The Bible was written by about 40 men through around 1500 years but has divine authorship! It is above all other voices because God, the creator is its author. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Believers in Jesus are born again through God’s living and eternal word! Listen to 1 Peter 1:22-23: “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;“
In a world with many voices coming at us nonstop, there is the Scripture that is for and above what any man says. The Bible has predicted many world events accurately including the coming of Jesus to die for our sins (see Isaiah 53). If the Bible has been right through such a large amount of information already, then it is accurate in what it still predicts that is going to happen. For example it says that Jesus is returning from heaven after that the gospel is proclaimed in all the world! (See Mark 13:10) In the book of Daniel it predicted the coming of the Babylonian, Medes-Persian, Greek and Roman empires before they happened! God’s word, the truth, is what is needed for us to anchor our soul in this changing world! 2 Peter 3:17-18 says this: “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” We should even allow the scripture to speak louder than what we want to believe because of its authority! There are situations where what we want to believe is NOT what the Bible says. Some people WANT to believe that any attitude toward God is unimportant and would not bring on them eternal judgment but that is not true! In the beginning Satan deceived Eve by saying “Did God actually say…”. He then lied to her saying “You will not surely die.” Then Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command and the consequences came on the human race that God had said would happen. Listen to 2 Peter 3:16: “…There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.“
Since God is the author of scripture, He is the only one who can give understanding of His intended meaning! Listen to 2 Peter 1:19-21: “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Man didn’t author scripture – only God did! Just like phone calls on cell phones and internet signals through WIFI are encrypted with a unique code, so also God encrypted His message and only He has the key code to the encryption! As we listen with a total surrender to His sovereignty we will be given the encryption code!
The best understanding of what scripture means is when it explains itself. The New Testament quotes the Old Testament and explains what it means in many places. For example 2 Timothy 3:15 says that the summary of ALL scripture is what Jesus has done for us when it says this: “and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” The Apostle Paul was talking to his ministry partner in the letter just quoted summarizing the WHOLE Bible’s message! That message is that through faith in what Christ did for us we can be saved and have eternal peace and security! Listen for these kinds of explanations throughout all scripture.
John 1:1 says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” and immediately following John 1:14 says: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” In other words, Jesus is the embodiment of all that God has been saying to us from the beginning of creation! Hebrew 1:1-2 says this explicitly which goes like this: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” All that God has been trying to say to us has now been said through the work that Jesus did for us : through His death, burial, resurrection and ascension to the throne in heaven! So our attitude toward Jesus is everything! Remember that at the top above the scripture said that we have been born again by the eternal word of God. Listen to 1 Peter 1:22-23: “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincerely brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;” Later in that same passage it says that the word of God is the Gospel from which we have been born again! 1 Peter 1:25 says: “…And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” According to 1 Peter 1:22 just quoted, those who have believed on Jesus to be changed have purified themselves by obedience to the truth which is God’s Word and Jesus!
Listen to the words of scripture as you read taking note of the parts of speech the words are using. What are the action words (verbs) and what is the subject and then especially what are the commands of scripture? Acts 1:8 tells us the most important job that we now have. Listen to it here: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Believers in Jesus are mainly to be witnesses to Him throughout all the world! A witness gives testimony to what he knows. What do we know? We know what Jesus has done for us since we trusted Him! We testify that he is the Savior of the world! In Galatians 3:16, the author Paul, the apostle says that the promises that God made to Abraham and to his offspring was singular referring to Christ. If the promises through the singular grammar of the word God used referred to Christ, then we also must pay attention the grammar of the words of scripture! Jesus even said in Matthew 5:18 the following: “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” An iota refers to the smallest stroke of the pen like the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet called the yodh. His point is that all the letters of the God’s word mean something and will be fulfilled all the more reason to pay close attention!
There is a phrase that says “context is king”. Which means that to get the meaning we must listen to what is being said before and after a particular passage is read. Each passage is part of a whole and is meant to be taken into consideration with what is nearby. Many of the books of the Bible were meant to be read together and not separately. All of the New Testament letters were just that letters to be read as a whole! The first part was tied to the middle with the middle tied to the last and the last to the first. And since all scripture is inspired by God, then all of scripture must be considered when interpreting a certain passage. This is especially true when a passage is difficult to interpret. It must be remembered that the Bible cannot contradict itself since it has one author and one main message which is Jesus!
The first bible that had chapters and verses was in 1555 A.D. The Geneva Bible of 1560 was the first English bible with chapters and verses. These chapters and verses only serve to help us find a passage we are looking for. But we must remember that they do NOT divide the thought from the authors pen! If we do not watch out we can become like somebody studying a beautiful picture with a microscope! We need to look at the WHOLE to appreciate the beauty!
There are themes in the Bible. Jesus said that no sign would be given to the leaders of the Jews in his day who were wanting to see a sign … except the sign of Jonah the Prophet. Listen to Matthew 12:39-40: “But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Jonah foreshadowed the death and resurrection of Jesus through his stay in the belly of the whale and subsequent deliverance to the shore. Though not everyone was delivered in scripture — some died for their faith, those who did turn to the Lord had God’s smile on them! Romans 10:11 says: “For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.'” Paul here is quoting Ps. 25:3 but also is summarizing a big theme of scripture! Another similar theme is seen in John 7:37-38 which says: “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” This is a summary of all of the scripture that said that those who trusted the Lord would be full of joy and have peace. This river is explained to be the Holy Spirit that would flow from within the believer’s heart. (John 7:39).
This is the end goal of Bible study is that we might be transformed by the glory of the Lord! Listen to what 2 Cor. 3:18 says: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” We are predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus! That is what Romans 8:29 says. It is normal for a child to grow and so it also is normal for the believer in Jesus to grow. 1 Peter 2:2-3 says: “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” We should want to and long to grow by listening to the Lord through his Word. As a matter of fact what happened to God’s people in the past happened AND was written down for our benefit – that we might grow! Listen to Romans 15:4: “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” The main question is what is the Lord saying to me through a particular passage.
Get a Bible that you can understand that is faithful to the original text. The English Standard Version (ESV), New American Standard Version (NASB) and the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) are some examples but there are others. Give God time each day to spend with Him listening to Him through his word. It doesn’t have to be a long time. He can work with what you give Him. But remember that He can only work with what you give Him. While you are reading, ask the Lord to show you what He is saying to you. Be willing to agree with God. Confess any sin He brings to your mind that you have committed. Believe His word and trust Him through it to change your life!