Bible Quizzes for Really Smart People 46

The only thing that links these four verses is my memory of studying them in my College days. Because I learned them in that context, I know I learned some of them incorrectly--that is, with complete ignorance of the context in which they were written. But that is a story, too, isn't it? Let's begin.

1. "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me," KJV. The NRSV has "Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me."

I memorized the verse in the KJV not because I studied that version in those days but because it appeared in the KJV in an Evangelistic tool in which I was trained. In the little gold booklet entited "The Four Spiritual Laws" (A Campus Crusade for Christ publication), this verse appeared as the fourth "spiritual law" of the universe. After I introduced people to the fact God had made us, that we had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and that God had sent Christ to take away our sin, I would try to "close the deal" by stressing that a person needed to "accept Christ" as his/her personal savior. How did I know this? Well, this verse told us so. Christ was standing there knocking at our "door" and waiting for admittance. Would we keep him out in the cold any longer? The only problem with reading the text this way, as I didn't realize until a few years later, is that the verse has nothing to do with an evangelistic appeal. It is more of a warning text to a church that is lukewarm in its faith. I remember memorizing the verse and then speaking it to many an unsuspecting Brown University student in those days. I think my student colleagues must have thought that I was a little daft for spending my Sunday afternoons or Thursday evenings or whenever doing this. I recall that door-to-door evangelism seemed very unnatural to me. I also never got into what the CCC people called "lifestyle" evangelism--where we would just naturally "overflow" with Christ's message whereever we went. Why I felt that I should associate with them for three years and "lead" their movement on campus for one year is a mystery to me. I guess I thought that all people of genuine spiritual commitment were my friends, with whom I should be delighted to spend my every waking moment. It sort of prepared me for what turned out not to be a happy marriage, I suppose. Enough autobiography. Where, and in what context, do you find this verse?

2. "and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions," KJV. The NRSV has, "and the house of Jacob shall take possession of those who dispossessed them."

The "spiritual" point I learned about this verse in College only makes sense if we use the KJV translation, which I learned in those days. The NRSV translation, which probably is a "better" translation, doesn't support the interpretation my "teachers" put on the KJV version. I, therefore, ended up being "blessed" by a verse which in fact ought not to have "blessed" me. I suppose that is legitimate. Do you agree? Well, to the meaning. Using the KJV, the point was made to me that just as the people of Israel learned to "possess their possessions," so we too must learn this lesson. What does this mean? Well, it means that we should realize our true "riches" in God and learn to live as if we "possessed" them. That is, we needed to "possess our own possessions." I think if you think hard about it there really is a point here--that we often don't understand or appropriate the sources of strength or insight that we have. We underestimate our skills, our knowledge, our ability to contribute to a situation, our gifts. Often we say in a self-deprecating tone, "What do I have to offer?" when, in fact, I might have quite a bit to give in a situation. So, possess your possessions. Own up to your bright spots, and bring your talents to the world. This verse, in this interpretation of the KJV, is really an "upbeat" or encouraging verse. But, if you look at it in the NRSV, the message is quite pedestrian--the Israelities will just reclaim land lost earlier. Well, I remember it because of the blessings it brought me, and I still enjoy the thought...

3. "and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority."

There is no reason why this verse should be on anyone's "top 10" list except for the following story. I recall being in our bi-monthly "Master Action Group" meeting on a Friday night at the home of the senior CCC staff member's home. After we shared with each other how many people we had evangelized in the past week (a distasteful subject, now that I think about it), he led a "teaching" time. On one occasion he just blurted out the question--"Does anyone know what Colossians XXX says?" He gave us the chapter and verse and waited for an answer. Of course everyone just sat there, but then I said, "Wait a minute." I had just memorized Colossians a few months ago, and I had to run it through my memory. I also memorized the verse numbers along with the words. I then quoted the words bolded above. The room erupted in a combination of guffaws, admiring stares, rolled eyes and general pandemonium so that our fearless leader couldn't continue with the lesson for a while. I stood up and took a bow. I didn't care that I was supposed to be humble, for I experienced at that time, at age 20, the first fruit of my commitment to memorizing and mastering the Bible--I could identify the precise words of a passage, and a fairly obscure one at that, when a person just mentioned the biblical citation. I don't remember his point; I don't remember anything else about that evening. I just recall feeling as if I had discovered the purpose of my life. Where do you find this verse?

4. "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."

Short and sweet. Right to the point. I think that our CCC "reading" of this messed me up for years, because it was used as a foundational verse for a theory of discipliship. The theory went as follows: if you really are "mature" in Christ, you ought to want to "make disciples," too. They should want to "imitate" you. Thus, you should take them to the store with you, to the auto mechanic, to pick up your dry cleaning, to mow the lawn. In this way they could see your spirituality permeating every aspect of your life. But I never got into it. Why would anyone want to look at me while I studied the Bible (which I did a lot of in those days)? I never got this "discipleship" model down very well, and so I concluded that I really wasn't a very "mature" Christian. I was probably correct in so concluding, but, in any case, their interpretation of this verse messed up my thinking. Well, where is it from?

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