This lesson is to aid new believers in reading the Bible. The points in this lesson will be presented in a simple and practical way.
New believers must know that the Bible is the word of God.
Second Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed.” Second Peter 1:21 says that the words in the Scriptures were written by men who were borne by the Holy Spirit. Since the Bible is the breathing of God Himself and is written by the prophets and apostles who were moved by the Spirit of God, it is the word of God.
The Bible contains life. John 5:39 says that there is eternal life in the Bible. John 6:63 says that the Lord’s words are spirit and life. The Bible is full of the life of God; hence, it can supply us with life. The Bible even says that we can eat the words in the Scripture as food. Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Your words were found and I ate them.” In Matthew 4:4 the Lord Jesus said, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God.” These verses indicate that the Bible is full of the life supply, the bread of life, that nourishes us. These words not only nourish our spirit directly but also supply our soul and our body indirectly.
We should never consider the Bible to be a book of knowledge for study. Instead, we should regard the Bible as a book that is full of the life of God. When we read the Bible, we should obtain the life supply in it.
The Bible not only contains life but also light. Life is for supplying; light is for revealing and enlightening. Hence, we should not regard the Bible as a common religious classic for the study of religious doctrine. The Bible is full of God’s light. We read the Bible to be enlightened by God and to receive His revelation so that we may understand His intention and purpose toward us.
If we see that the Bible is a book of life, we will not receive it as a book of knowledge for learning. If we see that the Bible is a book of light, we will not receive it as a common religious classic. These concepts need to be adjusted. We should take the Bible as a book that is full of life and full of light. The Word of God supplies us with the bread of life that nourishes our whole being because it contains life. The Word of God is also able to enlighten us concerning the will of God, the mystery of God, and the eternal plan of God because it is full of light. It can also manifest our true condition and enlighten us concerning the way that we should take, the things we should do, the work we should carry out, and the conduct we should have. This is a matter of enlightenment, not teaching; it is a matter of God’s revelation in light, not religious doctrine.
One must have a clear understanding of these two characteristics of the Bible. Otherwise, he will spontaneously think that it contains teachings and knowledge. People inevitably consider the Bible as a classic teaching, a book of knowledge. Only those who have received revelation realize that this book is different from all other books. It is not an ordinary book; it is the book of books. This book is the word of God; it is the breathing of God through the Holy Spirit and was written by godly men in human language. Its content is altogether life and light. From this book, we obtain the life supply as nourishment for our entire being. We also obtain revelation in the light in order that we may know God’s intention, our own condition, and how we should live and walk. Thus, we must adjust our concept concerning the Bible.
We need a proper attitude in reading the Bible. This attitude is based on our knowledge of the Bible. We know that the Bible is the word of God, containing life that surpasses knowledge and containing light that surpasses doctrine. Therefore, we should have a serious attitude when we read the Bible.
When we read the Bible, we should have an attitude of contacting God Himself. The Bible is the word of God, and the word of God is the embodiment of God. It is God Himself, the breath of God, that is, the breathing out of God. Hence, each time we come to read the Bible, we should be inwardly prepared to meet God, to contact God Himself.
We should not read the Bible merely with our mind. We must seek God with our spirit and our heart. We must have a sincere heart to draw near to God and a quiet and open spirit to fellowship with Him. This attitude is completely different from the attitude we have when reading newspapers and magazines or secular books. When we read secular publications, we need only a focused mind. However, when we read the Bible, we are contacting God, who is Spirit. Thus, we must have a heart that is true and sincere toward God and a spirit that is quiet and open to Him. In this way, we may be reading the Bible, but inwardly we are actually contacting God Himself. This is the attitude we should have when reading the Bible.