How to Study the Bible - Week 1 Session 2

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man [or woman] of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The Word of God is a hyper-linked, God-breathed book that sets the true line for our lives—and every disciple is commissioned to know it and share it.

A Book of Books with One Story

The book we study is a book of books, written over 1,500 years by 40 different authors, across three continents, in three languages, among different cultures and people groups. What is amazing is that there is a consistent storyline from Genesis to Revelation—what we call the meta-narrative of the Bible. It comes in four movements: creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.

Throughout the Bible we find smaller stories that fit within that meta-narrative as well—the creation and call of Israel, their fall into slavery, their redemption, and ultimately a restoration. The same pattern repeats again and again.

A Hyper-Linked Text

It has been said that these 66 books are a hyper-linked text, and when you study through the Scriptures you find that is very true—especially in a book like Revelation. How many of you have tried to read Revelation and been confused? You cannot understand the Book of Revelation if you have not studied the Old Testament, because there are over a thousand direct allusions in Revelation to the Old Testament. Many people start their venture in the Bible thinking they'll read the prophetic books first, and they understand hardly anything.

I came across a graphic years ago that portrays this beautifully. Along the bottom are the 66 books, and the colorful lines arching across are the references from one book to the next. It was put together by a Christian researcher at MIT who compiled over 30,000 biblical references and linked them together. The Bible references itself constantly throughout.

All of it carries this consistent story where God reveals himself and the work he is doing—creation, humanity's fall, redemption, and ultimate restoration. We are in the segment of the story that has to do with redemption, looking forward to the return of Christ and his establishing of his kingdom, when he makes all things new.

This is a big part of why, here at Cross Connection, we say we want everything done with joy. We have an optimistic vision of the future: Christ will return one day and overcome the last foe, death, removing its sting and restoring all things. Will there be rough patches between now and then? Yes. But our vision is optimistic, because Christ comes and restores all things.

Question: How Did People Study the Bible Before a Common Language?

Jay asked how people studied the Bible before it was in a common language. That's a great question. Even today there are still many languages without a translation of the Scriptures, which raises the bigger question of how God reveals himself apart from the written word or the work of a missionary.

The only way we can answer is by looking at how God has revealed himself in times past. Can God reveal himself directly to individuals apart from a missionary bringing them the written Scriptures? Historically, yes—he has done that, as with Abraham. But primarily we are given a missionary call to go into all the world, preach the gospel, and make disciples. In 1 Corinthians, Paul says God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and even chosen a "foolish" method—preaching—to bring the gospel.

So it is necessary that we get the Word of God into every language, and that work continues through translators we support, whether through Wycliffe or New Tribes. Yet God still reveals himself through general revelation in amazing ways. At a conference in 2011, a missionary in the Middle East shared how he and another worker stopped for gas while heading into Iran. A Persian man approached them and said, "I had a dream last night, and a bearded man told me I would meet you here, and you would show me the way to life." These visions and dreams still happen.

Question: Why Don't We Have Prophets Like in the Old Testament?

Sandy asked why we no longer have prophets like in the Old Testament. The New Testament says all the prophets were until John the Baptist. According to his wisdom, God has chosen that we would not have the office of the prophet in the same way as before. We have something better: the written Word of God and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit.

In Old Testament times the Spirit came upon certain individuals at certain times. But we now have his abiding presence and his revealed word. When someone tells me, "I am a prophet, God has called me to be a prophet," I have theological issues with that. They may mean they believe they have the gift of prophecy, which is different from the office of a prophet. All the prophets, Jesus says, were until John.

We also believe God's revelation is sealed—he is not revealing something new. The revelation given through holy men of God who were moved by the Spirit is closed. That doesn't mean God doesn't speak through other individuals as they pray for us or give a word of knowledge, but there is no new revelation. If someone shares something inconsistent with the Word of God, the Word becomes our measuring line. We should say, "Help me see how that lines up with Scripture."

Question: Hasn't Scripture Been Lost in Translation?

