How Do You Read the Bible?

There are several things we can do to make sure we have the clearest understanding of God’s Word.

• Read multiple translations of a text and read editor notes. When creating a translation, decisions have to be made and those decisions can obscure the full meaning of a passage. By reading multiple translations and the editor’s notes, you can get a more complete understanding. Of course, better still would be to learn Biblical Greek and Hebrew.
• Read the surrounding context. No Biblical passage exists in isolation and when we pull a passage out of its context, it makes it possible to misunderstand it. So, read the surrounding paragraph, section, or even chapter to make sure you understand the context of a passage.
• Read the Bible more. The context of any passage isn’t just the paragraph, chapter, or book. Scripture interprets Scripture. The more familiar you are with the whole of Scripture, the better you can understand the full context of any passage within the Bible.

The One Thing You Need
All of the above ideas are helpful for your study of God’s Word, but in the end it will be all meaningless without the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit revealing God’s Word to us, we are blind to it. We need God to open our eyes so that we can truly see what His Word tells us.