Reading the Bible as narrative frees us to experience God in a fuller, deeper way

Continuing in our series of why I love the Bible, we’re on reason number twelve. I often say that I read the Bible as a narrative. Simply stated, it’s a story, a grand, epic tale. It’s a story about God’s relationship to us. Reading the Bible as narrative means we don’t primarily view it as a rulebook, legalistic account, or instruction manual. Reducing the Bible to these things serves to remove its power and lessen its impact.

When I read the Bible as narrative, I can enjoy the story. But it’s much more than a story. Here are some of the things I can glean from the stories in the Bible.

The Bible Provides Examples to Follow

As we look at the lives of the characters in the Bible, we can learn from them, from the things they do, the things they don’t do, and the outcomes they realize as a result. In simple terms many of the people in the Bible provide us with an example to follow. Consider how Daniel conducted himself in Babylon.

The Bible Gives Situations to Avoid

Just as we see many admirable traits to emulate, the lives of these biblical people also warn us of situations we should avoid. Cain is the first character that comes to mind.

Often, the same person provides both an example to follow and a situation to avoid. After all, no one except Jesus is perfect. That means everyone else in the Bible is flawed, with worthy and unworthy traits to consider. We must learn from both. My namesake, Peter, is one such example.

The Bible Offers Wisdom for Living

In addition to examples we can follow, we also see situations of awe-inspiring wisdom. King Solomon comes to mind, regarding his judgment for the two women who both claim a child as their own.

The Bible Reminds Us of Sin and its Consequences

Since the Bible’s filled with people, it’s also filled with sin as it documents their lives. Repeatedly, we see people who do the wrong thing and suffer as a result. This reminds us that we can’t live as we please and not feel the consequences. Consider evil Queen Jezebel.

The Bible Records Prayers to Emulate

A key part of the biblical narrative is its many prayers. Though the Bible records most prayers without commentary, some prayers receive affirmation as God honoring or validation through God’s answers. Again, let’s look at Daniel as he prays to understand a vision.

The Bible Shows Us How to Praise God

The Bible narrative also contains many worthy examples of people offering praise to God. Recall when Solomon dedicates the temple. When we read the Bible as narrative we are both educated and entertained. Click To Tweet

Of course, the narrative of the Bible also provides us with much more. Many of its stories are classic literature that have worked their way into our culture.

When we read the Bible as narrative, we are both educated and entertained. If you’re not already doing so, start reading the Bible today as narrative.

To Better Understand the Bible, Use Scripture to Interpret Scripture

I shared part of my book, Women in the Bible, with some friends at a writers group. They liked what they heard and had questions about how I researched and wrote it. I explained that the Bible was the only resource I used. By design, I didn’t study what other people wrote about the Bible, I simply studied it myself.

That is, I went straight to the source and didn’t use any secondhand information.

When I write about the Bible, this is what I do. I use Scripture to interpret Scripture, instead of relying on someone else to do it for me. This is because I don’t want to filter what the Bible says through the eyes, minds, and theologies of others. I go straight to the Word of God because this is as close as I can get to the ultimate author of this amazing book.

This idea of using the Bible as the only resource confused one of my friends. I tried to explain how I use Scripture to interpret Scripture, but I’m not sure that helped.Here are some examples of how I use Scripture to interpret Scripture. Click To Tweet

Here are some examples of how I use Scripture to interpret Scripture.

Consider the Whole Passage

The Bible is divided into books, chapters, and verses. This makes it easy to share short passages and compare versions. However, this also encourages us to focus on one verse and miss its context. We should never consider a verse or part of a verse in isolation.

Study What Comes Before

Ignoring chapter divisions, paragraph breaks, and inserted subheadings allows us to examine what precedes the passage. Often this gives us the context and a more holistic understanding of how a passage or verse fits in.

Read What Comes After

Likewise, look at what follows the verse or passage. Sometimes the text that comes after it adds clarity, provides an example, or adds emphasis. Yet other times what follows a passage may seem paradoxical. At first a paradox is frustrating, but it’s really an invitation to dig deeper. And that’s when we get to a greater understanding of the passage.

Look at The Entire Book

As we mentioned, the Bible is subdivided into books. Unlike chapter and verse delineations, the books are mostly logical and make sense. We’re wise to examine the trajectory of the book and consider the author’s overall purpose or theme.

Examine Parallel Passages

The Bible contains some repetition. The four biographies of Jesus—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—often present different perspectives of the same event. We’re wising to consider them. Likewise, First and Second Chronicles has parallel texts with First and Second Samuel and First and Second Kings. Also, we can often read about the settings of the prophetic books in the Bible’s historical books, specifically Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. The same occurs with Psalms. In the New Testament, many of the letters (also called epistles) find their historical context in the book of Acts.

Build A Biography

Although a lot of people in the Bible are obscure characters, mentioned only once, many others pop up more than one time and surface in multiple books. By combining each mention of a person, we can build a biblical biography of them. This gives us a better understanding of these people and allows us to apply this perspective each time we see their name. I do this often in Women of the Bible.

Do Word Searches

It’s also worthwhile to do word searches in the Bible. This lets us to compare one mention with all the others. Some scholars place additional emphasis on the first time a word occurs. There’s merit to this, too. (But be careful. Consider the first mention of the word married in Genesis 4:19.)

Follow the Arc

The Bible has a narrative arc to it. In a sense, this is the story arc of God’s Word. We should keep this arc in mind as we study the Bible. (More on the biblical story arc in another post.)

