Rightly Dividing the Word (1)

You are my portion, O LORD;
I have said that I would keep Your words.
I entreated Your favor with my whole heart;
Be merciful to me according to Your word.
I thought about my ways,
And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
I made haste, and did not delay
To keep Your commandments. Psalm 119.57-60

Begin here
Every Christian understands that the Bible is central to the life of faith. The Bible is God’s Word, His revelation of Himself and His will, to guide and empower us so that we may know, enjoy, serve, and glorify Him. Every Christian understands this.

But it’s not enough merely to understand what the Bible is. To gain the benefit God intends for us from His Word, we need to learn how to get the most out of Scripture, how to handle the Bible through reading, meditation, and study so that we may apprehend and internalize God’s Word. This is what the Apostle Paul refers to as “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2.15) – interpreting Scripture so that the glory of God we encounter there can do its transforming work in our lives (2 Cor. 3.12-18).

As we might suppose, not just any old approach to the Bible will suffice for us to get the most out of it. As we’ve seen, it’s quite possible to twist the Scriptures from their proper meaning and so lose all the benefit God intends. The Bible is God’s Word, and if we are to gain what God intends for us from it, we shall have to approach that Word on God’s terms. We shall have to discover the protocols, postures, procedures, and practices He prescribes for the Word of Christ to dwell in us richly (Col. 3.16).

I want to recommend an approach to getting the most out of Scripture which consists of seven aspects or facets of a disciplined approach to reading, meditating, and studying the Bible, so as to divide its text rightly,  and open its meanings to us. This process will help you to focus on the key to sound interpretation – our Lord Jesus Christ – and to make sure the set of your “interpretive saw” is straight and true.

The place to begin – and in which to camp out throughout this process – is in submitting to the Word of God as such, as the inspired and authoritative Word of our Creator, Redeemer, Lord, and King.

Submit to the claims of Scripture
If we hope to gain the most out of our time in God’s Word, we need to submit, to its claims. We’re not free to pick and choose whichever aspects of the Scriptures seem clearest or most agreeable. All Scripture is inspired by God and given by His Spirit (2 Tim. 3.15-17; 2 Pet. 1.19-21). Our attitude toward the Bible must always be, not “What can I find for myself in here today?”, as though we and our interests, needs, and concerns were the main point of Scripture. Such an approach, consistently practiced, will lead to a hermeneutic of convenience and of twisting the Word of God.

Rather, our attitude toward Scripture must be “What is God revealing about Himself and His will?” It makes all the difference whether, as we open our Bibles in the morning, we’re prepared to listen to the voice in our own heads or the Word God has readied for us in the pages of Scripture.

Submit to the purpose of Scripture
At the same time, we must bring our own purposes for reading the Bible – whatever they may be – into line with God’s purpose for giving His Word. He is making Himself and His glory known to us in Scripture (2 Cor. 3.12-18). His Spirit intends to use that encounter with God to shape us increasingly into the image of Jesus Christ, to equip us with spiritual power for good works (2 Tim. 3.15-17), and to guide our feet in the paths of Christian discipleship and Kingdom living (Ps. 1; Matt. 5.17-19; 1 Jn. 2.1-6). If we have any other purpose in mind when we come to the Word of God, we will most likely, rather than gain the Scripture’s meaning, instead twist it to address our own agenda, questions, or concerns. This is not to say that we should not have any of our own concerns in mind, but that they should always be kept in submission to the revelation of God and His will.

Submit to the narrative of Scripture
Next, submit to Scripture’s narrative.

In 1995 Demi Moore starred in a film adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter. The movie was universally panned for taking liberties with the story line, so much so, in fact, that Hawthorne’s entire purpose was obliterated for the sake of producing what amounted to a stock love story. A cartoon in The New Yorkershortly after the film came out featured the caption, “Moby Dick: The Demi Moore Version” and depicted the starlet posing alongside Captain Ahab, and the White Whale hoisted up by his tail over a scaffold.

The point is clear: Don’t mess with the classic story lines! The same is true in getting the most out of Scripture: Submit to the Bible’s own story line – creation, redemption, restoration, for God’s glory through Jesus Christ – and don’t try to force Scripture’s narrative into your own.

Submit to the power of Scripture
One reason people don’t get much out of Scripture is that they simply aren’t willing to trust its life- transforming power. They can plainly understand what the Scripture commands, instructs, directs, or counsels. They just don’t want to do what it says. This is just another way of saying they don’t trust the power of God’s Word to transform us in ways that make for full and abundant life. We think the Bible wants to burden us with its demands, or dislodge us from our comfort zone, or make us miserable. But that’s not how God’s power works, as the Word of God indwells us richly.

If we want to get the most out of the Bible we’re going to have to come to it on our knees, with our hands and hearts open, submissive to God and ready to hear as He reveals Himself and His will into our lives and circumstances. Rightly dividing the Word of truth begins here, in complete submission to the Bible’s claims, purpose, and narrative.

For reflection
1.  What is the alternative to “submitting” to Scripture when we are reading, meditating, or studying in it?

2.  How might you be able to tell when you were not submitting to Scripture? 


3.  How would you counsel a new believer, just getting started in the Word of God, to make sure he always comes to the Scriptures submitting to them rather than seeking to make them submissive to him? 


Next steps – Conversation: Talk with some Christian friends about what it means to come to the Bible ready to submit to its claims, purpose, and narrative. How can you help one another to be more consistent in this?

T. M. Moore

To learn more about understanding and using the Bible, enroll in the course, Introduction to Biblical Theology. It’s free and online, and you can study at your own pace or with friends. To learn more and to register, click here. This week’s study is Part 7 of a series on The Word of God, and is available as a free download by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.