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This lesson is to aid new believers in reading the Bible. The points in this lesson will be presented in a simple and practical way.
New believers must know that the Bible is the word of God.
Second Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed.” Second Peter 1:21 says that the words in the Scriptures were written by men who were borne by the Holy Spirit. Since the Bible is the breathing of God Himself and is written by the prophets and apostles who were moved by the Spirit of God, it is the word of God.
The Bible contains life. John 5:39 says that there is eternal life in the Bible. John 6:63 says that the Lord’s words are spirit and are life. The Bible is full of the life of God; hence, it can supply us with life. The Bible even says that we can eat the words in the Scripture as food. Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Your words were found and I ate them.” In Matthew 4:4 the Lord Jesus said, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God.” These verses indicate that the Bible is full of the life supply, the bread of life, that nourishes us. These words not only nourish our spirit directly but also supply our soul and our body indirectly.
We should never consider the Bible to be a book of knowledge for study. Instead, we should regard the Bible as a book that is full of the life of God. When we read the Bible, we should obtain the life supply in it.
The Bible not only contains life but also light. Life is for supplying; light is for revealing and enlightening. Hence, we should not regard the Bible as a common religious classic for the study of religious doctrine. The Bible is full of God’s light. We read the Bible to be enlightened by God and to receive His revelation so that we may understand His intention and purpose toward us.
If we see that the Bible is a book of life, we will not receive it as a book of knowledge for learning. If we see that the Bible is a book of light, we will not receive it as a common religious classic. These concepts need to be adjusted. We should take the Bible as a book that is full of life and full of light. The Word of God supplies us with the bread of life that nourishes our whole being because it contains life. The Word of God is also able to enlighten us concerning the will of God, the mystery of God, and the eternal plan of God because it is full of light. It can also manifest our true condition and enlighten us concerning the way that we should take, the things we should do, the work we should carry out, and the conduct we should have. This is a matter of enlightenment, not teaching; it is a matter of God’s revelation in light, not religious doctrine.
One must have a clear understanding of these two characteristics of the Bible. Otherwise, he will spontaneously think that it contains teachings and knowledge. People inevitably consider the Bible as a classic teaching, a book of knowledge. Only those who have received revelation realize that this book is different from all other books. It is not an ordinary book; it is the Book of books. This book is the word of God; it is the breathing of God through the Holy Spirit and was written by godly men in human language. Its content is altogether life and light. From this book we obtain the life supply as nourishment for our entire being. We also obtain revelation in the light in order that we may know God’s intention, our own condition, and how we should live and walk. Thus, we must adjust our concept concerning the Bible.
We need a proper attitude in reading the Bible. This attitude is based on our knowledge of the Bible. We know that the Bible is the word of God, containing life that surpasses knowledge and containing light that surpasses doctrine. Therefore, we should have a serious attitude when we read the Bible.
When we read the Bible, we should have an attitude of contacting God Himself. The Bible is the word of God, and the word of God is the embodiment of God. It is God Himself, the breath of God, that is, the breathing out of God. Hence, each time we come to read the Bible, we should be inwardly prepared to meet God, to contact God Himself.
We should not read the Bible merely with our mind. We must seek God with our spirit and our heart. We must have a sincere heart to draw near to God and a quiet and open spirit to fellowship with Him. This attitude is completely different from the attitude we have when reading newspapers and magazines or secular books. When we read secular publications, we need only a focused mind. However, when we read the Bible, we are contacting God, who is Spirit. Thus, we must have a heart that is true and sincere toward God and a spirit that is quiet and open to Him. In this way we may be reading the Bible, but inwardly we are actually contacting God Himself. This is the attitude we should have when reading the Bible.
We should also have an attitude of coming to receive the life supply. We should never come to the Bible to seek knowledge or study facts. This can be compared to studying the rice, meat, and vegetables on the table instead of eating them so that we can be nourished and supplied. The Bible is a treasure store of the spiritual bread of life. Thus, we should always have the attitude of taking the bread of life from this treasure store for our supply. This is not merely a matter of understanding or comprehending with our mind; it is a matter of receiving the life supply from the Bible with our spirit. This point must be emphasized. We must change our concept. We should not say in our heart, “I come to the Bible in order to study it.” The proper attitude is to regard the Bible as a treasure store of the bread of life from which we draw the bread of life and are supplied. We read the Bible in order to obtain the life supply.
