What Should I Do Before Diving Into A Study?
Get the “Big Picture” First
It is important to know the books that make up the Christian Bible and their categories. The goal, at a beginning level, would be to memorize the order of the books along with the major events, people, and Covenants they contain. Start with the foundational books of the Torah: The first five books of the Bible, also known as the “Books of Moses” or the “Law.” This will help with understanding the Bible’s “big picture” so that you will be able to make connections as you study other books, especially in the New Testament.
Last week we looked at the importance of using “hermeneutics” which is simply studying the books of the Bible in their complete context. This includes knowing the author and his audience along with the original purpose for the writings. It is then important to read the stories in chunks in order to get the complete context. Keep in mind that what you are reading are historical narratives of real people and events and how God worked through them, as messed up as many of their lives were, to fulfill His perfect plan of redemption.
Always pray before studying the Bible:
Model Jesus by going to the Father in prayer before studying Scripture, and in all that we do. Prayer will help us focus on what is important and allow for God to speak to us through His Word.
Always ask for the Holy Spirit to be your teacher and guide:
It is of vital importance to know that you cannot understand the Bible without the help of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 1 Corinthian 2:9-14).
Get to know the “Big Picture” of the Bible and use that as your framework:
- Get a grasp of the Biblical timeline, historical settings, geography, and the culture of that day with its accepted practices (which do not always line up with God’s accepted practices)
- Outline the events, people, and Covenants from God in the books as you read and study
- Use simple resources like the “Life Application Bible” and the “Essential Bible Companion” to help
- Understand the focus of the entire Bible is to point to the person of Jesus and His role in the God-Head; this includes the prophecies that point to His ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise through His sacrifice and resurrection on our behalf, and the place He has prepared for our eternal home in redemption of the ‘Fall’—this will guide your understanding of the stories as many of them foreshadow this
The Christian Bible gives us a linear storyline, just like any good novel, that we can follow from beginning to end:
- The curtain opens in Genesis: God creates a perfect world and humans have a perfect relationship with Him
- The Conflict occurs in Genesis chapter three: Sin and deception changes everything, thus affecting the rest of the Biblical story throughout, but God promises a plan
- The Old Testament continues as the unfolding of God’s rescue plan of salvation given to a particular man (Abraham), and carried through a particular nation (Israel), with every person, story, and event pointing to that fulfillment in Jesus
- The New Testament is the fulfillment of the rescue plan through Jesus with the knowledge of redemption offered to everyone by way of the Holy Spirit
- The curtain closes in Revelation: We come back to that original place of relationship and perfection with God through Jesus Christ our LORD and Redeemer
The Bible’s main character: God
The conflict: Sin
The main theme: Rescue and Redemption
Look for the Scarlet Thread of Jesus that runs throughout
In a simplified way, every book of the Bible can be assigned a theme that points to Jesus:
Old Testament:
| Book | Jesus is… |
| Genesis | The Creator of life; the Seed of the woman; the Promise |
| Exodus | The Passover Lamb; Our Lawgiver |
| Leviticus | Our day of Atonement and High Priest |
| Numbers | Our Pillar of cloud by day and Pillar of fire by night |
| Deuteronomy | The Prophet like unto Moses |
| Joshua | The Captain of our salvation; The LORD of Heaven’s Army |
| Judges | Our Judge and Lawgiver |
| Ruth | Our Kinsman Redeemer |
| 1st & 2nd Samuel | Our Trusted Prophet and Son of David |
| 1st & 2nd Kings | Our Reigning King |
| 1st & 2nd Chronicles | Our Reigning King and Son of David |
| Ezra & Nehemiah | The Rebuilder of the broken and Redeemer of Israel |
| Esther | The Providence of God and Protector of Israel |
| Job | The Ever Living Redeemer |
| Psalms | Our Shepherd and Cross of Christ |
| Proverbs & Ecclesiastes | Our Wisdom |
| Song of Songs (Solomon) | Our Loving Bridegroom |
| Isaiah | The Prince of Peace; The Coming Messiah |
| Jeremiah | The New Covenant and Our Righteous Branch |
| Lamentations | The Weeping Prophet |
| Ezekiel | The Wonderful Four-Faced man |
| Daniel | The Fourth Man in the fiery furnace; The Victory of Life |
| Hosea | The Faithful Husband forever married to the backslider |
| Joel | The Baptizer of the Holy Spirit in fire |
| Amos | Our Burden Bearer |
| Obadiah | Mighty Savior |
| Jonah | Our Great Foreign Missionary; Savior of All |
| Micah | The Messenger with warning and hope |
| Nahum | Our Strength and Our Shield; Avenger of God’s Land |
| Habakkuk | God’s Evangelist |
| Zephaniah | Our Savior |
| Haggai | The Restorer of God’s lost heritage |
| Zechariah | The Fountain for cleansing sin |
| Malachi | The Son of Righteousness with healing in His Wings |
New Testament:
| Matthew | The King of the Jews |
| Mark | The Servant |
| Luke | The Son of Man |
| John | The Son of God; God incarnate; The Word; The Creator |
| Acts | The Savior of the world |
| Romans | The Righteousness of God |
| 1st & 2nd Corinthians | The Rock; Father of Israel; The Triumphant One |
| Galatians | Our Liberty to set us free |
| Ephesians | The Head of the Church |
| Philippians | Your Joy |
| Colossians | Your Completeness |
| 1st & 2nd Thessalonians | Your Hope |
| 1st & 2nd Timothy | Your Faith and your Stability |
| Titus | Truth |
| Philemon | Your Benefactor |
| Hebrews | Your Perfection |
| James | The Power behind your faith |
| 1st & 2nd Peter | Your Example and your Purity |
| 1st, 2nd & 3rd John | Your Life; your Pattern; your Motivation |
| Jude | The Foundation of your Faith |
| Revelation | Your Coming King |
He’s first and the last… the beginning and the end… the keeper of creation and the Creator of all. He’s the architect of the universe and the manager of all times. He always was, and He always is, and always will be unmoved, unchanged, undefeated, and never undone. His bruising brought healing. He was pierced in his pain. He was persecuted and brought freedom. He was dead and brought life. He’s risen and brings power. He reigns and brings peace. The world can’t understand him and the armies can’t defeat him. The schools can’t explain him, and the leaders can’t ignore him. Herod couldn’t kill him. The Pharisees couldn’t confuse him. The people couldn’t hold him and Nero couldn’t crush him. Hitler couldn’t silence him. The New Age can’t replace him. And, Oprah can’t explain him away. He is Life, Love, Longevity and more. He’s goodness, kindness, gentleness and God. He is Holy, righteous, mighty, powerful and sure. His ways are right and his word is eternal. His will is unchanging and his mind is on me. He’s my Redeemer. He’s my Savior. He’s my God. He’s my peace. He’s my joy. He’s my comfort. He’s my Lord and He rules my life!