Cali asked how to reconcile the validity and infallibility of Scripture with the idea that things get "lost in translation." When I say things are lost in translation, I am not saying we can't get close to the original autographs. Theologians teach that the Scriptures are infallible in their original manuscripts. We don't have the original autographs, but we have manuscript evidence—especially for the New Testament—that far surpasses any other work from antiquity.

What I mean by "lost in translation" is this: when we read a word in the original Greek, that word has a semantic range. One word can carry many meanings. Open a Greek lexicon and you'll find not a sentence but pages on a single word. Greek is an inflected language, with a case system—nominative, genitive, dative—that changes meaning. Most of us know how to speak English but aren't strong on grammar, so this feels foreign, yet it deeply affects meaning.

This is why Bible translators are amazing. I've had professors who helped translate the Christian Standard Bible and the New American Standard Bible, and their grasp of the original languages is phenomenal. They will tell you there are words with no perfect English correlate. When I study, I keep four or five English translations in front of me, along with Greek and Hebrew resources, asking, "What is the best word here?" Our Spanish teacher here noted the same thing—when you interpret between languages, sometimes it simply doesn't fit, and you reach for the closest thing. This is especially true with ancient Hebrew, going back nearly three to four thousand years. Where you find five different English words in five versions, that's an invitation to deeper word study—which we'll learn in this class.

All Scripture Is God-Breathed and Useful

Turn to 2 Timothy 3:16. If you've been in a Christian church for a while, you've heard it: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man or woman of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

"Inspiration" means God-breathed. Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1:21 that prophecy came as God moved holy individuals to write these things down. Their language and culture come into it, yet by his Holy Spirit God revealed what needed to be said. It's not that God took over their bodies; they were moved by the Spirit. We come to the Scriptures with that presupposition: these things are inspired and useful.

Paul names four uses. First, doctrine. I always bring out my favorite tool, a plumb bob. The Scriptures establish the true line—what is right and true. They reveal God's nature, what he is like, and his will, what he wants. They show us what is straight up.

Second, reproof. The purpose of a plumb line is to reveal what is out of alignment. My dad worked in construction for nearly 60 years and always kept one in his car door, even with all the laser levels available. He built high-rise buildings, and he'll tell you a building must be brought into plumb or it will fall down. So our lives need to be in line, or they come apart. The Bible reads us as we read it, revealing the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Third, correction. The Word doesn't only expose; it brings us back into alignment. The Word, living and powerful, is able to sanctify and cleanse us by the washing of water. If you've been a Christian for any length of time, you've experienced this—it transforms how you think, speak, and live, sometimes more apparent to those who knew you 15 years ago than to you. It's like the navigation system in your car: when you wander off the line, it shows you how to get back.

Fourth, instruction in righteousness. Psalm 119:9 says, "How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word." And Psalm 1: "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly... but his delight is in the law of the Lord." He becomes like a tree planted by rivers of water. The Word trains us to walk in line with God's nature and will, bringing us into the abundant life—living in line with the God who created us. Sin is when we go outside that purpose, causing brokenness and chaos. God wants to bring us back so we walk in righteousness.

The next verse says the result: "that the man or woman of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." We are saved by grace through faith, not of works—but we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand. How do we know how to walk in those works? By taking heed to the Word.

Therefore: A Charge for Every Christian

Look at 2 Timothy 4:1. Whenever you come to "therefore" in the Bible, figure out what it's there for—go back to what was just said. Here the chapter break isn't helpful, because the verse and chapter numbers were added later and aren't inspired. Sometimes a reader's Bible that strips out the numbers and puts the text in paragraphs is helpful; learning to read the Bible in paragraphs rather than verses opens up the Scriptures.

"I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching." That's doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction again. Because the Word is useful for these things, every Christian—not just the pastor—should be ready, even in a rudimentary way, to explain the Scriptures, to convince, rebuke, and exhort with patience. It takes a while sometimes, so it requires longsuffering.

