see the potency of not being able to understand figurative language over in Mark, excuse me, John chapter 6 verse 53. John chapter 6 verse 53.

Verse 53, then Jesus said to them, this is the disciples, this mass of people following him around to learn from him. Jesus said to them,"Most assurely I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." That would be startling to hear someone say. He wasn't saying it as a joke. He wasn't saying it as a a colorful expression.

He meant something by that. Well, we know that these disciples, what do they know? They're they're at the front end of learning. What do you think they're thinking about? Well, it tells us that this was such a difficult thing for these people that verse 66 says, "From that time, many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more.

" I mean, the words of cannibalism probably would be off-putting. Did Christ literally mean to eat his flesh, to literally drink his blood? And this is why it's important for us to understand what terms, what words mean. I like to say words mean things. That's why we use words when we communicate with each other.

So, understanding terms is a very important concept, too. Especially when we're reading our Bible, we ought to know what things mean. And that's going to help us as we go through this series. So what I want to begin today with now let me let me read you first I want to read you from from William Barkley just to illustrate this this is the challenge unless God opens the mind this is the challenge bill William Barkley says again and again the Jews misunderstood Jesus because they insisted on taking his words in the most literal sense

they never saw that the sayings of Jesus were spiritual truths expressed in vivid symbols they were thinking in terms of physical and material. He was speaking in terms of spiritual and eternal. The difficulty was not in the words he used but in the minds which would not see beyond the physical meaning.

So understanding how figurative language works in scripture is a necessary foundation for accurate understanding of doctrine for sound judgment and for spiritual discernment. All right. So, I'm going to begin today with definitions. And the first definition I want to walk through is the word literal. Okay. The word literal.

Before we can understand how God uses figurative language, we have to understand what these forms of expression actually are. And that's why I want to give you clear definitions. Let's look over here in John chapter 17:1 17. I want to give you an example and then we're going to talk about literal. John 17 verse1 17.

Now, this is obviously Christ's final prayer where he says, "Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth." Literal. There's there's nothing ambiguous about that. We don't have to wonder what God's word is. We don't have to speculate. We don't have to theorize. This is a plain statement of scripture. But it help us to un helps us to understand what literal means.

It means without any elements of metaphors, analogies or symbols. It's the complete and utter absence of those things. I'm literally standing here in front of this podium. I'm literally reading from my Bible. I'm literally working with my iPad. You're literally sitting in the pews like these are actual things that are happening in real time.

There's nothing metaphorical about that, right? There's no I'm not giving you any figurative language in that. They're just plain statements. This is very important concept. You may not think that right now, but you will get it later. Understanding that literal means no figurative language. Okay? So something has to be tangible. It has to be real to be literal.

And this is an example of something that's literal. It says what it intends to say without comparison, without imagery, without representation. Literal statements describe reality as it is with whether that's physical or spiritual. So a literal statement affirms truth directly. It does not present truth through a figure of speech.

When scripture says that God cannot lie, that is not a metaphor about God's general honesty. It's a statement of fact. Literal language then forms the foundation of doctrine. Figurative language may illustrate doctrine. It might deepen it, even help us remember it, but literal language defines it. So with that anchor in place, we can now look at how God uses other tools, metaphors, analogies, and symbols to communi to communicate literal truth through figurative expression. All right.

So what's a metaphor? Let's look at John chapter 10. John chapter 10. Verse 9. John 10:9. Christ says, "I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture." Do you know what a door is? Do you know how doors work? What do we know? You hear me ask that a lot because this is the foundation of understanding literal things. What do we know about doors? Because Christ says, "I am a door.

" A metaphor is a direct comparison in which one thing is declared to be another. Christ says he is the door. That's a metaphor. Now, he's not literally a door, but truthfully, he is the door to what? Salvation. Is there any other way for salvation to happen in anyone's life? No.

So, the only way is through the door of Jesus Christ. Now, I know what a door is in our house cuz I have doors. You have doors in your homes. We open them. We close them. We lock them. We unlock them. We enter and we leave through them. So, we know what a door is. So, now we can picture mentally because I know what a door is. So, when Christ says, "I am the door." And then he uses that in the context of salvation.

