Tag: Application

Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

1. Who are the author and the audience?

Moses is the author, but his information is coming from what must be direct revelation from God. Only God can know the origins of the “heavens and the earth,” since He was the only conscious thing there to witness it.

The audience is the people of God, who are being led out of slavery in Egypt and into the Promised Land. These people are formed by the promises of God (especially to Abraham [Gen. 12]) and sustained by the promises of God as they trustingly follow God’s man (Moses).

2. Why did the author write what he did?

Of course, we might simply answer “because God told him to.” But we are interested in considering the situation into which Moses wrote, so we must think more deeply than mere platitudes. The Hebrew people were slaves in Egypt, and the common religious systems of the ancient world included a number of gods. Each geographical location and even the occurrences of the natural world (like storms, rivers, and stars) would have its own assigned deity.

The Hebrew people needed to know and trust the true God over against the many gods of the people they encountered. Unlike these false gods, the true God is the creator of all things and sovereign over everyone.

3. What is the author talking about before and after the passage I am trying to understand?

Well, there is nothing before this verse, but there is much after. From Genesis 1:2 through Genesis 2:3, Moses is recounting God’s creation of everything. There is order, power, creativity, beauty, functionality, purpose, priority, and a host of other things we might observe in this opening scene from Scripture. All of these will add to our perception of who and what God is, since God Himself is the primary focus of the context here.

4. What is the “big truth” the author is getting at here?

God is the creator. This may initially seem quite simplistic, but truths don’t get any bigger or more foundational than this. We may certainly see more and learn more from the passage (and the context), but we must start here. Note: You will see below that the depth of this ‘big truth’ is much greater than one might imagine.

Note: You will see below that the depth of this ‘big truth’ is much greater than one might imagine.

5. What does the rest of the Bible teach about the “big truth” of this passage?

The rest of the Bible corroborates and expands this ‘big truth.’ God is most certainly the creator of everything, and there is not even the slightest conflicting statement in the Bible. Just a sampling of the passages that also speak to this ‘big truth’ are Job 38-41; Isaiah 44:23-24; John 1:1-4; and Colossians 1:15-17.

6. How does this “big truth” of the Bible speak to my own circumstances?

Now, this question requires some introspection. You must observe and consider your own circumstances in order to proceed. The applications here are limitless, but here are some examples of personal application.

If I were having difficulty trusting in God’s power to be my help in a time of great distress, then I might take wonderful comfort to remember that God is infinitely powerful in creation. He is powerful enough to create all that is, and He is powerful enough to help me in my time of need.

If I were wondering if God really knows anything about me and my situation, then I might note the profound reality that God has intended to make Himself known to me. God did not have to reveal Himself to Moses, to Abraham’s descendants, or to me through this biblical record… But HE DID! This means that God is interested in me; He wants me to know Him, and He is even giving me tangible evidence that this is true (the material, tangible evidence is the Bible in my hands).

If I were struggling to understand how I am to view the Bible’s authority, then I might hear the weighty assertion made here. The Bible makes a claim to tell humans the very nature of all origins – “In the beginning, God…” This means that the Bible is either true or not true, but it cannot simply be a good book. If it is not true, then it has no real value at all (though some might argue that the literary contributions are some value by themselves). But if it is true, then it has an ultimate claim on all of my life and every other human life. In this opening verse, the author is claiming to speak on behalf of God about the creation of everything. This is no small statement.

This sort of application to various circumstances could continue, but you likely get the point. My hope is that you will find great joy and marvelous delight as you discover more and more about the God who created all things as He has revealed Himself in the Bible. I also hope that these simple questions will be a benefit to you as you read, understand, and apply God’s word to your life each day.

*Thanks for reading. Please let me know if this article was a benefit to you in the comment section below.

When anyone first begins to read the Bible it immediately becomes obvious that the Bible is different than any other book. The opening words are a claim that God Himself has given divine revelation about the origins of life (and everything). The Bible originates with God, and the Bible’s words are His words.

The Bible can be intimidating, and it can also be quite confusing.

While it is true that the Bible is different than any other book, it is also important to remember that the Bible is still a literary work. It follows the structures of literature, it has storylines and narrative episodes, and it travels along a coherent logical progression.

It is important to note that the simple truths of the Bible are quite accessible to any attentive reader.

In short, we should gladly affirm the words placed in the introduction to the English Standard Version of the Holy Bible, “This Book [is] the most valuable thing that this world affords. Here is Wisdom; this is the royal Law; these are the lively Oracles of God.”

As we read the Bible, we may benefit from a structural guide that can help us along the path of understanding how to apply what we read to our life today.

The following is not the only way one may rightly understand what God’s revelation intends to communicate, but it is a helpful way to read, know, and apply God’s Word.

Here are six questions I ask myself in order to move from what is on the page to some real-life application.

1. Who are the author and the audience?

This will help you gain perspective about what is being said. Many study Bibles will provide a handy introduction and description to each book of the Bible that will help you answer these questions.

2. Why did the author write what he did?

Is the author writing a history so that future generations will know what God has done? Is the author writing a letter to encourage or rebuke his Christian brothers and sisters? The answer to this question will greatly improve your ability to know what is actually being communicated.

3. What is the author talking about before and after the passage I am trying to understand?

This is a question about context, and context will help you avoid wrongly interpreting one passage, sentence, or word. Often, people will ignore context and find themselves believing the Bible to teach something that is completely different than what is clearly the intent of the author. Knowing the context will keep us from this error.

4. What is the “big truth” the author is getting at here?

This is a question that may take a little thinking, but it is well worth it. While there are many things the Bible teaches us about what to believe and how to live, the most important matters are going to be the foundational truths. As the Christian grows in his/her understanding of the Bible, much finer subjects will certainly become interesting and beneficial areas of study. However, the place to begin is with those bedrock truths upon which everything else is built.

5. What does the rest of the Bible teach about the “big truth” of this passage?

This too is a question of context, but it is concerned with the broader context of the whole Bible. The Bible does not contradict itself, even in the instances where one author may seem to be saying something different than another. If we find that our understanding of the passage we are reading would put it in opposition to something that the Bible teaches clearly about elsewhere, then we have simply misunderstood our passage. We must allow the Bible to be its own interpreter when it speaks on the subject at hand.

6. How does this “big truth” of the Bible affect my own circumstances?

We must never try to skip to this question too quickly, but this is the question we must eventually ask. We are not merely trying to read the Bible for abstract knowledge or theoretical formulations. We are trying to be hearers and doers of God’s word. Therefore, we should (we must) arrive at the place where we ask ourselves what God would have us believe and/or do about what we have just read from His word.

 

By God’s grace, the use of these six questions will benefit you in your study. In another post, I practice this method with a Bible passage (Click Here to see it).

May God bless the reading of His word, and may He bless our efforts to apply it well.

 

*Please let me know if this has been a benefit to you in the comment section below.