Watch this eleven-year-old boy recite this entire piece from both the books and the quote above at Salem Lutheran Church in Tomball, Texas:
“Jesus in Every Book of the Bible,” by Stockton Crew
MY LIFE FOR GOD’S PLAN, NOT GOD’S PLAN FOR MY LIFE!!!
Knowing the big picture of the Bible, and focusing from there, will help us not fall into the trap of twisting Scripture—it will help keep us in the right context as we study.
Old Testament “Big Picture”
- God creates us to be in relationship with Him (Genesis 1-2)
- Humans lose that relationship at “the Fall” when they disobey God’s only command (Genesis 3)
- God immediately promises a way of salvation and begins to work that plan out in “Covenants” throughout the Old Testament—giving encouragement, warning and hope through the prophets (Genesis 3:15; Genesis 12:2-3; Genesis 15:5-19; Genesis 26:3-5; Genesis 28:10-15; Genesis 49:9-12; Exodus 12-15; 19-20; 2 Samuel 7:5-17; Jeremiah 31:31)
- Every book (39), story, and event contains a foreshadow, model, or prophecy of Jesus (who He would be and what He would do)—the Scarlet Thread of the Old Testament
- The Nation of Israel was chosen to be God’s people and role-model to the other nations (they failed all the time) showing the need for a Savior, and it would be through this Nation that Messiah would come
Overarching Message:
Unbelief and disobedience towards God results in hardship and separation from God’s love, protection, and blessing:
People (sinful)——-/ (separation) /——-God (Holy)
The need for rescue and deliverance (a Savior)—God’s Genesis 3:15 Promise unfolds through the Covenants and culminates in Jesus…
New Testament “Big Picture”
- Jesus is born, the promised Messiah from the tribe of Judah and line of David (Luke 3:23-37)
- Jesus is the New Covenant in fulfillment of God’s Old Covenant and the hundreds of prophecies made about Him centuries before (Luke 22:20; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 8:7-13; 9:1-15)
- Jesus’ ministry proves that He is God incarnate evidenced by His sinless life and multitude of miracles attesting to His power over the natural order and His love for humanity
- Jesus dies as a substitute for all humanity, then resurrects from the grave in defeat of death and Satan, restoring that lost relationship with humankind and providing a path for eternal life (John 3:11-21)
- Jesus’ followers begin to spread this good news at Jesus’ command and giving of the Holy Spirit to all believers (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:7-8)
- The early Church begins as disciples gathering in various places worshipping and studying Scripture (book of Acts)
- Jesus promises to come back bringing the full Kingdom of God creating a New Earth and New Heaven with no more pain, suffering, or death (Revelation 21:1-7)
- Our job, or purpose, until then is to share this good news with as many people as we can, living lives as God’s Ambassadors for the Kingdom, preparing for eternity (Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Corinthians 5:20)
Going Deeper:
Watch this presentation by Francis Chan called “Why We Need The Bible More Than Ever:”
Bible Study:
Each week there will be a reading assignment from the “Torah.” We are working our way through the story of Abraham that begins in Genesis Chapter 12. Last week we looked at the hermeneutics of the Torah. This week we will focus on the events from Genesis chapters 12-13. Read through those two chapters and then answer the following questions:
- Genesis chapter 12 is an introduction to Abraham (Abram) and the Abrahamic Covenant. This Covenant is the expansion of God’s promise from Genesis chapter 3. Review the Covenant by writing out the three distinct parts: (12:1-3)
- Where was Abram when the LORD spoke to him a second time and what did the LORD tell him (12:6-8)? Where is this area located today and why is it an important area?
- Why did Abram go down to Egypt and what happened when he went there (12:9-20)?
- Summarize what happened between Abram and Lot in 13:1-13. What do you notice about the attitude of Abram versus the attitude of Lot based on Lot’s choice of land?
- God spoke to Abram a third time. What did God say to Abram this time (13:14-18)?
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You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in! Join us as we examine evidence for Christianity and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.
Click into the resource page of this website to view many of the top Christian thinkers and apologists along with some of their work; connecting to these types of resources is essential in your Christian growth.
Please let me know what you think: Give feedback, ask questions or send concerns in the comment section of the blog.
Teri Dugan
TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com
1 Peter 3:15
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