How to study the bible
This study is a simple outline for those who may be wishing to read the bible for the first time. It maybe you have just become a Christian and want to know God better.
Let me first explain in simple terms how the bible is made up. The bible comprises of sixty six books divided between the Old Testament which has thirty nine books and the New Testament which has twenty seven books. The Old Testament tells us how the universe was formed, how mankind was created and how the Jewish nation came into being. In the New Testament it is about Jesus coming into the world and the establishment of the church. But more important the New Testament tells us how God came alongside mankind by Jesus being born, growing up, showing and helping by example how to live, ultimately dying and rising again in order to make a pathway for mankind to reconnect with God.
We can read the bible as a history book or as a list of biographies. But the bible is primarily written by men under the influence of the Holy Spirit to teach and inspire mankind, to create a link with God, to understand who He is and to reconnect a relationship with Him.
If you are unfamiliar with the bible it is very wise as to which parts of the bible you should read first, to give you a basis of the message God wants to convey to man and also the purposes He has for mankind.
In the first book of Genesis in the Old Testament we read how the world and man were created. Then we read how the nation of Israel was formed following its lineage by them living in Canaan, which we now know as Israel. For a short while before settling in Canaan the Israelites spent forty years living in the Sinai wilderness. God wanted to have a relationship with Israel asking Moses to build a Tent of Meetings, giving Moses a large list of do’s and dont’s part of which includes the Ten commandments.
But God wanted to deal with the aftermaths of what happened in the Garden of Eden. Before Adam and Eve fell into sin they had open and free access to God, with simple communication. But because they had sinned God immediately cut His communication with them, He is a Sinless God and cannot look on sin. So since Adam and Eve fell into sin all mankind are cut off from God.
As soon as Adam and Eve disobeyed God, that open communication was broken. As we will discover in reading the New Testament, the main purpose of Jesus coming into this world was to reconnect that communication, but it was at great cost to Jesus, He had to die, why? We read in Genesis 2:16 (NIV) 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” This meant physical death and spiritual death, which meant being separated from God, spending eternity in hell.
I strongly recommend you begin reading in the New Testament starting with Johns Gospel
Take a look at the index in the front of the bible; there you will see how the books of the Old and New Testament are laid out.
The first four books of the New Testament, which are sometimes referred to as the Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John describes how Jesus, God’s son came into the world born through Mary. They each record his life Crucifixion, resurrection and ascension back into heaven. Following the four Gospels we come to the book of Acts. This is often referred to as the Acts of the Apostles, but truly it can also be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit, because through the Apostle inspired by the Holy Spirit many of whom had been Jesus’s disciples, were the means for starting the church as we know it today.
Except for the last book of the New Testament, Revelation the books following the four Gospels beginning with the book of Acts are letters written to churches and individual Christians teaching them how to become and live as followers of Jesus Christ.
The last book in the New Testament is the book of Revelation written by John the apostle. The book of Revelations is a vision that John received from Jesus, it was God showing him what was going to happen to this world leading up to and after Jesus’s still awaited second return to earth.
It is highly recommended you first read the New Testament, starting to read the gospel of John. Each of the writers of the first four Gospels wrote about Jesus but they each saw the likes of Jesus through their own perspective. John opens his book with explaining very clearly that Jesus was indeed Gods son, it shows the purpose of Jesus coming into the world and that Jesus wants to build a relationship with us. After the book of Acts all the following books, are letters giving us clear guidance as to how we should live as Christians.
You may be asking, which version of the bible to read, because there are a number of versions to the bible. Our parents were only familiar with the old King James Version but in this last century many new translations have come out. We do need to obtain a version in modern English a version which is best suited to your ease of understanding. My recommendation has a two pronged approach, first by taking the bible as one book it is good to read it through to get an overview of it, to see the historical view to stand back and get the overall theme of the bible. For this I recommend the Good News Bible or the New Living Bible. Many Christians now read the New International Version (NIV). This version has been translated as close as possible to the original text of when the books of the bible were first written, giving a more concise account, suitable for us to pursue a more in-depth study of the bible but still a bible that is very easily readable.
