Understanding the Scriptures is rather like building a house. First, there must be a foundation upon which everything else rests. The reader must have settled peace with God. Without settled peace, self, and not Christ, will be our focus.
Secondly, upon this foundation one establishes the frame — the outline of sound words of which Paul speaks and which Timothy had heard from him (2 Tim. 1:13). It is not to be held in the head; the heart must be engaged also. It is an outline that is held in faith and love in Christ Jesus — the living Person of whom the Word speaks. All must be held in communion with the Lord and that in the power of the Holy Spirit. This frame does not consist of isolated components, but rather, it fits together in perfect harmony. Sometimes the Word of God appears to us like a giant jigsaw puzzle; in God’s sight, however, all is perfectly clear. There cannot be the forcing of two pieces together; though it may look right, it will displace some other piece and distort the overall picture.
Thirdly, once the frame is in place, the cladding must follow — no less important — all held in its proper place (2 Tim. 2:15). I do not suggest that we ever plumb the depths of the Scriptures; but to say that it is impossible to understand them is to limit the power of the Holy Spirit. It is just the thing Satan would have us to believe. “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things” (John 14:26 JND).
Personal Reading
“Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1 Tim. 4:13). This verse speaks of the public reading of the Scriptures; this was done, in part, because books in those days were expensive and difficult to reproduce. Now that the Bible is easily obtained, and at a minimal cost, there is no excuse not to be found daily reading the Word of God.
“His delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night” (Psa. 1:2). It is important to meditate on the Word of God. “Let ... the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord” (Psa. 19:14). “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matt. 12:34). What we meditate upon in our hearts is evident in our talk! When we come across things in the Word of God that we do not understand, it is good to meditate upon them. The more familiar we are with the Scriptures, the better the opportunity for the Spirit of God to bring before us portions to help us in the understanding of these difficult passages. We should not, however, torture such passages to our own destruction (2 Pet. 3:16). God will explain His Word to us as we need it and as we mature, just as a father explains things to a child. Let’s not, however, merely study the Scriptures for knowledge. Our motivation to meditate upon the Scriptures is because it is the Word of God and it speaks of Christ — it is our daily food; our source of wisdom, comfort, guidance and strength.
We should not focus on how the Scriptures might apply to others; we need to let the Spirit of God apply it to ourselves! “The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). However, we should not always make the Scriptures revolve around me. We must discern what God is saying through His Word — the context, the subject, and the message of the portion must each be discerned. Once right principles are recognized, we will be able to see how they might apply to our circumstances. By putting me at the center of Scripture, Christendom has severely distorted the Word of God, thereby robbing vast portions of its true application.
Ministry
“The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2). “[Apollos] began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly” (Acts 18:26). Don’t think that you can study the Scriptures in isolation to avoid being tainted by the thoughts of men. While this may sound like a lofty goal — to rely solely on the Spirit of God — it is a dangerous path, especially when our wills are involved. God has chosen preaching as His means of spreading the Gospel, and He likewise has chosen men to teach the Word of God through the gift of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:11; Rom. 12:6-7). It may be through the spoken word, now readily available electronically, or through the written word, which is equally accessible.
William Miller (1782 – 1849) set out to determine the meaning of Scripture for himself. Unfortunately, when he got to Daniel 8:14, he misinterpreted each day as a year, thus setting the stage for the Advent movement of which Seventh-Day-Adventism is a modern derivative. He did not appear to recognize that day in Daniel 8:14 is not the usual Hebrew word at all (yom), but it is explicitly “evening morning”, that is to say, an actual physical day (Gen. 1:5).
It is true that John wrote in his epistle: “These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” (1 John 2:26-27). However, to use this verse against the instruction that Paul gives us, is to misunderstand John’s ministry. He is writing in a day when much confusion reigned, in particular, the Gnostic movement was getting its start. As we noted earlier, Gnostics prided themselves on secret knowledge. John writes in an abstract way to counter the false teaching of that day, giving the pure essence of the truth without reference to experience (which was increasingly being clouded by the evils of the time). Men were claiming fresh light and new revelations — they viewed the doctrines of Christianity like the philosophies of men, that they must be advanced. Such teaching is to be rejected. We have an anointing from the Holy One and know all things (1 John 2:20); there is nothing new to add.
“Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them” (2 Tim. 3:14). It is important that we know something about the authors we read. It serves no useful purpose — except to confuse — to read a wide range of authors from various persuasions thinking that we’ll be able to discern the truth. This is not to say that all ministry outside of the brethren writings are bad — but remarkably, you’ll trace much of that which is true back to the brethren writers. Lewis Sperry Chafer acknowledged Mackintosh, Darby, and others in his writings. The danger is, however, these church-men, though having learned the truth from various brethren authors, never shifted from their ecclesiastical position. Their take on the truths, especially concerning the church, was compromised so as not to condemn the positions they held. As one popular on-line encyclopedia states:53 The American church denominations rejected Darby’s ecclesiology but accepted his eschatology.
