Have you ever heard a pastor or minister in your community throw around the terms, eisegesis, exegesis, hermeneutics, or Biblical illiteracy? If you have, thats amazing! And I hope they explained what that is to you. If you have never heard of those, don’t fret–I hadn’t either. I had not heard of those terms until I was situated at a 4 year Bible college. We will begin to unpack what those mean in these various sessions. But for starters, those words will help give language to how we become students of the Bible!
Check out our Complete Collection of Learning How to Study the Bible (Exegesis/Hermeneutics)
Goal: To be equipped to handle the Word of God rightly by learning *how* to study, exegete, and interpret the Bible so that you will fall more deeply in love with Jesus, be further filled with the Holy Spirit, and know the will of the Father.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
1 Timothy 3:16, 17
Let me pause and introduce myself. My name is Cosette Bredeweg, I have been following Jesus for 9 years. Was equipped at Youth With A Mission (YWAM) & Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. My husband and I long to serve the Lord in missions globally, ministry in the USA, as well as the business world (BAM). Our heart is to serve wherever there is need and wherever we can fill it–yet we actively seek to focus in on discipleship and Biblical studies (aka why you are reading this sessionđ). This little info is important as you read on so you know my ‘bias.’ I have a blend of baptist, non denomination, AG, and multi cultural communities and institutions. This is why more than ever, I have found it vital to KNOW the Word of God and grow in discernment. I have many influences that have shaped my worldview, my story of Christian community is literally across the spectrum–which is why more than ever I am committed to knowing the Word and helping others with the tools to know it themselves.
The American church(not everyone, but most) have either lost or never found their love & depth for scriptureâ Biblical illiteracy within the church is evident. We have churches that might have solid teaching on Sunday, yet the congregation lacks the tools to study the Word for themselves. We have churches with topical-self focused-out of context teachings that is leading their congregation astray and repeatedly feeding their people milk, never moving onto solid spiritual food. The gap for the people of God to be equipped in the Word is greater than it should be.
The tools to unlock the Bible are gate kept by institutions, high tuition fees and expensive courses. The responsibility to equip the people of God in how to handle the Word has shifted from local church communities to 4 year universities and ministry schools. The gap to be equipped in how to study the Bible is getting wider and wider, and the American church is doing it to herself. As someone who has gone through ministry schools and Bible college, I am thankful and privileged for the opportunity, yet it still remains, the gap for the people of God to be equipped in the Word is greater than it should be.
The people of God are usually (not always) already in the place that they are called to serve the Lord, and not always able to go to 1-4 years of Bible school. Yet these same followers of Jesus still have a need to be equipped in the Word. So what do we do about that? We work towards closing the gap. Through media(YouTube, podcasts, blogs-hey like this one!) and the reformation of the local body, we can continue to press in and purify and equip the Bride of Christ, who is the Church! We can help close the gap that has been made in America and the global body so that the Church as a whole can boldly study and be guided by this Ancient Book–the Bible!
My purpose is to impart the life changing tools and methods I gained at Bible college. Tools that gave me the foundation to approach, study, and teach the Bible. Not everyone is able to go to a 4 year Bible college to learn how to study the Word of God. It is the Church’s responsibility to equip their specific flock (Eph. 4). Some do and some don’t. These sessions are for those who need to be equipped (or need a refresher) in how to be a passionate handlers of the Word.
First, I want to tell you what I will not be teaching you in these specific sessions: theology.
What is theology? Theology comes from the Greek roots: THEOS & LOGOS
Theology means: something spoken about the One True God !
Kevin Vanhoozer says, âChristian theology is the intellectual, imaginative, and spiritual attempt to articulate the truth about God, the world, and ourselves, to appropriate this truth to ourselves, and to apply this truth to all areas of life, thereby responding to Godâs Word in speech, thought, and life to the glory of God.â
As we step into studying Godâs Word, we are learning and practicing how to study the scriptures, how to understand the Old and New Testament in the way that the authors originally intended their audience to understand it. It is only once we first understand how to read, how to understand, and how to interpret the scriptures that we then should come to the place of asking ânow what?â, âwhat should I now believe about God through this passage,â âhow does this show me what I am supposed to do?â, âHow I am to conduct myself?â, or “What is my theology about (insert any belief about who God is or what he says).”
Again, why?
We should never settle on what we think a text might mean, or seems at face value to mean, before we know how to properly read it. And we should never develop a theology before we have properly interpreted the text.
What am I not saying:
- That all your beliefs about the Bible are wrong
- That you should forget everything you have ever learned about reading the Bible or about God
- That you shouldnât read the Bible if you donât have these tools
- That we are going to interpret the Bible perfectly after todayâs sessions
- I am not telling you what to believe, I am challenging you to put your beliefs aside to allow the Word of God speak for itself
- You are not the main character Jesus is. The Bible is not about you, it’s not about me, it’s about the Living God.
What am I saying:
- These tools we are going to receive are to help us grow in handling the Word of God rightly
- That you should offer up all your current beliefs to the Lordship of Christ, be open for refinement, for the Lord to show you something new that your present denomination, tradition, your parents or personal study doesnât align with
- That you should keep reading your Bible morning, noon, & night (Psalm 1; 119)
Next, we will unpack what the difference is between exegesis and eisegesis, and how this impacts your overall approach to studying Gods Word. Session 2 will be live on Wednesday, August 21st @7am CT. đ
In Christ,
Cosette
Lovely read! Can’t wait for part 2
obsessed, I’ll be back for more
Janine Lambaren and are very excited. We are living together now that we are both âsingleâ and aged. đ€ we…