Bible Study How to read and understand the Bible

[Papa Zoom]

The purpose of this thread is to share insights and thoughts you all have gained over the many years of studying the Bible. In particular, I will be referencing two books as I explore further the necessary steps to be fair to the text in understanding God's Word. Here's a start:
This does not mean, however, that every Bible-related misunderstanding is due to a person’s spiritual condition. There are many people—many godly, Christian people—who have greatly misunderstood some part of Scripture. Often the disciples misunderstood what Jesus was talking about (see Matt. 15:16, for example). Sometimes this was due to their hardened hearts (Luke 24:25); at other times it was because they needed to wait for further events and understanding (John 12:16). In addition, members of the early church did not always agree on the meaning of what was written in Scripture (see Acts 15 and Gal. 2:11 – 15 for examples of this).

Grudem, Wayne A.. Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know (Kindle Locations 117-121). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

The last thing I want to do is to misunderstand something in the Bible. But I know this is unavoidable. It is simply the case that we have to do some heavy lifting when understanding exactly what God is trying to communicate.

This OP isn't looking to be instructed in what the Bible "says" and means, but more it seeks to explore the tools and techniques available to us in helping us better understand God's words to us.

Papa (this thread was sparked by a conversation I had with OzSpen so I hope he and others will chime in and share their wisdom, insight, and understanding.

 

[th1b.taylor]

The purpose of this thread is to share insights and thoughts you all have gained over the many years of studying the Bible. In particular, I will be referencing two books as I explore further the necessary steps to be fair to the text in understanding God's Word. Here's a start:
This does not mean, however, that every Bible-related misunderstanding is due to a person’s spiritual condition. There are many people—many godly, Christian people—who have greatly misunderstood some part of Scripture. Often the disciples misunderstood what Jesus was talking about (see Matt. 15:16, for example). Sometimes this was due to their hardened hearts (Luke 24:25); at other times it was because they needed to wait for further events and understanding (John 12:16). In addition, members of the early church did not always agree on the meaning of what was written in Scripture (see Acts 15 and Gal. 2:11 – 15 for examples of this).

Grudem, Wayne A.. Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know (Kindle Locations 117-121). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

The last thing I want to do is to misunderstand something in the Bible. But I know this is unavoidable. It is simply the case that we have to do some heavy lifting when understanding exactly what God is trying to communicate.

This OP isn't looking to be instructed in what the Bible "says" and means, but more it seeks to explore the tools and techniques available to us in helping us better understand God's words to us.

Papa (this thread was sparked by a conversation I had with
OzSpen so I hope he and others will chime in and share their wisdom, insight, and understanding.

I believe that I'm known for being a stickler for my attitude about YHEH's Holy Word to us. I do my best to live according to the Message and the Guide Lines found in the Scriptures. I believe I've heard many excuses for why people do not study but the most common I've heard is they don't have time for fifteen minutes of quiet time with God.

And those that make an effort need an unnumbered version because they insist on using the verses out of context and they Proof Texting the darnedest things, one is the Salvation Issue. I can't recall the scriptures they use but:
God the Creator of Men



1. God is the Creator of all men. "He hath made of one blood, all nations of men, to dwell on all the face of the earth." (Acts 17:26) He would not have created intelligent beings, had he known they were to be forever miserable. To suppose that God would bring beings into existence who he knew would be infinite losers by that existence, is to charge him with the utmost malignity. The existence itself would not be a blessing, but a curse; the greatness of which cannot be described. A poor soul, sentenced to endless damnation, might well cry, in the touching language of Young;

"Father of Mercies, why for silent earth,
Didst Thou awake, and curse me into birth?
Tear me from quiet, ravish me from night,
And make a thankless present of thy light;
Push into being a reverse of Thee,
And animate a clod with misery?"
As God is infinite in knowledge, and as he sees the end from the beginning, he must have known before the creation, the result of the existence he was about to confer, and whether, upon the whole, it would be a blessing; and, as he was not under any necessity to create man, being also infinitely benevolent, he could not have conferred an existence that he knew would end in the worst possible consequences to his creatures.

