Taking in Scripture

Donald Whitney

trip to Africa to visit Christians

Noticed a lot of behaviors and habits that were inconsistent with biblical values - lying, cheating, stealing, etc.

no bibles to be found (not even among the pastors)

circulated sermons - so essentially, every 6 weeks or so, the pastor would preach the same sermon.

In response, Donald and his team worked diligently during that trip to get copies of God’s Word into the hands of the churches.

In response to this encounter, he concluded...

“No Spiritual Discipline is more important than the intake of God’s Word. Nothing can substitute for it. There is simply no healthy Christian life apart from a diet of the milk and meat of Scripture.” (p. 22)

In many ways we know this, or at least we should. And yet do we engage with Scripture in ways that impact our lives? Do we take in scripture? Do we value the importance and the treasure of God’s Word?

Today, as we reflect on Spiritual disciplines and how we can delight in the Trinity through various disciplines, we are going to begin by thinking about taking in Scripture.

Open your Bibles to Matthew 4. We are going to be looking at a lot of different passages today, but we are going to launch from this chapter.

After spending over a month in the wilderness fasting and praying, Matthew appropriately writes that Jesus was hungry. Jesus had an encounter with Satan where he was tempted. The very first test that Satan had for Jesus was around the issue of food. He said...

Matthew 4:3 ESV

And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

It’s as though Satan was trying to get Jesus to prove his divinity by addressing a basic need of his humanity - food.

In response, Jesus said…Matthew 4:4 “But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ””

As we look at this brief verse, I think we find three truths about God’s word and how it impacts our lives and one multi-faceted response or implication that we should make.

First, we find...

The inspiration -

In Scripture we see that it proceeds from the mouth of God. For Jesus, His Bible was the OT. He viewed that as words that came from God.

Paul affirms this point of view by stating...

2 Timothy 3:16–17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

There are some who want to state that the Bible is a bunch of man-made traditions, well meaning human authors who created a religion based on the interactions and encounters of one family and ultimately became a nation. But Scripture is so much more than that - it’s inspired or breathed out by God.

Peter, in his second letter noted...

2 Peter 1:19–21 “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

In God’s divine way, He prompted people by His Spirit to write things down. Some were things that were passed along through oral traditions initially. Some were things that provided an historical and spiritual view of Israelite history. Some were songs, sayings and sermons.

When we add in the New Testament, we have so much more. the unique perspectives of the gospel writers as they document the ministry years of Jesus. The history of the early church in Acts. Letters to churches that help to practically apply the salvation that Jesus secured for humanity.

So, as Jesus responded to this initial temptation, he saw the Word of God - the written word - as being from God - inspired.

Secondly, we can consider...

The nutrition -

Obviously, Jesus was physically hungry. I think all of us would be after 40 days of fasting. But Jesus seems to be implying that just as bread is good for the body, so too the Word of God is good for the soul.

You and I are more than physical beings. We need relational connections. In Genesis God even said that Gen. 2:18 “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone...”. We need connection with others. We are not alone in this life. As Christians, we get the pleasure and privilege of being able to walk through the joys and sorrows of life with each other.

There are dozens of times in the New Testament that describes how we are to act toward “one another.”

But in addition to being relational beings, we are spiritual beings. Last week, we read from 2 Peter 1:3-4 “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

Peter goes on to talk about the practical implications of living out our spiritual lives.

What happens in our lives spiritually, vertically impacts our lives relationally, horizontally. God’s word gives us nutrition for both.

We’ve seen a bit about the inspiration of Scripture and the nutrition. Thirdly, in God’s word we find...

The information -

There is really so much that we can learn from the Bible.

The origin of the universe - Genesis 1.

The reality of sin in the the world and where that came from (Genesis 3).

God’s redemptive work throughout Israel’s history.

Our need for salvation and God’s saving plan.

Both the Old and New Testaments reveal information about Jesus

John 5:39-40 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”

about us - who we are, our origin story and the ongoing process of sanctification that we experience.

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

When we hear, read, study, meditate on the word, we get glimpses into our own souls. We get to learn about the sinful desires that wage war against the divine nature that God is infusing into us through Salvation/Forgiveness, His Spirit, His church.

about how we should live

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

We could go on, but God’s Word really does have so much information - teaching about God, us, how to live.

Just as bread on a shelf can’t help us physically unless we eat it, so too Scripture on a shelf or in your pocket does not provide the spiritual inspiration, information and nutrition that we need. We must take it in. We must ingest Scripture.

The ingestion -

There are several ways that we can take in Scripture. The way that Scripture has been ingested by most of our spiritual forefathers was through hearing. We need to...

Hear the Word

Hopefully, this happens each week as we gather - both here in corporate worship, but also in our community groups.

Hearing the word is the way that most people have been able to engage with Scripture throughout the ages. In the grand scheme of things, broad literacy is a fairly recent phenomena. Until about 500 years ago, most people were not able to read. Histories, knowledge, and information was generally passed on orally. Even today, there are some parts of the world where large sections of the population are illiterate.

So, it becomes incumbent on those who can read to read aloud the word for those who can’t. But even if we can read, hearing the Word is a profound blessing. We take in information differently through hearing. We may remember a bit less, but repetition is an important aspect of our spiritual development.

Jesus affirmed the practice of hearing the Word...

Luke 11:28 “But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!””

Paul even said that...

Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

We need to take in scripture aurally. We need to also hear scripture explained aurally. Hearing people read and then discuss scripture is vital. This is why in our Community Groups, one of the things we are trying to do is to read the word together and then discuss it - not just so we can check some sort of spiritual box, but so that we can be transformed - into salvation and then on toward sanctification - becoming the people that God wants us to be.

