Ecclesiastes 8:1: “Who is a wise person? Who knows the solution to a problem? A person’s wisdom brightens his appearance and softens his harsh countenance.”

This is my fourth time talking about hermeneutics, and I’m deriving it from this passage, which talks about “who knows the solution to a problem.” That word “solution” can mean: who knows the explanation of a thing.

I am saying: there is the text of the Bible, but how do you interpret it? How do you explain it? What is the explanation of it? That is what we have been exploring.

Do not confuse the people. Let them be able to see it themselves from the Scriptures. Do not come and say, “I have a PhD, so you cannot really understand what I am talking about.” No. That is why yesterday I talked about using more modern Bible versions.

Jesus used words that were clear for people to understand. Everybody heard Him clearly.

Do not think God is trying to hide something from you that you now need to go and discover in some random, confusing booklet somewhere—otherwise you “don’t really know the truth.” No. The Bible, in its 66 books, is enough to engage you.

Paul said, “All Scripture is God‑breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness… so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped” (2 Timothy 3:16–17). The Scripture is complete in that sense. The way you get equipped is through the Scriptures. The Scripture is given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

So Jesus, God, is not trying to hide something. God has made Himself clear in numerous ways. Look at what Hebrews says: “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us in His Son” (Hebrews 1:1–2). That is your call to action: the Son. What has God communicated in His Son? What has God communicated through His Son? That is what you are supposed to focus on: the greatness of Christ.

Do not allow some random person to send you on an errand to go and “find what is not lost.” The Bible is plain enough. If you cannot plainly communicate it from what is written plainly, we have a problem.

It is okay to appeal to what somebody wrote, but what that person wrote must be clear enough. Do not look for, “This is what makes me advanced now. I am not really a Christian or a good teacher unless I am pushing some advanced stuff.” No. The truth is clear enough. It is clear. The word of God is clear enough to be communicated clearly—that is, if you are not coming with an agenda, not coming with a preconceived notion that you want to force the text to speak to.

If you are going to submit yourself under the Scriptures and humble yourself under the word of God, and not despise the written word, you will not need to “wow” people by giving them something that is not plain. It has to be clear enough to be communicated.

I am not against studying history to see how history speaks to the Scriptures. I am not against studying the languages—Hebrew and Greek—to see how they help shine light on the Scriptures. I am not against those things. But remember: Christ is still the center, not “this is what somebody said; we don’t really know it.” What do you mean, “we don’t really know it”? It is there, written in Scripture.

Paul wrote, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16). He is not talking to people with PhDs. He is talking to the everyday person. He is talking to the bricklayer, the carpenter, the politician. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” That means it is available to dwell in you richly.

So the apostles started talking about Christ: “Believe in Jesus.” But now that you have believed in Jesus, you still need to continue learning about Christ. And what tool did they have at first? A lot of the tool was the Old Testament. But they did not just go on excursions in the Old Testament; the focus was still Christ. And now we have volumes of words, mostly by Paul, that are in Scripture to sharpen our focus on Christ.

There is nothing hidden somewhere that you must go and look for in some secret place. No “secret knowledge” that is not obvious to everybody, something “only you” know. It is supposed to be something that is clear to you—and then you make it clear to someone else. It is clear to you; make it clear to someone else.

God bless you. See you later.