Originally posted 7/9/24
I have talked with so many women who say that they do not know how to study the Bible. Do you know how to study God’s Word? Do you have a favorite method? Are you completely clueless?
Two years ago the Lord allowed me to begin leading a ladies’ Bible study at my church. I will be honest that I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I did know how to teach reading so I figured I would give it a try. After all, the Bible is a book. As I began to search for material, I ran across Jen Wilkin and her unique Bible studies.
Through our first study on James, I learned a very usable study method. That method was further explained in her book, Women of the Word. Crossway gave away 50 free books two years ago and I was fortunate enough to secure copies for the ladies of our church. This book has changed the way I go about studying the Bible. Jen’s methods are closely related to The Inductive Bible Study method. The ideas in this article are a combination of Jen Wilkin’s process in Women of the Word and The Inductive Bible Study Method.
Comprehension
The first focus is on comprehension of what you read. It is like the reading of any book. You read a portion of Scripture, preferably a chapter or an entire book, and ask yourself basic questions. Your goal is to make sure you know the basic events of what happened. You might think back to a reading test you took in school that covered the basic facts and events of a particular story. Jen Wilkin writes, “The comprehension stage is probably the most neglected and misunderstood by students of the Bible, mainly because we assume that reading a text and absorbing a sense of its message equates to comprehending it.” p. 96-97 Comprehension allows us to discover what the author intended the reader to observe.
As you are working through basic comprehension, you need to ask yourself basic questions. This will give you the background to better understand the passage. Jen Wilkin calls them the Archeological questions. Who wrote the passage? When was it written? Why was it written? To Whom was it written? In what style is it written?
I have recently found the ESV Scripture Journals. They are printed copies of the text with wider margins and greater spacing. There is a page of Scripture and a blank page for notes. I am beginning to use them for study. You can always copy and paste a copy of the passage and print it out in a Word document using wide margins and double-spaced. Either way is fine and you will want a set of colored pencils to begin marking the passage. I have recently located this website with symbol markings for Bible books.
Our first step is to read through the passage. It will always be best to read it more than once. The more you read a passage, the more you will notice. Once you have read it, you will want to begin marking on your copy. You will want to look for repeated words or phrases. Take note of any words you might not fully understand. It is often helpful to look up specific words in a dictionary. Look for transition words like if/then, therefore, but, etc. why are they there?
If you come to a portion that you don’t understand, put a question mark in the margin and come back to it later. Read the passage in other translations. Often we might find the answer to our question by reading another translation. I also find it helpful to look at the Greek or Hebrew definitions of specific words. Also look them up in an English dictionary.
Some people find it beneficial to create an outline of a particular passage. I will admit that I have not done this myself. I am lazy and prefer to use the one in my study Bible. Please don’t tell Jen Wilkin if you meet her.
Interpretation
The second focus is on interpretation. You want to make sure you understand what the passage says, but you also need to determine what it means. It is a little more involved than just asking for facts and details. You want to apply a higher comprehension skill and look for the meaning of a particular passage.
Paraphrasing is not as complicated as it sounds. You just rewrite the passage in your own words. If you do this carefully, you will not change the meaning of the passage. You will be writing it in words that you understand.
This is a good place to look at other passages that talk about the same thing. I find cross-references easily on websites like www.blueletterbible.or and www.biblehub.org. Also, any good study Bible will have cross-references listed with passages. Letting Scripture interpret Scripture is the most reliable way to interpret Scripture.
I am the first one to run to my study Bible to see what John Macarthur says about a passage. When I make no attempt to interpret the passage myself, I am loving God with John Macarthur’s mind and not my own. It is clear in Mark 12:30 that I am to love God with my own mind. “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ Mark 12:30”
Once you have an idea what you think it might mean, then begin to look at commentaries and study Bibles. Do not rob yourself of an opportunity to deepen your knowledge of the God of the Universe.
Application
Application is the step that most people want to jump to first. How will this book, chapter, or passage change me? How can I apply it to my life? However, we need to do the first two steps before we get to this step. It’s only after we have a good understanding of the text and what it means will we be able to properly apply it to our lives. I need to make sure I am asking the question about what I am learning about God. Did I learn a new character trait about God that will change the way I live my life? Should I be responding to God in a certain way? Does the passage convict me of a sin that I need to confess? Does it confirm something I already know about God?
This is a lengthy process. It will not all come at once. This might happen over many days. Don’t get upset if you have a question that you cannot answer. We all run across things we do not fully understand. Stick with it and it will become more natural.
For a more in-depth explanation of this method, I recommend reading Jen Wilkin’s book, Women of the Word.
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