Ding. We go, okay, we're not getting salvation unless we go through that door. But here's the thing I want you to be mindful of. Please don't overthink metaphors, analogies, or symbols. They have a purpose, and you're going to see that as we go through this. They have a purpose.

But have you ever been in in conversation with somebody and you're you might be talking about a metaphor or an analogy or a symbol of some kind and you get you start getting real granular. It'd be like looking at the door. Let's take the door and then saying, "Well, but the doors are in a frame, you know, so that must mean something.

" And then, well, what's the door made of? And you know, it has a handle on it, right? And it's got hinges. And you're so far down the rabbit hole now. Like what are all of those supposed to mean something when Christ had one thing in mind? Access. It's how you go into a room. Okay? So don't overthink it. That's what gets people in trouble trying to make it say too much.

Everything must be if if you're talking about a door, then everything about a door relates to Christ somehow. And the answer is no. No, it doesn't. It's just the one point he wants to make. very important principle when you're studying your Bible. So this is a core feature of a metaphor. The statement is figurative in form but literal in the truth it conveys. We know literally that you cannot have salvation without Jesus Christ.

That is a literal truth. So the door helps us to see that because it's figurative. Right? So is the door defining doctrine? No. is helping us to learn a principle, a deeper understanding of of a truth. Okay. So, what is an analogy? Okay. So, remember that a metaphor says something is something else. All right.

So, what is an analogy? Let's look at Matthew 13 for an example here. Matthew chapter 13:31. Matthew 13:31 another parable he that's Christ put forth to them saying the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed analogy kingdom of God kingdom of heaven mustard seed he didn't say it is a mustard seed did he said It's like a mustard seed. So, an analogy compares two things to one another.

Biblically, an analogy is a comparison used to clarify a specific aspect of a truth. So while metaphors directly identify one thing as another, analogies typically use the language of similarity. Words like like or as. So when Christ said the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, he's not teaching that the kingdom shares every characteristic of a mustard seed or a plant. He's not talking about the soil or the color of the leaves.

He's not talking about the fertilizer used in the process. Don't overthink it. This is how we look for analogies. So in this case, the mustard seed is about how something that appears small and insignificant at first can become something expansive and strong. That's what we know about mustard seeds.

Again, we ask the same thing. Well, what do I know about a mustard seed? The same question I was asking about a door. I have to ask that question if I'm going to come to a greater understanding, don't I? Why is he using mustard seed? What do we know about mustard seeds? You might go on to Google and start looking up mustard seeds to find out what are the various characteristics of a mustard seed and how might that be how might those characteristics be like the kingdom of God.

In this case, it's relatively simple. It's a tiny seed grows into a a decentsized plant, doesn't it? Sound analysis of analogies consistently emphasizes that they do not establish full equivalence between the things compared. Instead, they illuminate one facet of the truth, drawing attention to something the audience needs to understand. Okay? So, analogies are powerful teaching tools.

They work for our brains because we might know something about a mustard seed. But the point is is that when we're looking at analogies, we don't want to take them past the point that's being made because we overthink the analogy. All right. The third thing I want to talk about then is symbols.

What is a symbol in our definitions portion of the message? What are symbols? Let's look at Matthew chap 26. We'll turn over just a few pages here. Matthew 26 26- 28. Okay. Matthew chapter 26 26- 28. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed, and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat. This is my body." Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins.

So, we go all the way back to John when he first started talking about eating the flesh of the son of man and drinking his blood. And we now see what he's talking about. These are the symbols that represent Christ's body and his blood. We don't literally eat Christ's body, do we? We don't literally drink his blood, do we? The bread is not literally human flesh and neither is the wine literally blood. They are symbols that represent Christ's body and his blood symbols.

So a symbol is an object, a person or an action that points to a deeper spiritual reality. Bread and wine at Passover are not metaphors and they're not analogies. They are symbols established by Christ to represent his body and his blood in remembrance of his sacrifice. So the elements themselves do not transform. Obviously their purpose is not literal substitution.

