Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. — 1 Peter 1:10-11
His real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and his first love was mathematics. He was so good at it that he lectured for almost 50 years at Christ Church College at Oxford. He was ordained as a deacon in the Church of England and was an occasional preacher. Now if that name means absolutely nothing to you, he would have been overjoyed because Charles, who lived in the last half of the nineteenth century, was also a man of puzzles. Here’s a sample:
A Russian had three sons. The first, named Rab, became a lawyer. The second, Ymra, became a soldier. The third became a sailor. What was his name?*
Charles spent the latter years of his life writing comics and children’s books under a name he invented by translating his first two names into Latin, Carolus Lodovicus, and then anglicizing them into “Lewis Carroll.” Now if that name still doesn’t ring a bell, perhaps you would recognize him by one of the many books he authored, the most famous of which were “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass.”
In “Through the Looking Glass,” the main character Alice is seen peering into a looking glass, which is actually a mirror, at the reflection of her living room. She sees herself walking through the mirror into the looking glass house where the pictures on the wall come to life and even the chess pieces, especially the kings and queens on her table, begin to speak to one another. Once inside, Alice found a book lying on a table but as she turned the pages, she noticed that it appeared to be a poem—written in a language she didn’t understand. Puzzled by this, a thought suddenly came to her, “Why, it’s a looking glass book, of course. And if I hold it up to a glass, the words will all go the right way again.” (A clue to the puzzle above). But after she looked at the words, she still found some of them, “rather hard to understand.”
The Bible tells us that the prophets of old, who wrote of the suffering and death of Christ were faced with the same dilemma as Alice. Moved by inspiration from God’s word and a desire to know of whom the Scriptures spoke—their true meaning was hard to understand at first glance, so that had to dig deeper. Those early prophets “searched intently and with greatest care,” as they peered into the looking glass of the future.
The words “searched intently” are one compound word in the Greek language, “ekzeteo” from ek, meaning “out of” and zeteo, meaning, “to see.” Literally, it means, “to see out of something” or “to seek and search in order to obtain or know something.” Remember Alice as she peered through the looking glass”? She wanted to jump into it to see what was really there and explore everything. That’s ekzeteo. That’s what the Bible calls “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 15). That should be every disciple’s goal in their study. Inspiration combined with illumination leads to revelation. Neither comes by itself. We must be students of the Bible. If we diligently do our part, God will do his through the Holy Spirit (Jn. 16:13).
Contrary to what some teach, the prophets were not spiritual secretaries who took dictation from the “boss.” Nor were the writers of the New Testament. They searched for God’s truth carefully and God revealed his word in their hearts (2 Tim. 3:16-17). They wrote from the inner man, using their own skills, experiences, personalities, and abilities. That’s why each book is written so differently—and yet there is a common thread from Genesis to Revelation that ties them all together.
In their search the prophets learned through the Holy Spirit that they would not be the immediate benefactors of the gospel message. It was for future generations built upon “the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.” They would be included, of course, but their time of honor would have to wait until the fulfillment of all things (Heb. 11:39-40).
As a pastor I have had the wonderful privilege of sharing the good news to a large number of people for many years. I have never considered the gospel message redundant. We all have that same opportunity in our daily lives no matter what our position and calling. Preaching is the announcement of salvation—the proclamation of the good news. Like the prophets we must inquire and search diligently and pray for opportunity. The Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Christ will honor our perseverance.
The salvation of God and the good news of the gospel is such a tremendous message. How could we ever keep it to ourselves? Maranatha!
— Pastor Don Kimbro
*His name was Yvan. Do you see it?