We should also have an attitude of coming to receive enlightenment and not to study the truth. To study the truth is one attitude, and to receive enlightenment is another. In studying the truth, we need only our mind, but to receive enlightenment, we need our heart and our spirit. We need to come before God and say, “I want to touch the light in Your Word. My heart and my spirit are open to You. Lord, enlighten me through Your Word. As I read, grant me not only the understanding, but even more, shine Your light through Your Spirit on the letters. Enlighten me concerning Your heart’s desire and expose my true condition. I do not want merely to comprehend, but even more I want to see. I want enlightenment and revelation.”
We should also learn to pray when we read the Bible. We should spontaneously have a prayer deep within us, saying, “Lord, I come to Your Word to contact You, not merely to read. Cause my heart to incline toward You and my spirit to open to You. Cause me to love You more than knowledge and doctrine. May my inner being be nourished and enlightened by Your Word.” We should have this kind of prayer, intention, and attitude.
Those who read the Bible must realize what the Word of God is and have a proper attitude toward the Word of God. Many do not read the Bible properly because they lack this preparation. If we are well prepared with regard to these two points, it will be much easier for us to read the Bible in a proper way. We will immediately be on the proper path to touch life, to come to the light, and to fellowship with God in life and light. In other words, we will contact God, and in Him and through His Word, receive the life supply and the revelation in light. Only then can we gain the real benefit from the Bible. This is not a matter of knowledge or a matter of truth.
A person who obtains nourishment and receives revelation will spontaneously have understanding. However, the nourishment and revelation he receives are above and beyond understanding. We must have such an attitude in reading the Bible.
We have been studying different ways to read the Bible for many years. We have even published books such as How to Study the Bible. But what we will speak of today is the simplest and most practical way to read the Bible. There are many ways to read the Bible that either require too much time or are too demanding for new believers. We should give new believers a simple way to read the Bible. The Bible can be read when one is at work or at school. Even if a person is very busy, it is still possible to read a short portion of the Bible. This is a very convenient way of reading the Bible.
First, we should read the books of the Bible sequentially. Some new believers read the Bible randomly. When they rise in the morning, they shut their eyes and open to any page in the Bible. If they happen to open to the book of Psalms, they read a psalm, and if they open to the book of Revelation, they read Revelation; they simply read whatever page they open to. If the page they open to contains a difficult portion, they may avoid it and go to another page. If they come to an easy portion, they may read for a short period of time. This is not acceptable. The Bible must be read consecutively and not randomly. Because believers have a responsibility before God, they should not randomly approach the Bible. We need to read the easy portions as well as the difficult ones. Even if we do not understand a portion in the Bible, we still need to read it. Hence, we should always read in sequence. For example, we should even read all the names in the genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17.
We should read the Old Testament and the New Testament simultaneously. We should not wait until we finish reading the Old Testament before reading the New Testament. We should read the Old Testament consecutively beginning with the book of Genesis and at the same time read the New Testament consecutively beginning with the book of Matthew.
Every Christian should allocate two different times to daily read the Bible. One time should be in the morning, and the other can also be in the morning or in the afternoon or evening. According to the experience of many Christians, it is best to read the New Testament in the morning and the Old Testament during the other time. We should read a consecutive portion during both times.
Second, we should not read too much each time; at the most, one chapter should be read at a time. Some suggest reading one chapter of the New Testament in the morning and three chapters of the Old Testament during the second time. In this way one can read through the entire Bible once a year. Although I formerly agreed with such a practice, I now feel that it may not be so beneficial. Some people are limited in their time and mental capacity. If they rigidly read one chapter of the New Testament and three chapters of the Old Testament each day, they may be reading the Bible simply for the sake of reading. Eventually, they may not even know what they have read. Thus, our experience tells us that it may be more beneficial to read one chapter of the Old Testament each day and finish it in three years.
This is similar to studying; we cannot be thorough in our studies if we are fast. If we read a book slowly, sentence by sentence, we will be clear when we finish the book. After three years of reading three chapters in the Old Testament every day, we may not know what we have read, even though we would have read it three times. It is better to read one chapter of the Old Testament every day and finish the Old Testament in three years. By doing so, we will gain a deeper impression.
