The Letter Versus the Spirit of the Word (Episode 122)

Some churchgoers can quote lots of the Scriptures. Some of them have gotten good at that because they have practiced memorization of Bible verses for many years. But being able to quote Scriptures is not even close to properly understanding them.

In this episode, Frank King addresses the letter of the Word versus the spirit of the Word. The letter of the Word is what the Scriptures literally say. The spirit of the Word refers to God’s intended meaning of His Word. Jesus said, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63, KJV).

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day, namely, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, considered themselves to be the authorities of the Law. And by the Law, we mean the Old Testament. They had rigid views about what the Law said. And they judged everybody’s conduct by their rigid views. But they understood just enough about the Law to be dangerous.

For instance, they took the Law literally that said the Sabbath day was a day a rest. To them, that meant absolutely no work could be done on that day. That was the letter of the Law. But Jesus told them it was lawful to do good even on the Sabbath day.

When someone cannot see beyond the letter of God’s word, legalism will result. Just think about all the commandments in Jesus’ teachings and the many calls to action in Paul’s epistles. One can easily be tempted to believe that Christianity is a life of dos and don’ts.

But the clear message in the New Testament is that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ. No one earn salvation by keeping lots of dos and don’ts, “lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:9, KJV). Those who try to do so have failed to grasp the spirit of God's Word.