Always read your Bible as a beginner to become a sage in its wisdom

There’s something unique about scripture in comparison with other written texts.

The Bible might seem like any old book to the uninitiated and unregenerate, but there is a living power breathed in and through the words. It is a transcendent power, meaning the phenomenon cannot be explained in human terms. But what cannot be explained can definitely be experienced in and through the Holy Spirit.

Rightly said, each word needs to be read in the context of the verse, each verse is to be read in the context of each section, each section is to be read in the context of each chapter, each chapter is to be read in the context of each book, and each book is to be read in the context of the entire Bible.

In this article I want to describe a way of studying the Bible that derives themes, concepts and ideas from the text of one chapter of one book.

The practices I will demonstrate are some of the normal and everyday practices of pastors as they exegete the text in preparing for their messages, but the same practices are worthwhile for our study of these ancient texts.

I have picked the chapter of 1 Peter 1 having been re-introduced to it by a friend recently.

You might think that in being a minister I would know my Bible backwards, and to an extent this is true.  I feel I have much of the text locked deep in my mind and heart.  But to another extent we need to be so committed to our Bible reading that we approach our devotional times as if the text is brand-new to us each time. And to be honest, when I was recently asked by a friend to describe this book, I found that the Holy Spirit gave me no words, and that made me sad enough to face the truth.  I hadn’t spent much time in this book of recent.

We do need to approach our Bible reading as if we are meeting the text that we read for the very first time.  This can take some mental gymnastics.  We need to prepare ourselves to read it in a way that we have no preconceptions of how it will speak to us.  We must do this if we’re to receive anything from God.  We must read each word, phrase, sentence and paragraph as if we’re novices.  When we read the Bible as if we were novices, new truths are apparent all the time.

1 PETER 1

Let’s take our chapter and begin our exegetical interrogation.

You may note in the image that I’ve included above that there are five sections on the first chapter and one section on the second.  If we are focusing on one chapter, it doesn’t hurt to read ahead to the beginning of the next one, nor does it hurt at all to read back a chapter, remembering that whatever we read always has a context, and reading as a beginner is about reimagining what that context is or reacquainting with it.

As I read this section of Scripture, I just read it aloud (a few times differently) to hear the sound of the words and to let my mind and heart fix themselves on those words and phrases — and their meaning — that piqued my spiritual interest most.  These are the words and phrases that the Spirit is bringing alive to us.  What the Spirit brings alive to you and I will be different, and even each reading will be different from one season to the next.

For me, the topics of perishable and imperishable stood out.  As did the topic of purity in terms of holiness, which in and of itself is an example of something we can get quite wrong if we become legalistic about it.

Actually, this highlights something we need to be very well aware of in our Bible reading; that we don’t strip the power out of our reading of it.  As soon as we start to read and interpret what the Bible is saying through worldly eyes, it loses its power and it can even become abusive.  (In terms of purity, there is such thing as evangelical ‘purity culture’ that has done great harm to both men and women in the faith.)

Notice that in at least three of the sections of Scripture, perishable is juxtaposed with imperishable, as the author of 1 Peter considers the priceless worth of salvation. Our faith is an inheritance that will never dim and will take us all the way over the cusp of the physical death into eternity.

Note the connections between silver and gold (the perishable) and faith (the imperishable), because there are at least three sections that blend these two concepts together, and I’m not even going to go any deeper than that.

The connection between the imperishable, for which we can greatly rejoice, and the suffering we endure “for a little while” is poignant.  Nothing can defeat us when we have hope of eternal salvation, which is a faith proved genuine by praise (or allegiance/worship) of God whatever we suffer in this life.  To not give up on God even amid suffering is what glorifies God most of all.

To go deeper than this is beyond the purpose of this little article.

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What I have shown here is NOT the deepest level of study of the Bible by any means.  There are at least two further levels deeper in mining the intricacies of biblical wisdom.  But it’s a start, and this level of study I’ve alluded to is sufficient for growth in biblical wisdom.  Indeed, simply meditating on the ethical dimensions means not being too forensic in our approach.

Again, I wrote this article with my mother in mind, as she continues to read her Bible.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash