15th Jan 2020 - "Reading the Bible - Part 1.2" - Big Night In: night 01

A. Training for Godliness

1 Timothy 4:7-10

7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. 10 That is why we labour and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Saviour of all people, and especially of those who believe.” 

Godliness: attitude of heart towards God - to love Him with all heart, soul and strength

 

 B. What is the Bible?

• 66 books
• ~40 authors
• Took 1500 years to write
• Finished writing >1900 years ago
• Old Testament – Hebrew (& Aramaic)
• New Testament – Greek

And yet… RELEVANT TO US.

i. God-breathed

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”                                              2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV

ii. True

“…it is impossible for God to lie…” Hebrews 8:18 (cp. Titus 1:2)

iii. Living

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword…”

Hebrews 4:12 ESV

Therefore… iv. Authoritative

v. Spiritually Understood

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”                                                                                                  1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV

 vi. Human

 

C. Where Is The Meaning?

Who has the right to determine the meaning of a text – the author or the reader?

 In your groups:

Read 1 Corinthians 13.

In what contexts have you heard this passage commonly used? What tends to be the main point(s) from considering a passage like this?

 

Read the following verses in 1 Corinthians, which help us to see why Paul wrote this letter

• 1:10-12;
• 3:1-4;
• 6:1-8;
• 11:17-18.

Do these verses affect how we read chapter 13? In what ways does our understanding why Paul wrote the letter clarify how we understand this chapter?

 

 

Guidance: If we are to understand a passage of Scripture we need to first of all try and understand what the writer was trying to communicate. We can do this by trying to answer questions like:

• Who is the writer?
• Who is the original reader?
• What do we know about their circumstances?
• What prompted this to be written?
  • Problems needed addressed?
  • Wanted to remind the readers of something?
  • To encourage? To convert? To rebuke?

 

D. The Bible is ONE Story - it can be thought of as having four main parts which are:

1. CREATION
2. FALL
3. RESCUE
4. COMPLETION

 Question to ask: How does this passage help me to understand God’s plan of rescue?

 

Homework.

Try this exercise for the book of Philippians

Read all four chapters taking a note of:

• Who wrote this & what do we learn about him?
• Who is this written to & what do we learn about them?
• What circumstances prompted this letter to be written? (may be more than one)
• Sum up what you think the main aim(s) of this letter were.