A Primer on How to Study the Bible

Many people read the Bible, but from my experience, not many are engaged in Bible study. It’s the difference between walking through a gold field and picking up golden nuggets or buying some mining equipment and excavating the fabulous treasures below. Study may be harder and more time-consuming, but it also has a potential to yield much richer rewards. I believe it can transform your spiritual life.

What is Bible Study?

Effective Bible study is “A Spirit-empowered life-changing examination of the Bible.”

Notice three things about this definition.

First, it is ‘Spirit-empowered.’ Effective Bible study never happens if God’s Spirit is not present, opening your eyes to understand the Bible better. Human wisdom can research the Bible, but without the Spirit, your study will never have spiritual value or result in life change.

Second, it is an ‘examination of the Bible.’ The word ‘examination’ implies careful observation and attention. Bible study differs from Bible reading because it is more methodical, carefully observing and analyzing the text of the Bible. You cannot rush through it or do it haphazardly. It demands time and attention.

Third, it is ‘life-changing.’ Examination of the Bible is only valuable in so far as it results in application: thinking differently, feeling differently, acting differently. God’s Word does not exist so that you could gain head knowledge, but heart knowledge. Of course, it is important to cognitively understand the Bible, but that knowledge only increases your condemnation before God if it is not applied to life! The goal of Bible study is always application: conforming your mind, heart, will, and practice to His truth.

What are the Types of Bible Study?

There are three common types of Bible study, and you can benefit from each kind. Effective Bible study will often combine several, or even all three.

Inductive Bible Study approaches a Bible passage by trying to understand that particular passage, within its context. The focus of inductive Bible study is spending significant time with the text. After spending time with the text, you make observations, recognize themes and patterns, and consider the relationship between the different phrases and sentences. This is a great method if you are new to Bible study, but it is also foundational for all Bible study – the other two forms flow out of inductive study. You can study inductively even if you have never done so before, but as you grow in your study skills, your inductive study will become more insightful.

Word Studies try to understand the meaning of a particular word in the Bible. Effective word studies use inductive Bible study as their foundation. Rather than ‘parachuting in’ to specific words in the Bible, those words need to be understood, inductively, within their context. The Bible was originally written in Greek and Hebrew, so word studies often choose a Greek or Hebrew word, then observe each place where it occurs in the Bible. Originally, this required knowledge of ancient languages, but there are many tools you can use today to help you learn – though nothing is the equivalent of investing in Greek and Hebrew!

Topical Bible Study tries to understand specific themes throughout the Bible. Just like word studies, topical study is also rooted in inductive study: understanding a specific theme within the context of its passage. To study topically, you choose a topic (like ‘justification’ or ‘the love of God’) and look for the key passages in the Bible that contain this topic. Then, you analyze those passages and draw out the main features of that ‘topic.’ Naturally, topical study is more challenging because it can encompass so much of the Bible.

What Bible Study Tools Are Available?

Bible, Pencil, and Paper are the only tools you really need. Ultimately, if you are performing inductive Bible study (and everyone should do this, most of the time), you are simply reading the text repeatedly and then making observations. Write down your observations and revise them as you go along.

For a Bible, choose a version that aligns closely with the original text. The New American Standard, as well as the King James and New King James, are highly rated for how closely they follow the text. This is important, because you are analyzing the words themselves, and you want to get as close to the original Greek and Hebrew as you can. The English Standard is also pretty good, but many other common versions are only mediocre in their accuracy to the text. If you are not sure about the specific version you use, seek the advice of a trusted pastor who is known for his commitments to the literal Word of God. Also, beware of study Bibles. While study Bibles can be helpful in some contexts, they often short-circuit the study process by providing notes, rather than challenging you to think carefully about the text.

A laptop or iPad can be a great place to take notes and save the results of your studies – just be sure that you aren’t distracted by these devices. You can turn off your internet connection or download apps that will block specific programs while you are doing your study, if that prevents distraction.

