Inspirational Intent
When we take the time to understand what the original design of something was, we find inspiration we might not have otherwise encountered. This is inspirational intent.
As we sit down to read the word of God, we can find ways to apply it to our lives. Application is what brings the word into our world today in a way that we might not have otherwise experienced.
How do we know though that our application is aligned with the original intent? We don’t unless we start with the original intent of the author.
There are a couple of examples in the Bible that present the importance of understanding the original intent of God’s spoken word.
First, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden were given specific instructions. There was an original intent for their lives.
Genesis 2 says, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17 ESV
These were instructions for Adam and Eve on what to eat and not eat.
God had an original intent for the range of things that Adam and Eve were to eat. There was a plentitude of options for them and only one tree to not eat.
The consequence of eating this tree would mean death.
God was clear. Eat all the rest–just not that one.
It is easy to focus on what we can’t do in life. To focus on the limits that God has set on our time, minds, money, and relationships. God had an original design for us that would bring us life. A range of options that would be fruitful for us.
Just like Adam and Eve, we can find ourselves in a conversation about the things that God has clearly told us to stay away from. This conversation for Adam and Eve is found in Genesis 3.
Genesis 3:1 (ESV) says, “1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
The serpent, who was the devil, took what God said and challenged it. He does the same thing today. He takes what God has said and says, “Did God really say…” He wants to challenge our faith. He wants to find us unaware and off our guard.
It’s what He does. He roams around looking for people to catch by twist the word of truth. He doesn’t pursue those who are already his own; He looks for those who are close to God but not fully equipped to handle the word of truth.
To understand what God intends with His word, we have to rightly divide the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
We cannot rightly handle the word of truth if we do not know not only what it says, but also have a deeper meaning of what was intended by the author.
Let’s go to Jesus in the desert during his time of testing. He as well is found confronted by the enemy of his soul, the devil. The difference between this encounter and that of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 is the strategy of the enemy.
In Genesis 3, the devil started by challenging whether or not Adam and Eve had heard God correctly. It turns out they did, but Eve adds a touch to what God told them. (Of course, Adam is there as well and stands silently by during this conversation.) Eve adds to God’s instruction by saying they can’t even touch the fruit. (Genesis 3:2)
Adding things to what God has instructed puts us in a place of being vulnerable to an attack from the enemy that is unnecessary.
God’s word is perfect. There is never a reason to add anything to it. At the same time, we have to understand it clearly to avoid being deceived by the enemy. In Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, the devil didn’t question what God said. He knew that Jesus knew the scriptures. As a matter of fact, at the age of 12, Jesus is sitting in the temple listening and asking questions of the teachers. He had a level of understanding that amazed the teachers at that point (Luke 2:46-47).
Because Jesus knew the word of God, the devil didn’t try to question what God had said. This is what we could call a more advanced strategy of the enemy. The basic strategy is to get us to question what God even said (like Adam and Eve in Genesis 3). The more advanced strategy is to try to get us to misapply what God’s word was originally intended for.
The devil used scripture, quoting it exactly, in the temptation of Jesus. It wasn’t challenging what God said, it was trying to get Jesus to use the word of God in a way that was not intended.
If the devil can’t get us with the basic strategy, because we have hidden His word in our heart that we might not sin against Him (Ps. 119:11), He will try to get us in the more advanced one.
He will tempt us by trying to use the word of God for our own purposes, which is a violation of the original intent. The original intent has all of the inspiration that we would ever need. But, we have to take the time to understand what was originally intended with any scripture, or we stand in danger of misapplying it.
Jesus didn’t do that. How did He counter the enemy’s attack? He used the word of God. He countered the attempt of the enemy to misapply the word with another scripture that was rightly applied.
The devil quotes Ps. 91:11-12 in the account found in Matthew 4. He quotes the Psalm to Jesus by saying, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” (Matthew 4:6 ESV).
He does not question that God said that, like he did with Adam and Eve, and he does not change any part of it. It was an exact quote.
What he did do was try to bring it into a context that it was never intended for. God promised to protect us by commanding his angels concerning us. To hold us up lest we strike our foot against a stone. What a blessing God’s protection is.
But, the devil takes the word and tries to get Jesus to do something foolish. He takes him to the pinnacle of the temple and tells him to throw himself off it if He really is the Son of God (Matthew 4:5-6).
The devil is always going to show up at the wrong place at the wrong time. He is also going to try and take us to a place we have no business being. For Jesus, part of his temptation was to be at the pinnacle of the temple. It says that the devil physically took him to that place. Jesus was just a step away from sin.
Just like Adam and Eve, the devil met them right at the point of where they could cross the line. He isn’t stupid. He is crafty, and He is going to show up when we are just one step away from a bad or foolish decision.
And at that point of decision, He is either going to question what God said or try to get us to misapply it.
It’s tough. He is a formidable foe who spends his time looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8) Jesus had to pass the test that Adam and Eve failed in order to become the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
How did he do it? He rightly divided the word of truth. He didn’t argue with what God said, He simply spoke the proper word for the proper time. What would Jesus be doing by jumping off the temple and expecting God to protect him? He would be violating another scripture, which is what he quoted back to the devil.
Jesus said, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Matthew 4:7 (ESV). As a matter of fact, with each of the three tests the devil uses in Matthew 4, Jesus counters each test with the correct use of the word of God.
Again, how did Jesus pass the test? By rightly applying what was originally intended by the word of God in the right way and at the right time.
We have to know the word. We have to hide it in our hearts. We have to understand what it was written for, so that when the enemy of our soul comes against us at the point of temptation, we can stand firm, rightly dividing the word of truth.
May God grant us the grace to hear His voice, understand His word, and rightly divide it at just the right time and the right place.
Amen and amen.
