All of Scripture is for every part of our lives.
Every single word in the Bible is powerful, purposeful, and prescient. Understanding the Bible as a whole is worth your whole effort. Every word in the Bible matters because every minute of your day matters. In Luke’s gospel, we learn that God counts the hairs on our heads (Luke 12:7). God is always involved in every area of your life. Since He always knows every hair on your head, God must actively count each one.
The lesson is simple: God is always active, caring, and present in your life. The way He wants you to interact with Him is through the Bible.
The Bible is God’s story. And the first step in understanding the Bible as a whole is realizing the biblical story is not about you but rather for you. The first words in Genesis are, “In the beginning God,” not, “In the beginning you.” God is the protagonist of the Bible, not you.
God creates. God speaks. God saves. He is not just part of creation or a power in creation but the Sovereign over all creation. The story of the Bible is about God, but this story exists because God wants to redeem us. Paul wrote that God gave us the Bible for our “hope and encouragement” (Romans 15:4). The Bible is God’s roadmap to hope.
The Bible reveals God’s plan for redeeming his people. The story has ups and downs, unexpected plot twists, failures and successes. It’s not G-rated, and all the characters are flawed, with one exception—Jesus.
In the same way Jesus is alive, so too the Bible is alive. Grasping the power of the written word is one thing, but believing the written word is alive is entirely different. The Bible is God’s own words with the purpose of drawing people to Himself.
Because the Bible is from God, it is personal communication from Him. That means we can trust that it is true because it is God’s own words—authoritative, inspired, infallible, and sufficient.
The Bible Is Authoritative
You are not the authority over the Bible. Rather, the Bible is the authority over you. Do not read the Bible like you go through junk mail envelopes, looking for a deal and then tossing the rest aside without even opening them. Do not read the Bible like you read the newspaper’s opinion section, looking for an angle that supports a viewpoint you already have. Read the Bible like a love letter where you devour every word and feel each phrase. The Bible contains the greatest words of love ever written. Indeed, the Bible’s words define love. You don’t just search the Scripture. You must let the Scriptures search you.
The Bible Is Inspired and Infallible
When you read the Bible, you are hearing directly from God. The Bible is inspired by God, which means it is a direct word from Him. As such, the Bible is infallible, which means it will not lead you astray. You can trust the Bible. All truth is derived from God, which means the Bible is the gold standard of truth. It will not deceive us or prove unreliable. Indeed, God’s Word is wholly reliable—always and everywhere.
The Bible Is Sufficient
God’s Word is all you need to live in a way that honors Him. Nothing else is necessary to understand the good news of Jesus. No other books are required to know God and follow the Holy Spirit. What we have in the Bible is perfect, trustworthy, right, clear, pure, and true. No other written words can claim this sufficiency. The Bible alone is sufficient. You can trust the whole of Scripture, so now I hope you read the whole of Scripture.
If you don’t have it near you, then go get your favorite copy of the Bible. Prayerfully ask God to give you a passion for reading it. Don’t wait. Open your Bible now and read, even if for a few minutes. The words contained in your Bible are eternally more important than any other words ever written.
Take a deeper dive into this subject with Sam’s book, Understanding the Bible as a Whole. Do you want more training? Church Answers University (CAU) is affordable, accessible, and attainable. The certification is self-paced, so you can learn in a way best suited for your life and goals. And the books are included with tuition!
Posted on October 4, 2023
As President of Church Answers, Sam Rainer wears many hats. From podcast co-host to full-time Pastor at West Bradenton Baptist Church, Sam’s heart for ministry and revitalization are evident in all he does.
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6 Comments
I’m truly captivated by this text’s eloquent expression of the Bible’s importance in our daily lives. It beautifully conveys the idea that every word in the Bible is purposeful and divinely inspired. The emphasis on God as the protagonist of the Bible rather than ourselves is a refreshing perspective that deepens my appreciation for the scriptures. I’m especially moved by the description of the Bible as a living, active guide, and a source of infallible truth. Reading this text reaffirms my belief in the Bible’s transformative power and its role as a central guide in my life. It’s a wonderfully insightful and uplifting piece. All the best, Paul.
I may be mincing words a little but I have an exception to your statements. The Bible is inspired by God but it is not God’s words.
The Bible contains all things essential for salvation but to read the text as wholly infallible does it a disservice. That claim means that slavery is something which Christians should embrace (because that was the way that the world of Hebrew Scripture operated) and that women should be treated as possessions (because Hebrew Scripture treated them as a possession of the males in their life). Which, if we live a life modeled after Christ, is an abomination.
For many years, I would read a few verses and stop. I now have committed to reading the Bible from Genesis to maps. (A deacon from years ago said that to me) it is incredible what I have learned. I am reading the NLT chronological Bible presently. I must say this article is very important to the believer. The whole of Gods word must be embraced. It will change you deeply. Church Answers has drawn my attention to this and many other areas of Christian life. Thanks Sam
Thank you, Larry!
Solid. Important. Thanks.
Spot on, Sam!
Pastor Tim Foster, Highland Heights EPC, Memphis, TN