This is not a fixed rule; each person should consider his own situation. Nevertheless, experience shows that it is better not to read more than one chapter at a time. It may not even be necessary to read through the New Testament once a year. It would be just as good to spend two years reading the New Testament. We can read half a chapter or even less than half a chapter daily. We may even read one chapter in three days. In this way we will spend one year to finish reading the four Gospels and the book of Acts and then another year to finish reading the Epistles and the book of Revelation. At the end of two years we will have a clear impression of the New Testament.
We should not desire to be fast. Previously, I encouraged others to read the Bible once a year. Gradually I realized, from my experience and from the experience of others, that speed is not necessarily beneficial. We should not be too fast, and we should not be too impatient. It is sufficient for a new believer to read half a chapter of the New Testament and no more than one chapter of the Old Testament daily. In this way it will take three years to finish reading the Old Testament and two years to finish reading the New Testament. This will leave a deep and clear impression.
Therefore, we need not hurry. The most important thing is to be persistent and avoid impulsive reading. We should read a short portion of the Bible daily. If we read too much each time, it will not be easy for us to enjoy reading. Moreover, it will become a burden to us. This is not necessary. We should daily have two separate times for reading the Bible. The morning should be spent reading no more than one chapter of the New Testament. The other time should be spent reading no more than one chapter of the Old Testament. This is an excellent way to read the Bible.
Third, we should learn to remember the main points when reading the Bible. When we read Genesis 1, we should remember the order of the six days of creation. We should be able to say that on the first day, light and darkness were separated; on the second day the water above was separated from the expanse below; on the third day the land and waters were separated, and plants were brought forth; on the fourth day the sun, moon, and stars appeared; on the fifth day God created fish in the sea and birds in the sky; and on the sixth day God created the animals on the earth, and He created man in His image and gave him dominion over all creation. These are the main points of Genesis 1. It is helpful to remember the main points when reading a chapter or a passage.
Fourth, in reading the Bible, we should receive inspiration and turn it into prayer. This is to blend the reading of the Word with prayer — reading and praying, praying and reading. It is rare not to receive any inspiration after reading a chapter or a portion of the Bible. We should always receive inspiration, regardless of which chapter or portion of the Bible we read. We should grasp the inspiration we receive and not let it go. The moment we receive inspiration, we should stop reading and turn the inspiration into prayer. This is to turn our reading of the Bible into prayer.
However, there is no need to pray for a long time. We should simply pray briefly and then resume our reading, continuing to read and pray. We should read for a while, then pray when there is inspiration. After a few prayers we should resume our reading. In this way we will no longer be aware of whether we are reading the Word or praying because our reading and praying have become one. This is the most beneficial way to obtain nourishment from reading the Word.
For example, after reading through Genesis 1 and remembering the main ideas, we will spontaneously have some inspiration. Perhaps we sense that our inward being is also in a state of waste, emptiness, and darkness and that we need the Spirit of God to work in us and the light of God to shine in us. We should turn this feeling into prayer, saying, “Lord, the condition of my inner being is waste, empty, and dark. I desperately need Your Spirit to operate in me and Your light to shine in me.” After such a prayer we can continue reading. We may read the portion we have just prayed over again and then continue reading. Once we receive inspiration, we should receive it and turn it into prayer. After praying, we can continue to read. When we receive more inspiration, we should again turn it into prayer. We should read and pray in this way.
Fifth, we should also learn to memorize the precious verses in the Bible. There are precious verses in almost every chapter or portion in the Bible. Whenever we come across these portions, whether it is a verse or a sentence, we should memorize it. Even if we are unable to accurately memorize every word, we should memorize the main idea. For example, the most precious portion in Genesis 1 is verse 26: “God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” We should memorize this portion or at least memorize the main idea. Verse 1 is also very precious and is worth memorizing: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Words that are negative can also be memorized. For example, “But the earth became waste and emptiness, and darkness was on the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was brooding upon the surface of the waters. And God said, Let there be light; and there was light” (vv. 2-3). All these verses are very precious and should be memorized.
Every new believer should memorize these precious verses. If we do not memorize them as a new believer, it will be difficult for us to memorize them later. For example, Psalm 1:1 reads, “Blessed is the man / Who does not walk / In the counsel of the wicked, / Nor stand on the path of sinners, / Nor sit in the seat of mockers.” Even though I have read this verse many times, I always forget the sequence of this verse whenever I quote it. This is because I did not memorize it properly at an early stage. Therefore, new believers should form the habit of memorizing important verses once they begin reading the Bible. This practice is very beneficial.