By employing these various techniques, I can use Scripture to interpret Scripture. Yes, I occasionally delve into a commentary (I have four) or read a book on a specific biblical topic. Yet in doing so, I never lose sight of the Bible as the ultimate source of understanding. What others tell me about the Bible does have value, but what I learn directly from the Bible—unfiltered by others—has even more.

To get the most from reading the Bible, use Scripture to interpret Scripture.

Don’t Read the Bible Like Any Other Book Because It Isn’t Like Other Books

When we read a book, it’s a linear process. We start at the beginning. Then reading one word at a time, we make our way to the end. Once we reach the last word, the final period, we’re finished. Usually we put the book down and move to another one. If it’s a really good book, we may read it again. Or we may loop back to investigate certain sections to look for something we might have missed or seek clarity from a confusing passage. This applies to both fiction and nonfiction, though in different ways.

Too many people read the Bible like every other book. Starting at the beginning and reading one word at a time, they make their way toward the end. But few ever arrive. They get mired down in how the Bible is put together, because it’s not like any other book.

From a reading experience, a book is one-dimensional. It’s a straight line, with only length, going from start to finish. There is no width or depth, just length.

To read the Bible rightly, we need to get beyond our linear mindset. We need to think of the Bible as also having width and depth. Let’s consider it as three-dimensional and not one-dimensional with only length, which results from stringing words together.

We Must Read the Bible with a Different Perspective

To move beyond one dimension requires we read the Bible differently. Yes, we can still look at one passage or story, read it linearly from start to finish, and enjoy the journey. But there’s more. We can loop back and jump forward. We can consider parallel passages—and the Bible has many. We can use one passage to better understand another.

When we consider the Bible as three-dimensional, we can do word studies, look for reoccurring themes, and use scripture to interpret scripture. When we do so we begin to mine the riches of the Bible, no longer as a one-dimensional, linear book, but as a multi-dimensional experience that takes us to an unlimited number of destinations.

But beyond the three dimensions of space, we need to consider time, which many refer to as the fourth dimension. How is the Bible four dimensional? Jesus was there at the beginning and took part in creation. And he’ll be there at the end. Click To Tweet

Let’s jump to the middle and consider the book of John. With dramatic poetic flair, John tells us that Jesus, the whole point of the Bible, didn’t just show up for the Gospels as a baby in a manger. He was there at the beginning. He took part in creation. And he is there at the end. As we migrate from our present reality to the next, Jesus is there to guide us. The book of Revelations hints at this and the last two chapters confirm it. And a careful reading of the Old Testament sees hints of Jesus sprinkled throughout. Jesus is everywhere, not limited by time or space.

Embrace the Bible as Four Dimensional

It’s hard to grasp the Bible as four dimensional, not being bound by time. However, God—who created us, reveals himself to us in the Bible, and serves as our reason for being—is not bound by time. He exists outside our time-space continuum. For when he created the three-dimensional reality in which we live, he also made time as a fourth dimension in which we move forward. But he is constricted by neither space or time. He lives outside it, while we live in it.

The Bible contains words and ideas and truth which have length and width and depth. The Bible also transcends time. It’s four dimensional. Though I will spend the rest of my life trying to grasp this concept, it’s a reality I except and embrace.

May we all begin to read the Bible in this new way.

We have many tools available to explore the Word of God

I love to study the Bible. I often talk about reading and exploring scripture. This may conjure up an image of me sitting in a chair with an open copy of the Word of God in my hands. While this is an apt understanding, I seldom read the Bible that way. I often tap technology to facilitate my reading and studying of scripture.

Here are some ideas:

Bible Gateway: I use Bible Gateway most every day as I explore the Word of God. It allows me to read and study the Bible, offering over fifty versions to pick from. I can look things up by chapter and verse or do a search for keywords or phrases. It’s my go-to aid for Bible study.

One option I really like is the “add parallel” feature. This lets me look at a verse in up to five translations at the same time. It shows them in columns and allows me to quickly consider a verse in my five favorite versions of the Bible.

Another nice feature (though I don’t use it) is the ability to listen as a text is read. For some people this is a great way to learn, hearing a passage while reading it.

Bible Hub: Another popular online tool to study the Bible is Bible Hub. It also allows me to look up a verse. Then it displays that verse in twenty-five versions of the Bible. It’s a quick and easy way to compare the text in various translations.

Like Bible Gateway, Bible Hub also offers many other resources to aid in Bible study.

Google Search: Since I have read the Bible in many translations, I can paraphrase a lot of verses, but I can’t quote many with 100 percent accuracy. This is because my mind merges various translations together. Though both Bible Gateway and Bible Hub let me search for a specific phrase, it doesn’t help if I don’t know the exact wording.

Instead I go to the world’s most popular search engine and type in the word Bible followed by the phrase as I remember it. In almost all cases, Google provides me with the correct verse, usually with links to the passage in Bible Gateway and Bible Hub. Plus, there’s bound to be a long list of pages that teach about that passage.

YouVersion: When it comes to smart phones, there are many apps that allow us to read, study, and listen to the Bible. I use YouVersion and downloaded my preferred Bible translation. Now I carry the Bible with me everywhere I go. Many online tools and apps let us read and listen to the Bible. Click To Tweet

Other Options: Of course, there are many online tools and apps to consider. These allow us to read and listen to the Bible, study it, and dig into it using many valuable resources. Just do an online search and you’ll find more solutions than you can ever use.

There’s no ideal way to read and study the Bible. Explore these various options and discover what works best for you. It may be an app, a program, or a website. Or you might just go old school and read the Bible from a printed book.

When it comes to reading and studying the Bible, just do it.