Basically the bible is to reconnect man to God, to point the way to Him, showing the purpose for Jesus coming into the world. Because of mankind’s sin his ultimate future is physical and spiritual death. Jesus came to remedy that by experiencing death for himself. Then by rising from the dead to life again, He proved He had power over death. This gave everyone living on the earth the opportunity to believe in what Jesus has done to receive eternal life, but. There is a great difference between head belief and heart belief. In Romans 10:9 (NIV) we read 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. You will experience new birth.
Which Version of the Bible should I read?
Overview of the Old Testament
Let’s take a moment to talk about the Old Testament. The layout of the Old Testament is a little more complex but falls into five major groups. Take a look at the listing in the front of your bible.
The first five books of the Old Testament are called the Torah or Pentateuch. These were the books recorded by Moses, that the early Jewish people of the day read.
Following the first five books of the Old Testament we come to the books Joshua through to Esther. These we can call the Historical Books. We see the now established Jewish nation, rescued from the clutches of Pharaoh in Egypt settled in Canaan now known as Israel.
Next we have the books Job to the Songs of Solomon the Poetic books.
Then we have the books Isaiah to Daniel which we call the Major Prophets, partly because the books are large. These books in the main give prophecies about pending events and warnings to the Jewish people of the time.
Then finally we have the Minor Prophets Hosea to Malachi, which are books small on size, again prophecies about pending events and warnings to the Jewish people of the time.
We have discussed how the Old and New Testament books are made up, and suggested how we can get an overview of the bible using a more readable version of the bible to get a feel of the story, but never forgetting it is so beneficial to read the whole of the bible cover to cover on a regular basis. So if you can set aside time to just read a couple of chapters each day, it will familiarise you with the general outline to the content of the bible. The daily bible reading notes available do have a suggest reading program which is geared for you to have read the whole of the bible in a year.
You can now start to look at the bible using a more concise version like the NIV to look at the detail. It can be describes when reading the whole of the bible as first using a telescope we can look from a distance to get the overall picture and then when we look at the bible closely and in more detail we are then looking at the bible microscopically.
The question is, how do I get started? When it comes to looking at the bible microscopically, you find as you grow in your Christian faith the Holy Spirit will give you the desire to look more closely at certain fundamental aspects or topics in the bible, for instance you may want to get a deeper understanding of God, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, Salvation, Faith, baptism or the Church.
Another great way to study the bible is to study characters. You will find a full spectrum of folk in the bible with varying personalities, yet when living under the guidance of God can be a great example to us as how to live. Jesus is the obvious prime, perfect example but in the Old Testament we have men like Noah, Joseph, Moses Daniel for a start, as well as ladies like Miriam, Moses mother Ruth and Esther.
In the New Testament we have the disciples. Reading the first four books Matthew, Mark, Luke and John will display something of their virtues by how and what they write. Then we have the apostle Paul, that great pioneer who played such a big part in the formation of the church as we know today. There are a number of ladies in the New Testament like Jesus’s mother Mary, as well as Mary Magdalene and the sisters of Lazarus Mary and Martha.
To help you to look up these subjects and names you need dictionary or a concordance, which sometimes appears in a condensed form at the rear of the bible. A conclusive concordance lists every word mentioned in the bible noting chapter and verse to every place where the word is mentioned. A concordance for the NIV bible can be obtained through Christian bookshops or through the Internet. But if you have access to the internet there is an excellent online bible concordance if you go to www.biblegateway.com/
You have the option of searching the bible by BOOKS www.biblegateway.com/passage/. Or if you want a certain WORD or TOPIC you can go to www.biblegateway.com/keyword/
So let us take a more in depth look at the Old Testament.
Let’s get a more detailed outline to the Old Testament by going to the first book of the bible Genesis which describes creation of the universe and man, followed by how Adam and Eve sins causing them and mankind to be separated from God. We then read of Noah and the great flood.
Then the focus is on Abraham, whose name was changed to Abram, following his family line growing into a nation in Canaan, then through drought find themselves living in Egypt.
In the next book, the book of Exodus, it describe how God led the children of Israel, Abrams decedents out of Egypt through God sending the ten great plagues, with Moses leading them back into the land of Canaan, but not before spending forty years wandering in the wilderness close to Sinai. During their forty years living in the wilderness we read how God continued to lead and guide the Israelites under Moses to set up a tent of meeting, in order for the Israelites to meet with God.
