Discovery Bible Study

Meaning

Bible Pathway Triangle

Bible Pathway: Example

• Deuteronomy 7:1-5

Definition of Observation

• “It’s helpful to remember that observations cannot be disagreed with. We are simply stating what’s there. If someone can disagree with us, we’ve moved from observing to understanding the meaning of the passage. We should carefully observe the passage before we decide what the passage means.”

– Pathways, pg. 22

What should I observe?

• Repeated words

• Commands

• Compare/Contrast

• Theology words

– (Salvation, justification, sin, repentance, etc.)

• Themes/emphases

Biblical Theology Essentially, Biblical Theology is reading a verse or passage of Scripture in light of the Bible’s overall storyline. • It is looking at a passage’s location in biblical history, seeing what events

came before it and what events come after it. • In this sense, it is just a broader understanding of “context.”

– Not just looking at the narrow context (the verses before and after) – But it is looking at the wide context (the books and events before and after)

What is the storyline of the Bible? – Creation (Gen. 1-2) – Fall (Gen. 3) – Redemption (promised in OT; fulfilled in NT) – Restoration (Rev.)

Example: John 1

• Immediate Context: What is the message of verses 1-51?

– The Word, Jesus Christ, is God in a human body and He came to take away our sins (v. 1, 14, 29).

• Broader Context: What happens when we read John 1 in light of the storyline of the Bible?

John 1 and the Creation Account

John alludes to the Creation story in several ways:

• Notice the wording of the first verse, “In the beginning was the Word…” What does this remind you of? – Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the

earth.”

• Reference to “the Word” (v. 1, 14) recalls the references to the word of God throughout Genesis 1: – “And God said…and it was so” (Gen. 1:3,6,9,11,14,20,22,24,26,29).

– Psalm 33:6, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made; and by the breath of His mouth, all their host.”

• The imagery of the creation story is used throughout John 1: – Light vs. Darkness (Gen. 1:3-4; John 1:4, 9) – Life is created (Gen. 1:20-23, 24-25, 26-27; John 1:4) – Spirit of God hovered over waters like a dove (Gen. 1:2) and the Spirit of

God appears as a dove over the waters of the Jordan (John 1:29-32).

• The chronology of creation story is alluded to in John 1-2: – Creation account took place in 7 days (6 days of work; 1 day of rest). – John recalls this: repetition of “the next day” (v. 29, 35, 43; 2:1)

• Day 1 (1:1-28) • Day 2 (“On the next day,” 1:29-34) • Day 3 (“the next day,” 1:35) • Day 4 (“the next day,” 1:43) • Days 5-7 (“on the third day,” 2:1)

– In other words, 3 days after the last mentioned day (1:43) – On this 7th day, Jesus celebrates the wedding of a man and woman, just as God

celebrated the wedding of Adam and Eve (and the completion of creation) on the 7th day.

How does seeing the biblical-theological context of John 1 help us understand it better?

• The immediate context: The Word, Jesus Christ, is God in a human body and He came to take away our sins.

• The broader context: The Word, Jesus Christ, is the one who brings about the New Creation.

– By coming in the flesh and taking away our sins, Jesus Christ brought about the New Creation.

John 1 and the Fall

John alludes to the Fall of Human Beings (recorded in Genesis 3) in several ways: • He calls sin “darkness” in verse 5 which recalls the language

of Isaiah 9:2, “The people who walk in darkness [i.e. sin] will see a great light…”

• He says that “the world did not know Him…” nor “receive Him” (v. 10-11). This indicates that at the Fall human beings became estranged from God and were spiritually lost.

• John also says that Jesus “takes away the sin of the world…” At the Fall, human beings rebelled against God and became sinful.

*If we do not know about what happened in Genesis 3, then we will not fully understand what John means here by “sin.”

John 1 and Redemption • John shows how Jesus fulfills OT promises in v. 29, “Behold,

the LAMB OF GOD who takes away the sin of the world.”

• How does the OT story help better understand what it means for Jesus to be “the Lamb of God”? – Sacrificial system

• Gen. 3:21 (Adam and Eve clothed with the garments made from a slain animal)

• Gen. 22 (almost sacrifice of Isaac)

• Passover Lamb (Exodus 12); OT sacrificial system

• Isaiah 53

* If we do not know anything about the OT storyline and how God dealt with His people’s sin, then we will not fully understand what it means for Jesus to be “the Lamb of God.”

John 1 and the Consummation

John also anticipates (looks forward to) the future New Heaven and Earth (Rev. 21) • John 1:14 says “And the Word became flesh and dwelt (literally,

‘tabernacled’ or ‘set up His tent’) among us, and we saw His glory...”

• Revelation 21:3, “…Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and he will dwell (same Greek word) among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.”

Jesus Christ dwelt among us in His First Coming so that God could dwell among us forever at His Second Coming.

Conclusion:

Taking all the contexts together (narrow and far), the message of John 1 is that:

The Word, Jesus Christ, dwelt among us so that He could take away our sin, usher in the New Creation, and guarantee that all who trust Him will dwell with God forever.

C.O.M.A Method

• C: Context

• O: Observation

• M: Meaning

• A: Application

Meaning: Definition

• “…we integrate what we’ve observed in our heads and form a conclusion about what the author is trying to say.” –One-to-one, 46

Meaning: Example

• Mark 2:1-12

–Context

–Observation

–Meaning

Staying on the Line: Definition

“To go above the line means that we add something to what God has said in His Word. It means to say more than God has said or to say something different than God has said…We can also go below the line and say less than what the Bible says. We can do this by skipping or ignoring or explaining away things that we read that we do not like or understand.” –Pathways 2 Timothy training, pg. 17-18

Staying on the Line: Examples

• Command to Adam and Eve:

– Genesis 2:16-17

– Genesis 3:1

– Genesis 3:2-3

Staying on the Line: Exercise

• Sample Sermons (Pathways 2 Timothy training, pgs. 18-19)

• 3 Options:

– Above the Line

– Below the Line

– Just Right

Mark 1:14-15

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and

saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Psalm 23:2-3

2He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

3He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

2 Timothy 2:24-26

24 And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to

teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge

of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil,

after being captured by him to do his will.

James 4:7

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

John 15:7-8

7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done

for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my

disciples.