At the end of this series it may be important to ask again, why does it matter how we read the Bible? It matters because orthodox Christians of all traditions have always held this book to be authoritative. It is authoritative not only in guiding us into greater wisdom and knowledge of God, but also in drawing us into the dynamic, ongoing story of God’s relationship with his people. Because of this, we must let the Bible speak to us rather than speaking into it what we want to hear. We must remain faithful both to its original meaning and to the One whose Spirit continues to speak through it. As an incarnational text, the Bible exhibits both human and divine characters, and we must keep this dual nature before us as we read.
Firstly, our faithfulness to the Bible means that we must search out each text’s original meaning, what the original author intended and the original audience understood it to mean. Only then can we with confidence begin to understand how it applies to us today. This can be a great challenge because we are often not aware of the cultural, temporal, and theological assumptions we bring to our reading. Careful biblical study, as we’ve explored in this series, is a key way for us to bring our assumptions to account and arrive at a truer understanding of the text. Such study fundamentally includes a knowledge of the text’s genre; an examination of its historical, cultural and canonical context; a comprehension of the overarching biblical narrative; and an accurate translation of the passage’s original language and studies of its grammatical structure and key words.
However, in addition to remaining faithful to the Bible’s human nature, we must also remain faithful to its divine nature. Scripture is not simply an ancient wisdom text, but a set of writings that testifies to and guides us in our relationship with God himself (Heb 4:12). And so, we must not only read the Bible intellectually, but devotionally as well. This calls for an openness to God’s Spirit to lead us into a deeper relationship with the Lord. Study of scripture that does not ultimately lead us into such a deeper relationship is not a useful Christian discipline.
Both endeavors – intellectual and devotional – must be carried out in the context of other believers. On the one hand, even the most rigorous scholarship comes from a particular context, and it is necessary to offer it up for “peer review” from academic and theological perspectives from different historical, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. On the other hand, the Bible is conceived properly not as merely a personal handbook for right living, but as the narrative of God’s relationship with his people, a relationship in which the church is still participating. Thus, our devotional reading of scripture must also be situated among other believers, again from different times, places, cultures and theological perspectives. Rather than holding a knee-jerk fear of difference, we can delight in learning more about God by witnessing the Spirit’s work in the church around the world.
The danger in reading scripture solely as a human text is that our efforts can become dry and lifeless, puffing us up but not building us up. The danger in reading scripture solely devotionally is that we may miss the real meaning of the text and find ourselves with a deeply flawed relationship with God as a result. Both disciplines need each other to bring truth and life into our relationship with God. Depending on either one to the exclusion of the other is a dangerous place for a Christian to be.
Jesus confirmed that the greatest commandment of the Law is “to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind” (Matt 22:37). Studying the Bible, as God’s revealed word and great gift to us, is an important way we can show our love of God. However, as the commandment outlines, we must strive to know God with each of the faculties he has given us, pursuing the truth with our hearts, souls and minds. We must love God – and thus read scripture – with our whole selves.
