How to Study the Bible - Introduction

What is the Bible?

     Our word "Bible" from the Greek word biblion, referring to a roll of byblus or papyrus, the expensive paper-like material upon which words were written.  In one sense, the Bible represents a lot of diversity.  It contains a total of sixty-six (66) different documents, written over a period of 1500 years, by at least forty (40) different authors.  There are a number of different types of literature (genres) used in the Bible, including law, history, genealogies, poetry, wisdom, prophecy, riddles, drama, biographical sketches, parables, letters, sermons, apocalypse, etc. and each of these need to be recognized and read accordingly. The books collected in the Bible claim to be inspired writings that arose in connection with God’s work to redeem mankind through a promised Savior, fulfilled within the context of two successive covenant eras.

     The “Old Testament” - Comprised of thirty-nine (39) documents, associated with the patriarchal age (creation to Moses) and the Mosaic Age (From Moses to Jesus).  These books were written between 1446-400 B.C., primarily in the Hebrew language with a few portions in Aramaic.  (1) The Pentateuch - Moses’ “pre-history” background that summarizes the major events in God’s dealings with humanity from Creation to the nation of Israel’s settling in Egypt (Genesis).  Exodus through Deuteronomy contains the Law and historical material for Israel’s exodus from Egypt, covenant with God made at Sinai, and travels to the border of Canaan (1446-1405 B.C.).  (2) OT History - Joshua recounts the conquest of Canaan (1405-1397 B.C.), while Judges records the 300+ period between the death of Joshua’s generation and the beginning of the Israelite monarchy (ca. 1360-1051 B.C.).  First Samuel through Esther traces Israel’s national history from the beginning of the monarchy until the later 5th century B.C.  (3) OT Poetry/Wisdom - Job thru Song of Solomon contain Israel’s “wisdom/poetry” writings.  (4) OT Prophets - these writings tell us about God’s warnings to Israel and their neighbors about God’s stubborn love and maintaining the covenant relationship, warning persistent rebels that the covenant does contain curses.

     The “New Testament” - contains twenty-seven (27) documents associated with the first coming of Jesus and the New Covenant that He established.  These writings were produced between 45-95 A.D. in Koine (or “common”) Greek.  The four major units of “New Testament” writings: (1) Gospels - these four writings tell us about the earthly life and ministry of Jesus the Promised Messiah, (2) History - the book of Acts gives us a history of the beginning and spread of the first generation New Testament Church, and (3) NT Letters - specific information (further instruction, dealing with troubles, etc.) written to various churches around the Mediterranean Sea from the apostles and their close associates.  (4) Apocalyptic literature employed graphic symbols to portray real people/events and to describe things of cosmic proportions (Revelation).

How We Got the Bible/The Potential for Confusion

     While the inspiration and general application of the Bible to each generation of mankind makes the Bible a meaningful book for all, there are some things which provide an opportunity for confusion.  The first of these is our temporal and cultural distance from the original recipients of God's Word.  God’s revelation passed through a number of steps to get to English-speaking people in the 21st century.  We need to understand each of these steps, because each offers its own opportunity for the message to become garbled.

            (1) Revelation - this is the original revelation from God to the human receiver.  Human receivers of revelation were aware of what was being said to them.

            (2) Writing - the original revelation was written and copied in the original language of its receivers.  We all rely on the accuracy of the original writer who recorded what was revealed.

            (3) Canonization - the original language texts were collected and distinguished from un-inspired writings by several means and tests.

            (4) Transmission - these original texts needed to be copied/transmitted/preserved over time.

            (5) Translation - rendering the original language texts into the living languages of different peoples, with new translations needed occasionally to keep up with changes in living languages.

            (6) Interpretation - once people have a Bible in a language they can understand, they need to be able to make sense of what is communicated there, so that the main message, continuing lessons, truths, and principles can be applied to the modern reader’s life.

What is the Bible Really all About?

     Central Theme - Probably the major key to understanding the Bible is recognition that there is a crucial central theme running from Genesis to Revelation.  In response to the initial human rebellion in Eden, we find the presentation of one plan of salvation involving the coming of a Messianic champion to encounter our spiritual enemy - the Serpent.  Thus, in Genesis 3:14,15, God tells the Serpent that the "seed of woman" (an individual person - "he") is coming to deal him a fatal wound,^[1] although the promised seed will himself be wounded in the encounter.  Jesus’ crucifixion was the “wounded heal,” but when people believe that Jesus is the Promised One and understand the meaning of His death and resurrection, then this event turns out to be a fatal blow that binds and destroys the serpent’s power over an individual.^[2]

     Thus, the Bible is a story about "Someone" very special who God promised to bring into the world to deal with our "sin" problem and separation from God.  The Old Testament is telling us that "Someone is Coming" to deal with our separation from God and, to this end, we are provided with a genealogical “roadmap,” to point us to the lineage of this “coming one” - he would come through the first woman, Eve (Genesis 3:15,20) and then through a specified genealogical line,

            Seth and his line to Noah (Genesis 4:25,26 & 5)

            through Noah's son, Shem (Genesis 5:32; 9:26; 11:10-26)

            through Shem's descendant, Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3)

            through Abraham's son, Isaac (Genesis 26:1-4)

            through Isaac's son, Jacob (Genesis 28: 10-14)

            through Jacob's son, Judah (Genesis 49:10), and finally,

            through Judah's descendant, David (2 Samuel 7:12-16).

