One of my passions is Bible study. I need it like I need to eat breakfast every morning. There are days that get ahead of me and I miss getting into the Word until I tuck wearily into bed and some days that I miss it altogether. But one day out and I feel off. My thoughts and emotions begin to drift, unanchored from God’s truth.
While I use devotionals and study materials, my very favorite is to first mine all I can from the Word before I turn to commentaries or study notes. I’ve found that as I dig down into the Word itself, without looking at commentaries, God unlocks truth that is deep and personal.
Today I want to share 3 ways to dig deep in Bible study. I pass these on as new methods that I’ve been using recently to help me. If they help you, then by all means use them. And I’d love to know how you mine truth from your Bible study.
1. Read the entire book in one sitting. Not the entire Bible but a book of the Bible. I adopted this practice from John MacArthur who starts new studies by reading a book of the Bible all the way through. He actually reads it through multiple times, but at least one reading through in one sitting gives enormous perspective to the full sweep of what God is revealing in that book.
So often, our Bible study is broken into pre-digested passages or we stop and start at the chapter markings. But the chapter and verse markings are not original and reading the book all the way through helps me see past verse numbers to the writing as the author first penned it.
I’ve also been pleasantly surprised to read the often-quoted passages in context. What a difference that makes! Who knew “The joy of the Lord is your strength” comes not from some exultant victory but out of Nehemiah, when the Jews were grieving their sin? The flow of the text gives such rich context to these verses and much more insight into their meaning.
2. Read a chapter, then re-read and re-read. Instead of reading through a book, lately I’ve been reading the same chapter over and over before moving on.
It is flat out amazing how God continues to reveal new truth every time I read it. Different words or phrases will stand out or I’ll see something I never noticed before. Ask God to give new insight and new application and He will continue to unpack truth from the very same text you read the day before and the day before.
The Word is living and active! Just like no two conversations with a friend will ever be the same, no time with the Lord will ever be redundant.
Right now, I’m in Philippians 1 and today, for the first time, I saw Paul’s emphasis on unity in the body. He tells the Philippian believers they have “partnership in the gospel” with him. No competition. No “my ministry, your ministry.” All in partnership for one goal — God’s glory.
No wonder Paul could rejoice in Philippians! Can you imagine the releasing joy we would have if we weren’t striving to grow “our ministry” — to tweet it first or say it better or have bigger numbers on Sunday? We are not competitors but partners in the same gospel marching toward the same goal: to glorify God.
That was such a word to me that I saw only after reading the chapter for the sixth time. No telling what God will teach tomorrow.
3. Map out a word or phrase. This is the third method I’ve been using. As you’re in the Word, the Holy Spirit will spotlight certain words or phrases. I used to underline those and keep reading. Now, I stop and turn the word over in my mind. I ask questions, imagine its application, its original use and meaning.
For example, this morning I stopped on the word “bondservant” —
“Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ…” Philippians 1:1
My map looked like this:
This little exercise brings such fruit! I don’t just understand the word better; I find this is a place of tremendous personal application.
That’s the goal of Bible study: to know Who God is and, as result, to change who we are. <—– Of course, that’s the hard part! And that’s where our work really starts. But the more we dig deep in Bible study, the more God will give us very personal lessons.
This is the kind of stuff that makes me happy. It’s what keeps me coming back to the Word again and again to drink from this rich fountain. It is no intellectual exercise. It is opening a conversation from the very God of the universe and listening as He teaches me.
Oh I love this, Lisa! Bible study makes me happy too. The idea of reading the book all through in one setting is a good one, and one I don’t do often. I do use the “mapping” concept some, but I call it Word for the Day. As in, choose ONE WORD to take with you into your day.
Love your post here. Pinning to my Getting God’s Word board!
The ONE WORD would be a great way to meditate through the day. I really like that Betsy — Thanks for sharing!
I love these tips! Thank you so much. I also love the one word meditation. I’ve done that a few times. Need to get back at it. I’m at a place where I just can’t get enough of His word and love all the little nuggets He’s highlighting for me. Thanks again..have a blessed day.
Yes. One word meditation….meditating shows us things there all along we didn’t see on a first read.
These are such great tips, Lisa. I’ve looking for some ways to go deeper in my Bible study. Thanks for sharing. And I’m so glad she weren’t suggesting I read the entire Bible in one sitting! 😉
Hope they help you, Abby! 🙂
Hey Lisa,
Good morning. I came over on Modest Mom to find your post today.
Love all of these Bible study ideas that you’ve shared. Right now, I’ve been digging in to word studies and one word at a time studies. What a great idea to do a word map as you study. I’ll have to add this!
I shared your post here: https://www.pinterest.com/melredd/blog-link-parties-and-blog-link-ups/
Hope you have a blessed day~
Melanie
Thank you Melanie. I love finding new ways to dig into God’s Word.
I have just been doing scripture writing and its great. I find myself looking forward to it, both because I am getting into God’s word, and because I (for some unknown reason) love the action of writing. It isn’t in depth, but I do a little synopsis of what I got from the passage after writing it.
Rachel, I love it! Rewriting passages helps us see things we can miss just by reading. Thanks for sharing!
Lisa, thank you. Just what I needed right now, this very minute! Too much to explain in a comment but I am going to put your three ways into practice immediately. I thirst to understand God’s Word better and I should trust that he can speak to me, teach me, and train me directly through the Holy Spirit instead of someone else’s interpretation. Then I can turn to the other tools I have to hand.