God the Father of Men
2. God is the Father of all men. "Have we not ALL one Father? Hath not one God created us?" (Mal. 2:10) A kind Father will not punish his children but for their good. God is evidently called the Father of all men in the Scriptures, and this is not an unmeaning name. He has the disposition and principles of a Father. He loves with a Father's love. He watches with a Father's care. He reproves with a Father's tenderness. He punishes with a Father's design. God is the Father of all men and, therefore, he cannot make mankind endlessly miserable.

God the Lord, or Owner of Men
3. All men, of right, belong to God. "Behold all souls are mine," saith the Lord "As the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine." (Ezek. 18:4) God will not give up what belongeth to him, to the dominion of sin and Satan forever. All men are God's by creation. He has made them all. They are his by preservation. He sustains them all. They were his at first, and they always have remained in his care. "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." (Psalms 24:1) "If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel" (1 Tim. 5:8), can never abandon HIS OWN creatures. He will ever exercise a gracious care over them, as will be more fully seen in the following reasons.

The rest of this article is found @ https://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/univ3.html

The Problem of reading the scriptures is not complicated, it is impossible except you have been Indwelt with the Holy Spirit because it is a mystery to the Lost.Man has not the Holy Spirit to Teach him or her and God has folded the Word in such a way that without the Holy Spirit it remains a mystery about what it all means.

My take on reading and then teaching Scripture pretty much covers the Rules of Hermeneutics. It says: No scripture, collection of scriptures nor any passage of scripture can be fully understood without the light of all other scripture shining on it and Holy Spirit guide and to reveal it to you and to show you how it all ties in. But so many must never have read John 1:1-3 because it says that there is nothing we can see that Yashua (Jesus) did not create.

I've had any number of people inform me that they did not have an extra do not have fifteen or twenty minutes in their day to study YHWH's Word; The world is moving to fast but we are called to sacrifice unto our God;


Romans 12:1 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Yashua taught us that if we love Him we will obey His commands. Now Yashua is God in the flesh of a man and He knew and He knows it is impossible for us to keep the ten, let alone the other 603 found in the Pentateuch, no man ever has and no man ever will. So what does He want? He is the God of the Old Testament. Yashua wants the same thing YHWH wants, for us to try to live to live our lives by. Now be careful with that statement because enforcement of this point becomes Legalism very quickly and we are not saved by works but neither are we saved to live like Hell and to maintain the sinful nature that drove us to Yashua in the first place.

I pray this helps at least one seeker.

 

[for_his_glory]

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

We are not to be approved of man for what we believe to be truth, but to be approved unto God for what His Holy Spirit teaches us in all truths, John 14:26. When I study the first thing I do is pray and ask for understanding of what I am reading. Then I read word for word, vs. by vs. until I have read the full context of the chapter. This also includes cross referencing with other scriptures, both OT and NT plus history of the times.

Will everyone agree with what I teach, no, and I expect and accept that as I do not want anyone to agree with me, but to believe that which has already been written as they study the scriptures I give. I don't know everything as none of us could ever exhaust all the teachings that are in the Bible. Will I make mistakes in what I believe, yes, as I believe we all do at times. I'm grateful for those who God uses to correct me in my misunderstanding.

Any way, this is how I study.

 

[th1b.taylor]

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

We are not to be approved of man for what we believe to be truth, but to be approved unto God for what His Holy Spirit teaches us in all truths, John 14:26. When I study the first thing I do is pray and ask for understanding of what I am reading. Then I read word for word, vs. by vs. until I have read the full context of the chapter. This also includes cross referencing with other scriptures, both OT and NT plus history of the times.

Will everyone agree with what I teach, no, and I expect and accept that as I do not want anyone to agree with me, but to believe that which has already been written as they study the scriptures I give. I don't know everything as none of us could ever exhaust all the teachings that are in the Bible. Will I make mistakes in what I believe, yes, as I believe we all do at times. I'm grateful for those who God uses to correct me in my misunderstanding.

Any way, this is how I study.

