The Word of God is the most important thing for men to understand and obey. The Word of God is God’s demonstration of His love for us. God gives His word for us to benefit. His commands are not for His benefit, they are for our benefit. God’s word is the manual for a successful life. We all know that it is from a manufacture that we can get safe instructions of how a product can operate at optimum efficiency. This is because the manufacturer knows the origin, the present and future of a product.

The levels of the Word of God

God’s word is given in two levels. It is the combination of these two levels that we are supposed to understand the revelation of God concerning an issue. The Word of God is given in the physical level or with a physical story or with an historical event. This the reason that the Lord Jesus used parables in His teachings. The parables were used as vehicles to carry eternal truths. God in His wisdom, uses what we know and incorporates and illustrates His internal principles for us to understand and follow. This is the second level in which the Word of God should be understood.

Therefore, in summary we have;

1. The physical or historical understanding of the Word of God
2. The spiritual understanding of the Word of God
3. Understanding the two levels makes the complete picture of God’s Word.

However, there are instances were God gives His Word without attaching any physical illustration. For example, when He says, “Be Holy for I am Holy” (1 Peter 1:16).  This can be very difficult for human beings to understand. Therefore, God send His Holy Spirit to reveal inside of us what He really means. This makes us to perceive it. Therefore, the ministry of the Holy Spirit is very important. The Lord Jesus said to His disciples before He left earth, it is expedient that I go, so that the Holy Spirit may come.

The following passage in John 16: 7-16 illustrates how Jesus came to our physical level to explain spiritual truths to us. But we could not understand all the truth. Therefore, the Holy Spirit came to reveal the truth from within us:

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.

An example: Using the big fish in story of Jonah

The modern people might not find it easy to understand the story of Jonah if we do not understand the historical truth behind the story.

Today we see the Bible saying a fish swallowing Jonah. But when we see the modern fish, we find it difficult to accept that a fish can swallow somebody for three days and yet be alive. Therefore, we end us saying it was a big fish or a whale!

However, by the Holy Spirit, we can be able to perceive the original story and relate it with the spiritual truth in the Word of God in the Bible.

This are the key points of the story of Jonah.

1. There was a type of a giant fish in the Mediterranean Sea 3000 years ago. This fish is now extinct. 
2. The Egyptians used to call it Leviathan. The Greeks used to call the giant fish Phalos. This can be found in the books of the Greek author Herodotus.
3. The giant fish, which I shall now call Phalos, disappeared from the Mediterranean Sea after opening of Gibraltar and entered into the Atlantic Ocean. The Mediterranean Sea is much salty compared to the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean usually has strong currents which take organisms to cold zones of south Atlantic (see figure below). This caused the deaths of Phalos. Also, the Phalos is a mammal and gives birth in swallow shores hence it became hard in the deep Atlantic Ocean. Furthermore, if it gave birth at those shores it could hardly return to feed their offspring. The offspring could also be devoured by wild animals. This is an example of how acts of men can be harmful to other species habitats.
4. The Phalos had no teeth, but they had a big stomach. They had huge fins of almost 3-6m which acted like the trunk of an elephant to grasp food. The fins are like the ones of the whales of North Atlantic. The fins of a Phalos could grasp a food in the form of animals and push it totally intact into their large stomach. The stomach contained no water. The stomach has digestive juices and enzymes to dissolve the prey after few days. If it died and started to decay. The Phalos used to seek escape from predators by going to low shores and even on land. They gave birth of the sane shores. They could not allow their young ones to enter deep sea until they were mature enough to survive. Hence, they could bring them food and also breast feed them.
5. A large number of Sharks used to be in the Mediterranean Sea and eat the Phalos in the same habitat. They could bite off their big fins and breasts. These sharks came to naturalize themselves around Istanbul in todays Turkey. This happened after the flood of Noah.  The Sharks reduced the population of Phalos so much that at they sought to escape to other areas. Hence, the opening of the Gibraltar was also an escape.
6. When Jonah was thrown out of the ship by the mariners. God arranged that a Phalos was positioned there. It swallowed Jonah whole. He was not bitten because the Phalos does not have teeth. Then at the same time a Shark, also by the arrangement of God, started to chase the Phalos. The Phalos then vomited Jonah at the shores where it had its young ones. Jonah ran out and went to preach.
7. Examples, of Phalos bones can be seen in the Alexandria, London and Paris Museums.
8. A Phalos is not the large octopus which stay in the Atlantic Ocean between Brazil and West Africa. Actually, these two places were linked by islands which before Noah’s flood stretched from the eastern tip of Brazil to West Africa. (see the map below}. Remember, some world maps are not correct.