It's symbolic representation. The symbol directs our attention beyond itself to the profound spiritual reality that it signifies. That's the power of symbols. So in scripture, symbols often function within ceremonial settings or prophetic visions or actions related to the covenant. For example, we have all of the sacrificial law.

But are those sacrifices the actual So let's let's go back to to the Exodus and the lamb sacrificed and his blood put on the doorpost. Was that lamb actually Jesus Christ? Of course not. It represented Jesus Christ. So it's a symbol. Symbols differ from metaphors and analogies because they are frequently embedded in God-given rituals or visions and often carry divinely assigned meaning.

Their significance does not depend on human imagination or theorizing or speculation. The meaning is almost always anchored directly in God's own explanations. Symbols also appear in prophetic books like Daniel. What do we see in in Daniel? You see images of beasts, of animals. We have a we have a man with a golden head and we have a chest and arms made of silver. Is that all of that real? Of course not.

We know those are it's symbolic. Those are symbols. The beasts in Revelation is a terrifying beast, isn't it? We have an image that we've created that we put on our booklet called the Book of Revelation, right? Or Revelation Unveiled, whatever the title is. That's a terrifying beast if you look at it. Multiple heads, horns coming out everywhere, sharp claws.

Every every one of the animals is got nasty teeth and sharp like seriously, it's terrifying. If if that thing existed in real life. Yeah, that would be terrifying to find that. But you also see other symbols like lampstands which represents what? Churches. You'll see as we walk through why God uses figurative language, which is what I want to talk about next.

So hopefully you have a basic understanding now of what a metaphor is, what an analogy is, and what a symbol is. Okay? And I'll I'll just wrap up when we get to the end of the message. I'll touch back on what they mean just to make sure that we're all on the same page with what they mean. And that literal means none of those things are present in the description. Okay? So why does God use figurative language? Well, it's a deliberate teaching method woven throughout Christ's whole ministry and the writings of the prophets, it is obviously one of the ways in which God wants to teach us.

So, if he's trying to send us messages or teach us things, which is what that really boils down to, we have to understand why he chose this particular method. And scripture gives us specific explanations. Let's notice here Matthew chapter 13 uh 10 and 11 Matthew 13:es 10 and 11. The purpose of parables is what my section heading is.

Verse 10 says, "And the disciples came and said to him, why do you speak to them in parables?" It's a great question. And he answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

" So this passage plainly states that Christ's use of figurative language made understanding more difficult for who? It's not more difficult for those who God is working with. whether you're baptized or unbaptized, but in the process, God is working with you through his spirit. And he lets us see and understand things. So, he's clearly not doing that for those he's working with.

He's trying to dull the understanding or make it more difficult for those who really aren't open to understanding. So the disciples asked directly why he taught this way and he explained that parables were the dividing line. Those who approached him with humility, they're going to get understanding. Those who have a different motive might be just curiosity, might be nefarious as with the scribes and Pharisees.

When Christ tells a parable to them, what do they hear? An interesting story. But they missed the fact that there is a deeper meaning under that story. For those that God is not working with, that deeper meaning goes right over the head. That's one of the reasons why God uses figurative language in scriptures.

It's not that he doesn't truly genuinely want everyone one day to understand. That's the whole purpose of the second resurrection. Today he's working with a small group of people who are going to become first fruits. He doesn't want the masses to know or the masses to understand. Look at verses 13- 15. We're still here in chapter 13 where Christ expands on his explanation.

He says in verses 13- 15, he says, "Therefore, I speak to them in parables because seeing they do not see and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand." So that's intentional. He does not want them to hear and to understand. So there he says here in verse 14, "And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled which says,"Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive for the hearts of this people have grown dull.

Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them. That's the prophecy. It sounds strange, doesn't it? Well, doesn't God want to do that? And the answer is yes, he does. Just not right now.

That's the vision of the second resurrection right there where Christ is saying, "I'm not they're not ready. So, I'm not letting them see and understand until they're ready. And so, I'm going to use lots of things like figurative language and parables so that they won't understand and won't come under judgment.

