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By any standard, the Bible is an incredible book filled with profound wisdom, inspiring poetry, and fascinating history.
But above all else, we Christians acknowledge the Bible as the very Word of God. Through it, God reveals His way of salvation and His purpose and plan for humanity. Our very faith is founded upon God’s Word.
With this in mind, it’s clear that understanding the Bible is crucial to our Christian life. And although the Bible is lengthy and profound, the first step in understanding it is simple: reading it from cover to cover.
We may think that Bible scholars and theologians are qualified to read and understand the Bible, and we aren’t. But God’s Word is for everyone to read and understand.
In 2 Timothy 3:15, the apostle Paul wrote to a young man named Timothy:
“And that from a babe you have known the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
Notice the words from a babe. Paul surely didn’t mean that as a babe, Timothy understood every single thing in God’s Word. Paul was saying that from a young age, Timothy knew the sacred writings.
If a babe can know the sacred writings, we all can! No matter how young or old we are, no matter what our background is, we can all begin to familiarize ourselves with the Bible by reading it.
So what do we mean when we say we need to read the Bible? We simply mean that we need to read the whole Bible, book after book, from cover to cover. This lays a solid foundation for us to understand it.
Perhaps we’ve never read the whole Bible all the way through, for one reason or another. We can certainly gain some benefit from reading any part of God’s Word. But to illustrate how important it is to read the entire Bible consecutively, let’s say we’re interested in learning about the human body. As a start, we acquire an in-depth book on anatomy. If we were to randomly read sections in the middle, then some paragraphs at the beginning, followed by a few words at the end, we wouldn’t gain a proper understanding of the body. The best way to gain this understanding is to read the anatomy book from the beginning to the end, chapter by chapter. This would give us some basic knowledge of the body’s structure, its different systems, and how they’re all interconnected.
In the same way, reading the entire Bible in order will help us gain a comprehensive overview of God’s Word and a solid base for us to understand its contents. The first book of the Bible is Genesis, so we start there, with God’s creation. As we continue to read, we discover the full history of God’s people, the revelation of Christ, and God’s way of fulfilling His eternal purpose. Finally, we reach Revelation, where we read of the New Jerusalem, the accomplishment of God’s desire.
[[Free Study Bible]]
When it comes to understanding the Bible, there’s no way we can comprehend everything the first time we read it. Our understanding of it is gradual and progressive.
Consider how children learn to read and comprehend what they read. They don’t begin by digesting whole words, much less whole books. They first learn the ABCs, then form words with those letters. Eventually, they’re able to read and understand the meaning of a simple sentence like “The cat sat on a mat.” That first sentence is just the beginning. With continued reading comes increasing comprehension.
In the same way, we acquire “the ABCs” for understanding the Bible by reading it. As we continue to read, we progress to understanding it little by little. And every time we read through the Bible, our understanding will increase.
For instance, let’s say you come to John 1:29 in your Bible reading:
“The next day he [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
This verse reminds you of reading Exodus 12, an account of the Passover lamb sacrificed by the children of Israel before leaving Egypt. This Old Testament account is a vivid picture pointing to Jesus as the real Passover Lamb. Realizing this enriches both your reading of Exodus 12 and your appreciation of what Jesus did in sacrificing Himself on the cross to take away our sins.
Many other passages in the Old Testament point to events and people that appear in the New Testament. When we make these connections, we understand more of the meaning of the Bible, and our faith in the Bible being the Word of God is strengthened. Bit by bit, verses come alive with rich meaning and practical application to our lives.
So how do we go about reading the whole Bible? It’s helpful to create and follow a schedule. For example, if you take 20 minutes each day and read two to three chapters, you’ll finish the whole Bible in a little over a year.
The main thing is to keep reading. No matter what our pace is, if we’re consistent, it won’t take us long to read through the entire Bible.
Of course, sometimes we may miss our daily reading. But when we resume, we don’t need to start all over again. We should just pick up where we left off and continue from there.
The most important thing is to start, if we haven’t already. We can bring our Bible reading to the Lord and pray a simple prayer like this:
“Lord, thank You for giving us Your Word. Remind me each day to set aside time to read. Lord Jesus, help me build up a habit of reading the Bible.”