The genealogies in Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-37 summarize the two converging genealogical lines from different sons of David to the earthly parents of the promised Savior, Jesus.  Along with the genealogical evidence, the prophet Daniel identified the time of the Messiah's appearance to Israel (ca. 26-30 A.D.) and that His visit would be followed by a destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple (Dan. 9:24-27).  Micah foretold that He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).  Many other things were foretold centuries before His appearance and found amazing fulfillment in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.  The Gospels tell us “the Someone is Jesus” (John 1:45) and the rest of the New Testament tells us that “Jesus is coming again” and what we need to know to (1) become Christians and embracing His pardon/eternal life, (2) find a better way of life now, and (3) live with hope in view of the judgment to come.

            Covenant Units - Once you grasp the central theme (bringing this special Someone into the world), the next key element is to recognize that this central theme unfolded through the course of several clearly-defined “covenant” units that break up this larger story into phases.  Paul lays this out in Galatians 3 (the promise to Abraham is fulfilled in Christ, the Mosaic Law was a temporary add-on to oversee Israel until Messiah arrived), but for our purposes we only need to recognize a couple of crucial items.

            Most of the steps in the Messianic lineage are recorded in Genesis, but to Abraham God laid out the long-range, two-phase program in Genesis 12:1-3.

Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. "  (Genesis 12:1-3)

God promised personal blessings to Abraham, said that his descendants would become a nation in the “promised land” of Canaan that God was leading him to, and, finally, a blessing would come through Abraham’s Messianic for all of the earth’s families.  Thus, in germ form, I believe that God was laying out a two-stage plan for His work in world history: (1) Abraham’s descendants would be a nation in Canaan under the Mosaic Law and Covenant, followed by (20 and international age in which Messianic blessing would be offered to all nations (the New Covenant).  Jesus came the first time to provide atonement for sin and establish the New Covenant, with its international focus (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47; Acts 17:30-31).  The Mosaic/Sinaitic Covenant has ended and been replaced by the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:6-13).  This is the last era for this planet (1Corinthians 10:11; Hebrews 9:26; 1:peter 1:20), with eternal salvation offered to all who will swear allegiance to Jesus and this age will close with Christ’s return, final judgment, and mankind separated to eternal fates on the basis of their deeds.  It is important to know what covenant is in effect, because each covenant identifies and involves different parties, terms, promises/curses, and oathswearing elements.  God is a covenant-keeper (Deuteronomy 7:9) and His blessings are found in faithfully keeping the covenant currently in force.

The Need for Good Bible Study Skills

     The Apostle Paul told Timothy to be a diligent student of the Word (2Timothy 2:15), because a teacher’s instruction affects their own salvation and also the salvation of those who listen to them (1Timothy 4:16).

            One of the embarrassments for Christianity is the diverse number of “interpretations” that have resulted from individuals handling the Bible differently: many different schemes for salvation, Appalachian "snake handlers/poison drinkers" (Mark 16:18), Mormon "baptism for the dead" (1Corinthians 15:29), and divergent views on many issues.

            There is a good deal of Biblical illiteracy amongst believers as well as outsiders.  Many don’t even know the basics (the Books of the Bible, the 10 Commandments, Noah’s wife was not “Joan of Ark,” and the “epistles” are not the wives of the apostles, etc.?).  Many unbelievers are "turned off" by the diversity of beliefs and the lack of agreement on "what the Bible says."

            Foundations and Concerns - The early church had doctrinal unity/harmony because they recognized only one source of teaching - that of Christ’s Apostles.[3]  The Apostles identified the source(s) of doctrine problems already appearing in their time[4] and later, post-apostolic doctrinal problems.[5]  They also identified the root cause of many interpretation errors - untaught and unstable people without sound principles to operate by (2Peter 3:14-18).

Beyond the "Big Picture"

     Understanding the “big picture” of the Bible helps, but you still need to know how to read, compare, and make sense of all of the particular information present in the Bible.

     A. How do I make sense of things that don’t immediately “make sense” when I read them?

          1. Is there some fine difference between the two lines of a Proverb? (Pro. 12:28; 16:28)

          2. Are there contradictions in Biblical teaching?

               - don’t let aged parents get in the way of spiritual duty (Matthew 8:21-22) or take care of

                    them? (1Timothy 5:4,8)?

          - should you answer a fool or not? (Proverbs 26:4-5)

          - who killed Goliath - David (1Sam. 17:50) or Elkanah (2Samuel 21:19)

          - Are people saved by “grace” (Ephesians 2:5), “faith/belief” (Acts 16:30,31), “baptism”

               (1Peter 3:21); “words/preached message” (Acts 11:14; 1Corinthians 1:21), or by everyone

               staying on a ship (Acts 27:31)?

          - In this age, is physical circumcision ok (Acts 16:1-3) or not (Galatians 5:1-4)?

     B. Do I need some crucial background information?  What was the big deal over “mandrakes” (Genesis 30:14,15) and the “household idols” (Genesis 31:19,35)?  How is one “born again” (John 3:3,5)?

     C. Are there any helpful things I should know that would make it easier to understand the various types of Biblical literature? OT Law? OT History? OT poetry/Wisdom? OT Prophecy? Gospels? Acts? NT Letters? Revelation?

     D. Are there some sound procedures for understanding books, paragraphs, sentences, key terms?  How do you do “word studies” and “topical” studies?

     E. Is there some tool that will help me find a verse when I don’t know the book, chapter, & verse?  Is there a tool that will help me find everywhere that a particular word or phrase appears in the Bible?  What does the Bible really teach about “antichrist”?  or salvation by “faith alone”?  Was Jehoshaphat mentioned in the Bible and was he really known for his “jumping” ability?

Next Week: Bible Study Training Camp begins!

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Prepared by: Charles E. McCoy - 1/10/2006

Email Chuck at: chuck@severnchristian.org