" You see, that's the point, isn't it? We accepted when we accepted the calling, got baptized and received the Holy Spirit. We knew in that moment that we were accepting judgment on ourselves right now. And that has only one outcome for us or one of two possible outcomes. Either we are going to be first fruits resurrected in the kingdom of God or we are going directly to the lake of fire.

Third resurrection. That's it. We know that. We know that's why it's such a serious choice. God is saying, "I'm not putting everybody under that." First of all, I can't put everybody under that. Not everybody is meant to be a first fruit. But there's no loss of hope for them because that's the point of the second resurrection when they get their chance.

Then when they come under judgment, very different world is in place prepared for them. And we'll be a part of that. So Christ ties then the use of parables directly to the condition of the heart. Figurative language exposes spiritual dullness. They chose not to see. Did you see that? They have closed their own eyes. They don't want to see. Perfect.

Let's leave them there. That's where God is. Let's leave them there. Turn back just a couple chapters here to Matthew 11:2. Matthew 11:25. At that time Jesus answered and said,"I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.

" I I like that language because it helps us to understand it's not that we're special in some unique way in the world. We just happen to have been open to pursuing the truth. We want to know the truth. We want to live the truth. But not many wise men are called. I think we sing that song for a reason.

This should give us some humility. We are the babes being referred to here. And so God has hidden deliberately from the rest of the world the truth so that they don't come under judgment. What a beautiful thing that he did for this world. So figurative language is not designed to impress the wise. It's designed to reveal the truth to those who approach God with a teachable spirit, a humble heart who genuinely want to know the truth and to live that truth. Okay.

Another reason I'm I have I think five or four I have four reasons here. They're not it's not an exclusive list. All right. Somebody later might say to me, "Well, you know, you didn't you didn't say this." Yeah, I didn't say that. Probably. Probably. Maybe not. We'll see. All right. A second reason God uses figurative language is that it invites meditation.

You know what's we we've maybe talked a little bit about this. I can't remember at this point. I talk so much anymore. Sorry, that's a bad joke. Meditation is a great tool for biblical understanding. What is meditation? That's when you take something and you roll it around in your mind. You walk around it. You walk around it. You look at it. You turn it over.

You carefully examine it. All mentally. This is what you're doing. When you meditate, this is what you're doing. That's why it's such a beautiful tool for understanding because you take a principle, you take an analogy, you take a metaphor, you start looking at the elements, right? And you start thinking about it. A door.

What does a door? What does it do? How does it work? Why would he be using door? What does a mustard seed? How does it start? What's it grow into? What's that plant look like? Right? And you start to mle it over. That's meditation. This is what figurative language encourages us to do. So here your biblical principle for this one is Proverbs 1:es 5 and 6. Proverbs 1:es 5 and 6.

It says, "A wise man will hear and increase learning and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel to understand a proverb and an enigma. the words of the wise and their riddles, their mysteries. I I love that phrasing because I I I picture some of the really stout longtime ministers of God's church who've been around a long time and when they they'll drop a pearl that to them is obvious, but I remember especially growing up in the church, I'd hear something and then later I'd be like, "That was really profound." I mean, really profound. And as I mle it over in

my mind and I think on it, all of a sudden that it like really illuminates something that I might have been struggling to understand, right? And so what's a bobble to somebody who's been studying for 50 years is a real gem to somebody else. And so I I appreciate this. I've had this experience. And so we seek, that's what it wants us to do, to hear and to increase our learning and to seek to do that if necessary by counsel certainly by studying our Bibles using the correct techniques.

Okay. A third reason figurative figurative language is also used because certain truths cannot be expressed adequ ad adequately in simple literal statements. Okay, I'll give you an example. Let's look at Psalms 23:1. Some truths cannot be fully expressed in a simple statement. Okay. Psalms 23 and verse if I didn't give it to you the first verse.

