HOW TO STUDY
AND UNDERSTAND
YOUR BIBLE
BIBLE STUDY GUIDES (503)
God’s Word says to :
“Prove all things”1 Thessalonians 5 : 21
If the Bible were studied according to the way God’s Word itself says it is to be studied, then it’s meaning would be clear and everyone would reach the same conclusions.
The Apostle Peter summed this up when he said :
“…no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation”. 2 Peter 1 : 20
By William T. Barrett
2004
GOD’S WORD TELLS US
HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE
1 PRAYFOR THE HOLY SPIRITTO GUIDE YOU AS YOU STUDY GOD’S WORD.
James 1 : 5 “If any lack wisdom let him ask of God… and it shall be given”.
John 16 : 13 “When he the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth”.
Example of applying Bible Study Principle :
Prayer for guidance – Motive important : Ask God to help you understand so you can teach others and then keep your commitment because you can be positive God will keep His !
2 PROVE EVERYTHING, DO NOT ACCEPT ANY MAN’S OR ANY CHURCH’TEACHING IF IT IS NOT BASED ON THE BIBLE,DO NOT GUESSOR SPECULATE AS TO THE MEANING OF BIBLE TEXTS.
1 Thessalonians 5 : 21 :
“Prove all things ; hold fast that which is good”.
1 John 4 ; 1
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God…”.
Example of applying Bible Study Principle :
You dare not guess you understand,
you must prove all things.
EXAMPLE : Daniel 7 : 3 “And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another”.
Question What do the “four great beasts” represent ?
Bible proof Daniel 7 : 17 “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth”.
4 beasts = 4 kings
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3 COMPARE ANY BIBLE TEXT WITH OTHER BIBLE TEXTS RELATING TO THE SAME SUBJECT, IN ORDER TO GET ALL THE FACTS ON THE SUBJECT BEING STUDIED. THIS CAN EASILY BE DONE BY USING A CONCORDANCE SUCH AS “STRONGS”.
1 Corinthians 2 : 13 “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth ; comparing spiritual things with spiritual”.
Acts 17 : 11 “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so”.
Example of applying Bible Study Principle :
COMPARE SCRIPTURE WITH SCRIPTURE
Matthew 1 : 21 “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus : for he shall save his people from their sins”.
Question Who was Jesus ?
Procedure To answer this question : Look in Strongs concordance under “Jesus”, to find other Bible texts which tell about Him.
Example
Matthew 8 : 29 …Jesus thou son of God
1 John 1 : 7 …the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin
Mark 16 : 6 …ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified : He is risen ; He is not here : behold the place where they laid Him”.
John 21 : 14 “This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead”.
Acts 1 : 11 …this same Jesus, which is taken up form you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven”.
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4 TO ESTABLISH TRUTH, INCLUDETHE TESTIMONYORWITNESSOF AT LEASTTWO OR THREE DIFFERENT BIBLE WRITERSBEFORE YOU COMPLETE YOUR STUDY.
2 Corinthians 13 : 1 “…in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established”.
Proverbs 11 : 14 “Where no counsel is, the people fall : but in the multitude of counselors there is safety”.
Example of applying Bible Study Principle :
Question Do the dead have knowledge and can they talk or hear ?
Procedure To answer this question :
1 Look in Strongs concordance under “dead”.
- Find appropriate texts of scripture that pertain to the above question
David Psal 115 : 17 “The dead praise not the Lord…”
Witnesses Solomon Eccl 9 : 15 “…the dead know not any thing,…”
John John 5 : 28 “…the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice”.
Bible answer :
Three Bible writers testify that the dead :
1. know nothing
2. can not talk
3. can not hear
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5 THEBIBLE WRITERS MUSTALLAGREE WITH EACH OTHER, SINCE GOD INSPIRED EACH OF THEIR MINDS AND THE ENTIRE BIBLE.
NOTE : If in your study you come upon a Bible text that “appears” to contradict another Bible verse, recognize that you do not yet understand that verse and look for other Bible verses relating to the same subject that are clearer.
1 Corinthians 14 : 32 “And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets”.
Numbers 23 : 19 “God is not a man that he should lie ; neither the son of man, that he should repent ; hath he said, and shall he not do it ? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good ?
Numbers 22 : 38 “And Balaam said… have I now any power at all to say anything ? The word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak”.
2 Timothy 3 : 16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”.
Example of applying Bible Study Principle :
Actes 1 : 11 “…this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven”.
Question Will we see Jesus when he comes the second time ?
Procedure To answer this question look in Strongs concordance under such words as : see, eye, clouds, heaven.
All agree : Matthew, Paul, John
Matt 24 : 30 “…they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory”.
2 Thes 1 : 7 “…the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels”.
Rev 1 : 7 “Behold, he cometh with clouds ; and every eye shall see him…”.
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Bible answer :
The Bible writers all agree that we will all see Jesus when he comes the second time.
1 Thessalonians 4 : 16,17 “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first : then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall we ever be with the Lord”.
6 YOU WILL HAVE TOSTUDYANDSEARCHEARNESTLY IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND GOD’S WORD.
2 Timothy 2 : 15 “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”.
Proverbs 2 : 3-5 “Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding : if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures : then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God”.
Example of applying Bible Study Principle :
EXAMPLE
Isaiah 66 : 22,23 “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make,…and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord”.
1 Corinthians 15 : 50 “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood, cannot inherit the kingdom of God…”.
COMMENTS
The above scriptures appear to be contradictory.
