THE
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Back to Bible Study special issue contents

WRITTEN FOR OUR LEARNING

Trevor Maher

THIS SPECIAL Issue is different in format and content from those we normally publish. Usually there is a selection of articles of an expository or exhortational nature on a specific theme. This time we have chosen to produce the Special Issue in what some might call a ‘workbook’ format. It has expository and exhortational articles, but these include and encourage the readers to undertake exercises in Bible study and exploration by way of case studies, assignments, study of themes, words or topics, and in other specific ways. These exercises can be used by individuals, small groups, or at ecclesial meetings such as the Bible Class or youth groups. The layout is such that the exercises or information can be easily photocopied and reproduced as many times as needed, and we hope that brethren and sisters will find this of benefit and make full use of it. Why have we done this? 

Rightly dividing the Word

The Bible is the most important possession we have. It is the means by which we become "wise unto salvation", and its words lead to life eternal. We have long been known as a community of Bible students, but sadly, in recent years, this has suffered a marked decline. Bible study has been given the overtone of being ‘academic’, or merely ‘a way of accumulating knowledge’, and has been diminished through expressions such as, ‘Not everyone is that way inclined’, or, ‘Surely leading a good Christian life is more important than how much you know’.

Whilst there may appear to be an element of truth in such statements, the reality is that they are eroding the very foundation of our faith. We can be in danger of treating the Bible as a collection of texts from which we select texts to support our activities as individuals or a community, like the wayward religions around us. The Apostle Paul warned the ecclesia at Corinth of this failing when he said: "For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God" (2 Cor. 2:17); and later he says: "we... have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully" (4:1,2). The two words ‘corrupt’ and ‘deceitful’ carry the same meaning, ‘to adulterate’, which is spoiling by mixing with something else. It is vital that we are prepared to allow Scripture to influence and change us, rather than the other way round. Scripture teachings were being adulterated in the first-century ecclesias as early as the time of the Apostle Paul.

External ideas and human philosophies were brought in to interpret and explain the Word of God and His Son. The prophet Isaiah emphasises that, "as the heavens are higher than the earth", so God’s ways and thoughts are far removed from man’s. However, the prophet goes on to tell us that, in order to educate us and to bring us closer to His ways and thoughts, God has given us His Word, which, like the rain, produces food and growth, sustaining life (55:9-11). So it is that this lesson was taught to Israel in the wilderness, and reiterated by the Lord Jesus, also in the wilderness: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Mt. 4:4; cf. Deut. 8:3).

This sequence of references and thought brings home the unity of Scripture, the consistency of God’s revelation and teaching, and the purpose of His Word. The Scriptures, taken as a whole and not in isolated or fragmented pieces, have been given by God to explain His will and purpose, to interpret God to us. Sadly, we approach them so often in the spirit that we have to interpret the Scriptures, rather than allowing them to do the interpreting. We must have meekness if we are to allow the "engrafted [implanted] word" to bring us to salvation (Jas. 1:21), but we must "Study to [be]... a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). The word "dividing" means ‘to cut’, and this is the only occurrence in the New Testament.

Now by implication, to cut must involve dividing or separating, and, in the context of the reference, Paul is making a distinction between two groups of believers: those who misuse the Scriptures, and those who allow Scripture to teach them and do not bring their ideas into the interpretation. Five points are established in this reference (there may be more): 

1. We must study to seek God’s approval, not man’s;
2. We are to be diligent in our study;
3. As workmen our aim is to have no cause for shame in our work;
4. To gain God’s approval we must rightly divide His Word;
5. Our study must be in the right way, associated only with the Word of truth.

Now the apostle did not say, "Only do this if you are that way inclined". It is the responsibility of all to do this that they might recognise error if it arises, and to contribute to spiritual growth in the lives of their brethren and sisters as well as themselves.

Become as one of us

When our first parents ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the consequences were disastrous. Man and woman had been created to bear the "image" and "likeness" of their Creator (Gen. 1:26). "Image" carries the meaning of physical appearance, whilst "likeness" concerns morality, relating to thinking and character. The likeness became terribly tarnished by the knowledge of good and evil, through their disobedience, and in so doing brought the curse of death on the image of our human frame.

So, through all Scripture there runs this theme of God’s love in providing a way, the way, as Scripture refers to it, by which fallen mankind could eventually attain to "the image and glory of God" (1 Cor. 11:7), which was the purpose of his creation. Follow the sequence of thought in these references: Genesis 1:26,27; 3:2-22; Exodus 34:5-7; Colossians 3:8-17; Philippians 2:4-11; Hebrews 1:3. The means chosen by God to influence minds are His Word, both spoken and written, and the example and sacrifice of His Son, who is "the Word... made flesh" (Jno. 1:14), whose title is to be, "The Word of God" (Rev. 19:13).

