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Gods Word

By: Chris Irick

The Bible is Gods tool to speak to humanity. Many people claim they would love to hear from God
Himself, but dont take the time to pick up a Bible and read it. Still others dont know where to start, and
some claim they cannot understand the Bible. I would like to clear up some of these issues, and give
people a hunger for the Word of God in this brief article.

The Word of God is a spiritual text. It is THE spiritual text. The Scriptures were inspired by the Holy Spirit
of God, the absolute authority on spiritual matters. Just as you would read a health textbook to learn
about being physically healthy, Gods Word is there to impart understanding and direction so one can be
spiritually healthy. Gods Spirit is where it all starts.

Since the Holy Spirit wrote the Bible, you will need to become acquainted with Him (I use the personal
pronoun Him, not to denote the gender of God, for a Spirit has no gender, but for ease of reference and
because this is the way Jesus spoke of the Spirit in the Scriptures) before you can understand it. This
happens through a process called regeneration. The Father (The God of all creation) must draw a person
to Himself before that person can believe in the Son. (There are different views on whether God is
drawing all people to Himself, or only a select group called the elect. As far as I know, there are verses
you can pick out to support either conclusion, so wisdom and discernment must be used in
understanding this concept, and deciding for yourself what you believe.) A person must believe in the
Son before he/she can receive the Holy Spirit. This process whereby one believes and receives the Holy
Spirit is called regeneration. One must come to know the Spirit if they are to understand the Biblical text.

Once the message about the Son of God (the Gospel) is believed, and one has received the Holy Spirit,
he/she can begin learning from the Scriptures. There are different opinions on where one should start in
the Bible, given there are 66 books written by several different authors. The route I would suggest is to
read through the New Testament first, starting with the book of Matthew and ending with the book of
Revelation. This will give you a clear understanding of the New Covenant age we are living in, the basis of
the message we believe/proclaim, an overview of the promises that have been given to us as believers,
and a manual on how to conduct yourself as a son or daughter of the Most High God. After the New
Testament has been read once or twice, I would direct readers to begin at the beginning of the Old
Testament, with the book of Genesis, where creation begins, the fall of humanity occurs, and eventually
the covenant people are chosen. I would then suggest readers study the Old Testament to its
completion, mixing in daily readings of the New Testament, and possibly Psalms/Proverbs. This is just a
suggestion, and starting anywhere is better than starting nowhere.

Someone might ask, why is it important that I read the Bible, especially after I have already been saved
(regenerated by receiving Gods Spirit)? There are several reasons why it is important to read/study the
Bible. For the first reason I will pose a question: Why is it important that you eat food on a regular basis?
You see, just as the body needs food to stay alive, so the spirit needs the Word of God. To stay strong and
healthy spiritually, one needs to read and understand the Scriptures. The second reason is that we need
to (and should want to) get to know our Creator and Father, and His Son who saved us. While some
knowledge of God can be found in creation itself, and in the activities/behaviors of his most prized
creation, humans, God has chosen to reveal Himself more fully in the pages of Scripture. His thoughts,
His likes/dislikes, His actions, past, present and future, the way He deals with His people, and His plan for
the earth and humanity are all expressed in His Word. We need to take advantage of the privileged
opportunity we have to get to know the God of all creation. Lastly, we need to read the Bible for our own
safety. The Scriptures reveal that we have an enemy, the devil, who prowls about like a roaring lion
seeking whom he may devour. The BIble makes us aware of the devils schemes, and it claims to be a
sword that can be used against the enemy to gain victory. This is very important in our walk with God
because it assures us we will not be defeated or hurt by the enemy.

The Word of God is the single most important text on the planet, a gift that should be treasured more
than our daily food. Since a relationship to the Holy Spirit is crucial to understanding the text,
regeneration (the reception of the Holy Spirit through belief in the Christ) must occur before real
learning can take place. If you dont know where to start with reading the Bible, a suggested route is
listed as follows: Read the New Testament first once or twice, then begin reading the Old Testament
while mixing in daily readings of the New Testament and possibly Psalms/Proverbs. Remember, starting
anywhere is better than not starting at all. There are several reasons we should read the Bible, which
include feeding our spirit, getting to know our Creator, and protecting ourselves from the enemy. Seek
the Lord, and read His Word. You will never regret the decision to do so.

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