Bible Study Resource Page

Whether you’ve been a believer for 50 years or 5 days, learning how to study The Bible can be an intimidating and overwhelming process.  That’s why we’ve developed a resource to give you some information, if you’re finding it difficult to get started or desiring to study The Bible on a deeper level. Below, you’ll find descriptions of various resources, internet links, and information on word study.  We pray that as you use these resources to study The Bible, that you would come to know in a more personal way how deep, how wide, and how vast the love of God is toward you.

To get started, let's look at a few definitions:
Concordance: an alphabetical list of the words (especially the important ones) present in a text, usually with citations of the passages in which they are found. A concordance focuses on word definitions within the context that they’re presented in.

Commentary:  A systematic series of explanations or interpretations (as of a writing). While a commentary can be rightly influenced by historical context, cultural context and cultural traditions, it is ultimately  based on the author’s personal interpretation; as opposed to strict cultural, lingual, historical, and geographical context for each Scripture.
-While some commentaries can add value and insight to Bible study, it is of utmost importance to find resources that are not inaccurate and  based on opinion, or influenced by theological stances that are not properly supported by Scripture. Ultimately, the most important factor in Bible study is identifying and using resources that teach and support the whole counsel of scripture.

Eisegesis: “The interpretation of a text (as of the Bible) by reading into it one's own ideas.” Another way of saying this is that eisegesis reads Scripture through the lens of one’s own personal life, as opposed to seeking the meaning of the original writer to the original audience, in order to accurately interpret how any particular scripture applies to one’s personal life.

Exegesis: 
According to the Anchor Bible Dictionary," Exegesis is the process of careful, analytical study of Biblical passages undertaken in order to produce useful interpretations of those passages. Ideally, exegesis involves the analysis of the Biblical text in the language of its original or earliest available form." The nature of exegetical study requires looking at the original text, within its own cultural and historical context, in order to discover what the writer was saying to the original audience, by taking into account the laws, traditions and customs of their day. This method of study provides the most accurate interpretation of Scripture possible.

Types of Bible Study: 
The 1st method of Bible study that many people use is Exposition, which studies a passage of Scripture verse by verse. Biblehub.com (https://biblehub.com)  is an excellent resource for this kind of study. All of the features on this website are free. By selecting “Hebrew” (for Old Testament scripture), “Greek” (for New Testament scripture), "Strong's" or “Lexicon”, you can study any verse word by word in the language it was originally written in. "Strong's" is in reference to Strong's Concordance, an exhaustive concordance of Scripture that was constructed under the direction of James Strong, and published in 1890.

The 2nd method of Bible study is the Survey Method. The Survey Method helps with providing a big-picture understanding of various events, people's lives, and general timelines throughout the stories of Scripture. This method focuses more on the author, important topics in the book, the audience it was written to, and circumstances of those being written to. Studying the political climate and series of events help to give insight into why things happened the way they did.  The general idea is reading one or more chapters or books at a time, to make observations about the story being told. The art of good Bible Study is the art of seeing the obvious; recognizing patterns, repetitions, etc. in the text.

Categories of books of the Bible:
1. Genesis-Deuteronomy (the first 5 books) are known as The Law, or The Pentateuch (which means 5 volumes). This is the Jewish Torah, also know as the Law of Moses.
2. Joshua-Esther are known as the 12 Historical books, giving much history of the nation of Israel.
3. Job-Song of Solomon are the 5 Poetic books.
4. Isaiah-Daniel are the 5 Major Prophets.
5. Hosea-Malachi are the 12 Minor Prophets.
6. The Four Gospels and Acts are the History of the Church and the life of Jesus and the Apostles.
7. Romans-Philemon (the next 13 books) are letters (also know as Epistles) of the Apostle Paul to the Churches and/or individuals.
8. Hebrews-Jude (the next 8 books) are known as the General Letters.
9. The Book of the Revelation is known as a prophetic book, and is the last book of the Bible.

The 3rd method of Bible Study is the Topical Method. The Topical Method explores what Scripture has to say about specific subject matters through both Old and New Testament books. It is important in Topical Study to make sure verses are not taken out of context. In order to avoid doing this, it would be wise to read 5 verses before and after the text being read. There's a theory in theological study called the Law of the First Mention. The general belief is that the first mention of any subject in Scripture is very significant in assigning meaning and purpose to that subject matter. Another way of saying this would be that it sets a precedent, just as previously settled court cases set a precedent in our court systems for future rulings in legal matters. Locating and studying the circumstances surrounding the first mention of any subject matter in Scripture is an excellent way to get started on a topical study.

The 4th method of Bible Study is the Biographical Method. The biographical method seeks to observe and study various people mentioned in the Bible. For example, King David is the writer of many Psalms, the father of the writer of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. He is also the shepherd boy who slayed Goliath in 1 Samuel 17; and is mentioned in other books of the Bible, like 1 Chronicles and Acts13:22. In a study of David's lineage, you'll find that he came from the tribe of Judah. His father Jesse  was the grandson of Boaz and Ruth. This method also helps the reader to see both the triumph of allowing God to work through His people, while still seeing the human frailty that we all face.

The 5th method of Bible Study is the Word Study Method. Similar to Topical study, this method seeks to understand the definition of words that are not typically used outside of Christendom. Words like propitiation, sanctification, justification, imputation, redemption, etc. A Bible Concordance is the most efficient way to learn the definitions of these words, and to discover if there may be multiple words used for the same concept throughout Scripture, with slightly different meaning in their individual context. Understanding terms like this is essential to study that supports proper doctrine.

The 6th method of Bible Study is the Devotional Method. This method focuses more on receiving inspiration, instruction, and encouragement from Scripture, as opposed to focus on technical details. Meditation on Scripture read during this time is often incorporated into this method of study. This method also incorporates scripture memorization, keeping in line with reading Scriptures that especially minister to an individual during the season of life they find themselves in.

While there are many forms of Bible Study, these 6 methods are a great place to start. In order to begin with a strong doctrinal foundation when beginning to study, the 16 Fundamental Truths of the Assemblies of God is an excellent reference with which to "measure" doctrinal beliefs presented in various resources. The Bible emphasizes the importance of sound doctrine many times over throughout Scripture: Titus 1:9, 2 Timothy 3:16, Titus 2:1, Hebrews 13:9, Ephesians 4:14, Romans 16:17, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 John 1:9, 1 Timothy 6:3, 1 Timothy 4:16, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, John 7:16, Acts 2:42.