[Steel]

Originally Posted by Freedom

The above quote caught my attention, and got me thinking as to just how much WL's view of Bible interpretation differed from how most people would approach the Bible.

No doubt about it... Most people approach scripture from the POV of whoever/whatever they hold to... Such as is related to institutionalism, examples of which are Roman Catholicism, Calvinism, and Luthereanism, or related to following people, examples of which are Creflo Dollar, Charles Stanley, and Rick Warren. And Lee would have been no different.

And scripture even speaks to this matter of humans holding to things... And doing so in and out of our natural affinities... Truth be told, I believe this is even clearly exposed in your own above quoted speaking.

Tell me... Who exactly were you referring to with your use of the phrase "...most people..."?

There are 8 billion people in the world... Were you thinking of 90% of these eight billion people?... Or perhaps, were you thinking of those people who share your own social environment?

See how that works... Even in simple things like our speaking.

Now I agree with you that most people will approach scripture from a different POV than Lee... And do so for this reason... Scripture has been hijacked by folly religion of almost two thousand years, and as a result, most people have been influenced by what religion has to say about scripture... Which differs in many things from what Lee says in his ministry.

And I am confronted by this almost every day... First within the speaking of unbelievers, who think they know something of scripture because they've picked up bits and pieces of speaking on it as they experienced their life... And second, within the speaking of believers who hold to/participate in the profusion of denominations/non-denominations found within Christianity, and think they know something of scripture because they've picked up bits and pieces of speaking as they've experienced the mutitude of differing speaking found in the environment they meet within.

Shoot... I even encounter this within my own extended family.

Natural affinity is a very powerful infuence Freedom... Which is why we read in scripture... John 3:30... "He must increase, but I must decrease."

Originally Posted by Freedom

Anyone could allegorize a story, but just because there is the potential for that doesn't mean the allegory is correct or that an allegory was ever intended.

Again... No doubt about it.

Which is why God, in His infinite wisdom... Gave us the Spirit in our regenerated spirit... 1 Corinthains 3:16... "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"

And why did God do this? . . . John 16:13... "But when He, the Spirit of reality, comes, He will guide you into all the reality; for He will not speak from Himself, but what He hears He will speak; and He will declare to you the things that are coming." . . . Romans 8:14... "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God."

You want to know the reality of all that you are hearing/reading/experiencing... Turn to the Spirit of God, who is in your regenerated spirit.

And BTW... The above speaking is a foundational pillar in Witness Lee's ministry... And is not so much a foundational pillar in many of the more recognized religions in Christianity.

Originally Posted by Freedom

Those who follow Lee's ministry operate upon the notion that he had some sort of insight that others didn't.

I certainly appreciate Lee's ministry... And reference it many times each day in my own speaking... But not because of the person of Lee... But because I am fully convinced that the Lord leads me to do so.

Scripture tells us that God can make a rock praise Him... That God can form an army out of dry bones... That God can cause a donkey to speak... Tell me... What "...insight..." did the rocks have... Or the dry bones have... Or the donkey have... In order for God to cause any of these things to carry out what He desired? . . . And... Is it not true to say that in each case, God caused each of these things to "...have insight..." that others didn't?

Tell me... Why is it that I can see this, and speak it to you... But you seem to not be able to do either... Is it because I have insight that you don't have?

Originally Posted by Freedom

Whether they will admit it or not, they believe that there is something esoteric about the Bible which prevents the average person from being able to understand or interpret the Bible.

Do you believe what scripture says... If so... Tell us what the following scripture verse is saying... 1 Corinthians 12:4-11... "But there are distinctions of gifts, but the same Spirit;... And there are distinctions of ministries, yet the same Lord;... And there are distinctions of operations, but the same God, who operates all things in all... But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable... For to one through the Spirit a word of wisdom is given, and to another a word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit;... To a different one faith in the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing in the one Spirit,... And to another operations of works of power, and to another prophecy, and to another discerning of spirits; to a different one various kinds of tongues, and to another interpretation of tongues... But the one and the same Spirit operates all these things, distributing to each one respectively even as He purposes."

As sctripture clearly tells us, Freedom... It is not a matter of a believer either being "...average..." or not "...average..." . . . It is a matter of God's "... distributing to each one respectively even as He purposes."

Originally Posted by Freedom

I think this notion was largely due to the fact that WL introduced all kinds of allegories that seemingly made sense of complex passages.

Or maybe... As scripture tells us... God simply chose to distribute a gift according to His purpose.

Originally Posted by Freedom

No one else would have thought of these allegories, simply because they were unique to WL. So that is what made his teachings seem so 'unique'. But had people sought to question what he was doing in the first place, maybe they might have realized that he could just have easily been making all those allegories up.

Years before I started reading the Ministry of Witness Lee I had been studying the first two chapters of Genesis... And came to see that the speaking on creation was a perfect allegory to the manifestation of God's economy as it relates to the full salvation of man.

I didn't come by this because I read it or heard it in someone's ministry... I was simply doing my own study before the Lord and saw it on day... Then years later when reading Witness Lee's ministry I saw that he had pretty much a similar revelation... And that was revelation of just one of a few other matters that I found in his ministry that I had experienced myself many years before touching Lee's ministry.

So... As one of those people who reads and speaks from Lee's ministry... I don't do so because "...No one else would have thought of these allegories, simply because they were unique to WL..."... I do so because I believe/know that in Lee's speaking is much help regarding the unveiling of the infinite revelation of God that is within scripture.