Sixth, we should learn to underline. This is also an important aspect of reading the Bible. One should underline precious verses and portions that impress him. If one uses only one color for underlining, there is no problem in using red. However, it is better for new brothers and sisters to use several colors. It is best to use seven different colors.
The first color, red, should be used for the Lord Jesus and His redemption. We should underline all the important verses in the Bible that are related to the Lord Jesus and His redemption in red. Of course, this is not a regulation but simply a suggestion.
The second color, blue, should be used to underline all the heavenly things. Everything that is heavenly should be underlined in blue.
The third color, golden yellow, should be used to underline everything that is of God. In the Bible gold symbolizes God’s nature. Hence, it is best to underline the verses that are related to God Himself and to all things pertaining to God in golden yellow.
The fourth color, green, should be used to underline all things that are related to the Spirit and to life. Green is the color of life. For example, Genesis 1:2 says, “The Spirit of God was brooding upon the surface of the waters.” This can be underlined in green. Another example is John 1:4, which says, “The life was the light of men.” This verse should also be underlined in green. Anything that is related to the Spirit and to life should be underlined in green.
The fifth color is pink. This color should be used to underline important things that are not related to the Lord, heaven, God, or the Spirit.
The sixth color, black, should be used for Satan. The preceding five colors represent positive things; black is reserved for Satan. Whenever we come across things related to Satan, such as the serpent, the great dragon, the devil, and so forth, we should underline them in black.
The seventh color, dark purple, is very close to black but has a tinge of red. This should be used to indicate sinfulness, the flesh, the world, darkness, etc. Anything that is not related to Satan himself but is something bad should be underlined with this color.
It is good to use these seven colors for underlining. Reading and underlining the Bible every day is very profitable. After reading the Bible through and underlining it, it will be much easier to read it a second time.
We should underline the Bible as we read it, but this is not compulsory. It is also not necessary to underline everything the first time we read through the Bible. We would be remarkable people if we could identify all these seven items the first time we read through the Bible. This is not even possible. However, as we read the Bible, we may see Christ in a portion and underline it. A year or two later, we may see something more in the same portion and underline it. This type of reading is spontaneous and beneficial.
Let me repeat that underlining is not obligatory, and we should not be distracted by it. Mere underlining without prayer, reading, or pray-reading will simply be an exercise in underlining and not a reading of the Bible. We must realize that underlining is merely to help our reading of the Bible.
We should not underline in a careless and untidy way. It is best to use a ruler and underline in a neat and orderly manner.
If some prefer not to use seven different colors at present, it is all right to use only four colors. There should be black to represent Satan, and the remaining three colors can be red, yellow, and blue. In any case, it is entirely up to the individual’s convenience. It is always useful to have some markings in the Bible.
Seventh, we should not seek a thorough understanding when reading the Bible. It is necessary to understand what we are reading, but to seek too much understanding may turn out to be harmful because it causes us to be preoccupied with matters that we are not prepared to understand. We should simply understand what we can of what we read and lay aside whatever we cannot understand. We should simply let them go because it is important that we read a portion of the Bible daily.
For example, the first half of Matthew 1 has many names, such as “Abraham begot Isaac, and Isaac begot Jacob.” There is no way to understand the significance of these names the first time a person reads the Bible. For this reason we should read this portion without even trying to understand the significance. There will be some understanding because even though we do not know who Abraham is, we will know that Abraham begot a son named Isaac. Verse 17 reads, “Thus all the generations from Abraham until David are fourteen generations, and from David until the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon until the Christ, fourteen generations.” After reading this verse, we will at least understand, at a minimum, that there are three sets of fourteen generations, even though we may not understand the events related to the deportation to Babylon. We should not insist on seeking profound understanding when reading the Bible. This will delay our effort and often ruin our practice of reading the Bible. In the end, we still may not be able to understand.
