We all sat around the tables in the church fellowship hall for the small group meeting. We had been reading a book on faith as well as some Scriptures in our Bible and as we discussed that different passages a sweet girl nearby me said to another girl, “Well what I love about Scripture is that I got a totally different meaning from that text than you did.”
At the time, I hadn’t yet gone to seminary and didn’t understand exactly why I struggled so much with her statement, but something in me knew that she couldn’t be correct.
Scripture can’t mean one thing to one person and the same text mean another totally different thing to another person. If a passage of the Bible can mean something something different to everyone, then how do we know who is correct? How can we know if someone is manipulating the text for their own gain? How can we trust God’s Word if it can change meaning according to the reader?
God’s Word is alive and active, which means we are constantly learning new things out of the text, but it doesn’t mean it’s constantly changing meaning.
All this made more sense as I learned about hermeneutics in seminary!
As readers of Scripture, when we come to the text the goal is to follow the process of EXEGESIS (reading out of the text the meaning of the text) instead of making the mistake of EISEGESIS (reading into the text meaning instead of pulling out the meaning).
But, I understand not everyone has the opportunity to take seminary classes, or may not belong to a church that either teaches groups/classes on reading Scripture, or spends a lot of time on the exegesis process of reading Scripture. So, today I want to give you the 4 Steps of Bible Study that I learned in seminary and how this can easily transform your Bible study time.
STEP 1: OBSERVE THE TEXT
This is by far the biggest struggle we may have in studying Scripture. We are often in such a hurry to get through the text and extract the interpretation that we don’t spend enough time observing. In this step of the process we need to look at all the details and all the words. Ask questions such as:
• Who are the characters in the text?
• Where is the location of the story/text?
• Is there a conflict/problem happening in the text?
• What genre of literature is the passage I am reading?
• Who was the author of the passage?
• Who was the original audience reading/listening to this passage?
It is in the stage of observation that we become students of Scripture. We spend our time here, observing and paying attention to all the details. How are the words connected? Which words are repeated? Etc. What does the author tell, and what doesn’t the author tell us?
When we have spent a lot of time in observation we then move to the second phase of Bible study.
STEP 2: INVESTIGATE THE TEXT
In this stage of our study we begin to ask questions of the passage.
• What was happening in the political, geographical and social customs of the day when the text was written? And how does this affect the reading of the text?
• What do the keywords of the text mean in their original language?
• Are there cross-references to the words/stories and prophecies of the text I am studying?
This is the stage where we explore and investigate the text we are reading.
After we have observed, and asked questions and sought answers, we move to the third step of our study process.
STEP 3: INTERPRET THE TEXT
This is undoubtedly the step everyone wants to jump to when studying Scripture, and I get it. We want to know what it means!!!!
But we can’t know what it means if we aren’t reading it correctly. So if we skip past steps 1 & 2 and jump into step 3, we will likely read the text out of context and fumble in the wrong interpretation of the text anyway, which is why I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to spend time in observation and investigation before jumping into interpretation.
In this step of the process we want to ask ourselves, “How does this text teach me about the work, will and ways of God? What is the original author saying to the original audience about God or on behalf of God?”
While it’s fine to resonate with the text, to feel like we can see ourselves and our circumstances in the lives of the characters we read about and their stories, we must always remember that Scripture is God’s story not ours, so when we get to interpretation we want to learn about who God is, how He works, and what He wants.
In this step we can make interpretations by asking, “Because of this passage I learn that God ____.” And you fill in the blank with what you have learned about God’s work, will or ways.
Finally, when we have observed, investigated and interpreted the text––then we move the text toward ourselves. Now that we know about what God wants us to learn about Himself, we can step into the final stage of Bible study…
STEP 4: APPLICATION
Once we have learned about God through His word, the next step is to be transformed by His Word. So while the interpretation section would be statements about God such as, “God may not give His people answers to their questions, but He does give His people peace in tough situations.” in the application section of our study the statements move to “I” statements such as, “I must bring my problems to God and allow Him to work His will in my life.” or “Because of God’s faithful provision, I can feel confident that He will help me in my time of need.”
The goal of Bible study is not just to read through a plan and check a box off the list, but to come face to face with the Living God through His revealed Word to us and be transformed because of it.
Reading God’s Word ought to be a blessing in our life, not a drudgery. As we learn how to read God’s text well we come to the text with anticipation and excitement for what we learn about God and how that will bless and transform our lives.
Praying these steps not only simplify your study time, but that they open your eyes to the blessing, beauty and bounty of riches in God’s Word as you study it.
In this journey of faith with you,
Interested in Bible Study but don’t know where to start or how to do this process on your own? Download the free PDF resource, BIBLE STUDY BASICS and use that to jumpstart your process.
Want all these resources in a printed journal you can use with your Bible study time? Get the Girlfriends in the Word™ Bible Study Journal now on the Etsy store before they sell out again.
Are you an auditory learner and love listening? Make sure you check out the Girlfriends in the Word™ podcast!