Surely this is a prayer the Lord would be happy to answer!
We have many more posts about different aspects of God’s precious Word that you can explore here. And if you live in the US, we encourage you to order a free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version, a unique study Bible that will help you understand God’s Word.
In previous posts, we saw that the Spirit is the essence of the Word of God, Christ Himself is its content, and God is its origin. Additionally, we discussed six major functions of the Word of God. The Bible testifies concerning Christ, makes people wise unto salvation, causes people to be regenerated, nourishes believers as spiritual milk, feeds believers as the bread of life, and makes believers complete.
In this post, we’ll use verses and notes from the New Testament Recovery Version to focus on one of those functions of God’s Word in more detail: to testify concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
Luke 24 tells us that after His crucifixion and resurrection, the Lord Jesus met two of His disciples as they were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus. In verse 44, He said to them:
“These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all the things written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and Psalms concerning Me must be fulfilled.”
Jesus didn’t tell His disciples these books were written for them to learn to live a moral life, know interesting stories from the past, or anything else. He told them that they were written concerning Him, the living Christ.
Jesus spoke something similar before His crucifixion to some Jewish people who knew the Scriptures. John 5:39 says:
“You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that testify concerning Me.”
These Jews not only knew the Scriptures, they even searched them to find eternal life. Yet these “Scripture searchers'' didn't realize that the Scriptures testified of a wonderful Person, Jesus, who was standing right before them. And only He could give them eternal life.
In verse 40, Jesus continued:
“Yet you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”
These knowledgeable Jews refused to come to the Lord Jesus because they didn’t make the connection between Him and the Scriptures they searched. Note 1 on verse 39 in the New Testament Recovery Version says:
“To ‘search the Scriptures’ may be separated from ‘come to Me’ (v. 40). The Jewish religionists searched the Scriptures but were not willing to come to the Lord. These two should go together; because the Scriptures testify concerning the Lord, they should not be separated from the Lord. We may contact the Scriptures, yet not contact the Lord. Only the Lord can give life.”
Understanding that the Word of God testifies concerning Jesus Christ will revolutionize our Bible reading. When we come to the Word, we’ll focus on and enjoy Christ.
The apostle Paul surely realized that the entire Old Testament testifies concerning Christ. In 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, he referred to the children of Israel’s experience of the Passover and related it to Christ. He wrote:
“Purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened; for our Passover, Christ, also has been sacrificed. So then let us keep the feast.”
These two verses open the account of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread to us in a new way. Note 2 on Passover in verse 7 in the Recovery Version explains:
“This indicates that the apostle considered the believers God’s chosen people, who have had their Passover, as typified by the one in Exo. 12. In this Passover, Christ is not only the Passover lamb but also the entire Passover. To be our Passover, He was sacrificed on the cross that we might be redeemed and reconciled to God. Thus, we may enjoy Him as a feast before God. In this feast no leaven is allowed to be present. Sin and the redeeming Christ cannot go together.”
[[Free Study Bible]]
And note 1 on feast in verse 8 reveals even more:
“The feast here refers to the Feast of Unleavened Bread as the continuation of the Passover (Exo. 12:15-20). It lasted for seven days, a period of completion, signifying the entire period of our Christian life, from the day of our conversion to the day of rapture. This is a long feast, which we must keep not with the sin of our old nature, the old leaven, but with unleavened bread, which is the Christ of our new nature as our nourishment and enjoyment. Only He is the life supply of sincerity and truth, absolutely pure, without mixture, and full of reality. The feast is a time for the enjoyment of the banquet. The entire Christian life should be such a feast, such an enjoyment of Christ as our banquet, the rich supply of life.”
These verses and notes help us see that when we read about the Passover in Exodus 12, we’re not just reading an interesting story or a historical account. Actually, Jesus is the fulfillment of this entire scene in Exodus. He’s the unblemished Lamb of God, the One who was slain for us and shed His precious blood to redeem us. Through believing in Him, we’re spared from God’s righteous judgment. And He’s also the reality of the unleavened bread to be our life supply. This detailed account in Exodus reveals so many aspects of Christ!
The Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread in Exodus 12 are just two examples that show the Old Testament testifying of Christ. Actually, Christ is the fulfillment of every positive item in the Old Testament. Realizing this fact will increase our experience and enjoyment of Him in many ways. Seeing Christ testified throughout the Old Testament will uplift and enrich our appreciation of Him when we read the New Testament.
So whenever we open our Bibles, let’s come to the Lord Jesus and focus on Him to see Him revealed throughout God’s Word.
To see more of Christ revealed in the Old Testament, we recommend reading The All-inclusive Christ, a book you can download for free from anywhere in the world. If you live in the United States, you can order a free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version here to read all the notes on the New Testament verses referenced in this post.
If you read the Bible with an open heart, you find it isn’t merely a book consisting of letters on a page.
Hebrews 4:12 says:
“The word of God is living and operative.”
The Bible, God’s word, is living. And because it’s living, it’s active and can do many things for us. It carries out some particular functions that are necessary for our Christian life.
In this post, we’ll look at some verses and notes in the New Testament Recovery Version to see just six of the many wonderful functions of the living Word of God.
Let’s first discuss what we mean by function. The function of an object is the intended purpose of that object. For example, we know the function of a microwave oven is to heat food, so we use it for that purpose.
But let’s imagine we don’t know what a microwave is. After punching some buttons and watching it run, we end up feeling frustrated because we don’t know what it’s used for. We figure it’s a great place to store things and put things in it. Although a microwave can be used that way, it certainly isn’t the way it was intended to be used.
The same is true with the Bible. We can spend a lot of time reading it without receiving the intended benefit from it.
For example, the Bible certainly inspires and comforts us in times of trouble. It also conveys the highest standard of ethical and moral principles, and it relates interesting stories and history about God’s people. But if we focus primarily on these things, although we get some benefit from reading it, we miss the intended purpose of God’s Word.
So now let’s discuss six functions of the Word of God.
In John 5:39-40, Jesus said to some Jewish religionists:
“You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that testify concerning Me. Yet you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”
One function of the Word of God is that it testifies concerning Jesus Christ. The Scriptures reveal not the tenets of a religion, but many different aspects of the wonderful person of Christ.
But this verse shows us that it’s possible to miss Christ when we read the Bible. Note 1 in the New Testament Recovery Version on John 5:39 explains:
“To ‘search the Scriptures’ may be separated from ‘come to Me’ (v. 40). The Jewish religionists searched the Scriptures but were not willing to come to the Lord. These two should go together; because the Scriptures testify concerning the Lord, they should not be separated from the Lord. We may contact the Scriptures, yet not contact the Lord. Only the Lord can give life.”
The religious people Jesus was speaking to searched the God-given Scriptures, but they missed the One the Scriptures testify of. He was standing right in front of them, but they were unwilling to come to Him.
When we come to read the Bible, we want to see Christ in the Word. We want the Scriptures to even testify to us personally of the Lord and show us more of His wonderful person. So we shouldn’t come to the Bible in a cold way apart from the Lord. As we approach the Bible, we should have the realization that we’re approaching the Lord Himself. When we open our Bible, we should open our hearts to the Lord so we can see Him in His Word.
What this means for us: Since the Scriptures testify concerning Christ, we should focus on Him when we come to the Bible. We shouldn’t separate coming to the Lord from reading the Word of God. Before we read, we can come to the Lord by praying a simple prayer like: “Lord Jesus, I don’t want to miss You in Your Word. I come to You right now. Show me more of who You are on every page.”
Second Timothy 3:15 says:
“And that from a babe you have known the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
The Bible also functions to make people wise unto salvation. The way of salvation isn’t according to our concepts or ideas. So apart from the Word of God, how could anyone know God’s way of salvation? Only what’s revealed in the Bible can make us wise unto salvation.