We should not be concerned if we do not have a thorough understanding of the Bible, because it is impossible to understand everything when reading the Bible. Regardless of how experienced and how thorough we are, it is impossible to understand everything in reading the Bible. We should read according to our level, receive as much as we can understand, and let go of the things that we cannot understand. This is the simplest and most spontaneous way to read the Bible. This is the same as eating a meal. When there is a piece of bone with our chicken, we simply put the bone aside. It would be terrible to think that we must chew a bone to pieces in order to deal with it. Before we can “deal with” the bone, our teeth will have been broken and our mouth bruised. This can only bring us harm. Some people read the Bible in this way. They do not eat the meat but instead chew on the bones. Eventually, they not only harm themselves but also suffer from hunger since they have not eaten anything. Our reading of the Bible must never be like this. Although everything that is presented in the Bible is meant for us to eat, there are some things that we cannot eat now; they must be saved for later. We should not waste our effort; we should eat whatever is edible and put aside what we cannot eat until later.
Eighth, if time permits, we should also muse on the Word. This includes comparing portions and making cross-references. We should do this as we read through the Old and New Testaments. For example, we may remember the point concerning the seed of the woman in Genesis 3 when we come across the portion in Galatians 4 that says the Lord Jesus was born of a woman. At this moment we may spontaneously muse on the fact that since the Lord Jesus was born of a woman, He must be this seed of a woman. In comparing Christ, who was born of the woman in Galatians 4 with the seed of the woman in Genesis 3, there will surely be some light.
Such musing does not need to take place while we are reading the Bible. We may read the Bible in the morning and muse on what we read on the way to work. Some people have half an hour or one hour to spare during the day, and during this time they recall and muse on the Word that they have read in the morning. They may recall what they have read and consider it with a portion they read in the past. This is very beneficial. We can do this kind of recalling, musing, and comparing during our free time apart from the time allocated for reading the Bible. It can even be done when sightseeing. All these are included in the reading of the Bible.
It is sufficient to read the Bible according to these eight points. There are many books in Christianity that offer many suggestions on reading the Bible. We have considered them and have practiced some of them, but our experience shows that the ways presented in these books should be simplified. In particular, it should be very simplified for new believers. It will be very good if all these eight points can be practiced.
Anything that we do requires time. The best time to read the Bible is in the morning. This is based on Psalm 119:147-148, which says, “I anticipated the dawn and cried out; / I hoped in Your words. / My eyes anticipated the night watches, / That I might muse upon Your word.” This reveals that in ancient times, those who sought God hoped in the word of God before dawn and before the exchange of the night watch. Exodus 16 speaks of the Israelites gathering manna in the wilderness. The manna had to be gathered in the morning before the sun appeared, because once the sun appeared the manna would melt away. Manna is compared to the bread of life in John 6:33 and 35. Like the Israelites, we are walking in the wilderness, and every day we need a supply of spiritual food. Thus, we need to rise up every morning to gather manna from the Bible. Our Lord Jesus is the Word of God, and the content of the Word of God is the Lord Jesus. When we come to the Bible every morning to gather manna, we are actually seeking to touch the Lord and to receive Him as our bread of life.
This manna will melt away when the sun appears. If we do not take advantage of the quiet time in the morning to read the Word of God but instead, wait until the children wake up, the newspaper is delivered, and those selling vegetables have arrived, it will be impossible for us to read the Bible and receive benefit because of the appearance of all these “suns.” Hence, before dawn, before the sun appears, we should spend time in the Word of God to gather manna, to gather Christ as our nourishing food for the day.
If for certain reasons some people are unable to read the Word in the morning, other times will do. However, these are exceptional cases. It is best to read the Word in the morning.
Apart from reading the New Testament every morning, we should also find another time during the day to read the Old Testament. We should allocate a certain amount of time every day for this. This time may be after dinner or before going to bed at night. We should find time to sit down to read the Word of God. It is best to have these two times every day for reading the Bible.
If possible, we should spend at least twenty minutes to read the Bible, and it is better to spend even more time. Spending thirty minutes to an hour is very good. If we are unable to spend twenty minutes, we should at least spend ten minutes. We should never spend only five minutes; we should at least spend ten minutes. This applies to our reading of the Bible in the morning as well as at other times. It is best to spend about twenty to thirty minutes each time we read the Bible.
We should also set aside extra time, apart from our daily reading schedule, to study the Bible. We may spend half a day just to study an important truth. We may even spend a few weeks to study the Bible in the morning, in the afternoon, and again in the evening when on vacation. This is an additional reading of the Bible. It is to study important and deep matters in the Bible. This is not part of our usual routine but is an additional reading.
I believe enough has been spoken on the new believers’ reading of the Bible. May the brothers and sisters establish such a practice in reading the Bible as soon as they are saved.