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Well, that's part of our songs also, isn't it? The Lord is my shepherd. What is a shepherd? What do we know about shepherds? Is this a symbol? Is this an analogy? Or is this a metaphor? The Lord is my shepherd. What do we know about shepherds? I mean, they care for a flock. They protect the flock.

They feed the flock, right? They're with the flock. They defend the flock. There's all kinds of things a shepherd does that and I'm not a shepherd but you know we see descriptions David defending the flocks of his father and killing bears and lions. We have that example for so we have they feed and water them.

We know these are some of the functions of a shepherd. How do you express all of that in one statement? You can say it in one statement using this language this figurative language. The Lord is my shepherd. When I think about the elements of what a shepherd does, then I can see the elements of what God does as protector and provider, caregiver, making sure that we have everything that we need in this life.

So, there's far more that can be said with that simple statement that's figurative than could be said with many sentences. This is a beautiful reason that figurative language is used. Finally, figurative language connects. This is the fourth one I'll give you. There may be more. Figurative language connects observable life to spiritual truth.

Which of us doesn't know about seeds and soils, lamps and lampstands, vines, foundations, flocks, doors. I'm pretty sure we've all had some experience with all of that at some point in our life. And so we take things figuratively that we know, the Bible takes things figuratively that we know and uses them to teach a principle or an aspect of a truth.

So by understanding why God uses these tools, then these are the tools and these are just some of the reasons why he uses them. But that helps us as we learn to approach what we see figuratively spoken in the written word of God. It help us to approach that with the right reverence and the right respect to treat them correctly without overthinking them, abusing them. I would call that abuse.

We probably all have abused a metaphor or an analogy or a symbol in some way at some point in our life. So then I want to talk about how do we discern the message behind the metaphor? How do we discern that? Do I want to call these points? Point number one. Is that too many points? Sub point one. In my in my notes, it's a I have it as a. I did not want to confuse it with any previous points.

This is a scripture must interpret scripture. Scripture must interpret scripture. Here's a fun thing for us to walk through together. Let's turn over to Revelation chapter 1. Revelations 1 verse 1. Okay, let's read this together. The revelation of Jesus Christ. Okay, which God gave him. Fair enough. To show his servants.

All right. So, Christ is going to be showing what the father revealed to him to show. And that is the things which must shortly take place. Now he, that's Christ, sent and signified it by his angel to his servant John. This word signified, do you know what it means? Do yourself a favor and underline the first four letters.

What does that spell? Sign. They sanified. If you'd like a different way of looking at that word, we say signified and it to us it carries a different meaning. This word literally means by signs, communicated by signs. So Christ signified the message to John. That's what the word means. And that helps you to understand that the book of Revelation is filled with what? Signs.

which of course are symbolic and I just want to make sure that you understood that it also means that this same book that gives us signs we should fully expect that it also interprets those signs for us. For example, look at verse 20. Verse 20 helps us to see that that's what God does when it's necessary.

We're still in Revelation 1 and verse 20 says, "The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches." Okay, that's clear, isn't it? So, I now know the stars are the angels. Okay, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. We don't have to theorize.

We don't have to speculate, ponder, and imagine possible other meanings. We're told exactly what they mean. So when God needs to do it, he's going to tell you what things mean. That means when we're studying something, we have to look in our Bibles for the possible explanation of the thing we may be not so sure about. So this is a key principle I want you to take from this for interpreting figurative language in the Bible.

When scripture defines its own symbols, we accept that definition. When scripture defines its own symbols, we accept that definition. We just allow the Bible to interpret the Bible. So wherever a symbol is explained in the text, we should retain that meaning and apply it consistently, especially when the same imagery appears in similar contexts in other areas of our Bibles.

Okay, so a good example where Christ did this. I was fascinated by this idea though that did Christ explain all of his parables? I had to look that up. He did. He did in this one. I'm going to turn over here to Matthew 13 again. Uh 18 and 19. I don't know if that's again. Were we there earlier? Matthew 13 18 and 19.

Now this my my heading says the parable of the swer explained. Therefore, Christ says therefore hear the parable of the swer. Matthew 13:18 and 19. Here it says, 'When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.

