For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power (Eph. 3:1-7 NKJV). 

The depth and splendor of God’s Word goes far beyond the scope of this pithy little article. This section of Scripture alone has built mountains of paper, emptied rivers of ink, and harvested forests of pencils. All that and we have hardly plumbed the depths of it. 

This point can sometimes humble the most studious and overwhelm the young in faith. But let us simplify it greatly. What should we do with this great Book that has caused the brilliant to scratch heads, and the simple to simply quit? Paul says what to do with it. 

Read it. Notice carefully in the middle of the paragraph, offset in the parenthesis: “as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read. . .” God expects you to read His Word. That is not to say that you will be struck by lightning from God and suddenly understand what the brilliant have wrestled with for the last few thousand years. Nope. But, God has revealed His Word in so many layers that each person can come to it and get something from it to better serve Him. The intellectual giant can be challenged and educated, and the simpleton can be challenged and educated; both can be equipped to better discipleship. Read. Your. Bible. 

Understand it. That may sound so much harder than it really is. The last paragraph makes the same argument. You might not understand every jot and tittle in the pages of Holy Writ, but you can understand what God wants from you. Remember, God wants you to be faithful and has given you exactly what you need to accomplish it. “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night” (Ps. 1:1-2). “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). 

I will only briefly mention one other point because without it the rest wouldn’t matter. Live it. You’ve read it and sought to understand it, so now go live it out every day. 

Surely there are several other points related to this we could draw from this text, but we will avoid muddying the waters (as my wife tells me I’m prone to do). Instead, let these simple admonitions be enough. Read your Bible because you can understand it.