The Assembly Reading Meeting
“They continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). “She had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard His Word” (Luke 10:39). “When Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet ... weeping” (John 11:32-33). “Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment” (John 12:3). We see Mary at Jesus’ feet three times: listening to His word, weeping, and finally, worshiping. We may liken these to the reading meeting, the prayer meeting, and the breaking of bread. In the reading meeting, God speaks to us through His Word, and when the Holy Spirit is allowed His right and proper place, the true meaning of the Word is given; human opinions and reasoning carry no conviction. Reading meetings were a powerful means of spreading the Word in the early days of the Brethren. Andrew Miller writes: No other kind of meeting, it will be seen, so stimulates the Christian to study constantly his Bible; and this may account for the proverbial saying that, “Whatever may be the faults of the Brethren, they are at home with their Bibles.”54 Does the reading meeting stimulate you to study your Bible? Do you read the portion before attending the meeting ... meditate on it ... read a little ministry? Is it still true today, that we are at home with our Bibles? It is easy to mock the reading meeting, poking fun at the slow pace, finding fault with the older ones, but how do we contribute? The older teachers delight to hear questions that convey a spiritual exercise, and by such questions, they better understand what the lambs need to feed upon. However, we should not ask questions when we don’t care to hear the answers. Such fleshly behavior only serves to disturb the lambs and quench the Holy Spirit.
How to Study a Chapter
Read the chapter. To understand it, it will be necessary to know something about the purpose of the book, and often, what has preceded the chapter and perhaps what follows it. Chapter divisions are artificial, though they may align with paragraph and topic changes. Know who wrote the book (if possible), to whom the book was written, when it was written (historically, where it fits), and something about the conditions of the day in which it was written. Knowing that Habakkuk prophesied at the end of Judah’s history, just prior to the Chaldean invasion, establishes the background for that book.
Read the chapter carefully. Listen to what the writer is saying. Paul’s epistles are letters; they were written to assemblies to be read (aloud no doubt) and to be understood. Think of it as a letter to you. What are the key points made by the author? Break up the chapter broadly by subject. In chapter eleven of Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians, he clearly presents two subjects: head coverings (vss. 1-16) and the Lord’s Supper (vss. 17-34). Not all chapters present teaching in this fashion; in some we find history, in others exhortation. Meditate on Paul’s treatment of head coverings. What arguments does he present? Paul brings in God’s order in creation, the observation by angelic beings, and what nature itself teaches. Meditate on each of these things. In so doing, we quickly come to realize that this chapter has nothing whatsoever to do with the cultural customs of that day.
It is good to make written notes as we study — they may be detailed or a simple outline. One may choose to make these notes in the margin of his or her Bible — our ability to recall things is often quite limited!
Don’t be afraid to read ministry. It is good to make sure our thoughts are not out of line with those whose grasp of the Scriptures far exceed our own; not to mention, the moral authority they possessed as expressed through the lives they lived (Heb. 13:77Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. (Hebrews 13:7)). It is very easy to be puffed up by our own thoughts of Scripture. There are writers who are easily understood — Hamilton Smith, F. B. Hole (who wrote a commentary on every New Testament book), H. L. Rossier (various Old Testament books), Dennett, Mackintosh, and so forth. Do not assume that Darby is hard to read; the Synopsis is an invaluable resource and not especially difficult to follow. The frustration some have with Darby is not his content, but his style. Writers such as Dennett and Hamilton Smith often present Darby’s writings in a simpler form — that being said, it is still good to go to the source. William Kelly tends to be analytical — which can be helpful in understanding a portion, though he can be rather scholarly. If there is a difficulty in reading ministry, it lies with us. We want results instantly; we want to be able to read and digest things with little effort on our part.
It is important to study the Bible book by book. This does not mean that studying a subject is inherently wrong, but if we only ever study subjects, we will only explore those things that we are interested in. Imagine reading a book by focusing on just one character at a time, skipping portions unrelated to them — the overall story will be difficult to piece together. Reading the Bible through in a year is a notable objective, but while reading a book of the Bible through from beginning to end can be remarkably helpful, it is also important to go verse by verse, seeking to understand what is being conveyed.
Word studies can be interesting, but care needs to be taken. Just because a particular word in English occurs multiple times, this does not mean that the underlying Greek (or Hebrew) remains the same. On the other hand, a particular English word may not give all the occurrences of the corresponding Greek. Furthermore, just as in English, a Greek word may not always mean exactly the same thing. However, it is important to understand words — it is how God communicates. Take time to consider such words as: righteousness, justification, holiness, propitiation, and so forth.
Most importantly, reading the Word of God needs to be our daily habit. Every true revival among the people of God has resulted from letting the Word be a lamp to the feet, and a light to the path (Psa. 119:105105NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105)).