The Commissions Given to Every Disciple

In the four Gospels and Acts, Christ commissions his disciples. It's important to recognize the commissions are given to disciples—an obedient follower of Jesus. If you're a Christian today seeking to follow him, these commissions are for you, not only for church leaders.

Matthew 28: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Jesus has all authority and gives it to us for a purpose: go and make disciples, share what you know of God. You may feel you don't know much yet—but you grow as you read the Scriptures, and what you know, you share with your kids, grandkids, neighbors, coworkers.

I guarantee that if you commit to this commission—if you offer yourself like Isaiah did, "Here am I, send me"—God will send you somebody with a question. That's scary, but here's the awesome thing: you never learn so much as when you are compelled to share something from the Scriptures with someone else. I didn't know the Bible at all until I started sharing in the junior high classroom here, scared to death every week, unsure if I was saying the right thing. But God gave his Spirit, his Word, and brothers and sisters to teach me. If you don't know an answer, don't make one up—say, "I don't know, but let me find out." Then dig into the Scriptures, and God who inspired them leads us to understand. And remember Jesus' promise: "Lo, I am with you always." You're not doing this alone; the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth.

Mark 16:15: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." What is the gospel? Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—"of whom I am chief," Paul says. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul defines it: Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and was seen by witnesses.

Luke 24:46-47: "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." That doesn't mean go to Jerusalem; it means start where you are and move out from there.

John 20:21: "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And at the end of John, Jesus asks Peter three times, "Do you love Me?" There's much happening in the Greek that the English doesn't make clear—we'll study that in a few weeks. Each time Peter answers yes, and Jesus tells him: feed and tend my lambs and sheep. We feed others the Word of God.

In Acts 1, at his last conversation with the disciples, Jesus says to wait in Jerusalem until they receive power from on high. When they want to talk about end times, he redirects them: "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Start where you are, be faithful in the little things, and move out from there.

My goal for this class is to help you become a disciple of Jesus and a student of his word, so you get to know him and can share him with others. God will bring people to you with questions—he's already bringing them—and often we say nothing because we don't know what to say. Be honest: every one of us has done this, including me. God wants to give us the words, and those words come as we hide his Word in our hearts.

Four Generations: How Christianity Spreads

One last verse: 2 Timothy 2:2—easy to remember, two-ten, two-two. Paul writes to his disciple Timothy: "The things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." There are four generations there. Christianity has spread organically for two thousand years, to the point that more than two billion people around the world identify as Christians. They may attend different churches and differ on baptism, worship, or communion, but ultimately they look back to Christ who died for our sins, was buried, and rose again as their redeemer. That is how the faith spreads—one disciple at a time, throughout the entire world. He builds his church through his people, living stones built together as a habitation for God.

Question: Literal or Contextual? Reading the Bible by Genre

Sarah asked how we know when the Bible is speaking contextually versus literally. That's exactly what this whole class is about, and you'll see much of it in our textbook, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart. Some of it is technical, but much is graspable; if you learn better by hearing, it's available as an audiobook.

What we hold to here is approaching the Scriptures to determine the original intent of the author for the readers who received it two thousand or more years ago. The Bible has different genres. There's poetry—and Hebrew poetry doesn't rhyme words, it rhymes ideas, through synonymous and antithetical parallelism. There's narrative, history, epistles (apostles write epistles), and prophetic or apocalyptic literature. Each requires a basic understanding of how to approach it. You read Shakespeare differently than a newspaper, a novel, or a letter—and so it is with the Bible.

A good study Bible helps you identify what kind of language you're reading. Commentaries are where people more learned about the languages and history write on what a passage likely meant in its original setting, helping us with Jewish idioms that mean nothing to us but meant something to the original readers.

People in churches like ours often say, "We take the Bible literally." Yes—until we come to a figurative passage. When Jesus says, "I am the door," we don't look for a handle on him. When he says, "If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out," we don't see many one-eyed people here, though by that standard we should. We take that figuratively. When Scripture says God broods over his people like a hen over her chicks, it isn't describing feathers; it's describing how he tends and cares for his people. When it calls us sheep, it's saying something about who we are in relation to him. We must read the different kinds of language so we can grasp these things.