Hebrews 2:1 “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”

In addition to ingesting the word through hearing, we need to also ingest the word through reading.

Read the Word

One of the things that the reformation did is that it took Scripture out of the hands of the clergy and put it in the hands of everyone. We have such a treasure in the Word of God - especially here in America and in the English speaking world. We have so many translations that we have no excuse.

But again, reading the word is not just a spiritual exercise - it’s a practical one. Paul, in helping Timothy counteract some false doctrines in the church he was working with, urged Timothy to live the word so that people could see it and then also read the Word so that beliefs and behaviors were based on God’s truths and not man’s traditions.

1 Timothy 4:11-16 “Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture [this accomplishes both ways that we’ve discussed ingesting Scripture so far - hearing and reading], to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

Examine the Word

In other words, study the word.

In a recent podcast interview, NT Wright encouraged people to foster a sense of curiosity about the Word. As we read, as we come across different passages or concepts, tug on those strings of curiosity that force us to look in other parts of scripture. Check out different cross references. Look up parallel passages. Use the concordance in the back of your bible to examine how words are used.

As we saw earlier, Timothy was encouraged to publically read the word and then explain it.

Ezra 7:10 “For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.”

As we read, let’s get curious about it. Let’s read slow enough to allow our minds to raise questions. Let’s press into some things that we did not know.

Let me share with you two brief examinations that I experienced in my time of reading yesterday...

The first - Genesis 10-11.

I was noticing how there were so many years listed in the genealogy leading up to Abraham (Genesis 11). In that chapter, we see the problem of the tower of Babel and the confusion of languages. We also get to see the genealogy of Shem. As I was reading, I got a little curious and began asking questions...

Where is Ur of the Chaldeans (the place where Abram was born) in relation to Babel?

How long was it from the end of the flood until the birth of Abram?

So, I let those curiosities challenge me to do a little digging. I found that Babel or Babylon is a bit Northwest of Ur - closer to the Persian gulf. I also learned that Abram was born 292 years after the flood. Our nation isn’t even that old yet. But think about how much has happened in the last 248 years of our nations history. The people that we read about, the stories that we learn, the wars that we grieve, the events that we learn from. 292 years of Israelite history were largely glossed over - and yet there were so many things that happened in that time - languages were confused, populations began to migrate from the middle east to other places. That Genealogy might be a selective genealogy - only listing a few people and a few lines, there were lives just like yours and mine that were in that period of history.

There may not be many deep spiritual truths that came out of that exercise, but by at least beginning to get a little curious, I was prompted to examine. Now, one part of the examination required a little math. Part of that involved a bible map which can be found in a study bible or even in an internet search.

We have so many resources that help us to gain a bigger picture and clearer understanding of geography, history, timelines, etc. Are we using them?

The second point of inquiry came when I was reading in Ecclesiastes 2:18-26. In this, Solomon is beginning to question the value of hard work - because he has no way of knowing if the people who will get the result of his hard work will take care of it. Then he concludes: Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy....” In my personal examination, I didn’t scour for other passages or perspectives, but simply began to reflect and write down implications of Solomon’s conclusions.

We’ll talk a bit more about some practical ways that we can engage with scripture as we hear, read, and examine it next week.

Closing thoughts

As we close, I want to ask you a couple of questions...

Unless you are fasting - how many of you are taking time each day to eat?

What would happen if we did not eat for several days or weeks? We would get sick and eventually die.

Now, just reflect on these next couple...

Do you have a regular pattern of feeding God’s word? Are you spending time daily to read - either alone or with your family?

When you hear the word - whether here in worship, in your Community Group, or maybe as you walk or commute - are you paying attention? Are you allowing the words to penetrate your mind or are they simply passing through?

Are you making time to examine the Word? Are you ever curious?

I began today with an encounter that Donald Whitney had. That came from a book entitled Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. He has another book entitled TEN questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health. One of the questions he asks in that book is “Do you thirst for God?” Do we long for God the way that our bodies long for food? Are we feeding our souls on the Word?

May our prayer each day as we come to the our time in the Word be similar to the song that we sang earlier:

Word of God speak Would You pour down like rain Washing my eyes to see Your majesty To be still and know That You're in this place Please let me stay and rest In Your holiness Word of God speak

Let’s pray.

The Lords supper

John 1:1–4 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Benediction:

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 ESV

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Memory Verse:

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Discussion Questions:

Consider reading some of the passages discussed.

How does bread affect our bodies? How does the Word of God affect our souls?

What does it mean that Scripture is inspired? Why is that important?

In your reading, hearing, studying Scripture, what is something you have learned (about you, about God, about humanity, etc.)?

There are several ways that we can take in God’s Word - hearing, reading, studying. Why are these important? How are they different? How do they affect us differently?

What are you habits/patterns for hearing, reading, studying God’s Word?

Sources:

Piper, John. Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist. Sisters, OR. Multnomah, 2003.

Piper, John. Providence. Wheaton, IL. Crossway, 2020.

Reeves, Michael. Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith. Downers Grove, IL. InterVarsity Press, 2012.

Torrey, R. A. The New Topical Text Book: A Scripture Text Book for the Use of Ministers, Teachers, and All Christian Workers. New, revised and enlarged edition. Chicago; New York; Toronto: Fleming H. Revell, 1897.

Whitney, Donald S. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. NavPress, 2014.

Whitney, Donald S. TEN Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health. NavPress, 2001.