Learning To Study God's Word
In January we began a journey at City Awakening that will take us through the entire narrative of the Bible in 2022. There are three main components to our study: 1) Sunday morning sermons, 2) Small group studies, and 3) Personal Bible reading. The goal is to hit major highlights on Sundays, dig in deeper in small group discussion, and then fill in a lot of the gaps with the personal reading plan. Moving through the Bible at this pace can be a lot to digest, especially if you aren’t as familiar with Scripture or haven’t read much of the Bible previously. It can be intimidating, and you may even feel lost at times. But there are some tools and practices that can help you stay on the journey and get a little more out of the year’s study.
A nice study Bible can take you long way in understanding some of the mysterious details in Scripture. There are brief notes on both context and interpretive challenges. But, learn to read and meditate on your own before you jump to those handy notes. Don’t let the author do the studying for you. If you’re not a big reader, you can use an audio Bible, which gives you a different perspective by hearing Scripture read aloud. This can also help you make use of your commute to and from work, time at the gym, or doing housework. Another tool is a journal. It’s always a great idea to write down your thoughts or questions and to connect ideas as the year goes on. There are, of course, numerous books and commentaries that can help you dig in deep and gain a better understanding of context, the original language, and how a passage connects to the rest of the Bible.
There are also various methods and questions to utilize when reading the Bible. In discipleship and small groups, we teach people to use the OIA method of study – Observation, Interpretation, and Application. In other words, what does the text say and to whom? What does the text mean? And how does it apply to my life? There are also 4 questions that I personally like to utilize that draw out the Gospel in any text: Who is God (nature, character, etc.)? What has he done (through Christ)? Who am I as a result (new identity)? How should I live differently considering my new identity? Asking the right questions is always key in moving from just reading the Bible to studying the Bible.
Besides study methods, there are also certain things we can learn to look for in the text that may not be obvious at first. Our Bible today is broken down by chapter and verse which helps us find different passages easily. However, the original manuscripts were written as scrolls of all one book or letter, and they were memorized and recited orally. If you were to sit and listen to an entire reading of Genesis, it would be a different experience than reading it by chapter and verse. One big difference is certain themes would come to life. Throughout the Bible there are numerous themes repeated and many of them originate in Genesis. For example, the theme of God’s presence, or the Holy Spirit, is introduced at the very beginning of creation when “the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” The original language shows this is the life-giving energy of God. This theme shows up again in the story of Joseph when the Spirit of God was with Joseph and gave him the ability to interpret dreams. The pattern continues with others in the Old Testament, including the prophets. God’s Spirit spoke to and through the prophets with divine messages for his people, and often times allowed them to perform miraculous works. When we get to New Testament, the Spirit takes on a new work as he descends on Jesus at his baptism. Jesus carries out similar Spirit-empowered work like the prophets in preaching and miracles, but when Jesus dies on the cross it’s the Spirit that brings about his resurrection.
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. (Romans 8:11).
In this way the Spirit initiated the new creation, giving life to things that were dead, including those who believe in Jesus. In Acts we see the Spirit descend on all of Jesus’ disciples and his life-giving energy gives them power for ministry and for living out the way of Jesus. The Spirit is still at work today and living in every believer, and we know that the Spirit will complete the new creation work when Jesus returns, and our bodies are resurrected with Jesus in heaven.
This is just one theme. Others include Blessing, Justice, Generosity, The Covenants, The Image of God, Sacrifice & Atonement, Sabbath, and more. When we learn to identify these themes, it can help us connect the stories of the Bible to the bigger story that’s being told. It can help us make sense of some of the more obscure passages and ultimately see the Gospel on every page. (The Bible Project is a great resource for learning to study the Bible and they have some really helpful videos on the themes of Scripture.)
The great thing about the Bible is the endless depth of God’s Word. The more you study and dig in, the more you see how much there is to learn. It’s important to not approach the Bible like any other textbook. Ask God, his Spirit, to illuminate his Word for you. Pray for insight and understanding, and as we say often at City Awakening: Don’t just read the Bible, let the Bible read you.
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
If you started with us in January, keep following along with our weekly study and Bible reading plan. If you didn’t start, it’s never too late to jump in. Here’s a link to our reading plan. It only takes a few minutes every day, but the return is invaluable. Let the beauty and power of God’s Word transform your life this year.
