the Bible: reading for understanding

Last summer we spent twelve weeks going through twelve different faith practices. One of those faith practices is prayer; and we just spent several weeks this summer taking a deeper dive into that particular faith practice of prayer. I want us to move into one of the other faith practices for a few weeks. Last July I had one sermon of the faith practice of reading scripture. For the month of August let’s unpack a bit more of what the Bible is, and how we should be reading and engaging with scripture.

One of the surveys we asked all of you to complete in the last year was called the Reveal Survey. The folks who put that survey together use the information to calculate for us what they call a church vitality index. When compared with the hundreds of other churches who also take that same survey, this church ranked somewhere right in the middle. More interesting to me is what happens next. Many of the churches who participate in this survey are asked to take the same survey again in five years to compare their own results. Among those churches, the Reveal Survey folks isolate the churches whose vitality index has gone up, and begin to look for common threads among those churches to see what things they all share in common. The two common traits which rise to the top of the list in churches whose vitality is moving upward is an increased focus upon prayer and greater engagement with scripture.

the Bible is the life-giving revelation of God immersing us in the true story of God's faithful love so that we become more like Jesus as we grow in recognizing God, ourselves, and the world around us

This is the reason why we are spending time here putting attention towards those two faith practices. We have already spent several weeks looking at prayer. Now let’s pay attention to the ways in which scripture works as a faith practice. I am not going to repeat the message I gave last July in 2023 on the faith practice of scripture. If you are interested, it is held in our sermon archive on our website. You can go to our website and find it there. The one piece I will take from that message as a baseline of moving into this series is a working definition of scripture. Here is what we said last summer about the Bible: the Bible is the life-giving revelation of God immersing us in the true story of God's faithful love so that we become more like Jesus as we grow in recognizing God, ourselves, and the world around us. Moving forward from that, I want to take the coming weeks to ask some very particular questions about the Bible and how we as followers of Jesus engage with the word of God. The three topics we will be looking at are these: how we gain understanding from the Bible, how we gain identity from the Bible, and how we gain transformation from the Bible.

We launch it today with some words from the opening of John’s gospel in the New Testament.

John 1:1–18 (NIV)

John 1:1–18 NIV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

today’s topic might best be considered as how to read the Bible so that you can understand scripture

I will admit to you right now that this series on the Bible is going to be a bit teaching-heavy. I know my sermons do not usually end up being ‘how-to’ workshops, but this series will be leaning more in that direction as we consider how to read the Bible in ways which give us greater understanding, greater identity, and greater transformation. So, today’s topic might best be considered as how to read the Bible so that you can understand scripture.

Let me point quickly to two stories in the Bible that illustrate what I mean.

Acts 8:26–35 (NIV)

Acts 8:26–35 NIV

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” 34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

This other story comes from the gospel of Luke. It is on the day in which Jesus is raised from the tomb and appears to two disciples as they walk along the road from Jerusalem to the nearby town of Emmaus. Here is part of the conversation that takes place.

Luke 24:17–27 (NIV)

Luke 24:17–27 NIV

17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 “What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.” 25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

These are just two examples of people who find themselves gaining greater understanding of scripture. And it is an understanding which comes by centering the Bible upon the message of Jesus. John clues us in this direction by the way he open his gospel. Notice the four movements John makes in revealing Jesus as the “Word.”

verses 1-2 — the Word in connection to the eternal God verses 3-8 — the Word in connection to the creation verses 9-13 — the Word in connection to God’s revelation verses 14-18 — the Word in connection to the incarnation of Jesus

Verses 1-2 reveal the Word in connection to the eternal God. Verses 3-8 reveal the Word in connection to the creation. Verses 9-13 reveal the Word in connection to God’s revelation. And verses 14-18 reveal the Word in connection to the incarnation of Jesus. There is a vast complexity wrapped up in these four movements. We can see this just by the two other stories I noted. John may be making it all sound so basic, and yet people honestly and genuinely trying to embrace a life of faith can struggle to understand what they are reading when they open their Bibles.

