Things You'll Need:
- Bible, preferably a Study or Reference Bible
- optional Bible references and tools (see steps below)
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Step 1
PRIVACY
Find a place with no distractions at a regular time each day to study the Bible. A regular study time will help you make Bible study part of your everyday routine. A private, quiet place in which to study will help you focus. -
Step 2
PRAY
"...and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." (NIV)
Ask God to help you understand. Seek his wisdom. God has promised to help you.
Why did I include NIV in parenthesis at the end of the Scripture I quoted above? That indicates which Bible translation or version I'm quoting. Turn to the first page of your Bible. Mine reads, "Oxford NIV Scofield Study Bible" along with a bunch of publisher and editor information. Oxford University Press published my Bible so that's where Oxford comes from. NIV indicates the Bible text is the New International Version. Scofield Study Bible tells you that the book introductions, footnotes, margin notes, all the extra stuff comes from Scofield and the other editors listed on the title page.
Other popular Bibles include the KJV (King James Version) and the NASB (New American Standard Bible). -
Step 3
CHOOSE A BOOK TO STUDY
If you're just starting to study the Bible, choose one of the Gospels. Look in the front of your Bible for the index page. The Gospels are the first four books of the New Testament. They tell about Jesus Christ's life on earth as a man.
I recommend starting your Bible study with the Gospel of John. After reading the Gospel of John, read the other three Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), then the Book of Acts. -
Step 4
READ THE INTRODUCTION AND FIRST CHAPTER HEADING
Open your Bible to the first page of the Gospel of John (or whatever book you've chosen to study). Read your Bible's introduction to the Gospel of John for important background, historical and cultural information as well as themes contained in the book plus dating and authorship information. Some introductions also include geographic information and maps.
If your Bible has them, also read the chapter headings and section headers for John 1:1. My Bible's chapter heading reads, "I. The Prologue: The Eternal Word Incarnate in the Son of God, 1:1-14." So we can see that the first 14 verses of John should be taken as a unit.
Then, my Bible drops down a line and continues with "The Deity of Jesus Christ (cp. Jn. 10:30; Heb. 1:5-13)." After that, verses 1 and 2 are grouped together before the next heading break so verses 1 and 2 are related inside the thematic unit of John 1:1-14. How are verses 1 and 2 related? According to the header, they both relate to the deity of Christ and we should compare John 1:1 with John 10:30 and Hebrews 1:5-13.
Keep the organizaton and cohesion of your verse with the surrouding text in mind. In reading your Bible, context is key. Anybody can rip something out of it's natural context to make it seem to say something that was never intended. Don't be guilty of that! Always consider the verse's natural context. -
Step 5
WHOA, WAIT A SECOND -- WHAT'S A VERSE?
Verses are divisions in the text of the Bible that make finding certain passages easier. Verses are quoted in the Bible by indicating the book (in this case, John), then the chapter number (this would be chapter 1), then the verse number, which is the number embedded inside the text (in this case, 1). So the first verse of John would be cited as John 1:1 and read "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (NIV)
In many Bibles, Jesus Christ's words are in red print. These Bibles are called red-letter editions. An example is shown in the picture in this article's introduction. John 1:1 isn't in red because Jesus isn't speaking, but if you have a red-letter edition Bible, look for the red print for Jesus' words. -
Step 6
READ THE VERSE
Since John 1:1-14 is a thematic unit, read those verses to give you the immediate context of John 1:1. Now, go back again and read the first 2 verses that were indicated to be related by subheadings.
Now, slow down and narrow to your one verse. Read the verse aloud several times, emphasizing different words with each repetition.
In the BEGINNING was the Word...
In the beginning WAS the Word...
In the beginning was the WORD...
See how the meaning of the verse subtley shifts with each repetition by changing the emphasis? What could be so important about the "beginning?" What could be important about "was" or "Word?" Think and pray on what each of those words could mean, their significance and importance. -
Step 7
FOOTNOTES
Does your Bible have raised numbers embedded in the text of John 1:1? Those are footnotes. Find the corresponding number at the bottom of the page in your Bible. Read them.
My Bible's footnotes for John 1:1 talks about the meaning of logos (translated as Word from the Greek, which is what the New Testament of the Bible was originally written in) and gives references to other verses in the Bible to help me understand who the Word is. -
Step 8
MARGIN NOTES
Does your Bible have raised letters embedded in the text of John 1:1? Those are margin notes. If you look in the margins, you'll find corresponding letters that will point you to other verses that relate to the word or phrase noted in the verse. Read them.
My Bible's margin notes for John 1:1 include:
1 John 1:1
"What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life--"
Revelation 19:13
"He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God."
John 17:5
"Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."
1 John 5:20
"And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life." -
Step 9
EXTRA CREDIT: BIBLE DICTIONARIES, BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIAS AND LEXICONS
Look at your verse again, paying attention to words you can look up in a basic Bible dictionary, encyclopedia or lexicon. For John 1:1, look up "beginning," "Word," and "God."
Don't have a Bible Dictionary? That's okay. Check the resource links below. You can download free Bible software for your computer. There are also many Bible reference sites listed that include dictionaries. My favorite Bible dictionary is Vine's Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, but I also like Baker's Theological Dictionary, Smith's and Harpers.
A Bible encyclopedia is just like a regular encyclopedia, but the content is narrowed to subjects from the Bible only. I prefer the International Standard Bible Encylopedia (available on-line and in Bible software), but the Catholic Encyclopedia and Jewish Encyclopedia are also excellent.
What's a lexicon? Lexicons allow you to look up words in their original Hebrew or Greek. Each word in the Bible has been given a number. You can find a word's Strong number by checking Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. You can also download these numbers into your Bible software or check lexicons on-line.
To simplify matters, go to StudyLight, Crosswalk or Bible Gateway in the resource links below, where these references have been gathered for you in one place. -
Step 10
MORE EXTRA CREDIT: COMMENTARIES
What are commentaries? Theologians and other experts (some self-proclaimed so beware!) comment on verses of the Bible. They tell you what they think and why they think it. You can buy commentaries, download them into Bible software or read them on-line in the resouce links listed below. I like Robertson's Pictures of the New Testament, John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible, Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible, Vincent's Word Studies, and Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament. -
Step 11
READ OTHER TRANSLATIONS
Why not read how other scholars translated the verse by checking other Bibles? Compare the NIV, the KJV, the NASB with other Bibles. There are many, many translations/versions available on-line. I especially recommend the NET Bible availabe on-line in the resources below. The footnotes are excellent.
Sometimes, a different Bible translation can give you a fresh persepctive or a new insight. -
Step 12
APPLICATION
How can you apply this verse to your everyday life? Think about this. In John 1:1, for instance, the Word (Jesus) is said to have been there before the beginning. Before Creation, Christ was there. Have you placed Christ in the beginning of your life? Before anything and everything else? Is there an area of your life you need to work on in order to place Jesus first, as your beginning?
That's just an example of how you can take what you have learned in your study and applied it in your own life.
Comments
princessbrooke said
on 7/4/2009 Great job spelling out what all the church jargon means!
FrazzledNanny said
on 5/31/2009 Great tips on studying my Bible. Very helpful. 5*
02SmithA said
on 4/28/2009 Very thorough and well done... the best book of them all!
JeannieKerns said
on 4/27/2009 I respect your views, however for 9 years of my life (Grade school) I had to read the bible everyday...Then when I got pregnant at 17, the church just looked away.. Great article for those who want to read the bible more efficiently..
RachelMoore said
on 4/27/2009 Thanks for sharing.