UNDERSTANDING
THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE I. TEXTUAL THOUGHTS 1. 2 Peter 1:2-3 - God has
provided us with all things that relate to life and godliness 2. 2 Peter 3:16 - There
are different books in the Bible with different human authors 3. Hebrews 1:1 - It was
God's plan to speak through many different people, finally Jesus 4. John 21:25; 20:30-31 -
More could be written, but what we have is enough for having life 5. Revelation 22:18-19 -
Be careful not to distort what is written in the Bible II. MAIN THEME - The Bible is one book,
and yet it is 66 separate books (letters).
How can we understand the
distinctive nature of each book and at the same time keep its theme in the overall
scope of the Bible? Here are some
suggestions for studying each book: 1. The Bible has two
divisions: Old Testament (39 books)
and New Testament (27 books). Be careful not
to confuse these two testaments. The
Old Testament mainly describes the covenant
given to the Israelites, and the New Testament reveals the covenant for all peoples. Exodus 19:1-6; Matthew 28:18-20 2. There is a setting or
background for each book of the Bible.
If a student of the Bible fails to recognize the
background, sometimes it can cause poor understanding. For example: a. Acts 15:1-21
- Some tried to force Christians to obey the old covenant. b. 2 Corinthians
2:5-11 - First you must read 1 Corinthians 5 in order to understand this. c. Acts 1:1-2 -
Acts is the second book that Luke wrote - "Luke" is the first book. d. Revelation
1:4-5 - John wrote this book to seven specific churches, not just in general. 3. Take note who is the
author of each book. This helps
understanding the whole book. For example, Paul
wrote 1 Corinthians after he had traveled to visit the Corinthians and taught them the gospel
of Jesus - Acts 18 and 1 Corinthians 1:10-17. 4. Notice the character
of each book - what kind of writing is it?
For example, in the New Testament,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts are historical books, while Romans through
Revelation are letters written in order to greet, praise, and teach. 5. Subject matter - it is
very important that we try to understand the central theme of each book. There may be a variety of teachings in one
book, but if we miss the central message, then we
have missed the purpose of the book.
See Romans 1:16-17 III. APPLICATION 1. Books are named for
different reasons: Genesis means
"beginning", Exodus means "exiting". Some books have the name of the recipient:
Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. Other books have
the name of the author: Peter, James,
and John. 2. Study about the
circumstances and society of the book - Hebrews is a good example. 3. Sometimes, it is a
good idea to outline a book in order to see clearly the main theme. For example,
Hebrews is easy to outline because the main theme is the superiority of Christianity to
Judaism because Christ is superior to all that preceded Him. IV. MEMORY VERSE
- John 20:30-31 |