Let me move towards the workshop portion of this message for today. I am going to run through a list of five principles that provide us with greater understanding of the Bible. These are five angles of approaching scripture which help to make the Bible more understandable. And by making the Bible more understandable, we avoid the pitfalls of misinterpreting scripture in ways that are incorrect and lead us down the wrong path.

the historical principle

One. The historical principle. The message of the Bible is for us, but the individual books and letters within the Bible are not written to us. Every one of the books and letters in the Bible has an original audience that first received those writings as written to them. Our understanding of scripture begins by noting the historical context embedded in the world of the Bible. We should always be aware of who the book or letter was originally written to and how it would have been received and understood by them in their own time within their own culture and context. The takeaway for us is this: the Bible can never mean something to us that wouldn’t also have meant for them.

understanding the original time / place / audience

This enables us to avoid a multitude of misinterpretations, especially around the issue of prophecy. We steer down the wrong path whenever we try to connect passages of scripture exclusively to specific events in our world. If our interpretation of scripture isn’t something the original audience could have also recognized as the interpretation, then our interpretation is wrong. We start with remembering these documents have a place in history.

the literary principle

Two. The literary principle. The authors of the Bible use many different writing techniques and styles to communicate. It is always a good idea for us to be aware of the style of writing we see in any particular passage of scripture. Is it historical narrative, or poetry, or wisdom literature, or prophecy, or a letter? We read these varying styles of literature differently, and understand them differently.

understanding the writing styles and techniques

Literary techniques show up in the Bible in other ways too. For instance, it is always good to remember that in the world of the Bible, certain numbers carry symbolic meaning more often than they carry numeric quantity. Three is symbolic of God. Seven is symbolic of divine activity within the creation. Twelve is symbolic of God’s chosen people. Forty is symbolic of completion. And 1000 is symbolic of an infinite amount beyond counting. You also hear me often make reference to the way in which biblical authors use a mirror outline technique in which the author places the main theme of a passage at a center-point with the verses around it echoing each other. We understand scripture better when we pay attention to the literary styles being used.

the language principle

Three. The language principle. It is good to remember that the Bibles we use are translations. Nothing in the Bible was originally written in English. The Old Testament was written in ancient Hebrew, and the New Testament was written in classical Greek. Biblical translators do their best to preserve the message of the Bible as accurately as possible when choosing words and phrases to express what these Hebrew and Greek texts are saying. I would confidently say that a good English translation is all you need to know the gospel message of the Bible. But don’t ever get too hung up on any single English word or phrase that we read in our Bibles, because none of it was originally English.

understanding the translation

This is where I suggest that a study Bible is helpful. In passages that contain tricky or problematic translations, study notes will often point that out by making reference to what the original Greek or Hebrew had to say. The New English Translation of the Bible contains particularly helpful notes. The NET Bible tags notes as sn for study note, tn for translation note, or tc for a manuscript note (textual criticism us a field of biblical scholarship which deals with all the gathered bits and fragments of old biblical manuscripts). In the 18 verses that we read today in John’s gospel, the NET Bible contains 48 separate notes drawing attention to features of the original language.

the theology principle

Four. The theology principle. It is absolutely amazing to note the way in which all the books of the Bible work together to form one cohesive message. These are books which were written over a span of hundreds of years by dozens of different authors. And yet the message of the Bible flows together. This means it is always a good idea when reading scripture to note the ways in which the passage we are reading fits in with the rest of the Bible. We see that in the examples I gave earlier. It shows the way in which so many of the Old Testament passages point forward to Jesus. There are overarching themes throughout the Bible that show up woven through every single book in scripture.

understanding key themes woven through the Bible

These themes include things like covenant, shalom, redemption, and faithfulness. Keeping an eye out for common themes of scripture helps us understand the Bible when we read any particular passage in light of all the other passages which form the rest of the Bible.

the Holy Spirit principle

Five. The Holy Spirit principle. As Christians we profess that the Bible is the inspired word of God. This means that the Holy Spirit was actively at work in the hearts and minds of the original authors when they penned these ancient documents. But is also means that the Holy Spirit is at work in the hearts and minds of those who read and receive the message of scripture all throughout history and in our own time. We believe that the Holy Spirit helps us gain understanding from what we are reading in the Bible.

understanding the Spirit’s movement towards expression of love

I would summarize this Holy Spirit principle with one word: love. In the Old Testament it is the Hebrew word chesed. In the New Testament it is the Greek word agape. Jesus says in John 17:

John 15:9–17 (NIV)

John 15:9–17 NIV

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

And the Apostle Paul says it like this in Galatians 5:

Galatians 5:14 (NIV)

Galatians 5:14 NIV

14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

All interpretation of scripture is meant to lead us toward a greater understanding of God’s love for us. All interpretation of scripture is meant to lead us toward a greater expression of love for God and love for others.

God’s word is a gift for our lives. The Bible is the life-giving revelation of God immersing us in the true story of God's faithful love so that we become more like Jesus as we grow in recognizing God, ourselves, and the world around us. Understanding the Bible does not need to be a profound mystery. God’s revelation of himself in scripture is accessible for everyone to read and understand. God’s word is a gift for our lives. May we be blessed as we read it.