Notes on Reading the Bible

Before we think about how we read the Bible, there are three important things to remember:

1. The Bible is canonical. This means that it is the standard for the church on Christian faith and how we put it into practice. As well as this, it also means that the Bible we have today is the correct and final collection of inspired books (i.e nothing should ever be added or taken away).

2. The Bible is inspired by God (as we have seen in 2 Timothy 3:16, which appears on my blog home page).

3. The Bible is a united whole. It should not be read as two seperate parts (one of which is no longer relevant - as some people think of the Old Testament), or many seperate parts. The whole Bible is an extraordinary tapestry which weaves together the story of how God saved humanity.

There are lots of different aspects to reading the Bible, here are a few of them:

• Studying the literary style (eg. poetry, story) and how this informs the content.
• Praying the Bible back to God, and using it to bring us closer to Him (because God reveals Himself in the Bible).
• Applying the Bible to our personal situations.
• Hearing the Bible being preached and used in worship at church.

But the most important thing about the Bible, the piece that holds the whole gigantic jigsaw together, is Jesus. He is to be seen throughout the Bible as

The long-expected Messiah.

The once-and-for-all Replacement for all human attempts to atone for our sin.

The Servant King longed for by the prophets, to bring healing, wholeness, and restoration.

The crucified, resurrected, and glorified Saviour.

The mighty Warrior seated with God, who will return to judge the world.


May we search for Him as we open the Bible, and may we find Him.