The early chapters of Genesis show the corruption of God’s Word, and when we get to the time of the tower of Babel the language is striking. We read that the Lord said, "the people is one, and they have all one language"; and, as a consequence, "nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do" (Gen. 11:6). The solution to this problem was to confound their language so that they could not understand each other’s speech. The influence of their thinking and desires was therefore hindered and thwarted; and the Word of God came to Abraham, and subsequently his descendants: "unto them were committed the oracles of God" (Rom. 3:2). Through these oracles, the Scriptures, God speaks to us today, giving us His thoughts and desires, enabling us to have a common language and understanding, that we might be one with Him.

Let this mind be in you

The greatest example of this, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ. In Philippians 2 Paul takes us back to Eden, and to the very words we have been considering. He talks about Christ "being in the form of God", but says that Christ did not grasp at equality with God as Adam and Eve did. He accepted that he was "in the likeness of men", and that he was "in fashion as a man" (vv. 6-8). Jesus humbled himself, became like a servant, and ultimately offered himself as the perfect sacrifice. We have to cultivate this mind and character if we are to grow in a Christlike manner.

In Hebrews 1:3 we read that after his resurrection Christ is described as being "the brightness of His [God’s] glory, and the express image of His person". The word "image" still carries the meaning of external resemblance, but the word "likeness" has now been replaced by the word "glory". Christ has now a character and being which is totally like that of his Father, and he now bears the Name of his Father. We are encouraged to strive to allow the Word of God to influence our minds, in the way Christ did, and the articles in this Special Issue have been prepared with that objective in mind. No single disciple can excuse himself or herself from undertaking this exercise, for we must have "the mind of Christ" that we might be able to discern and to understand the things of the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:14-16). 

Power of the Word

During the last twenty years or so there has been a determined effort by some among us to promulgate the view that there has to be "more than just the Bible to help and influence the believer". This is a very damaging attitude, because it must inevitably lead to a decline in the study of Scripture, and a diminution in the reverence and understanding we have of Scripture. Some object to describing the Bible as the ‘Spirit Word’, yet this is a very accurate way to talk of what God has caused to be written. The Apostle Paul talks of the believers in Thessalonica receiving the words of the gospel "not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe" (1 Thess. 2:13). The word "effectually" means ‘powerfully’.

Later, in 2 Timothy 3, he shows just how powerful it is: "... the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation" (v. 15). The expression "are able" is a translation of the Greek dunamai, from which our English word ‘dynamism’ comes. A related word dunamis occurs in Acts 1:8, where Christ tells the apostles that they will "receive power" when the Holy Spirit-gifts come. Scripture is telling us, then, that the written Word is a power in the life of the believer, just as the Spirit-gifts were a power for those who received them. There is even more compelling support for this. Back in 2 Timothy 3:16 we see the expression, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God". "Inspiration of God", as we know, literally means ‘God-breathed’. Bearing that in mind, follow the sequence of thought expressed in the following references:

Genesis 2:7: God breathed into the nostrils of man, and he became a living soul.

Psalm 33:6: The Word of God and the breath of His mouth created the heavens (see verse 9 also).

Psalm 147:15-20: God’s commands and words work in the earth.

Hebrews 3:7,8; 4:7: "The Holy spirit saith, To day..."; God’s power is at work in His Word today.

The power that created the earth, that controls the seasons, is available to us today through the written Word, which came into existence because "holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet. 1:21). We must read it, not as spectators, but as participants; we are there; the words are spoken to us; we witness the events as they happen. In today’s electronic world, virtual reality is the latest offering; but the Scriptures have always been offering that to those with the eye of faith and a mind in tune with spiritual things.

We must not view our Bibles as black and white words on a flat page, but make the words stand up and come alive. The psalmist was moved to say that it was the Word of God which "quickened" him, or made him alive (119:154), and we are told that we can be "born again" through the incorruptible and everlasting Word (1 Pet. 1:23). Jesus himself instructs his followers that "the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (Jno. 6:63). 

Thy Word is truth

All of Scripture is Christ-centred (see Christ’s own confirmation of this in Luke 24:26,27,44-47), and he is the only one who has been able fully to assimilate the Word of God. Because he made it his study he became "the Word... made flesh", and John then records: "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared Him" (Jno. 1:18). The word "declared" means ‘to make known’. From this word comes our English word ‘exposition’. Jesus is the way for us to learn about God.

The only place we can learn about Jesus is in the Scriptures (from Genesis to Revelation). Not to study our Scriptures is to turn our back on God and His Son. It was the prayer of Jesus that we might be one with him and with his Father. So our Saviour says: "Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth" (Jno. 17:17).

The Word of God will separate us from the world and bring us nearer to God. If we read it and study it, and allow its teaching to fill our hearts and minds, it will lift us up to heavenly places in Christ, and prepare us for his coming. In God’s grace we shall be changed in that day to the "image and glory" of His Son, and be worthy to share in that time when "the tabernacle of God is with men" (Rev. 21:3).