UNLOCKING THE RICHES OF THE SCRIPTURES

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INTRODUCTION

The Bible is the written word of God. The Bible is not a discussion of ideas and theories. It is an expounded authoritative declaration of the truth (facts) and is awesome and non-negotiable. It reveals the nature of God. Above all, it reveals God’s merciful plans of redemption to us. It is the only book that shows how man can be saved. It was written by God through the hands of mortal men by inspiration (2 Tim. 3:16). It reveals the original destiny of all things. Man should read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to behave so as to please God. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully, meditatively, searchingly, and devotionally; and study it constantly, perseveringly, until it becomes a part of your being, generating faith that will move mountains. 

 

PRINCIPLES OF UNLOCKING THE TRUTH IN THE SCRIPTURE

These principles include observation, interpretation, and application.

OBSERVATION

This is a step where you ask and answer the question, what do I see? In other words here you are to ask what are the facts in the passage you read.

 

In observation, you need to observe the following;

  1. Terms: This is the keyword that makes up the message of the author. It’s a term that unlocks the meaning of a given passage of a book.
  2. Structure: this has to do with the grammatical structure of the passage which includes the subject, the object, and the verb. The more you are able to see/know these the more it becomes easy to interpret the passage. 

3. Literal form: you need to understand the presentation of every book you are reading a passage from. Is it history such as Genesis, Joshua, 1&2 Samuels, Ezra, etc?, Is it poetry such as Job, psalm, etc.? Is it prophecy, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc? Is it a biography such as Matthew, John, etc? Is it epistles (letters) such as Romans, James 1&2 Peter, 1-3 John, etc? So if you want to grasp that message, you must read each kind according to its rules.

 

4. Atmosphere: this is to pick up the settings and feelings in the bible passage. here you transport your senses into the passage if there is sunset, see it, if there is rain or cold feel it. If there is smell or odour smell it. Are you studying the letter to Ephesians, then join the Ephesians and listen to Paul as he goes down to his knees to pray (Eph. 3:14-21)?

Observation is more than just seeing. It requires a level of concentration and reflection. Observing things provides a much better chance of remembering them. Things to look for include;

  1. Things that are emphasized
  2. Things that are repeated
  3. Things that are related
  4. Things that are like and unlike
  5. Things that are true to life

The more time you spend in observation the less time you will need to spend in interpretation, and the more accurate will be your result and verse versal. 

 

INTERPRETATION

Here you ask and answer the question, what does it mean? This is where are to bombard the passage with the question of what the facts that I see mean.

To understand the meaning of what you read in a given passage of the scripture, you need to do the following:

  1. Ask questions:

You may ask the following questions

 

  1. What does this passage say about God’s character?
  2. What does this passage teach about Jesus Christ?
  3. What does this passage teach about the Holy Spirit? 
  4. What does this passage say about how I should live? 
  5. How does this passage direct my faith? 
  6. What command should I obey?
  7. What promise should I claim for my life?
  8. What truth should I take seriously?
  9. What is the purpose of the text?
  10. Is there any scripture that can help me understand this passage better?
  11. Look for answers
  12. Integrate your answers: this is to put your answers to a meaningful whole. In other words, it’s to restructure the meaning of a passage after you have taken it apart to inspect the details.

Five keys to interpretation

  1. Content: these are the provisions you found in the observation that will help you to interpret the text.
  2. Context:
  • Each word must be read in the context of the other words in the verse.
  • Each verse must be read in the context of the chapter.
  • Each chapter in the Bible must be read in the context of the whole book.
  • You can make the bible say almost anything you want it to. Anything that is taken out of its context becomes an oddity.

Kinds of context;

  • Literary context: the ultimate context of any book is the entire Bible. 
  • Historical context: that is when, and where of the event.
  • Cultural context: 
  • Geographical context
  • Theological context: that is, what did the author or his readers know about God.

3. Comparison: this is to compare scripture with scripture because the greatest interpreter of the scripture is the scripture itself.

4. Culture: the cultural and historical context is very important in interpreting the bible.

6. Consultation: this is the use of secondary resources to help shed more light on the text to help make more sense to you. These resources include; concordances, Bible dictionaries, bible handbooks, atlases, bible commentaries, etc.

 

APPLICATION

Here you ask and answer the question, how does it work? This is where studying the bible becomes relevant to your present-day life.

Note: Do you want to make an impact on your society? Then the scripture has to first make an impact on your life.

Observation and interpretation lead to this stage of application.

There are two areas to consider. These are;

  1. How does it work for me and
  2. How does it work for others

Steps to application

  1. Know: the text and yourself
  2. Relate: when you know the truth of the word of God, you must relate it to your experience which will affect your relationship in the following ways;
  • A new relationship with God
  • A new relationship with yourself
  • A new relationship with other people
  • A new relationship with the enemy

This is because, the word exposes your sin, the word gives you God’s promises, the word gives you God’s commands and the word gives you examples to follow 

3. Meditate: this is to commit the word to our memory by meditating on it day and night (Joshua 1:18)

4. Practice: this is the ultimate goal of bible study. 

Questions to ask for an application

  • Is there any example for me to follow or not to follow?
  • Is there any sin to avoid?
  • Is there any promise to claim?
  • Is there any prayer to repeat?
  • Is there any command to obey?
  • Is there a condition to meet?
  • Is there a verse to memorize?
  • Is there an error to mark?
  • Is there a challenge to face?

CONCLUSION

This book (the Bible) will separate you from sin and sin will separate you from this book (the Bib) therefore embrace the word of God and read it to help you live right with God (Psalm 119:9,11) and at last make heaven.

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