if everyone cannot study and understand the bible, then who can and who cannot? Let us get answers from the bible.
The Bible
The Bible is the word, the word is God, and God is light, and light is life (John 1:1-14). No life without the word, which is the bible. So studying the bible is a very essential part of a person who wants to have life and get revelation of what and who is ‘I AM’.
The source of knowing God, having faith and believing in Him is through His word, The Bible, but many people have no time to read it. Many people never get even to the point of reading it. Many just nibble at it or not reading it at all. How do you talk of God or say you know Him or you are His child while truly you do not read the bible?
You may read many books about the Bible or devotional materials loosely based on it, but this does not substitute reading the Bible itself. Good Christian books and magazines that supplement your Bible reading are fine, but there is no substitute for reading Scripture.
Many people do not read the bible on their own; they depend on others to do so. Only pastors, preachers and other people are the one who read the bible for them and this is only on Sundays. Work, business, money, family e.t.c takes center stage in their life that they do not have bible reading time. Some churches do not encourage or allow their followers to read the bible on their own. They say that the followers cannot understand it only their clergy can. It is absurd.
Joyce Meyer says, ‘The Bible is no ordinary book. The words within its pages are like medicine to your soul. It has the power to change your life because there is life in the Word! And when you discover the power and truth of God’s Word, you will begin to see changes in your life that only this truth can bring. You will even learn how to recognize what the enemy tries to bring against you’.
Let me give you a sneak preview of me and bible reading in the past
How I used to read the bible
I used to read the bible like many people do. First, I read it occasionally and it did not mean a lot to me. I could just grab it, open a story or any page and read through it to grasp the story-line like a novel. Or when faced with a problem, or am looking for something, I could just rush read a verse or chapter and stood by it and no one could change what have learned from that part have read.
When Jesus Christ intervened, changed my life and poured the Holy Spirit in me, I realized that since I was born, I did not even know and understand the bible. I realized how foolish I was, thinking I knew yet I knew not. I had to go back from the first book Genesis and read it all over again but this time through the help and revelation of Jesus Christ.
Many people are the way I was, and am here to change their life and make them stand or be in a point where Jesus Christ can reveal Himself through His word, by Him teaching you the bible as you read it, not by you teaching yourself with your own mind.
There is a big difference between reading and studying. Look at the difference and see if you read or you study the bible.
Difference between reading and studying
(Courtesy of Microsoft Encarta).
Reading means;-
- Identifying of written or printed words: the process of identifying and understanding the meaning of the characters and words in written or printed material
- Material read: written or printed material that can be read
- Occasion of reading something: an occasion during which somebody reads something to an audience or congregation e.g. a poetry reading
- Text read to audience or congregation: a piece of literature that is read to an audience, or a passage from a sacred text that is read to a congregation
- Interpretation of something: an interpretation or understanding of a situation or of something that has been written or said
- Technology; information taken from equipment: a piece of information or a measurement taken from a piece of equipment or with the help of equipment
Studying means;
- learn about something: to learn about a subject by reading and researching
- take educational course: to take a course at a college or university
- investigate something: to discover facts about something by doing research or experiments e.g. a team of researchers studying the effects of sleep deprivation
- Look at and consider something: to look at or read something and think about it carefully e.g. He studied the map, frowning
- Theater; learn lines: to learn the lines spoken by a character in a play
Do you read or study the bible or you do both?
There are several reasons why people read or study the bible. look at some here.
Reasons for reading or studying the bible
Before you impact in studying or reading the bible ask yourself first the reason of reading or studying the bible and are you studying or reading it. The reasons depend on which group one is in and whether you read or study it or do both because different groups do it differently.
We have two group and these are:
Non-believers: They read the bible;
- Looking for a certain specific thing
- To know the meaning of the words, the characters and the bible
- To show off (boast) that they do read the bible
- To take certain information
- there are so many other reasons
Believers or Christians; they are the only people who study and understand the bible. Why?
The bible is the word which is God. You cannot understand the bible if you do not have a relationship with Him; God. He is the one who revels Himself to you through the word thus the bible, and He cannot revel Himself to you if you’re not His Child or son.
He does this through the Holy Spirit. One purpose of the Holy Spirit is to teach us the bible and bring to remembrance of all things.
John 14:26: But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said to you.
All this words are from the mouth of Jesus. Remember that Jesus is God: The ‘I AM’. Know that he was even before creation, so everything He has said is the word which is the Bible, thus the entire Bible is His words; everything He has said.
Non-believers (those who are not saved) know not the Holy Spirit because He does not dwell in them but He is with them. Believers (those saved) have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them; thus they are a temple and a body of Christ; a burning bush. Since those who are not saved (of the world and referred in the bible as the world) are not one with Christ, they know and see the Holy Spirit not, and they understand Him not.
John: 14:17: Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him: but you know him
But many believers so called Christians are man-made, just associating themselves with Jesus Christ, without the baptism of Holy Spirit by Jesus Christ to them, for the Holy Spirit to dwell in them. They are like the unbelievers who just read the bible and not understand it because they know not and understand not the Holy Spirit; Jesus Christ thus God does not revel Himself to them.
Major difference between true believers and unbelievers
One major difference between true believers and unbelievers is that the unbelievers have other important issues to deal with in their life; thus they have other gods (look the meaning of god) who are so much important to them than the true living God, ‘I AM’ (I AM is the Bible which is the word). ‘I AM’ is not so much important to them; He comes last in the list of their most important things in life, and He can wait for them. So they read the bible rarely and occasionally many times searching for information or in a hurry to accomplish other life tasks.
So the people who can study and understand the bible through the help of the Holy Spirit, God revealing Himself to them are those baptized by the Holy Spirit by Jesus Christ: The true Christians.
True Christian’s major reason of studying the bible is to get revelation of and from God while for non-Christians this is not one of their reasons.
Take time to Donate.