I thirst as well, Rachel. Praise the Lord He speaks to us!
I’ve always been a “Christian,” but have recently had a nagging in my heart to dig more into the Word and research things in the Bible for myself rather than taking someone’s “word for it.” I love your idea of reading and re-reading and word mapping…would you share some insight on your take of word mapping??
This is great! I love the suggestions on digging deeper into the Word! Thanks for linking this up with us at Grace & Truth!
Thank you, Holly. Love your site and I appreciate you hosting the Grace & Truth linkup!
Thank you for this! When I’ve taken the time to read through a book in one sitting, it has been really powerful…I really need to set aside more time to do this more often (it’s been a while). I agree that context impacts our interpretation immensely…which is part of the reason I’m reading through the whole Old Testament from start to finish- I’m up to the Psalms (after experiencing the power of doing so with the New Testament via the Community Bible Experience).
I LOVE the wordmap idea: I really want to try that one out (will do so tomorrow morning!!!). Thanks!
Thank you for sharing your experience Anna. I pray these deepen your Bible study time even more!
Hi,Lisa.
I am a Bible Student now. And this method is very helpful as I study the Word of God. Thank you for sharing. Hope to read more from you. God bless you more.
Thank you!
These are very similar to the methods I use to study! Sometimes, I study and reread a passage for /weeks/. For example, I discovered 2 Corinthians 4:7-18 three to four weeks ago and I am /still/ rereading it and finding new things (I highly recommend taking a look at it. It has to be one of my favorite passages in the entire Bible. In fact, just a week after I discovered this passage, God used it to minister to one of my friends who was struggling (I talk about it here: http://www.knowingthepower.com/?p=232). Just recently, God has been revealing truly amazing things in His Word, and even though I grew up in church, I’m just now learning to put it all to practice and really make an impact.
I really like the mapping idea! When I find a word that sticks out, sometimes I’ll look up a bunch of different definitions of it to get a better idea of what the author is talking about. But I tend to do my studies at night because I find the darkness of my room comforting, and I know that there’s nothing I need to hurry and do other than go to sleep.
Thanks for the post!
Sarah
http://www.knowingthepower.com
This is awesome to hear, Sarah. It’s so satisfying to dig deep into God’s Word.
Muchas gracias por los grandes consejos de estudio bíblico, voy a adaptarlos en mis lecturas diarias.
Dear Lisa
I was browsing on Pinner established for the word DEEPER and came across your post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Sometimes going deeper with Christ’s word also means a bit of a separation from people and things. .. but what an exhilarating time…
Thanks for the tips.
Blessings.
Colleen Herman (Cape Town, RSA )
Yes, we can let people or things distract us from the deep things of God. So good to hear from South Africa. My husband lived in Johannesburg for several years as a young boy.
Thank you for this: Reading God’s word is no intellectual exercise. It is a conversation with God.
Hi Lisa,
This is my first visit to your site. I am a big fan of anything that helps God’s people dig deeper into His word. These are excellent suggestions. One other technique I use is diagramming sentences. It can give you a new perspective on a passage, expose “lists” of ideas and thoughts or even create speaking outlines. If your studying Philippians you might want to check out my new book, Humility, Love, and Unity: Reflections on the Book of Philippians. Its available on Amazon. I have looked at this book through my theological studies, counselling background, and personal experience. Gives it a little different flair from the normal Bible study. Would love to know what you think.
Naomi Deutekom
Thank you, Lisa! My sister’s in the Lord, are studying Matthew. We’ve been reading the whole book, each week before we meet, trying to follow the Lord’s leading. I like the additional study methods you practice. I needed this!
So sorry for your loss!
Many, many Blessings to you!
Thank you for this article. It is so good to ‘meet’ other people with a passion for God’s Word. I use the same John MacArthur advice in reading the whole book at once. I try to do it every day for thirty days. I also took a free online class through Dallas Theological Seminary and now to dig even deeper, I use the Who, Where, What, Why, and How method.
Thanks again! I look forward to more articles.
May I ask what kind of Bible you have?? It looks like a great study Bible!!
Kathy, this picture shows my NIV study Bible that I’ve used for years. I think this is a link to the one in the picture. https://goo.gl/b6Tpoy I also have a John MacArthur NKJV study Bible that I love as well.
I just came across your blog post from Pinterest today. I had just been thinking about how to really get into God’s Word. I have been a believer for 20 years and I have been reading a book by Andrew Murray about not being a carnal Christian. Your post was just what I needed to fan the fire of Bible Study in my life. Thank you so much!
I LOVE IT! LOOK TO PINTEREST.COM TOO! PICTURES TO GO WITH THE BIBLE VERSES!
Iam a gentleman who has a wife who does not see well. I hope it is allright for me to join so i can read these to my wife.
GOD BLESS YOU.
Love this Lisa. Reading through a whole chapter or Book really gives us perspective on the context.
Thanks for sharing these tips.
It does. It’s one of my favorite ways.
I love this so much! Thank you, Lisa!
So glad, Jennifer!
Hey Lisa,
I do wish believers in Christ would sit and read whole books at a time. You gain so much more understanding that way. Many verses are taken out of context, but when you read the entire book it’s hard to do that.
Anyway, thanks for this post.
thank you so much for this tips im sure that ill definitely be helpful.
What marvellous insight the Lord have you.. In turn giving it to us 😁
He is absolutely incredible in the way he moves and speaks!!
Thank you for being obedient in sharing your testimony!
I will definitely be implementing these!