This is he who received the seed by the wayside. So he had previously given us the story, the parable. I call it the parable of the ground or of the soil, not of the seed. The seed never changes in the story. It's the ground, the soil that changes. There's four types of ground being described.

That represents how fertile the mind is to receiving the spirit, receiving the truth. That's what that's about, right? And so he tells us exactly what the symbols mean. He identifies the seed as the word of the kingdom. The soils are the conditions of the heart in different individuals. the birds as the adversar's activity. So the imagery is agricultural but the meaning is spiritual.

So this reveals another principle. Figurative language always points to literal realities. Is God calling someone? What do we know? Does God call people today? Yes, he does. Does everyone that God calls respond favorably? No, they do not. Some have the mind described as the as the first type of seed whose ground is basically paved, remember? And then what do we know about other types of people? Some people come into the church, but it's just too hard or they have to give up something very important to themselves to do. Well, that's the second type of seed. Some people,

they just loved their old life too much. They tried this for a while, but all the stuff they had to give up, they didn't want to give it up really, and so they drift off. It's that fourth type of seed that's durable, right? It's the ground that somebody has cultured. They have nurtured it.

They have prepared it to receive the seed. And so that seed will flourish in them. That's the fourth type of seed that's described. What do we know about calling and conversion? We know these things about calling and conversion. So his examples strikingly accurate in this parable just using very figurative language to help us to see this is what's going to happen as he calls people.

This was what was happening in the first century and it's still happening today. Now, here's something I want to make sure I come back to. Christ's handling of imagery shows that metaphors and analogies rarely carry meaning in every detail. It's really important principle. Don't overthink it. We're not looking at the grain on the door.

We're not looking at the kind of handle. We're not looking at the hinges. Okay? We're not looking at any patterns on the door. We're not looking at the door frame. That's where people get into trouble by going too far. And I want to make sure that we remember that that principle. Okay. Number C. So number two was look for Christ's interpretive patterns.

All right. How does Christ do it? How does he explain things? And that helps us to see how to how to pull the meaning out that that's intended to be pulled out. And it's not everything. It's not every aspect. The third thing then is to keep figurative language within the framework of literal doctrine.

What do we know? That's why we start with that. What do we know? God's purpose is not to define doctrine by the figurative language. The purpose for using it is to explain a deeper level of understanding to us of the doctrine. That's why he uses that language.

We connect better by those images that are given to us in the figurative language that's being used. So all figurative expressions must be interpreted within the boundaries established by direct literal statements. Clear doctrinal passages hold interpretive priority. If you're taking notes, that's what I'd write down. clear doctrinal passages hold interpretive priority. So when you read if you're reading a a metaphor, an analogy or symbols and on the surface it appears to conflict with your understanding appears to conflict with another very plain statement of scripture, that plain statement takes priority. It's your understanding that's going to

have to get refined on it. That's what we have to take out of that. Does that make sense? You know, that's why that's why Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 2:15, he told Timothy, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

" And of course, I would say, well, who doesn't this apply to? All of us are supposed to be growing in spiritual knowledge. We're all supposed to be opening our Bibles, reading, studying, praying, fasting, meditating, learning in greater depth the truths of God. We have a job as first fruits in the kingdom of God to do what? Help God establish his government over this entire world and teach the laws of God to human beings.

All of those who live through all of the end time events, who move into the millennial period alive and well as human beings are going to need to be taught. This is our learning stage. So, we need to be about the business of learning our Bibles, rightly dividing the truth. For us in this case, while we're studying, of course, rightly dividing the word requires distinguishing what's figurative from what's literal. The literal is the truth.

The figurative helps us to understand the truth. A metaphor may highlight a truth, but it cannot contradict the doctrine expressed plainly somewhere else. Okay. Well, that now you know why I always ask this question. What do we know? What do we know? There are things that you know that God has revealed. You lean on those first.

Plain statements of scripture. Always prioritize that. Here's what we find happening often, and this is what we want to be on guard for over in second Peter chapter 1. It's very important to note this uh because second in First Peter, as you read through First Peter, you you're dealing with a Peter who thinks Christ is returning in his lifetime.

