As human beings, one of the greatest assets we have been blessed with by our Creator is the ability to reason. This is a gift from God and reflects in us the image of our Creator, and it is this that sets us apart from the other animals that God created. When the

Creator God created man as recorded in the book of Genesis, the scripture states “And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” (Gen. 1:26).

It is apparent that the dominion man was given was linked to the “likeness” that he bore of the creator and man’s ability to REASON is the main parallel to this likeness.

But, what of this “reasoning” when it comes to the scriptures? As with all other God-given blessings, we humans tend to misuse the blessings bestowed upon us due to our sinful fallen nature. Some people reason well concerning the things of daily life and even come to reasonable conclusions on those matters but do not do so well with scriptural reasoning when considering things of the Spirit.

One important aspect of this ability to reason is HOW we reason. As believers in Christ, we have the charge (in this as they did in other dispensations) to reason with others in truth and in honesty. the apostle Paul did this with the Jews during the Acts period:

Acts 17:2 “And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, ...”

Acts 18:4 “And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.” Acts 18:19 “And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and Reasoned with the Jews.”

Reasoning in truth and honesty requires us, as believers, to reason from the general (big picture) to the particular (individual details), especially when it comes to spiritual things of the scripture. This, simply put, means that we cannot honestly tell what a picture puzzle looks like from only looking at a single piece of that puzzle. But, if we see a picture of that completed puzzle (usually on the box lid), we can better tell where the individual piece fits and, more importantly, what it adds to the completed picture.

Studying and reasoning from the scriptures is like the puzzle scenario mentioned above. We fail to rightly divide and hold fast the word of truth in honesty when we draw our conclusions on any scriptural subject from just a verse or two pulled out of context. By looking at the big picture first and then reasoning down to particular points, while being led by His spirit, we can “grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ” and be enlightened by His word in ways we never imagined!

May God bless you all in your studies.