Show that they are not.
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PROCEDURE
Check Strongs concordance under “flesh”
John 3 : 6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh : and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”.
Check concordance – subject = “spirit” and find :
Romans 8: 8-14 “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you…
John 3 : 3,5 “…except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God”.
TWO CONDITIONS TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD
1 WATER BAPTISM
John 3 : 23 born of water “…there was much water there : and they came, and were baptized”.
John 3 : 23 born of the Spirit “…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life”.
1 Peter 1 : 23 “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God…”.
2 CONVERSION OF HEART
Ezechiel 11 : 19,20 “And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you… that they may walk in my statutes, and keep ,mine ordinances, and do them…”.
Ephesians 4 : 23.24 ” And be renewed in the spirit of your mind ; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and the true holiness”.
Thus, the two texts are speaking of different subjects :
1. Isaiah 66 : 22,23 PHYSICAL condition of those on the New Earth.
2. 1 Corinthians 15 : 50 SPIRITUAL condition of those who are saved.
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7 YOU WILL SOMETIMES HAVE TOEXAMINE EACH SENTENCEANDEVEN EACH WORDVERY CAREFULLY USING A GREEK OR HEBREW DICTIONARY TO DETERMINE THE EXACT MEANING OF A WORD OR WORDS THAT MAY NOT BE CLEAR. THIS CAN BE EASILY DONE BYREFERRING TO THE GREEK AND HEBREW DICTIONARIESCONTAINED IN THE “STRONG’S CONCORDANCE”.
Isaiah 28 : 10 “For precept must be upon precept… line upon line…here a little and there a little”.
2 Peter 3 : 16 “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things ; in which are some things hard to be understood…”.
Example of applying Bible Study Principle :
Romans 10 : 17 “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God”.
Question What is faith ? What does hearing mean ?
Procedure To answer these questions use Strongs concordance as follows :
Look up the words faith and hearing in the main concordance for Romans 10 : 17.
Notice that for the word faith the number 4102 is given and for the word hearing the number 189 is given.
- Look up those numbers in the Greek dictionary to determine the actual meaning of the words in the original language.
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Main concordance FAITH ** 4102
Romans 10 : 6,8,17
6 “But the righteousness which is of ”F”…“.
8 “…is, the word of”F”, which we preach;”
17 “So then”F”cometh by hearing…“.
Greek dictionary of the new testament
FAITH
4102 Pistis, pis’-tie ; from 3082 ; persuasion, I.E. credence : mor. conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), espec. reliance upon Christ for salvation : abstr. constancy in such profession : by extens. The system of religious (gospel) truth itself : assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.
Main concordance ** HEARING ** 189
Romans 10 : 17
“So then faith cometh by”H”,and “H” by the word of God”.
Greek dictionary of the new testament
HEARING
189 Akoe, ak-o-ay ; from 191 ; hearing (the act), the sense or the thing heard) : audience, ear, fame, which ye heard, hearing, preached report, rumor.
191 Akono, ak-oo-o ; a prim, verb ; to hear (in various senses) : give (in the) audience (of), come (to the ears), (shall) hear (er, ken), be noised, be reported, understand.
CONCLUSIONS
Expressed in the language of today Romans 10 : 17 would be :
S
o then belief comes by understanding and understanding comes by studying the Bible.
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8 CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING BY COMPARINGYOUR CONCLUSIONSTO THE TEST GOD HAS ESTABLISHED.
1. Agreement with the principles of His law (10 commandments)
2. Agreement with the testimony or witness of all His prophets. (the entire Bible)
Isaiah 8 : 20 “To the law and to the testimony : if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them”.
Luke 16 : 31 “And he said unto him, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead”.
Example of applying Bible Study Principle :
Question Some people think that the “end justifies the means” and that under certain circumstances it is all right to tell a lie. Is this correct ?
Procedure 1 Check the law of God :
God’s own words
Exodus 20 : 16 “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor”.
2 Check the testimony or witness of God’s prophets :
The words of God’s witnesses all agree :
David
Proverbs 14 : 5 “A faithful witness will not lie but a false witness will utter lies”.
Paul
Colossians 3 : 9 “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds”.
CONCLUSIONS
God’s own words and the words of his witnesses, the prophets, all agree. It is clear we are not to lie at all.
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9 HOLD FAST TO THE THINGS GOD HAS SHOWN YOU TO BE TRUTH FROM HIS WORD.
1 Thessalonians 5 : 21 “Prove all things : Hold fast that which is good”.
2 Timothy 3 : 14 “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of knowing of whom thou hast learned them”.
Example of applying Bible Study Principle :
Question If God expects me to “hold fast” to the things I have proved according to his word the Bible, he must have an unchanging standard of truth and judgment. What is the standard which he will use to judge all men and women ?
James 2 : 11,12 “For he that said, do not commit adultery, said also, do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty”.
Psalm 111 : 7,8 “The work of his hands are verity and judgment ; all his commandments are sure, they stand fast forever and ever and are done in truth and uprightness”.
Ecclesiastes 12 : 13,14 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter : fear God and keep His commandments : for this is the whole duty of man : for God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil”.
CONCLUSIONS
God’s unchanging standard of judgment is His 10 commandment law, which he spoke with His own mouth, and wrote with his own finger and which the prophet John saw existed even in His temple in heaven. (Rev. 11:19, Rev. 15:5) I must “hold fast” to this unchanging standard which God has established.
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