That is almost a carbon copy of my studies. I am currently ahead on this year's read through because I no longer am employable and decided somewhere after Genesis I decided not to do my daily read and instead do four chapters a day, six days a week. It's a small sacrifice because all I miss are the Cowboy shows in the morning.

But if we seek YHWH with our complete being, He will reveal the truths folded into the scriptures.

 

[Papa Zoom]

I'm still developing some new study habits. Most of my study has had to do with specific questions I might have and then I do some reading, study the specific Scriptures, and then move on to the next question. I also read the Bible daily as story book. What I mean is that I just read it. Not to study it but to simply read the stories and become more familiar with the characters in the Bible and their stories. Odd how I learn new things each time. ! Thanks for sharing!

 

[for_his_glory]

That is almost a carbon copy of my studies. I am currently ahead on this year's read through because I no longer am employable and decided somewhere after Genesis I decided not to do my daily read and instead do four chapters a day, six days a week. It's a small sacrifice because all I miss are the Cowboy shows in the morning.

But if we seek YHWH with our complete being, He will reveal the truths folded into the scriptures.

It's not so much how many chapters we read in a day, but that of truly understanding what we read. Being retired does free up a lot of time for studying doesn't it.

 

[Razeontherock]

Both just reading it through and studying for deeper understanding have value. Just reading it through gets it IN us, where the Holy Spirit can work with both the Word and us. Typically that beats our own efforts, by several miles.

I was hoping to see more participation in this thread before throwing in my meager two cents, but this hasn't been mentioned yet and I've found it very helpful especially in the context of finding answers to my own questions that Papa references:

if Scripture really says what we think it means, it's going to express that same point somewhere else. And in every case where I've found Scripture to confirm itself in this way, there has also been a third witness, even if in a veiled way. At least.

This is consistent with the legal precept of "let every word be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses." I do realize that isn't the context of that passage, but it's a principle that God has Blessed me in using anyway.

That also does nothing with one-off passages, like to let women stay silent in Church, for example. I think this puts it in its rightful place; there's nothing we can do with that, it's a one-off.

 

[Razeontherock]

Here's a couple more ideas I've used to the point I don't even realize it anymore:

1) If in doubt or conflict, go with John. John was known as the theologian by the early Church, and it's easy to see why: his theology is clear, and great.

2) If I'm seeing conflict within Scripture, I'm missing something. I shouldn't think I understand much of it until I see it as a unified whole. That was the hardest thing I've ever done, as well as the most rewarding.

This aligns with another precept of the early Church, that if you witness to someone you need to be prepared to befriend and disciple them, investing in a relationship with them whereby they come to know your entire theology.
Theological differences aren't understood by merely examining one point, because that one point exists within a framework that includes our experiential relationship with God, our entire theological understanding, as well as our world view. How well this explains the clashes and conflicts we see on websites like this! I think those can always be boiled down to misunderstanding, which would be removed by gaining appreciation for the other. Seeing every human as an icon to be venerated, an icon of God, still bearing the image of God however marred and imperfect is an intended practice of the early Church. What a lofty goal! And yet when did Jesus violate this? That might be another tool to use to help us read and understand the Bible.

 

[JohnDB]

Most of the time people have no idea what the Bible says... really.
I've seen and heard people recite verses that absolutely refute the position they take...never once noticing that they just killed their own arguments. And if they don't even hear themselves what are they doing with what I say?

So I'm going to suggest the Inductive Study method.
That's where you diagram the sentences...one at a time after you break down the natural chapters...then the paragraphs...then separate the sentences.
Then diagram them.
Clarification of what you already know is a great start for most people...
They really don't know what they already know.
PHD's have this problem too... don't feel like you are stupid.
Ulcers were once thought to be a virus or genetic problem...or a lifestyle problem...
Nevermind the fact that it acted like an infection...it couldn't be because bacteria can't live in your stomach acid was the prevailing wisdom.
Till the day came that someone figured it out. Now a few pills for a few days and it's all over. But before people suffered for years... even undergoing surgery to fix ulcers.

So...go back to formula and figure out what you already know. Open your Bible...pick an easy one to begin with like James Chapter 1. Go on from there... you'll be surprised at what you figure out that you never realized.