What this means for us: This verse was written to Timothy, a young believer who knew the Scriptures from his earliest days. Timothy is a good pattern for us to follow. Whether we’re a new Christian or a mature believer, regularly reading the Bible makes us wise. It helps us know how to be saved by believing in Jesus initially, and it continues to make us wise as we walk the path of God’s complete salvation in our Christian life.
[[Free Study Bible]]
First Peter 1:23 says:
“Having been regenerated not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, through the living and abiding word of God.”
God’s word is the incorruptible seed of life so it can function to cause a person to be regenerated. Note 2 on this verse in the New Testament Recovery Version says:
“A seed is a container of life. The word of God, as the incorruptible seed, contains God’s life. Hence, it is living and abiding. Through this word we were regenerated. It is God’s living and abiding word of life that conveys God’s life into our spirit for our regeneration.”
When we share the gospel with others, through God’s living word His life is conveyed into their spirit so they can be regenerated, that is, born again. That’s what happens when someone gets saved.
What this means for us: If we’ve already been regenerated, it’s important to realize God’s living word can generate life in others also. If our unbelieving friends are receptive, we can read the Bible with them—not to teach them, but to allow the living and abiding word of God to be conveyed into their spirit. We can pray that they would be regenerated through our speaking God’s Word to them.
First Peter 2:2-3 says:
“As newborn babes, long for the guileless milk of the word in order that by it you may grow unto salvation, if you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
Another major function of God’s living Word is to nourish the believers.
After babies are born, their immediate need is to be nourished. They need milk to live and grow.
In the same way, once we’re born again as a child of God, we need to grow in the life of God. Note 4 on verse 2 in the Recovery Version explains:
“To grow is a matter of life and in life. We received the divine life through regeneration, and we need to grow in this life and with this life by being nourished with the milk conveyed in the word of God.”
Life grows by being nourished. When we receive spiritual nourishment from the Word of God, we grow in the life of God.
This is why our most important need is to come to the Lord daily in His Word. We need to receive spiritual milk. Then, just as a baby grows by eating, we’ll grow in God’s life.
What this means for us: Like a newborn babe longs for milk, throughout our Christian lives we should hunger for the milk of God’s Word. We certainly should study the Bible, but we need to spend time in the Word of God each day to receive spiritual nourishment. This will cause us to grow in a normal, healthy way.
Matthew 4:4 says:
“It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God.’”
The Word of God is also our spiritual bread of life.
We shouldn’t live our lives simply existing on physical food. As believers, we also should live on the Word of God as our spiritual food.
And just as we never graduate from eating physical food, we can never graduate from enjoying God’s Word each day as our spiritual bread. As we see in the account in Matthew 4, even when the Lord Jesus lived on earth He lived on God’s Word.
What this means for us: No matter how long we’ve been saved, we need to “eat” God’s Word as our spiritual food daily to be healthy, normal Christians. Just as eating physical food is enjoyable, receiving the Word of God as food will feed us and be our enjoyment. The words of Jeremiah 15:16 will become our experience: “Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became to me the gladness and joy of my heart.”
Second Timothy 3:16-17 says:
“All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.”
God’s Word also has the function of completing the believers, equipping us for every good work. It does this by teaching, convicting, correcting, and instructing us.
The correction doesn’t come from mentally examining ourselves according to an outward standard. It comes when we contact the God-breathed Scripture with our spirit. Note 4 explains what correction in verse 16 means:
“Setting right what is wrong, turning someone to the right way, restoring to an upright state.”
How many times, even in the course of a single day, we need to be set right and turned back to the Lord and His way! Thank the Lord, the living Word of God can function this way to correct us when we’re veering off course.
What this means for us: We need the Word of God to teach, convict, correct, and instruct us in order to complete and equip us. Since the Scripture is God-breathed, we need to exercise our spirit by praying when we read it. As we come to the Bible, we can pray, “Lord, I want Your Word to be profitable to me today. Correct what needs to be corrected in me. Make me more complete today than I was yesterday.”
The living Word of God is truly marvelous! It does so much in us and for us, so we should build up the habit of reading it daily. If you live in the US, we encourage you to order a free New Testament Recovery Version that will open up your understanding of God’s Word.