I have dedicated the last 23 years to studying this book, and I am not an expert. I have friends with far greater expertise, especially in the original languages, who blow my mind. But if you give your life to studying the Word of God, you will see your life transformed and used as a light to others. Will you understand everything the first time, or even fifteen years from now? No. But your life will be transformed, and you will be a bright shining light for Christ.

Question: Personal Revelation and Where to Begin

A questioner asked about personal revelation and how to receive it. Christ is the fullness of the revelation of God, so it is essential to start with the Gospels. If you've never read straight through Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, take however long it takes—a day or six weeks—and read through them to get to know Christ.

As you do, pray as David prayed in the Psalms: "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things from Your word." Ask God to reveal what it means and how he wants to speak to you. I believe he will, because he has given us his Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and teach us all things. Not everything will make perfect sense at first, but God can direct you through your reading—and he will also direct you into relationships within the church, which will be part of our practicum.

I recognize many people are not strong readers; most people throughout history and today are not highly literate, and a majority of college graduates never read another book. So I created tools. Write these down: thelisteningplan.com—subscribe by email or podcast and listen to one New Testament chapter each weekday. There are as many chapters in the New Testament as weekdays in a year, so in one year, about five minutes a day, you'll hear the entire New Testament. For the Old Testament, go to the daily OT—it takes three years because there are three times as many chapters.

If you tried the read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan and stopped at Leviticus—the speed bump of the Bible—then beat yourself up for falling behind, just listen to one chapter a day. Here's what I've discovered: if you commit to that, you will begin to read more than that. I've seen it happen time and again.

Question: Language, Heaven, and AI

Scott shared reflections on language—from Adam and Eve to the Tower of Babel to Pentecost—and wondered what language we'll speak in heaven. At Pentecost in Acts 2, the disciples spoke in various tongues, and the people said, "We hear them speaking the wonderful works of God in our own languages." Whatever language was spoken, there was a gift of hearing. The Bible doesn't say what language we'll speak in heaven, but 1 Corinthians 13 says we shall know even as we are known—we'll be given understanding of all things in his presence. Revelation 5 and 7 describe people from every tribe and tongue and nation singing God's praises around the throne, which seems to imply language and culture are retained, because they show the glory of God somehow.

Noah, "a bit of a nerd," asked about AI language models trained on the Bible. AI models are fed billions of data points and can compute so fast they reach conclusions we couldn't in a million lifetimes. There are people working on feeding all the written commentary about the Bible into such systems, so you could type a question and get back an answer drawn from Charles Spurgeon or others.

In a few weeks I'll show you a Bible study tool called Logos, which I use regularly. It's powerful but, like opening Photoshop with no photography experience, can be overwhelming—and it's cost-prohibitive; I have six to ten thousand dollars invested in mine. So I'll also show you the free tools, especially Blue Letter Bible, where I serve as a board member. By the end of this class you'll know the basics, because it's a very helpful tool for any student of the Scriptures. We live in a strange time; the prophet Daniel prophesied that in the last days knowledge would increase, and we're certainly seeing that.

Your Homework and Closing

Your homework this week is simple: read the one-page article I've left up front. I have about 25 copies of our textbook here—if you came with your spouse, take one until they're gone; we'll have a copy for everyone within a week or so. Work through this book, and if you have questions, I'll stick around afterward as long as you'd like.

Closing Prayer

Father God, I pray that You would open our eyes to behold wonders from Your word, and that You would give us a desire we may never have had before this day—a desire for Your word, that as newborn babes we would desire the sincere milk of the word, that we would grow thereby. God, stir our hearts to want to know who You are and to want to read the Scriptures. Sometimes the desire wanes because we are confused, or we don't know where to start or how to do it. So I pray that this class would open our eyes to the methodology and the approach, so that we might know You and share that knowledge with others. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

God bless you. I hope you'll come back next week, when we'll talk about devotional Bible study and very practical things about how to do what we've covered today.