Reading the Bible is in some ways very simple, in other ways quite complicated, and in all ways spiritual. Let’s look at its simplicity, its complications, and its spirituality.
Reading the Bible Is Simple.
The famous statement often attributed to Augustine about John’s Gospel is also true with regard to the Bible as a whole: shallow enough for a child to swim in, and deep enough for an elephant to drown in. If we come to the Bible with an honest mind, a believing heart, and following some basic principles, we will be able to understand what it is saying. That is not to say that everything in the Bible is easy to understand. We’ll get to the complexities in the moment. But it is to say that the basic message of the Bible is understandable to all.
Pray before reading the Bible.
Ask God to illuminate your mind so that you might understand what it is that he is saying.
Come with an expectant heart.
This is not a mere intellectual exercise. You are coming to hear from the living God himself, to be addressed by the Lord of the universe. Nothing could be more exciting than hearing God speak.
Start with one of the more accessible and shorter books of the Bible.
Perhaps pick a gospel, like Mark. Or pick one of Paul’s more practical letters, like Philippians.
Read a manageable section of the book.
In most modern translations, the natural reading units of each of the Bible are divided out with subheadings (these subheadings are not inspired!)
3 Questions to Ask When Reading the Bible:
1. What does this passage say?
You are seeking simply to understand the sentences and words of the passage you are reading. Sometimes it’s helpful to put it into your own words. You can write down what you think it is saying on a notepad if you like.
2. What did this passage mean?
You are now seeking to understand what the passage meant to the original audience. What did Paul mean to say to the Philippians? Obviously, there are many nuances and historical complexities that can be introduced at this point. But nonetheless, we can often quickly get a fairly good grasp of what was meant to be understood by the original audience.
3. What, then, does this passage mean for you today?
Now you are seeking to understand how this passage applies to your own life. Note, though, it is important that you ask the two preceding questions before you come to this one. You do not want to jump straight to the application, or you will most likely make a mistake in terms of what the passage means. Is there something to remember? Something to believe? Something to repent of? Something to hope in? What does this passage teach you about God? About the church? About the gospel? About prayer? You get the idea.
Now turn what you have heard from God through his word into prayer back to God. Lord help me believe what you have just called me to believe, help me to repent of what you have just told me to repent of, help me to hope in what you have just told me to hope in. This way, you are asking God for the power to do what God has told you to, and by His Spirit, you depend on him to apply in practice what it is that he has said to you.
Reading the Bible Is Complicated
There is a reason why God has given to his church teachers (Ephesians 4:11). There are times when we need help to understand what the Bible is saying. And there are parts of the Bible which are especially hard to grasp, particularly (according to Peter!) some of Paul’s writings where “there are some things that are hard to understand” (2 Peter 3:16).
Attend a Bible teaching church.
The best way to learn how to read the Bible, is to listen to someone else who knows how to interpret the Bible. You will pick up from your preacher the right approach to reading and understanding the Scriptures. Habits will be learnt, bad approaches avoided, and a general instinct for a right approach to the Bible inculcated.
Try a read-the-Bible-in-a-year reading plan.
This way you will begin to get a wider panorama for the big story of the Bible, so that the particular part you will read will fit more naturally into the whole in your mind, and is less likely to be misinterpreted. There are many such tools. I have written an expository devotional on every passage of the Bible here: https://godcenteredlife.org/devotionals/. Subscribe and you will get a daily reading and a devotional to go with it, right into your email inbox.
Get a good, helpful guide to basic interpretative tools.
Try a classic book like How To Read the Bible For All Its Worth by Fee and Stuart. Such a book will introduce you to the various tools that you might find helpful to interpret the Bible.
Purchase a good one-volume Bible commentary.
There are various of these on the market. Moody Bible Publishing has a good version. There’s also the IVP Bible dictionary. And, still in some ways, the best, free, and online is Matthew Henry’s Bible commentary. Don’t start with a commentary. Start with the Bible. But if you get stuck, you can turn to a commentary to help you.
If you are able, get a good Bible dictionary.
That way you can look up words and wider theological themes that will help you interpret the Bible. Again, there are several of these, but IVP has a well-regarded one-volume Bible dictionary.
Remember the key rule: Scripture interprets Scripture.
If you are unclear what the Bible is saying about something in one place, look at what it says about it elsewhere. And the Bible will never teach a doctrine that it elsewhere denies. Let Scripture interpret Scripture, for God is his own interpreter.
Reading the Bible is Spiritual.
This should be obvious – as it is God’s inspired Word – and indeed we have already indicated the necessary spirituality of reading the Bible when we talked about praying before reading the Bible. But it is right to conclude with this foundational truth.
-Ask God by His Spirit to illuminate your mind as you read.
-Repent of any known sin.
-Put to one side what you want God to talk to you about, and ask him to speak to you about what he wants to tell you. “Speak Lord for your servant hears” (1 Samuel 3:10).
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Priscilla Du Preez
