The Bible is your source of knowledge about God. How would we know God without the Bible?
The Bible Reveals God
How could you have the stories of God’s power like when He parted the Red Sea (Ex. 14), conquered Jericho (Josh. 6), or won a war without even fighting (2 Kings 19:35)? How would you know aout His merciful sparing of a goldy man when the rest of the world had fallen into sin (Gen. 6:5-8), His forgiveness (Jer. 31:34), His slowness to anger (Ps. 103:8), and His love (1 John 4:8)?
You couldn’t. Some try to hear about God through teachers or other believers, but their understanding is secondhand. God meant for each person to know Him through His Word – through Jesus Christ who is the Word of God, and through the printed Word that points to Jesus (John 1:1-2). Our relationship with God is not based on what we know of Him; it’s based on knowing Him through His Word, revealed to us through His Spirit (Deut. 13:3).
God gave certain writers the divine understanding to know what we would need and the ability to record it as God wanted it recorded. He used those writings to reveal Himself and His Son not just to those who wrote the words but to everyone who would read it and, by faith, come to know Him for themselves.
The Bible is to Be Used
Dynamite that sits in a box is nothing more than a stick. If you want to access its power, you’ve got to use it.
Ditto for the Bible.
There is immeasurable power in the Bible you’re holding in your hands (Is. 55:11). In it we encounter the words of God Himself and the narrative He wants us to have, know, cherish, and apply. If it sits in the box or on your shelf or in your car, you are not using it; you’re just carrying it. Big difference.
So how are we to use it?
Start by letting God’s Word seep into your heart. God’s Word “is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).
The Bible can cut to the core of your heart, in particular, to filter every thought and intention. Measure everything according to God’s Word.
Next, apply it to your mind. God’s Word lights the way for you (Ps. 119:105) and makes you wise in your decisions.
Begin to let God’s Word shape your daily life. Don’t know what to do? Dig into the Bible. Think you know what to do? Dig into the Bible.
We are also called to teach God’s Word, to our children (Deut. 6:6-7) and anyone else under our spiritual authority. Paul encouraged Timothy to “Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season. convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Tim 4:2).
Pick it up. Open the pages. Let the Bible become yourmost familiar and trusted tool.
The Bible is Our Sustenance
What’s the longest you’ve ever been without food? Some have maybe missed no more than a meal or two. Some live for prolonged periods with meager but adequate morsels. And millions of people all over the world have known hunger their entire lives.
But food taken into the mouth is not the only kind of food you need; God’s Word is also a foundational food (Matthew 4:4). It is just as necessary to your mind, your body, and your soul as the fruits, vegetables, grains, and proteins you take in every day.
Jesus, the Word, called Himself “the bread of life” (John 6:35). If we know Him as our daily bread, we must live depending on the Bible to guide us to recognize Him. Moses told the Israelites, “He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord” (Deut 8:3). This is the exact verse Jesus quoted when Satan tempted Him to eat during His forty-day fast.
So we know the Word, we take it in, we allow it to change us from the inside out, and we learn that we can’t function without it. The Bible is meant to be our food: hold on to it for life, depend on it for health, and treasure it more than the food that goes into your mouth.
The Bible Gives Life
The Bible is more than a textbook or instruction manual. With typical instructional tools, you can eventually master their contents. With enough studying, you might even learn everything they can teach.
The Bible goes a step further. Because it is living and active (Heb. 4:12), the Holy Spirit speaks through it to us in new and refreshing ways applicable to the challenges of that day or season. The verse that pointed you to Jesus as a new believer might later point you to obedience or encouragement or hope or comfort when God desires for you to have those new perspectives.
This living Word is essential for our ongoing walk with Christ. It is the first place we begin to have faith. But beyond that initial hearing, the Word continually gives us assurance of what to do and when to do it. You don’t need the Bible just for salvation and to learn about God; you need to engage with it in a state of ongoing, daily, bread-of-life dependence.
A closed Bible will bring about a stagnant faith. Stay grounded in the Word of God so that your life will grow deeper and stronger.
Color Code Study Bible
Gain a better understanding of the core topics in the Bible with this helpful, color-coded system
The Color Code Study Bible uses vibrant colors to highlight Bible verses on seven key topics of the Bible, helping you see the topic within all of Scripture. The seven key topics include: (1) God the Father; (2) God the Son; (3) God the Holy Spirit; (4) Salvation; (5) Sanctification; (6) Sin and Temptation; and (7) Last Things.
