You’ve heard the saying, “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.” It turns out this saying can also apply to learning how to study the Bible.
I’m grateful to have so many resources at our disposal… Bible studies, books, devotionals… but there is NOTHING like sitting down with a hot beverage and God’s word and receiving nourishment from Him for yourself. Okay, the beverage is optional :)
Someone else’s study may feed you for a day but when you know how to study the Bible yourself, you can feed yourself anytime, day or night, anywhere, for the rest of your life! You are always ready to refresh someone else with a word, in season and out, because you’ve allowed His word to dwell in you first… and not the dip and skip sort of way but in a rich manner.
Below are some best methods, techniques, tips which can help yo to better study and understand the Bible:
1. Choose a book of the Bible.
Learn the context, author, and audience of this book. This way, all of the verses you study using this method will be read within that framework.
I recommend starting with one of the Gospels or an Epistle (because, let’s be honest, if you’re using this method it’s probably not the season to dive into Numbers or Leviticus).
2. Pick a Person
There are 2,930 people mentioned in the Bible, and we can learn valuable lessons from studying their lives. Pick someone you would like to study, and using a concordance, a topical Bible or a proper-name index found in the back of some Bibles, look up every mention of that person.
Here are some questions to ask:
What were his or her outstanding character traits?
Was there a great crisis in his life? If so, how did he face it?
What was her experience with God?
Were any particular faults evident in his life?
Notice her prayer life, faith, service to God, knowledge of God's Word, courage in witnessing, and attitude toward the worship of God. What motivated these traits?
One of my favorite people of the Bible is Lydia. She caught my attention in Acts 16 because she sold purple cloth (purple is my favorite color).
But as I looked deeper, I was inspired by her faith and hospitality.
3: Observation
Observation is the first and most important step in how to study the Bible. As you read the Bible text, you need to look carefully at what is said, and how it is said. Look for:
● Terms, not words. Words can have many meanings, but terms are words used in a specific way in a specific context. (For instance, the word trunk could apply to a tree, a car, or a storage box. However, when you read, “That tree has a very large trunk,” you know exactly what the word means, which makes it a term.)
● Structure. If you look at your Bible, you will see that the text has units called paragraphs (indented or marked ¶). A paragraph is a complete unit of thought. You can discover the content of the author’s message by noting and understanding each paragraph unit.
● Emphasis. The amount of space or the number of chapters or verses devoted to a specific topic will reveal the importance of that topic (for example, note the emphasis of Romans 9 and Psalms 119).
● Repetition. This is another way an author demonstrates that something is important. One reading of 1 Corinthians 13, where the author uses the word “love” nine times in only 13 verses, communicates to us that love is the focal point of these 13 verses.
● Relationships between ideas. Pay close attention, for example, to certain relationships that appear in the text:
—Cause-and-effect: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things” (Matthew 25:21).
4. Understand the Big Picture
Whatever methods you choose, always ask God to reveal Himself and speak to you through His Word. What does the passage you read teach you about God, and how can you apply it to your life?
Although the Bible was written by more than 40 authors and contains 66 books including poetry, history, letters and prophecy -- it all ultimately tells us God's story. So one way to study the Bible is to approach it with the intention of understanding the big picture.
In his book Quiet Talks on Prayer, S.D. Gordon explains that we should "begin at the first of Genesis, and read rapidly through by the page. Do not try to understand it all. You will not. Never mind that now. Just push on. Do not stop at the close of Genesis. Push on into Exodus. And so on into Leviticus. Now do not try to understand Leviticus the first time. You will not the 100th time perhaps. Get the drift of the book. And in it all be getting the picture of God."
One Bible paraphrase called The Message, developed by Eugene Peterson, is specifically designed to be read rather than studied. Put in common English, some editions of The Message leave out verse distinctions entirely.
When we read the Bible as a whole, we can see the bigger picture of God's redeeming plan.
5. Chapter Analysis
Last spring when we worked our way through the Women of the Word book club, my eyes were opened to this method of studying the Bible.
When we read with discerning eyes and ears, we truly understand that the Bible is a book about God and His glory, not about us.
Sure it speaks to us and is an example of how to live our lives for His glory, but ultimately the Bible reveals His plans, His glory, His promises and the work He has done and is continuing to do.
It’s not always easy reading it and sometimes the Bible feels offensive, especially in this day and age, but when we read the Bible through the eyes of God, we see the big picture of Him working through the ages.
6: Interpretation
Interpretation is discovering the meaning of a passage, the author’s main thought or idea. Answering the questions that arise during observation will help you in the process of interpretation. Five clues (called “the five C’s”) can help you determine the author’s main point(s):
● Context. You can answer 75 percent of your questions about a passage when you read the text. Reading the text involves looking at the near context (the verse immediately before and after) as well as the far context (the paragraph or the chapter that precedes and/or follows the passage you’re studying).
● Cross-references. Let Scripture interpret Scripture. That is, let other passages in the Bible shed light on the passage you are looking at. At the same time, be careful not to assume that the same word or phrase in two different passages means the same thing.
● Culture. The Bible was written long ago, so when we interpret it, we need to understand it from the writers’ cultural context.
● Conclusion. Having answered your questions for understanding by means of context, cross-reference, and culture, you can make a preliminary statement of the passage’s meaning. Remember that if your passage consists of more than one paragraph, the author may be presenting more than one thought or idea.