There are two major ways to present the Bible for spiritual growth. The teacher can set themselves up as the authority concerning what the Bible means when it says something; or, they can teach you how to go to Jesus for the interpretation. If the objectives of the training class or material is to interpret the Bible for you, then they are the final authority. But, if their objective is to help each person establish their own personal relationship with Jesus, then Jesus will be that person’s final authority. Once that happens, that person starts getting result in their life. The Bible truths start working and proving that, that person has learned and applied the truth.

John 16:13-14 (NIV) But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. HE will bring glory to Me by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you.

Learning how to listen to the Holy Spirit is one of the most important things you can learn. So, this is one of the main objectives of the books in this series. Once you are able to find out not only what the Bible says, but, what the Bible means, then you are getting the truth.

John 8:31-32 (NIV) To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, “If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

If you read something and miss the point, then you haven’t gained any benefit from what you read. The whole purpose for reading something is to understand what the point is. It isn’t until you find out what the Bible is saying to you that you start getting the freedom and benefits from it. So, one of the other main purposes of these books is to make sure you are supplied a lot of Scriptures that explain the subject; this helps you be one of Jesus’ best students.

Some people get an idea as to what they believe; then they look up a bunch of Scriptures to prove their point. These people are never going to get the truths that set them free. Only those who have a sincere heart and an inquiring mind will find out what the truth really is. One of the tests for whether or not you have arrived at the truth is whether or not it sets you free.

Jesus isn’t just presenting these things to you for information; you must first let Him use these truths to set you free. Since your first objective is to be free yourself, you are allowing Jesus to take you through all the Scriptures, so you can get the truth and freedom for your life. If you don’t get Jesus’ power, healing, and blessings in your relationships, finances, emotions, physical needs, and spiritual growth then you must go back to Him for more truth. As a matter of fact, you must continue doing this with Jesus, so you will keep growing.

Over the years, Jesus’ people have been constantly submitting themselves to Jesus and His Word. They haven’t presented anything in these studies that isn’t already working in their own lives. They are sharing these truths because they have already been set free. Plus, they have been in constant contact with other people who have taken these truths into their lives. And, they have experienced the same breakthroughs and successes in their lives. If these things are true, then they will work!

Your attitude toward Jesus must be that He has all the knowledge, all the foreknowledge of the future, all understanding, and all wisdom; so, you will trust His thinking on the matter. You must put your life into His hands because you know He loves you more than you love yourself. You know He will only give you those things that are the very best for you and those around you. You know that all good comes from Him; so, if you are going to get anything good, you will have to get it from Him. That is why you come to Him and His Word with faith, confidence, and humility. He caused the Bible to be written; He is its Author; and He is the final authority for what you need to learn from it.