Dictionaries and Word Study Books provide definitions for rare or theological words (some of them provide full analysis of the word throughout the Bible, essentially providing you with a completed word study). These books are not essential, but can be helpful. I occasionally use Easton’s Bible Dictionary, Fausset’s Bible Dictionary, and Nave’s Topical Bible.

Concordances list every occurrence of a specific word in the Bible. They are invaluable if you are doing word studies, but also very helpful just to find a passage that you can’t remember. Some concordances are based on the English text of a certain Bible version; others are based on the Greek and Hebrew manuscripts.

Commentaries should be treated like fire: a valuable servant but a dangerous master. The basic idea of a commentary is that someone else is telling you what they think the passage is saying. Of course, this can short-circuit the study process – and what if they are wrong? On the other hand, there is great value in seeing what other people have gained from a Bible passage, but you must be careful not to jump to the commentaries too soon. Commentaries are most valuable after you have studied the passage yourself. Then, choose several commentaries that offer different perspectives, and try to understand various views. Generally, if you are doing ‘true’ inductive Bible study, you will never pick up a commentary – but I think they are valuable if they are used wisely. There are thousands of commentaries: if you want the best, research them online (you can find good recommendations at bestcommentaries.com, challies.com, and ligonier.org). The commentaries of John Gill, Albert Barnes, and Matthew Henry cover the entire Bible and provide general information, although they are dated and less rigorous.

Online Resources are wonderful because they provide all the tools that I have mentioned, in a convenient and easy-to-access form. Plus, while some of them are expensive, many are free online! You can find them at blueletterbible.org, biblestudytools.com, and biblehub.com. In addition, e-sword.net is a powerful Bible study tool that I use almost daily – you can download it for free.

What Does Bible Study Look Like?

There are an immense number of ways to actually study the Bible, but here is a sample for how you might approach the study of a small book of the Bible (like Ephesians):

1. Choose the book that you plan to study. Ideally, find a Bible that you can mark up, so that you can circle, underline, and highlight the text.
2. Research one or two good commentaries that cover the book you selected. After you purchase them, read the introductions of each commentary. They will provide you with valuable information about the background to the book: when it was written, who wrote it, what we know about the audience, etc.
3. Read through the book or passage repeatedly. The more you do this, the better! Also, find ways to incorporate it into your daily life. Can you listen to it while on the treadmill or read it with friends? Your goal is to become intimately familiar with it. Continue to do this step while you perform the other steps.
4. After you have some idea of the contents of the book, try to divide it into sections. Where does one thought end and another start? Where does the author shift gears? Mark these sections.
5. As you read, write down your observations. Identify key words and highlight them in unique colors. Write down the themes of the book – what does the book say about those themes? How do the ideas in this book seem to fit together? It is often valuable (and fun) to try to create a diagram or learning map of the key themes and ideas.
6. Make sure to also write down your questions. What do you not understand? What makes no sense? As you continue to study, these questions may resolve. If not, you will want to dig deeper.
7. Try to outline the book, using the sections that you already identified (step 4).
8. You may wish to study the key words in more detail, by observing how they are used in other places in the Bible. When studying key words, make sure to pay most attention to how those words are used by the same author in his other writings (for example, how Paul uses a specific word through his letters) before you focus on more ‘distant’ uses of the word.
9. Only after you have a fairly good feel for the book, read from the commentaries on those sections that you feel most confused by. Don’t limit yourself to the commentaries, though – talk with your pastor or others in your church and ask their opinion on the meaning of those passages.
10. Finally – and this is most important! – take time to identify the key lessons from the passage. Don’t rush this process. What are the commands in the passage? How should it shape your thinking? What reasons does it give for living differently? You might want to write down how this passage applies to your life. Then, take these applications to God in prayer. Meditate on them and wrestle with them. Talk with other people about them. Don’t end your study until you feel that you have made progress in application!

If you have further questions on Bible study, leave me a comment and I will get back with you!