 

[sunflower]

I also read the Bible daily as story book. What I mean is that I just read it. Not to study it but to simply read the stories and become more familiar with the characters in the Bible and their stories. Odd how I learn new things each time. ! Thanks for sharing!

Me too and I have been doing it for a very long time. Just never grows old and something new constantly turns up. That is the richness and beauty of and continually inspires me. Over the years I also have often identified with different characters in the stories. Very often I was facing something like what they went through in my own life (in more or less degrees) and could identify from that. The first bible story I remember besides the one about the birth of Jesus was the story of Joseph and the coat of many colors. I was in the first or second grade.

 

[K2CHRIST]

Prov 2:6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding.

Those people who wrote the Bible hear personally from the mouth of the Lord. If you want understanding of the Bible you need to talk to Him about it. It is interesting doing that. He has the most interesting things to say. However, even if you do hear from Him, it is not wise to think you have it all figured out.

1 Cor. 8:2 If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought.

So I can talk to the Lord about the Bible, and recommend everyone make talking to and listening to what He says a high priority when studying the Bible, never-the-less it doesn't mean they'll know it. In fact, talk to Lord because I believe He knows, not me. I would suggest that if you study the Bible without listening Him you might actually be thinking you know instead of thinking that God knows.

You see the wisdom of Solomon in Ecclesiastes on this same subject. Ecc 8:17 and I saw every work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even thought man should seek laboriously, he will not discover; and though the wise man should say, "I know", he cannot discover.

So studying the Bible is good because you will pick up something; like understanding that you are not going to be the one who knows. God is the One who knows, and that you can understand from reading and studying the Bible. Yet for a really good understanding of that you will still need to spend some time listening to the Lord. Listening to Him is really how to get a good feel for how far away you are from understanding the depths of God. That is to say, spend some time listening to what He says and you will come to the conclusion that it is not going to be you who knows but Him who knows.

Sadly, when listening and reading what other Christians write, it so often become apparent that they are not spending much time listening to Him, because they keep going over what the Bible means to them instead of going over what it means to the Lord. To the Lord, the Bible is an invitation to people to come and get to know Him.

 

[JaneH]

I am a little confused about the title of this thread. I thought you wanted suggestions on HOW to study the Bible, not quotes from the scripture. If my original understanding is correct, I can recommend two very good books:

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, and
Living by the Book by Howard Hendricks

Hope that helps someone. Both are widely available and in paperback.

 

[Truthfrees]

the way i like to study the bible is read it over and over and ask God to help me understand what He is saying and show me what He wants me to do with what He says

so it is an excuse to listen for God's voice/heart to speak to my heart what HE is wanting from me

there was a time when i read the bible to see what the other guy should be doing - but thank God i got set free from that judgemental attitude and now see bible study as an intimate time with God for me to grow in Christ and behave like Christ

 

[JaneH]

I am a little confused about the title of this thread. I thought you wanted suggestions on HOW to study the Bible, not quotes from the scripture. If my original understanding is correct, I can recommend two very good books:

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, and
Living by the Book by Howard Hendricks

Hope that helps someone. Both are widely available and in paperback.

I have both of those and can second that recommendation. The books are clear, practical, and well-written. I can also recommend that you use a good study Bible. That means one with notes, cross-references, maps, and more. And also, use more than one translation. My go-to translations are the ESV (English Standard Version), NLT (New Living Translation), and NIV (New International Version), pretty much in that order. All are available as study Bibles.

 

[Cooper]

There is so much information in the Bible and it is scattered everywhere, and like a jig-saw every nuance needs to fit exactly in place with the rest of this massive word picture. After putting it all into the correct context it will fall neatly into place subject by subject.

It takes lots of time, but it is a labour of love.

 

[2nd Timothy Group]

I highly encourage all to read the Bible in a timeline, chronological order. It is virtually impossible to understand the Story and Plan of God if we don't.

I also encourage all to grab a full set of highlighters and highlight each thought, concept, and idea with a different color. This ensures that "you" are paying full attention to the Word of God and do not fall victim to thinking about other things while reading.