So the the urgency and the tone, the temperament of his writings very much about get ready, get ready, get ready. Second Peter, he now understands it's not going to happen. The tone's very different. This is about endurance, readying yourself over the long haul. There's no shortcutting here.

So when he says here in 2 Peterap 1 20 and 21, he says, "Knowing this first that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." And so we have to be on guard for when someone comes along and says, "Hey, have you heard this idea?" and it conflicts with what you know the plain statements of scripture already say then you disregard that not interested in your speculations about what the scripture says. I want the plain truth of the scripture

and so we have to be on guard for the reality that we live in a world where lots of people seem very comfortable interpreting things the way they want to fit a narrative that suits what they want to believe. That's the whole itching ears society we live in. My number D, what was my number C? Did I give you a C? C's was keep figurative language within the framework of literal doctrine. My figure D, my number D here is follow biblical themes across the whole Bible.

We don't tear the Bible apart between the testaments and toss the old and just hold on to that little bit of New Testament. We read the whole scripture. We know much of what's taught in the New Testament are direct quotes pulled from the Old Testament. So it is absolutely essential that we we look at the entire Bible.

You know what the greatest gift God has given to us is the truth, right? That we know the plan of God. And this is what's beautiful about that plan. It is 100% consistent from Genesis through Revelation. The Bible never contradicts the plan. It consistently reveals it.

What we learn as we dive deeper into the figurative language that's used is just a deeper, greater understanding of what the plan is. That's the purpose of the figurative language again to give us a deeper understanding. Notice Christ himself. Luke chapter 24, you remember Luke chapter 24 here verse 27. You remember that after Christ was resurrected later on in the day, we don't know exactly what time, but it was but it wasn't in the morning any longer.

He's he's comes along two of his disciples who had left where they were and were headed back to Emmas. And Christ comes up alongside of them. You remember this? And he says to them, "Say, what you guys talking about?" And they're like, "Are you crazy? Have you not heard what's been going on around here?" We get to verse one. So they stopped to have a meal. We get to verse 27.

It says, "And beginning at Moses," think about this. Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he that is Christ expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. Easy takeaway. There's lots being said about Christ, the Messiah in the Old Testament, about himself. So Christ demonstrated that scripture forms a unified testimony about the plan of God, about Christ's purpose. It's unified. There's no conflict within it.

So figurative expressions are not isolated lessons, but they're part of a broader pattern of revelation. When the same imagery appears in multiple books, vines, shepherds, lampstands, seeds, then scriptures overall usage becomes the interpretive guide.

This prevents misunderstandings and anchors figurative language to the theological lesson that God intends. Final point here E for me is this kind of discernment that we're talking about that takes use practice. It grows through use. So discernment grows through use is my point. Understanding figurative language is not merely an academic skill.

It's literally a spiritual discipline that grows with practice. Exercise. We read this last week, but Hebrews If something works, it works. Hebrews 5 verse14. Hebrews 5:14 says, "But solid food," we're not talking about babes eating solid food, are we? Solid food belongs to those who are of full age. That is those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. We exercise.

Remember the word exercise comes from the Greek word which means which we use in the term gymnasium. And we've all probably been in a gymnasium. It's where one exercises to one degree or another more or less effectively. So the more we work with scripture, reading carefully, tracing its themes, comparing passages, well, the more that our discernment grows, our discernment muscle is getting stronger with use, with exercise, with practice.

So over time, we learn to recognize when language is literal and when it's figurative, and how each functions within the revelation that God wants us to learn. So in practical study, this involves steady habits like reading passages in their context, identifying whether comparison language is present, looking for explanations provided by the text, checking related passages, grounding our conclusions in literal doctrine, and doing all of that with a humble heart, letting God lead us. We're not telling God what things mean. He's telling us and we're we're seeking that

when we let scripture lead us and we approach figurative language with patience and care, then these passages become invitations to a better understanding. They open the door to spiritual truths God intends us to grasp.