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HOW  TO  STUDY  THE  BIBLE,  part  2  quotes

1)    “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15.





2)     There are 7 Guidelines in Studying God's Word

#1 - You must understand that the Bible is the Word of the living God.
#2 - You must understand that this word of the living God is holy and sacred.
#3 - You must understand that the Bible is a personal message from God to you.
#4 - You must pray for God to send the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you in your study.
#5 - You must submit yourself to the guidance of the Holy Spirit as He opens your understanding to the truth of God’s word.
#6 - You must accept the advancing light of truth as it is revealed to your understanding, and not resist it.
#7 - You must change your beliefs and walk in the advancing light of truth after it is revealed to your understanding.





3)    Only those who study for themselves and who look to God for wisdom will be able to understand the truth of His word!

     “Whom shall he (God) teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.” Isaiah 28:9.

     This verse reveals that there are 2 steps which you must follow before you can be taught of God His knowledge and truth.


Step #1 - What does this mean to be “weaned from the milk”?

     Those who are breast-fed obtain all their nourishment from a human source.  If this is what you are doing, then God cannot to teach you what is His truth.
     “For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Hebrews 5:13-14.

     This verse reveals that if you are subsisting on milk, you will be unskillful in understanding God’s word of righteousness.  To discern between good truth and evil error you have to give up what others tell you is truth and exercise your own senses in studying the meat of God’s word.
     “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26.

     “But the anointing (Holy Spirit) which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” 1 John 2:27.

     These verses reveal that if you will study for yourself and allow God to teach you, then the Holy Spirit will be sent to teach you all things that are truth.





4)    Step #2 - What does it mean to be “drawn from the breasts”?

     This would be dealing with a mother who is lactating and nursing a child.  But since this verse is dealing in the spiritual sense and not the literal sense, and a woman in Bible prophecy represents a church (Jeremiah 6:2), then the breasts depicted here would be connected with the mother church.  Thus to be drawn from the breasts would indicate someone who is separated away from their mother church.

     This means that in order to be taught of God what is truth, you have to do your own study of God’s word, and you have to be separated away from your mother church.





5)    There are 8 main methods of studying the Bible which have proven themselves to be of the greatest benefit:
#1 - The Comparative Method of Bible Study.
#2 - The Analytical Method of Bible Study.
#3 - The Synthetic Study of the Bible.
#4 - The Prophetic Study of the Bible.
#5 - Topical or Thematic Study of the Bible.
#6 - Historical Study of the Bible.
#7 - Bible Study by Books.
#8 - The Sword Method of Bible Study.





6)    Study Method #1 - The Comparative Method of Bible Study.

     The Bible itself is the best commentary on the Bible.

     “Which things also we speak, not in the words - which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual." 1 Corinthians 2:13.

     “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little”. Isaiah 28:10.

     These verses reveal to us that one of the best ways to understand a Bible passage is to search out other scriptures dealing with the same subject, and then put all these passages together to gain the full and correct understanding.  But how do you go about quickly locating all other Scriptures dealing with the same subject?
     Some Bibles have marginal references, which place little numbers or letters next to particular words or phrases in verses, and these refer you to other verses dealing with the same subject.  But only selected verses are refered to and not every verse that may be available.  Using either Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance or Young’s Analytical Concordance will enable you to locate every verse in the Bible on any particular subject.





7)    "And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices; and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God." Revelation 4:5.

     This verse reveals that there are seven spirits of God, and since God is holy (Psalms 99:9) then all 7 spirits are holy as well.  This verse also reveals that these seven spirits are connected with holy fire, and we know that at Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out like tongues of holy fire.  This means that these 7 Spirits have something to do with the Holy Spirit.  But the Holy Spirit is one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 2:18, 4:4).  So then how are these "seven spirits of God" connected with the one Holy Spirit?

     For those who have Bibles with marginal references, you will notice that next to the phrase “seven spirits of God” there are letters or numbers that refer you to 3 different scriptures.  The first reference is Revelation 1:4, which reads: "John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven spirits which are before His throne."

     This verse is in harmony with Revelation 4:5 and again indicates that these seven spirits of God are before His throne.


     The second marginal reference is Revelation 3:1: " And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write: These things saith He (Jesus) that hath the seven spirits of God".

     This verse leads us to understand that Jesus has or controls or directs these seven spirits of God.


     The third marginal reference to Revelation 5:6: "And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth."

     This verse again leads us to understand that Jesus - the Lamb - has or directs these seven spirits, but now they are also likened to 7 horns and 7 eyes.  We know that the number 7 symbolizes perfection, horns represent power, and eyes represent all knowing.  With this additional insight added onto what we already discovered, we now understand that these 7 spirits are all powerful, are all knowing, and are also connected with the one Holy Spirit whom Christ controls and directs.






8)    Looking up the word "spirit" in the concordance shows lots of different Bible verses, and most of these shed no further light on who these 7 spirits are.  But the references found in Isaiah reveal something amazing.

     “When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.” Isaiah 4:4.

     This verse reveals that the Lord Jesus cleanses His people by using the Spirit of judgment and the Spirit of burning.  Since we already learned that the one Holy Spirit is connected with these 7 spirits and that Jesus directs and controls them all, then this verse further lead us to understand that Jesus used the one Holy Spirit to bring about the cleansing of His people according to its different workings upon the heart - through judgement and burning.  Now we've discovered that the one Holy Spirit is also referred to by 2 other names indicative of its workings upon hearts.






9)    "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord."

     This verse reveals that the one Holy Spirit is also known by the names of the Spirit of the Lord, Spirit of wisdom and understanding, Spirit of counsel and might, Spirit of knowledge, and Spirit of fear of the Lord.  Putting these additional names together with the names of the one Holy Spirit already discovered from other Scriptures, we see that He is also known as:

(1) The Spirit of the Lord;
(2) The Spirit of judgment;
(3) The Spirit of burning;
(4) The Spirit of wisdom and understanding;
(5) The Spirit of counsel and might;
(6) The Spirit of knowledge;
(7) The Spirit of the fear of the Lord.

     These 7 spirits represent the different workings of the one Holy Spirit upon the hearts of God’s people in bringing them to Christ for His cleansing and purifying blood, merits and righteousness in order for them to obtain salvation.






10)    This Comparative method of Bible study was used nearly 2000 years ago!

     "These (Bereans) were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11.