How to Study the Bible, 5 Keys to Learning
This article was inspired by a book by E. W. Bullinger called
How to Enjoy the Bible, it was written in the early 1900's and
has inspired me to devote a lifetime of research to the Word of
God, I hope this will inspire you too.
There are a few basic elements we must state before we get
in-depth on how to study God's wonderful Word. First we must
know that there is only one requirement that is written in the
Word pertaining to studying the Word. We must rightly divide it.
II Tim. 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth.
It matters little what people have thought or said the Bible
says. There have been volumes that have listed the names and
views of what people have said the Bible says and we would learn
very little if we were to study it all we would only become
confused. We need only to stay in the Word and leave not the
pages of the Bible to understand the great truth that God has
revealed.
Secondly we must know the object of the Word of God and that is
to reveal the Father and the Son. Third we must know what the
subject of the Bible is; Jesus Christ the promised seed of
Genesis 3:15
Gen. 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and
between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and
thou shalt bruise his heel.
The Bible must therefore be seen and arranged with reference to
Christ. The words, commandments and purposes of God are all
centered in Christ. The thread from Gen 3:15 through Revelation
is Christ and we must keep this first in our minds to truly know
God's Word.
The literary form of the Bible: "THE WORD OF GOD" as a whole
comes to us in two separate parts: one written, originally, in
Hebrew; the other in Greek. Only in the Versions are these two
combined, and bound together in one Book. This division, of
course, is not human, though the names by which they are
commonly known are. Up to the second century the term "Old
Covenant" was used by the Greeks to describe the Hebrew Bible.
This passed into the Latin Vulgate as "Vetus Testamentum," from
which our English term "Old Testament" was derived. The name New
Testament is a one off of that.
Fourth we must adhere to whom the scripture is written. This is
the subject matter of the Bible. We have said that Jesus Christ
is the subject of the Bible but the subject matter of the Bible
is the people to whom the scripture is written. For example,
there are the Jew, the Gentile and the Church of God.
Fifth we must know what God is saying in reference to the
subject, subject matter and the times that the scripture is
referring to. These are sometimes called dispensations in the
Bible. The Greek word for Dispensation is oikonomia and refers
to the act of administering by the Figure Metonymy, the act of
administering is transferred to the time during which that
administering is carried on.
The present dispensation called Grace; is not in Law, Judgment,
or Glory. It belongs to the time which is called "the
Administration of the Mystery" that Secret (as the word Mystery
means in the Greek) "which in other ages was not made known to
the sons of men" (Eph 3:5). It was "hid in God from the
beginning of the world" (Eph 3:9). It "was kept secret since the
world began" (Rom 16:25). But Paul was made the special
administrator of all the truth connected with it. It was
committed to him by God: and the Word of God could not be "fully
preached" without it (Col 1:25, margin). The Word of truth can
be preached today, but it cannot be "fully preached" without the
truth connected with this Mystery.
We have seen five principles which are required for Biblical
study to "rightly divide" the Word of God. One, the requirement,
we must rightly divide the Word. Two, we must know the object of
the Word; to reveal God and His will to us who believe. Three,
we must know what the subject of the Bible is; Jesus Christ.
Four, we must adhere to the subject matter of the Bible; to whom
it is written. Five, we must know what is written in reference
to one through four which is time. When were the scriptures
written and what times are the scriptures referring to?
When we apply these five basic steps to studying the Bible, the
eyes of our understanding will be enlightened that we may know
what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints is
to us.