The next three books Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy list the guidelines God gave to the children of Israel to live by including the Ten Commandments.
We now come to the book of Joshua, which describes how Israel re-entered Canaan conquering the opposing tribes, settling down in the land as we know it today.
In the early days of the nation of Israel they were guided by Godly men of wisdom called Judges as named and described in the next book.
The following book of Ruth is a romance; it describes how Israel was in a drought, with one family moving abroad to escape hunger. On return Ruth the now daughter-in-law to the family that had emigrated returns to Israel meeting up with a noble of Israel, which we learn later was of the lineage to which Jesus was born.
The next six books 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles sees the transition from judges as leaders to kings taking rule. We read in these books how Israel kept falling away from following God, to the extent that God rejected Israel. The consequences resulted in God no longer protecting them as a nation, allowing the Babylonian empire to attack Israel and take the vast majority of the people into their own country.
For seventy years God allowed Israel to endure the pagan lifestyle of the Babylonian people to bring judgement on them and rekindle the desire to follow Him again and have the yearning to return back to their own country. This time of returning back to Israel, rebuilding Jerusalem and re-establishing Gods Laws is described in the next two books Ezra and Nehemiah.
The following book Esther describes how Israel was again in danger of being destroyed. But Esther one of the children of the Israelites, becoming queen to the king of the alien nation, and was able to highlight injustice and halt the destruction of Israel.
The next five books take on a different tone. The first of the five books Job is often mentioned in the commonly used fraise “the patience of Job”. That is the essence of the book, God wanted to show Satan that one of His faithful followers, in whatever circumstances he had to face, however much was taken from him and however much he suffered he would not turn away from his God. In the closing chapter we see how much God rewarded Job for keeping faithful to Him
The following poetic books, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes (book of wisdom) and Song of Solomon speak for themselves in their titles.
We now come to the Major prophetical books Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel and the writings of the Minor Prophets Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah and Nahum. The prophetic words given by these writers gave both warnings and encouragements on two fronts. In the main the prophetic words were a warning to Israel about their wayward ways, in rejecting God as described in the book of Kings and Chronicles warning of imminent judgement, encouraging the Israelites to turn back to their God. But in addition to prophetic words regarding the Israelites in the Old Testament they prophecy of Jesus coming into the world as written in the New Testament, but also clearly describes how God will return to earth again, outlining future plans for mankind, judgement of the disobedient and setting up a new heaven and earth.
Now that we have the general outline to the bible it would be good to discuss other ways to study the bible.
Final thoughts regarding the bible
In rounding up the outline to the bible here are some words of guidance and encouragement taken from the New Testament. First we need to know the bible scriptures to defend our faith as we read in Ephesians 6:17. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. In Hebrews 4:12 we read - For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Again the Apostle Paul encouraged a young Christian named Timothy, we read in 2 Timothy 3:14-16 (NIV) 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
It is the Holy Spirit who speaks into our hearts, so as we speak the Holy Spirit by his power is able to affect the emphasis of what the bible, the word of God is saying to our listeners.
Finally let us heed the warning verses that are in the very last book of the bible Revelations 22 verse 18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.
Jesus said in John 14 (NIV) “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”5 Thomas (on of Jesus’s disciples) said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
We live in an unjust world where truth is not the norm, where sadness and destruction abound, we need something or someone to turn to that we know can give us security, stability, guidance and assurance that we are not alone, with an eternal future in Heaven.
That is why Jesus said - I am the way and the truth and the life. We can all have that assurance, Jesus in the book of Matthew 11:27-29 (NIV) said 27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Also in John 10 verses 7 to 10 we read 7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
The bible is a love story, once we give our life to Jesus, and know we have God living within us through the Holy Spirit, we can join in with what the apostle says in Romans 8:38-39 (NIV) 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
David the Psalmist says in Psalm 119 verse 105 - Your word (Gods word the bible) is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
May this short overview of the bible inspire you to dig deep into Gods word, but more important help you to gain both insight into God and his son Jesus, to start on a journey in building a loving eternal bond with God the Father, His son Jesus, a close friendship that will last for eternity.
For a further breakdown to the books of the bible go to – Bible Books
