How to Study the Bible Intentionally [Updated Edition]: Methods and Conditions for Effective Bible Study

by Reuben A. Torrey

So DIG!

This method of study is the most thorough, the most difficult, and the one that yields the best and most permanent results.

A book that meets all the conditions stated is 1 Thessalonians, written by the apostle Paul. It is quite short, it does not have much difficulty of interpretation, meaning, or doctrine, and it is exceedingly rich in its teaching. It has the further advantage of being the first in time of Paul’s epistles. Another book to consider is 1 John, which is not a difficult book in most respects, and it is one of the richest books in the Bible.

The second work to do is to master the general contents of the book. The way to do this is very simple. It consists in merely reading the book through, without stopping, and then reading it through again, and then again, maybe a dozen times in all, at a single sitting.

Write down at the top of separate sheets of paper or cards the following questions: Who wrote this book? To whom did he write? Where did he write it? When did he write it? What was the occasion of his writing? What was the purpose for which he wrote? What were the circumstances of the author when he wrote? What were the circumstances of those to whom he wrote? What glimpses does the book give into the life and character of the author? What are the main ideas of the book? What is the central truth of the book? What are the characteristics of the book?

A book that will serve as a good illustration of this introductory work is The New Testament and Its Writers, by James Alexander McClymont.

Much false interpretation of the Bible arises from taking some direction clearly intended for local application to be of universal authority. So also, oftentimes false interpretations arise from applying to the unbeliever what was intended for the saint.

Consider the jubilant epistle to the Philippians, with its often repeated rejoice in the Lord and its Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7). When you realize that it was written by a prisoner awaiting a possible death sentence, it becomes much more meaningful.

The fourth work is to divide the book into its proper sections. This work is not absolutely necessary, but it is still valuable.

The fifth work is to take up each verse in order and study it. The first thing to be done in this verse-by-verse study of the book is to get the exact meaning of the verse.

The first step is to get the exact meaning of the words used. There will be found two classes of words: (1) those whose meaning is perfectly apparent, and (2) those whose meaning is doubtful.

The only safe and sure method is to study the usage of the word in the Bible itself, and especially of that particular Bible writer of whose writings we are studying. To study the Bible usage of words, one must have a concordance [or utilize Bible study software].

Altogether, the best concordance is Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. The next best is Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible. Cruden’s Complete Concordance will do, if one cannot afford Strong’s or Young’s.

It is surprising how many difficult problems in the interpretation of Scripture are solved by the simple examination of the biblical usage of words.

The second step in learning the meaning of a verse is to carefully notice the context (what goes before and what comes after).

The third step in determining the correct and precise meaning of a verse is the examination of parallel passages;

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge[1] will be of great assistance in finding parallel passages.

With every verse of Scripture, we should not ask what it can be made to teach, but what it was intended to teach – and we should not rest satisfied until we have settled that.

After we have determined the meaning of a verse, the next thing to do is to analyze the verse.

Study of fish

The sixth work in the study of the book is to arrange the results obtained by the verse-by-verse analysis. By your verse-by-verse analysis, you have discovered and recorded a great number of facts.

We come now to the seventh and last work. This is simply to meditate upon, and so digest, the results obtained.

We are no more finished with a book after we have carefully and fully classified its contents than we are finished with a meal after we have arranged it in an orderly way upon the table. It is there to be eaten, digested, and absorbed.

There is perhaps nothing as important in Bible study as meditation.

A second method of Bible study is the Topical Method. This consists in searching through the Bible to find out what its teaching is on various topics.

Whenever you are studying any topic, do not be content with examining only some of the passages in the Bible that bear upon the subject, but find, as much as possible, every passage in the Bible that bears on this subject. As long as there is a single passage in the Bible on any subject that you have not considered, you have not yet gotten a thoroughly true knowledge of that subject.

Get the exact meaning of each passage considered. Study each passage in its connection, and find its meaning in the way suggested in chapter 2 on the study of individual books of the Bible.

“Lord” in the Old Testament always refers to God, except when the context clearly indicates otherwise. “Lord” in the New Testament always refers to Jesus Christ, except where the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Proposition: Many statements that refer directly to Jehovah God in the Old Testament refer to Jesus Christ in the New Testament. In New Testament thought and doctrine, Jesus Christ occupies the place that Jehovah occupies in Old Testament thought and doctrine.

So that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him (John 5:23).

Very few people in reading the Acts of the Apostles, for example, take notice of the rapid passage of time, and so they regard events separated by years as following one another in close sequence.

fourth method of study is the Study of Types.

fifth method of Bible study is the old-fashioned method of studying the Bible in order, beginning at Genesis and going right on until Revelation is finished.

First, it is the only method by which you will get an idea of the Book as a whole. The more we know of the Bible as a whole, the better prepared we are for understanding any individual portion of it.

It would be good to have three methods of study in progress at the same time: first, the study of some book; second, the study of topics (perhaps topics suggested by the book studies); and third, the study of the Bible in order.

Spiritual discernment can be obtained in only one way – by being born again. Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).

No mere knowledge of the human languages in which the Bible was written, however extensive and accurate it may be, will qualify one to understand and appreciate the Bible. One must understand the divine language in which it was written, as well – the language of the Holy Spirit. A person who understands the language of the Holy Spirit, but who does not understand a word of Greek or Hebrew or Aramaic, will get more out of the Bible than one who knows all about Greek and Hebrew and cognate languages, but is not born again, and consequently, does not understand the language of the Holy Spirit.

It requires aesthetic sense to make someone a competent teacher of art, and it requires spiritual sense to make a man a competent teacher of the Bible.

The first fundamental condition of the most profitable Bible study, then, is that You must be born again (John 3:7). You cannot study the Bible to the greatest profit if you have not been born again. Its best treasures are closed to you.

The second condition of the most profitable study is a love for the Bible. A person who eats with an appetite will get far more good out of his meal than someone who eats from a sense of duty.

Many people come to the table God has spread in His Word with no appetite for spiritual food, and then go here and there grumbling about everything. Spiritual indigestion lies at the root of much modern criticism of the Bible.

The third condition is a willingness to do hard work. Solomon has given a vivid picture of the Bible student who gets the most profit out of his study: My son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you, make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God (Proverbs 2:1-5).

People are constantly crying for new methods of Bible study, but what many of them want is simply some method of Bible study by which they can get all the good out of the Bible without work.

One verse of Scripture chewed and digested and absorbed will give more strength than whole chapters simply skimmed.

For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away (Matthew 25:29). Use, and you get more; refuse, and you lose all.

James compares the Bible to a mirror. If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was (James 1:23-24). The main benefit of a mirror is to show you if there is anything out of order about you, and if you find that there is, you can set it right. Use the Bible in that way.

Disobeying the truth you see darkens the whole world of truth.

Those who doubt it are more often those who study about the Bible than those who dig into the actual teachings of the Book itself.

That is one of the secrets of profitable Bible study. Hunt for promises and appropriate them as fast as you find them.

Few keys open as many boxes that contain hidden treasure as prayer.